Hasta La Gadget!

If you have a smartphone connected to AT&T, you just got a bit more incentive to hop over to WiFi whenever possible. The new Google+ Hangouts app group video chat feature appears to be disabled whenever you attempt to connect via the cellular network. We tested the feature using a Verizon handset as well — we were able to stream video just fine. It’s not entirely clear whether AT&T has specifically blocked access to the service, but regardless of the reason, we’re all too familiar with the carrier’s desire to keep video chat off the airwaves. We can only hope that we’ll be able to use Hangouts to its full potential soon, just as we can with Apple’s FaceTime.

Update: AT&T has reached out with a statement. From what we can tell, Hangouts won’t fall under the first category outlined below, as it replaces a pre-loaded app (Google Talk).

All AT&T Mobility customers can use any video chat app over cellular that is not pre-loaded on their device, but which they download from the Internet. For video chat apps that come pre-loaded on devices, we offer all OS and device makers the ability for those apps to work over cellular for our customers who are on Mobile Share, Tiered and soon Unlimited plan customers who have LTE devices. It’s up to each OS and device makers to enable their systems to allow pre-loaded video chat apps to work over cellular for our customers on those plans.

Filed under: Cameras, Wireless, Software, Google

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Via: SlashGear

Today at Google I/O 2013, Big G revealed a big redesign for Google+. Starting later today, users will see their content in a multi-column setup fit for any size screen. The home page for G+ now has up to three columns populated with individual cards for posts and pictures, and the social network can intelligently learn the content of those posts and automatically add related hashtags for you. Columns appear or disappear depending upon the size of your screen, and cards can be flipped to reveal editing options, or moved to suit users’ aesthetic tastes. Should you have the requisite screen real estate, pictures and videos expand to the width of multiple columns to further provide a more visually pleasing social experience. In order to eliminate clutter, Google + has adopted a familiar looking left-side menu layout that disappears until a hovering cursor (or presumably a swiping finger) reveals it.

Update: You can see the new layout and auto hashtagging in action in the video after the break.

Filed under: Mobile, Google

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Source: Google+

The next time you browse the mobile version of a news website, Google+ may step in to guide you to related content. The tool’s new recommendation feature, available on Android and iOS, can suggest similar articles, or posts by the same author, with direct access to an abbreviated version of that individual’s Google+ page. To implement the feature, web developers simply need to add a single line of JavaScript to their mobile website. Forbes appears to be Mountain View’s launch partner with this latest endeavor — you should be able to take it for a spin by visiting any article page on the news organization’s mobile site. Desk jockeys can preview the new recommendations engine as well — snag a closer look in the demo video just past the break.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

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Source: Google+ Blog

If you can trust a couple of screenshots posted by the unofficial Google Operating System blog this evening, we’ll soon see a new Google Maps experience on the web. As shown above, the sidebar is toast, gone in favor of overlays for the necessary information, a move that more resembles its mobile app, the apps / websites of some of its competitors, and even its own Google Maps Engine view. Also noted as different are elements like the icons and colors, but the most major change could be integration with Google+ to filter search results to locations recommended by your friends. With Google I/O just days away this could be a perfect time for changes to roll out from Mountain View, we hope to know by then if one of our most used websites is getting a fresh coat of paint.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Source: Google Operating System

One of the biggest highlights of Android’s jump to 4.2 was the addition of Photo Sphere, a 360-degree panoramic shooting mode that pans vertically as well as horizontally. It’s a neat trick, but the only way to share it was on Google+ or on a device running Android 4.2 or higher. Now, thanks to a new widget that utilizes the Google+ Platform API, you can embed an interactive 360-degree slideshow on any website you choose — so long as your photos are stored on G+ and PicasaWeb. If you’re willing to play around with a bit of code, have a peek at the source to get started.

[Image credit: Colby Brown]

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Via: Colby Brown Photography, Google+

Source: Google Developers