It was only a matter of time before Google got around to cleaning up the clumsy 3D interface of its Play Magazines app. With both Books and Music already sporting a spiffy new design, we're happy to report that its periodicals portal is now just as flat and user-friendly. Like its recently updated brethren, Play Magazines makes itself easily identifiable through color alone -- in this case a robust purple. If you're looking for some exciting new features, however, you're bound to be disappointed. Play Magazines is still pretty barebones. There's no bookmarking, highlighting, copy and pasting... basically all you can do is download an issue and read it, either as plain text or in its original layout. But hey, at least selecting which magazine to read is easier and less offensive to our aesthetic sensibilities.

Filed under: Software, Mobile, Google

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Via: Phone Arena

Source: Play Magazines (Google Play)

With the exception of a brief mention in Google Play for Education, Mountain View's book platform was all but absent from its Google I/O presentation. Still, the service is getting updated with a significant new feature: user uploads. It hasn't rolled out to all users yet, but those with access are now able to add up to 1,000 PDF and EPUB files to their Google Play online library. Both the Android and iOS versions of the app will be able to read these files starting today. The update brings a standard assortment of stability and performance improvements too, and Android users will see a few minor visual tweaks. Check out the source link below to see if the feature has rolled out to your account, or click here to peek at Google's biggest I/O announcements.

Filed under: Software, Google

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Via: Android Police

Source: Google Play, App Store, Google Play online library

Phew. Day one of Google I/O is far from over, but there's already been an onslaught of news. While our editors are running around the floor, why not catch up on any bits of the opening keynote you may have missed? There's now a Galaxy S 4 with vanilla Android Jelly Bean for $649, a $9.99 per-month music subscription service and a host of updates for Google+, Play, Maps and others. Join us past the break where we've got it all neatly categorized for your viewing pleasure.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile, Google

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Among the worst kept secrets to be revealed during today's Google I/O keynote was Play Music All Access. Mountain View's desire to create a subscription-based music streaming service was pretty well-documented. Now it's finally here, for $9.99 a month (or $7.99 if you're an early adopter and get in on the free trial before June 30th), with at least a couple major labels on board. Of course, All Access is entering a rather crowded field -- one already dominated by heavy hitters like Spotify. We spent the afternoon getting acquainted with Google's subscription music service to see if it has what it takes to hang with more established properties. Head on past the break to see what we learned.

Gallery: Google Play Music All Access hands-on

Filed under: Software, Mobile, Google

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Many have chastised Google for doing little to properly expose Android tablet apps, but it's addressing that in style: the Google Play Store now includes a dedicated section in the charts for the top tablet-native releases, all of which meet the company's design guidelines for bigger screens. The company is also bringing its recent Play Store mobile redesign to the web. It shares the same interface, but it takes advantage of the extra screen area with a sidebar that lets shoppers quickly switch between media types. Both updated portals should be accessible today.

Gallery: Google I/O 2013: Google Play tablets section

Filed under: Tablets, Mobile, Google

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Google Play game developers and players alike are getting a quartet of game-changing additions today: real-time multiplayer, leaderboards, cloud saves and achievements. And that's not all -- the latter three services will function cross-platform between Android, iOS and the web. The whole initiative is called -- unsurprisingly -- "Google Play Game Services," and it's available today in a smattering of games. Unlike Apple's Game Center application, what Google's offering is backend support for developers rather than a standalone application. Think of it more like OpenFeint than Game Center -- you can sign in using your Google+ login in-game, and that login will track your identity (including leaderboard scores, achievements and saves) across various games and devices.

Any developer launching a game on the Google Play store has access to game services, though Google isn't making it an obligation. "We won't make it a mandatory exercise, or have any certification process around it," Google lead product manager Greg Hartrell told us. "We create fantastic services that allow developers to create these great game experiences, and help promote their discovery, help retain their users and keep them engaged."

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Handhelds, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Google

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Need more evidence that Google is preparing a Game Center-like platform dubbed Play Games? Look no further than the "What's New" section of your favorite Android game. At least one title, Eufloria HD, received an update today that explicitly states it has support for Google Play Games Achievements. According to the changelog, the title will now allow you to sync those achievements with your Google+ profile and share them with your circles. Guess the cat is pretty officially out of the bag at this point. Now we'll just have to sit tight for a little while longer and wait for the folks at Mountain View to explain all the fun little details to us.

[Thanks, Peter]

Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Software, Google

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Source: Eufloria HD (Google Play)

On the eve of Google I/O, Page and Co. have seen fit to polish the Google Play app with a fresh release. Version 4.1.6 of the mobile OS market brings colorful section buttons and improved spacing for "open" and "install" on application pages, along with a new layout for the wishlist feature that displays apps in rows of three. As for Google Play Services, it's received new syncing options for "App Data" and "People Details." Presumably they could relate to contacts, Google+ or even Mountain View's incoming gaming service, but something tells us we'll find out exactly what they do tomorrow. If your handset hasn't received the updated storefront just yet, follow the adjacent source link to install it by hand.

Filed under: Software, Mobile, Google

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Source: Droid Life (1), (2)

It looks like you'll soon be seeing more comments from app makers on Google Play. According to a post on the Android Developers Blog today, all developers can now reply to user reviews via the Google Play Developer Console, with responses showing up publicly below the user's original comment. The feature had previously been in trial mode, and devs have reportedly enjoyed a stronger relationship with their users -- not to mention a surefire system for discovering bugs and other app glitches. Hit up the source link for more info.

Filed under: Software, Google

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Source: Android Developers Blog

A Google-built alternative to Game Center on iOS and Games Hub on Windows Phone surfaced last month, and we know even more about it. Android Police dug into a new Play Services (an Android component you don't access directly, but does things like update Google apps) APK, and found the latest version hid a massive update getting ready for Google Play Games. Although it's not directly accessible yet, so far it's revealed support for system wide notifications, standardized notifications managed by Google+, and cloud synced game saves to work across multiple devices. Also built in are the other parts of any modern gaming service like matchmaking, leaderboards, achievements, lobbies and such. Exactly how all this works and how devs will put it to use will probably be revealed next week at Google I/O, but for now there are a few more screenshots beyond the source link.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

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Source: Android Police

Having crushed its $400K funding target on Kickstarter last year, Stainless Games has now ported its resurrected vehicular combat game to Android. This latest mobile version of Carmageddon can be had on Google Play for $1.99. Show sufficient disregard for pedestrians, however, and you might get there in time to download it free.

Update: For those on iOS, the game -- which is normally $3.99 -- is free for the taking today.

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Tablets, Mobile

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Source: Carmageddon free promo (Google Play), Carmageddon (Google Play)

Barnes & Noble's refusal to open its ecosystem has long been one of our primary complaints about the company's tablet offerings. The Nook HD and HD+ are extremely nice pieces of hardware that have been held back by their own walled software offerings -- having a fast device with a nice screen only gets you so far without the proper apps. The company line up to now has been that walling off content allows for a sort of quality control, assuring that apps are developed specifically for the unique form factor of its devices. And while there's perhaps something to be said for that sentiment in the sometimes-fragmented world of Android devices, it was hard to ignore the fact that offering up exclusive access to content through your own marketplace assures better cash flow. It also, unfortunately, means that without extensive developer outreach, there are sure to be plenty of popular apps that just never make it over to your side of the fence.

With its announcement tonight, B&N acknowledges that, in this case, open is better. The company has responded directly to user feedback and will be issuing a software update to its Nook HD and Nook HD+ devices (sorry Nook Tablet and Color owners) that brings Google Play directly to the desktop. The software will come pre-loaded on new devices and will be available as an over-the-air update. If you can't wait that long, you'll also be able to download it directly from the bookseller's site. The update also brings a few other tweaks to the system, but this is far and away the biggest news. The first question we asked upon getting a quick demo: will you be able to buy content like books, magazines and movies through Play? Yep, that's coming too.

Gallery: Google Play comes to Barnes & Noble's Nook HD and HD+

Filed under: Tablets, Software, Google

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Google just released a new Play Store version (4.0.27) that, at first glance, contains only very minor tweaks -- except for one little thing. A new policy change will no longer permit any apps to update without going through the Play Store's internal system. That won't affect most software, but there's a notable exception in Facebook, which recently added auto-downloading to the latest version of its Android app, allowing it to bypass Play. The new policy seems designed to put a stop to that kind of thing, but you never know -- it could be just be a coincidence.

Update: Google has reached out to clarify that it also posted the policy changes to its Developer Console with the following statement:

Google Play Program Policies have been updated. See "Content Policies" section, which clarifies that "An app downloaded from Google Play may not modify, replace or update its own APK binary code using any method other than Google Play's update mechanism." Google Play is a trusted source for Android application downloads, and we are committed to providing a secure and consistent experience. Learn More.

[Thanks, Thomas]

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Google, Facebook

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Source: Google Play

Emojis not giving that missive the right oomph? A Facebook Messenger for Android update has brought stickers into that mix with characters like cats and aliens, lending your chat head conversation just the right dose of nuance. It popped up yesterday as a hidden feature, but now you can download the final version at Google Play (at the source) -- then, just click on the smiley icon in the text input box to start dropping the cute bombs.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Facebook

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Via: Phandroid

Source: Facebook (Google Play)

We joke that Gmail holds the record for the most drawn-out test phase, but Swype comes close: the keyboard replacement has been considered a work in progress on various platforms since before Android devices hit the streets, and well after it started shipping with phones. The developers at Nuance are a little braver as of today, as they're launching Swype 1.5 for Android without any kind of beta label attached -- they really, truly consider it done. Mind you, there won't be a huge difference versus recent betas. The 1.5 update adds a quick shortcut to Dragon Mobile Assistant for those who have it installed, expands Living Language to 20 dialects, adds two new themes and refines both Smart Touch and Smart Reselect.

It's where you can get Swype 1.5 that may be the biggest change. For the first time, Swype is launching as a straightforward Google Play download that should support the same easy installs and upgrades as most Android releases. Unfortunately, that also means a price tag for the store edition. Nuance is charging 99 cents on Google Play for a "limited time" before a price increase, so we'll have to shell out if we want to take the easier path. The beta program remains intact, however -- and when Swype is at least temporarily undercutting SwiftKey on pricing, we'd consider spending some cash.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

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Source: Swype