Hasta La Gadget!

Google showed off offline Google Maps at its event earlier this month, and now during I/O it’s ready to turn the feature on. We’ve got a couple of video trailers for offline Google Maps here (embedded after the break), users with Android 2.2 devices and above should keep an eye on Google Play for the new version of the app. Also new in this version is the Compass Mode for Street View shown off today, that lets you look around places as though you were there based on your device’s gyroscope and even go inside. We’re not all seeing it on our devices yet, but the updated version has already been spotted on a Galaxy Nexus or two.

Continue reading Google Maps offline for Android is available today in version 6.9, also Compass Mode for Street View

Google Maps offline for Android is available today in version 6.9, also Compass Mode for Street View originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s Project Glass has been one of the most anticipated and hyped projects to come out of Google in quite some time. After a rather epic demo the company finally gave us a slightly deeper look at the wearable computer of our (supposed) future. Inside is the usual set of components you’d expect inside any mobile phone. There’s a “powerful” CPU and “lots” of RAM (though, there was no mention of specifics) alongside an accelerometer, gyroscope and wireless radios for pulling in data. There’s a mic for voice commands, a speaker and a camera, which can also be controlled by the touchpad that lines the side of the wearable device. All of those components sit off to one side, though Google says they’re still well-balanced and actually lighter than some pairs of sunglasses. The tiny transparent display doesn’t actually sit directly in front of your eye. It’s slightly above your line of vision, so that it shouldn’t interfere with your normal life.

Sergey Brin had three different prototypes on stage — a light blue pair, a white pair and a black pair — indicating that personalization and style were concerns. And that’s a good thing since Glass is meant to be worn in public. Ultimately Google hopes that the project will be the next step in its quest to make information quickly and universally accessible. The ability to capture images from the first person perspective seems to be key to the device. In a new demo video, a new mother waxes about how hard it is to capture those perfect moments with her child. She “smiles at faces not devices” which makes sticking a D5 in the baby’s face a bad idea.

If you’re impatient and lucky enough to have been at IO (and live in the US), you can actually pre-order an Explorer Edition of the wearable computer for $1,500. The dev focused units will be shipping early next year. But, be warned, this is not a mass consumer item and will likely be more than a little rough around the edges.

Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012’s opening keynote at our event hub!

Google’s Project Glass gets some more details originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google+ just got a makeover very recently, but it was still very much oriented towards phones — that’s been solved as of today. The social networking app is now optimized for Android tablets and the iPad, with a whole new navigation system and Hangout video chats suited to bigger screens. The layout is landscape-friendly and, if you have a new iPad, will take advantage of every pixel on that Retina display. Android users can get the update today; iPad owners will have to wait for a release coming “soon.” Android phone owners are getting some of the benefits of the supersized interface in their own, more modest screen sizes as well.

Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012’s opening keynote at our event hub!

Google+ on Android, iPad goes tablet-sized originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google didn’t touch on it during its keynote, but The New York Times‘ John Markoff has the story on one fairly unique feature of its new Nexus Q home media device: the base of the unit proudly boasts that it’s “Designed and Manufactured in the U.S.A.” That includes an unnamed company in the Midwest that manufactures the metal base and another in Southern California that makes the case, while the device itself was reportedly being assembled just last week at a large factory 15 minutes away from Google’s HQ. According to Google, it hopes that people will be willing to pay more for the device as a result ($299, if you missed it), but it has no plans to play up the “Made in the U.S.A.” angle in its marketing. Wired also has an in-depth piece of its own on the making of the device — you can find it linked below as well.

Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012’s opening keynote at our event hub!

Google Nexus Q is ‘Designed and Manufactured in the U.S.A.’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google has just announced a new feature for Google Play that’s sure to please anyone who’s sat through an app update that never seemed to end. It now offers what it calls “Smart App Updates,” which will let developers provide incremental updates to apps instead of forcing people to download a whole new APK for every minor update. On average, Google says those should be about a third the size of typical updates. What’s more, the company has also announced that it’s bringing added encryption measures to Android, which will let paid apps be encrypted with a device-specific key that makes them harder to rip and share. Both features will be supported on Android devices running Gingerbread or above.

Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012’s opening keynote at our event hub!

Google brings incremental app updates, added encryption measures to Android originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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