Google Glass with more Google Now Cards, Voice Commands and Video Player controls after the update

Restaurants, hotels, events – Be reminded of dinner reservations, hotel bookings and concerts. You’ll see these reminders for places that sent you an email confirmation.

Movies – Find showtimes and movie information for nearby theaters.

Emergency alerts – Change your plans on the fly when severe thunderstorm or flash flood warnings are in effect.

Traffic – Get traffic conditions and alternate routes before you leave for work.

Weather – Know how to dress before stepping out the door.

Sports – See live scores for your favorite teams.

"As you go about your day, Google Now delivers helpful cards with information you need, before you even ask," wrote the Google Glass team in a blog post. "Now, when you swipe backwards on the touchpad, you'll find even more useful information."

Google Glass is getting more cool features in its fourth software update Google's monthly update for its wearable computer, Glass, is giving users more voice commands, along with movie and restaurant information and emergency alerts.

The new features baked into the software update include reminders for dinner reservations, hotel bookings and concerts. If one of these businesses sends the Glass user an email confirmation, he or she will automatically get a reminder.

The update also includes an app to help users find movie show times for local theaters as well as another app that issues emergency alerts for events like severe thunderstorms and flash flood warning. Google also is adding two new voice commands: Take a note, and post an update. Both originally were introduced by third-party developers, but Google is adopting them.Other new apps include real-time traffic alerts, weather and live sports scores for favorite teams.

The Google Glass team noted that the two new voice commands are just the beginning and more will be rolled out soon.

The latest update includes new features for users who watch CNN videos. Now, they can tap to pause and play, and swipe to fast forward or rewind, letting users skip to the parts of video they're most interested in.

Beginning today, the software updates will start rolling out automatically.

At the end of July, Google, looking to expand its Google Glass Explorer program, asked testers of the technology to invite a friend to buy into using a prototype of the wearable computer and try it out.

An Explorer must be 18 or older, a U.S. citizen and available to pick up a system in San Francisco, New York or Los Angeles, according to Google's "Invite a Friend" email.

Those accepting the invitation aren't getting a gift -- each new tester will have to pay the same $1,500 fee paid by the Explorer original group. Developers can find out more about the Mirror API making all of this possible on the Google Developers hub now.

Motorola to make the Nexus 5 / Nesus 4 II (Should it have been Sony?)

I think it goes without saying that you should take the following information with the tiniest grain of salt. If you’re allergic to rumor, speculation, and industry gossip, you’ve had your fair warning. For the rest of you, welcome, and let’s start gossiping.

Remember our good friend Taylor Wimberly? This is the guy that spent a portion of his time on Google+ leaking just about everything there was to know about the Moto X. We’d say for the most part, his leaks were accurate, leading us to believe his sources within Motorola were legit. Fast forward to today when Taylor made waves after posting the following message:

“Motorola will release a Nexus smartphone in Q4 (that is not the Moto X).”

You may remember a Google Play Edition of the Moto X is said to release a little later this year(Moto X does not – currently – appear to be coming in a Google Play edition like the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and HTC One, nor does it seem to be coming to Google as a straight translation to a Nexus brand. With the release of the LG Optimus G, Google saw a build that they found pleasing enough to work with LG and Qualcomm to translate it into a slightly modified configuration for the LG-made Nexus 4, the device that’s currently acting hero for Google’s Nexus smartphone line), and many disappointed to find the full retail cost of the X wouldn’t hit the now standard Nexus pricing model. Could Googorola really be planning to release a Nexus device of their own this year, hitting that price-point Android fans have grown to love? More importantly, could they do it without stepping on the toes of their current OEM partners? All that remains to be seen. The success of Motorola and Google to create the highly publicized Motorola Moto X might have convinced Google that its wholly owned subsidiary is up to the task of producing the next Nexus handset. We’re curious to hear your guys’ thoughts on this rumor and if a Nexus Maxx would be your dream device. Many have suggested that this might not be the Nexus 5 atall but actually the next version of Nexus 4 (Nexus 4 II). Google with Asus rolled out Nexus 7 2 few days back. Are we to see a Nexus 4 II device too? 

There's also the precedent set by the Nexus line in the past - Google have had no qualms about shifting the Nexus build duties between a number of companies, including LG, Samsung and HTC. It wouldn't be unheard of for them to shift it to another company again. Some believe that Sony should have made the Nexus 5. In the Xperia Z, Sony delivered a device that is the best all-round Android phone of the moment. the phone has managed to impress many.

This device doesn’t work with the newest or highest-end hardware and it’s delivered with a software experience that’s just about the furthest away from a vanilla edition of Google’s Android as a USA-based release has gotten. It’s also waterproof and certainly not a half-bad performer for everyday tasks.

Sony has not been chosen by Google to deliver a Nexus smartphone or tablet in the program’s history.

Is it high time Google give Sony the chance, how that they’ve stuck with Android for so many seasons and created a smartphone that’s ready to contend with the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S 4?

Or does it seem, to you, more likely that Google will finally give Motorola a chance? The Motorola XOOM tablet was not given the name “Nexus”, but was given a significant push by Google as the first tablet to deliver Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, used on-stage more than once by the company as their go-to demo device for the tablet-friendly operating system.

How likely is a Motorola-made Nexus 5? More likely than any other manufacturer on the market – for better or for worse.

A MotoX photoshopped as Nexus

Google shuts Google+ Local For iOS, App Now Pulled From iTunes App Store today

Google + Local app is considered as an important and helpful tool for local marketing. That is because the app helps iPhone and iPad users enjoy special and customized features. First, the app enables checking out feedbacks from Google connections about local businesses. Second, it provides reviews of businesses that were patronized as well as the places they have gone to.

As a social network feature, Google + Local app facilitates sharing of information about local venues and businesses that users have found online. There is easier and quick access to online local information where available. Lastly, the app enables users to perform specific searches by category covering local businesses like cafés and restaurants.Google+ Local for iOS, Google’s mobile search and discovery app, will cease to exist on August 7th, just over one year after it made its appearance on iPads and iPhones.

According to an email from the Mountview company, Google+ Local for iOS will no longer be available as a standalone app on mobile Apple devices. However, of the app’s entire functionality will be merged into the Explore feature in Google Maps.

As mentioned, most of the ideal features of Google + Local app for iOS would be integrated into Google Maps for iOS. Thus, the useful features would not be completely gone for Google customers. First, Google Maps would now enable search for places and businesses by category, making it easier to find coffee shops and restaurants in an area.

Second, Google Maps would now provide more information about places and businesses in a locality. There would be reviews, addresses, street views, and average price estimates. Third, the app would monitor feedback from Google + circles about places and establishments in a locality.

Google+ Local for iOS, formerly known as Google Places, lets users voice search for nearby restaurants, check Zagat restaurant ratings, and read and post reviews of local establishments. The app was itself a rebranded version of Google Places.

According to the email, all user reviews and ratings will remain accessible via Google Maps and one’s Google+ profile. Users would also be allowed to review and then rate places and establishments where users have been to. Lastly, there would be a feature to share locations. It goes without directly saying that Google + Local app would continue to live on but under the ‘Explore on Maps.’

And because ratings and reviews features would be preserved on Google + profiles, the death of the app may not be completely felt. Anyone looking for a good night out in an unfamiliar locality could still turn to other designated Google apps. However, as far as we can tell, the app has already been removed from Apple’s iTunes App Store, and links pointing to the app, when clicked, provide the message that “the item you’ve requested is not currently available in the U.S. store.” However, the actual link to the app from a Google Search result or other webpage is currently broken. In addition, a search inside the iOS App Store for all Google apps shows that the app is no longer available there. (Though we did spot what appears to be a beta test of something calledGoogle Coordinate. Oops, that’s an enterprise product. We knew that.)

Google+ Local for iOS isn’t the first location-oriented service that Google has phased out as it revamps its mapping and local search offerings. Two weeks ago the company stated that Latitude, its map se-based location-sharingrvice,would retire on uAgust 9th.

Earlier this year Google initiated a sizable overhaul of its Maps application, which included enhanced navigation, live traffic updates, the new Explore feature, and on the Apple front, improved visuals on the iPad. Last June the company acquired Waze, the Israeli social traffic and navigation app, for over $1 billion.

BestBuy: Nexus discounts (LG Nexus 4 for Rs 22,750 , Nexus7 II by ASUS costing you $183.20)

Google officially announced its second-generation Nexus 7 last month and the slate is already on salestarting at $229. Now, the new Nexus 7 is available at a discounted price from Office Max for a limited period. Office Max is currently offering a 20% discount on the 16 GB and the 32 GB variant of the new Nexus 7 tablet. The 16 GB variant now costs you $183.20 and the 32 GB version is up for grabs with a price tag of $216, which saves you $54 as compared to the official pricing. The offer requires the usage of a coupon code that is available in the source link below. It’s an in-store only kind of deal, though, so you can’t have the discounted tablet shipped to your place. The specifications of the New Nexus 7 include a 1920 x 1200 resolution display and the tablet features a Snapdragon chipset with 1.5 GHz quad-core Krait processor. The slate has 2 GB of RAM, 5 megapixel rear camera, 1.2 megapixel front camera and runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.The offer is valid until August 10, so you better hurry, if you want to take advantage of it.

Source |

LG made Google Nexus 4, which is usually available these days for around Rs 25,000 in India, is now available for just Rs 22,750. The offer is available on ebay where you have to apply a coupon code -MCEBAYH213- while checking out. Remember that the coupon is valid only on Maestro / MasterCard Debit Card. LG Google Nexus 4 features a 4.7-inch True HD IPS Plus panel display and houses a quad-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro mobile processor which is paired with the Adreno 320 graphics chip. Besides, it has 16GB internal storage, 2 GB RAM and Android 4.2 operating system. The Nexus 4 display has been constructed using the Corning Gorilla Glass 2 technology for strength and resistance from scratches. The display panel has been constructed using Zerogap Touch technology and is slightly curved. On the camera front, Nexus 4 gets an 8 megapixel camera that is capable of recording full HD 1080p video. In the front lies a 1.3 megapixel camera capable of 720p HD video as well. Google Nexus 4 will also feature Android Beam which works on Near Field Communication technology and helps in sharing images, videos, contacts, apps and other content with a gentle tap over another NFC enabled device.

HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S IV Google Play editions get Android 4.3 update

The Google Play editions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One are receiving an OTA update that will upgrade them to Android 4.3.

The update arrives merely a week after it was officially announced and started rolling out for the Nexus devices. In fact, many of the Nexus devices are still to receive the update, so you can say the Google Play editions are more or less on par with the Nexus devices in terms of receiving updates.After Samsung and HTC shared their respective Android 4.3 source code for their Google Play edition phones, the OTA update for both devices started rolling out. Samsung build for the Galaxy S4 weighs in at 150.7MB while the HTC One’s is a but heftier at 185.5MB. The Android 4.3 update for both phones delivers Bluetooth Smart, OpenGL ES 3.0 for better 3D graphics, dial pad auto-completion and a few more technical changes like security and network enhancements. Other tweaks include larger app icons, a functional IR blaster on the HTC One and Bluetooth tethering on the Samsung Galaxy S4.

When Google announced the Google Play edition of the S4, they promised quick updated along with a stock Android experience. These are two of the main reasons to get these devices over their standard versions that come with OEM customizations and are bound to receive the 4.3 update much, much later.

The Android 4.3 update was announced last week at an event, alongside the new Nexus 7 tablet and the Chromecast media streaming device. Although not a major update, it brings features such as restricted user profiles (only on tablets), Bluetooth Low Energy profile, virtual surround sound, autocomplete for dialpad, improved keyboard, OpenGL ES 3.0 support and a handful of other things. You can find a list of Android 4.3 features here.

Over and above these features, the Android 4.3 update enables Bluetooth tethering on the Galaxy S4 and the IR port on the One.

HTC One – HTC Dev Center

• Kernel source
• Framework files
• Rehosted OTA courtesy of XDA Senior Member LOCKDOC_UA

Samsung Galaxy S 4

• Open Source Release Center - MH1 Release
• Captured OTA Link courtesy of XDA Senior Member tublah

Moto X launched yesterday with 3 promo videos and Google Play availability (Complete Moto X specs and other details)

After a series of leaks with a proud feeling, Google showoff the MOTO X . Motorola has officially taken the wraps off the Moto X - the first phone that has been entirely developed under the supervision of Google. It's also the company's first phone in a while to be fully assembled in the USA.

The Motorola Moto X is build around a 4.7" AMOLED display with full RGB matrix and 720p resolution. This results in a pixel density of 316 ppi. The screen is protected by a new type of Gorilla Glass, which is dubbed Magic Glass due to its curves towards the edges of the phone.

On the inside, the Motorola Moto X features a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset with dual 1.7GHz Krait cores, Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM. Internal storage is 16GB or 32GB depending on the version you choose but there's no card slot for further expansion. Just like the latest DROID line-up, the Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset is part of the Motorola X8 board, which also includes a natural language processor and contextual computing processor.

The Moto X camera has a 10MP sensor and uses the ClearPixel technology for superior low-light performance. Every other green portion of the Bayer filter array, which sits in front of the image sensor, is replaced by a clear one, allowing more light to reach the sensor.

On the software side, the camera offers HDR, burst shots and panorama. The Moto X can also shoot full HD videos at 30fps and there are features like face detection and geo-tagging on board. At the front, there's a 2MP camera capable of 1080p video recording that serves for video-chatting purposes.

Motorola has gone great lengths to make the Moto X a truly customizable phone. Customers can choose whether the front panel to be black or white, as well as the color of the back panel from 18 options. There's also a third customizable area called accent - it covers the camera rim and side buttons. Further customization includes adding a name or short message on the back of the phone as choosing a Google account and wallpaper to come preinstalled on the device.

The Motorola Moto X runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, which at first glance looks as clean as stock, but Motorola has added a few touches of its own. One of them is the Active Display feature, which makes use of the OLED screen and brings a snippet of information (the time, new messages and voicemail) on a blank black screen. Think of it as an Android version of Nokia's Glance Screen feature.

Motorola has also preinstalled a transfer app called Migrate. It allows you to transfer your photos, videos, SIM contacts and even call and text history from any Android phone running Android 2.2 or higher.

Because of the curved back, the Motorola Moto X thickness varies from 5.6 to 10.4mm. The phone has a pretty decent footprint for its 4.7" display - 129.3 x 65.3mm with a weight of the very acceptable 130 grams.

Below the customizable back panel sits a 2200mAh battery, which Motorola rates at 13 hours of 3G talk time and up to 24 hours of mixed usage endurance.

The Motorola Moto X a will be available on the five largest carriers in the USA - AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and US Cellular. It will cost $200 for the 16GB version and $250 for the 32GB units, both with a two-year contract.

Motorola Moto X at a glance

• General: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, quad-band UMTS/HSPA, 100 Mbps LTE with a second LTE antenna


• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone


• Dimensions: 129.3 x 65.3 x 10.4, 130 g


• Display: 4.7" 16M-color 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) capacitive touchscreen RGB AMOLED display with curved Gorilla Glass and ~316 ppi


• CPU: Dual-core 1.7 GHz Krait


• GPU: Adreno 320


• Chipset: A custom-built Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System, based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset


• RAM: 2GB


• OS: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean


• Memory: 16/32GB storage, microSD card slot


• Cameras: Primary 10 megapixel auto-focus Clear Pixel camera with 1.4 µm-sized pixels, f/2.4 aperture, native 16:9 aspect ratio, face detection, HDR mode, panorama, geo-tagging; Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps with HDR, Secondary 2MP front-facing camera with FullHD video capture; Quick capture allows you to activate the camera with a double twist of your wrist;


• Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, standard microUSB port with MHL and USB host, GPS receiver with A-GPS, GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, wireless screen sharing (Miracast protocol)


• Misc: Composite plastic materials - surrounding back panel and curved edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass front; dual-mic setup for noise cancellation; water-repellent coating on electrical components for trouble-free operation in the rain; some 50 GB worth of extra free Google Drive storage for 2 years (on top of the usual 15GB); Active Display system, showing notifications on a fraction of the screen size when the screen is off; Touchless control - voice control capabilities in standby (with the screen off).
• Battery capacity: 2200mAh.

Yesterday, Motorola finally announced the Moto X, which will soon go on sale in the US on all the major carriers on a contract. However, Google has now announced that you will also be able to purchase the Moto X from the Play Store as well.

The Google Play edition of the Moto X will be similar to the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One, where it would come with a stock version of Android. Although the Moto X does have relatively stock Android even on carrier branded models, it does come with the usual carrier bloatware, along with some of Motorola's customizations, such as the always-on voice feature, shake to start camera and the active lockscreen.

Although Motorola promised quick updates to the Moto X, the Google Play edition will get them even quicker since they don't have to go through the carrier before being pushed to your device.

Just like the GPe of the S4 and the One, the Moto X will also be sold unlocked and at full price. The exact price is not yet known as of now, nor is the actual date when the phone will be available on the Play Store, but considering the specs of the device, you can expect a price of around $299 for the 16GB model. It's unlikely though that Google would offer the Moto X in any other color option other than the standard black and white.

Motorola has just unleashed its Moto X flagship smartphone and, as tradition dictates, the announcement was accompanied by the release of a few promo videos.

The Moto X got a trio of clips – the first two focus on its unique software features, while the third one is dedicated to its Moto Maker customization software.

The first 30 second clip is all about the always-on voice commands, which don’t even require the Moto X to be unlocked to work.

Next comes the Quick Draw promo, showing you how you can unlock the smartphone and launch its camera by simply flicking your wrist.

Finally, there’s the Moto Maker video – it’s the longest of the set, but that’s because there are so many options to go through.

Share your thoughts on the Moto X with the rest of us in the comments section below.

Internet-to-TV solution : The Google Chromecast

Google unveiled a smart HDMI stick for TVs – unlike most sticks we’ve seen so far, Chromecast runs a simplified version of Chrome OS rather than Android. It integrates with Google services like YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Video and the Chrome app (on a phone, tablet or laptop). Long story short, it’s the Nexus Q done right.

How does Chromecast work? Say you’re viewing a YouTube video on your phone (Android or iOS) and hit the Chromecast button. The device will switch on your TV if it’s off, change the input so that the TV displays that feed and start playing.

Multiple devices (you, your friends and family) can add videos to the playback queue, searching for new YouTube videos doesn’t disturb the playback on the TV. It’s not just YouTube, the Google Play Movies and the updated Netflix app supports it too.

You can control playback from the phone – change volume with the volume rocker and skip videos straight from the lockscreen. There’s more – if you have to go out, you can hit the Chromecast button again and playback jumps back to your phone. Or you can move it to a tablet instead, it will continue from where it left off.

Chromecast also handles DJ duties – you can play music from the Google Play Music store and Pandora too (all of this is compatible with iOS devices as well).

Another thing the little stick can show on your TV is Chrome tabs – you can “project” a Chrome tab to the TV and browse photos on Google+ or even watch a video on Vimeo (this feature is still in beta). New features can be added by third party devs through the Google Cast SDK for Android, iOS and Chrome (browsers for Windows, Mac OS and Chrome OS).

Here’s a little demo video of how Chromecast works:

Chromecast is a 2″ stick that plugs into a free HDMI port on your TV and requires external power through a microUSB port. But best of all it costs only $35 (the Nexus Q was ridiculously priced, it would have never worked). It will be available later today in the US – you can snag it from the Play Store, Amazon.com and BestBuy.com. Best Buy stores will carry it from July 28. If you buy a Chromecast, Netflix will give you a free 3 month subscription. Availability in other countries coming soon.

The good: The Google Chromecast is a dirt-cheap wireless video dongle that streams Netflix and YouTube to your TV using Android or iOS tablets as remotes, with Android users also getting access to Google Music and Google TV and Movies. Its small size hides neatly behind your TV and makes it easy to take on-the-go.

The bad: The beta screen-mirroring feature won't work as well as you want it to, so you're largely limited to four apps and without support for several major ones, including Amazon Instant, HBO Go, MLB.TV, Spotify, and Rdio. The lack of a dedicated remote also means you always need a smartphone or tablet nearby.

The bottom line: Google's $35 Chromecast streaming-TV dongle is certainly cheap, but its limited initial app support and total reliance on mobile devices keep it well behind the Apple TV and Roku -- at least for now.

Google paid Waze 966 USD$ confirms Google

Mapping startups don't come cheap.Google disclosed Thursday how much it paid for the Israel-based company behind the mapping app Waze: a whopping sum of $966 million.

This price is in a financial quarterly report that Google filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday. Apparently, the Web giant spent $847 million in goodwill, $188 million in intangible assets, and then minus $69 million in net liabilities. It was previously speculated that Google paid a little more than $1 billion for Waze.

"In June 2013, we completed our acquisition of Waze Limited (Waze), a provider of a mobile map application which provides turn-by-turn navigation and real-time traffic updates powered by incidents and route information submitted by a community of users, for a total cash consideration of $966 million," Google wrote in the filing. "The acquisition is expected to enhance our customer's user experience by offering real time traffic information to users' daily navigation needs."

Google snapped up Waze six weeks ago after earlier reports that both Facebook and Apple were also interested in the app. The way Waze works is it leverages a community of drivers to find the best routes through traffic. When the startup joined Google's ranks, rather than moving toward an IPO, it said it wanted to keep attention focused on its community of drivers.

In addition to spending $966 million on Waze, Google also completed 15 other acquisitions in the first half of 2013, including buyingMakani Power, Behavio, and Wavii. For these other acquisitions, the Web giant spent $344 million. The tally for all 16 of the acquisitions, which includes Waze, comes to $1.31 billion.

More reason for switching from iOS to Android: Google Play is now the largest app store with over 1 million apps surpassing App Store

Google’s Play Store is now officially the largest app store with 1 million apps surpassing Apple’s App Store, which has about 900,000 applicationsit is now finally outgrown the Apple App Store and its 900 000 applications. That's a huge achievement for Android, the platform that launched as the underdog, after Apple first started the app revolution. Now, the tide has clearly changed. 

The news was brought by Sundar Pichai at the Android event earlier today. Google Play now has the largest collection of digital books, millions of songs and thousands of TV shows. And starting in August the repository will be getting a new Textbook category that should be appreciated by Android-rocking students.

Mr. Pichai also revealed that Google Play Store developers have increased their revenue 2,5 times in the last twelve months. Perhaps this also has a lot to do with the 50 billion app downloads milestone that was crossed recently.

A brief of Breakfast with Google's Sundar Pichai

Google released Android 4.3, the next major version of its Android operating system and made a series of software and hardware announcements at a press event in San Francisco yesterday.

Here is a quick lowdown of all the announcements that Google made yesterday -

Tablet Activations: Google has clocked 70 million tablet activations to date and Sundar Pichai, Google’s Senior Vice President of Android, Chrome & Apps claimed that one in every two tablets sold in the first half of 2013 was an Android based tablet. He also claimed that Nexus 7 accounted for 10% of all Android tablets sold until now.

Google Play Store Stats: Google claims to have more than one million apps in Play Store at present, making it possibly the first mobile operating system to cross the milestone publicly. In comparison, Apple had reported 900,000 iOS apps last month. Google also reiterated that it has generated more than 50 billion app installs on Google Play to date, a number it had mentioned during the quarterly earnings report last week.

Google also introduced a new tablet-specific section to the Play Store in a bid to promote its tablet apps. However, I am curious on how many tablet apps does the Play Store really have? From what I have noticed, it has been a very negligible amount and Google itself has never provided any official breakdown between its phone specific and tablet specific apps until now. In comparison, Apple has375,000 iPad specific apps and 525,000 phone specific apps, as of last month.

Android 4.3 “Jelly Bean”: Google unveiled Android 4.3 ‘Jelly Bean’, the next major version of Android operating system, although it seems like a minor update over Android 4.2 ‘Jelly Bean’ in terms of features.

Android 4.3 brings in features like restricted profiles, support for OpenGL ES 3.0 and Bluetooth Smart, New DRM APIs for streaming 1080p videos, Dial pad autocomplete and a new Wi-Fi scan only mode for better location accuracy while conserving battery.

Restricted profiles which adds on to the existing multi user capabilities for tablets introduced in Android 4.2, allows device owners to create limited profiles through which they can restrict access to specific apps and content on the device. These limited profiles will not have access to Gmail, Calendar, Play Store or in-app purchases and owners will also have granular controls to restrict which apps can be accessed and how these apps behave based on the user profile.

For instance, users can control the maturity level of the profile and manage access to games and user generated content for the profile among others. Developers can also provide custom restrictions within their apps using the Restricted Profile API. We feel this feature will be quite handy for parents to avoid accidental in-app purchases by their kids when they share their tablets. It will also allow them to control their kids’ activities on the tablet.

Besides this, Android 4.3 will feature system wide support for Hindi and other languages like Africaans, Amharic, Arabic, Hebrew, Swahili and Zulu. Note that Google already offers Hindi as an inbuilt input language for all Android devices running on Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean” or later and the company had alsolaunched a Hindi input & transliteration app for all Android devices running Android 2.2 or later in March 2013.  However, Robosoft beat Google to launching Indic versions of Android, by rolling out Indic enabled Android phone in April 2012.

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean will start rolling as an over the air (OTA) update to the Nexus 4, Nexus 10, first-gen Nexus 7, and the Galaxy Nexus, with Google Play edition devices receiving it ‘soon’. Developers can either download Android Studio to start developing apps for Android 4.3 or download the Android 4.3 package which includes SDK tools, Platform Tools, and Support Library through the Android SDK Manager.

Google Play Games: Following the launch of Google Play Game services in May 2013, Google has now launched a dedicated gaming app called Google Play Games, which works quite similar to Apple’s social gaming app Game Center.

The app acts as a gaming hub which allows users to track their game achievements and scores, view what games their friends are playing to aid game discovery, join multiplayer games and access the social and public leaderboards for any specific game. It also offers game suggestions in form of featured games and allows users to send friend requests to their Google+ contacts.

Textbooks Section in Google Play Books: Google unveiled a new dedicated textbooks category in Google Play Books, which will allows students to purchase textbooks outright or rent them for a six months period. While the company didn’t disclosed much details on this development, it informed that this section is expected to debut in early August and will apparently offer a “comprehensive” selection from five major publishing houses. Google has apparently partnered with Pearson, Wiley, Macmillian Higher Education, McGraw-Hill and Cengage Learning as per a TechCrunch report.

Google said that these textbooks will be available over the web, iOS and Android at a discounted rates of up to 80%, although it didn’t provide any specific details on the pricing.

Remember that Google had also recently announced a dedicated Android app store called Google Play For Education last May, which was expected to focus only on educational apps for grades K-12. The app store had started accepting app submissions last month and it is expected to debut in the United States in the Fall. We wonder if there will be any integration between this Android app store and the textbook section of the Google Play Books in the future.

Google Translate Website Gets Handwriting Input:  While this was not announced at the event, Google has introduced handwriting input to the Google Translate homepage. This feature will allow users to translate a written expression, even if you don’t know how to type the characters on the keyboard. Users can switch to this option by clicking on the input tools icon at the bottom of the text box. (It didn’t work for English language for us but worked in Spanish and French languages, although it seems to be designed keeping touch screens in mind). Google currently provides handwriting support for 45 languages, although it doesn’t seem to support any Indian language yet.

New Calendar API: Google has also released an updated Calendar API, bringing in push notifications to the API, thereby removing the need for periodic polling by the apps.

Google to release Chromoting remote desktop app for Android

Third party apps to remotely control a computer from an Android device already exist, but Google is working its own. The software will work with devices running the Google Chrome browser, tying the two platforms together even more.Google is developing a new application for the Chrome Remote Desktop but for the Android platform this time. Google Chrome web browser offers an extension that allows accessing the host computer remotely through Chrome web browser or Chromebook (Chrome OS running laptop). The Next Web spotted a note by Google open-source Chromium developer that clearly stated the Chromoting Android app.

As per the Chromium Code Review listing, the Chromoting app can be used to authenticate the device using a Google account on the phone. Users can use the app to connect and communicate with the host machine. Establish peer to peer channels for communicating the host service.

Chromoting app is currently under development and two of the most crucial features missing in it are - capability to display the host desktop and handle any kind of input. Basically, Google is trying to create an app that will let you access your computer from anywhere over an Android phone with the help of a Google Account.

The reason is likely because the app currently has very few capabilities; so far it can only:

• Authenticate using a Google account on the phone.
• Query and display the host list from the Chromoting directory server.
• Connect to and communicate with the host service over XMPP/ICE.
• Establish peer-to-peer channels for communicating with the host service.

The developers behind it note the app still can’t display the host’s desktop or handle any kind of input. In other words, this is very much in the prototype or alpha stage.

For those who don’t know, the original Chrome Remote Desktop is an extension for Google’s browser. It was first released as a beta in October 2011 and could be used to control another one of your own computers as well as a friend’s or family member’s (usually to help with IT issues).

When it came out of beta a year later, our own Paul Sawers explained how it worked:

To authorize the connection between the machines, the app generates a code which you must share with the other person. So, for example, if you wish to share your desktop with a tech-savvy friend to fix an on-going issue, you’d send them a 12-digit code that looks roughly like this:

We presume Chromoting for Android will be similar, although there will definitely be some limitations due to the mobile platform. You’ll probably enjoy using the app more on a tablet than a phone, although Google will surely try to make it work well with both. We’ll keep you posted as Chromoting’s development continues.

Several such remote desktop services driving apps such as LogMeIn and Citrix GoToMeeting are available in the Google Play Store. With this Chromoting app, we can see yet another feather in Google's Hat for its Android as well as Chrome based ecosystem.

Second generation Google Nexus 7 leaks out in a press photo

The highly anticipated second generation of the Google Nexus 7 made a couple of unofficial appearances. The upcoming ASUS-made slate showed up in a press photo, as well as a BestBuy print catalogue. Both alleged images of the upcoming Nexus 7 fall right in line with previous leaks. The BestBuy ad points at a screen resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. It also confirms the $229 price tag for the 16GB version of the slate. The second generation ASUS Nexus 7 is all but certain to break cover at an event hosted by Google this coming Wednesday, July 24. We will be covering it as it unfolds, so be sure to tune in for the full scoop on the slate.

Motorola X appears in white through a new press image

As August 1 approaches, we’re beginning to see more and more leaks and press shots of the Moto X smartphone. Only yesterday we saw one such image which revealed the black Moto X in all its glory. Today, it’s the white variant which has appeared. Interestingly, this is the same variant of the smartphone which Eric Schmidt was seen using recently.
 We already know that, Motorola X will be officially unveiled on August 1 in New York. The press image and specifications of the upcoming device from Motorola has already been leaked and we now have another press render, which shows the smartphone in a white paintjob.

Additionally, a new image from evleaks shows the side profile of the Moto X and reveals the presence of power button and the volume rocker there.

Meanwhile, the Motorola Moto X is rumored to sport a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and the smartphone is said to feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960DT chipset with a dual-core processor clocked at 1.7 GHz and 2 GB of RAM. There's going to be a 10.5 megapixel rear camera, 2.1 megapixel front camera and 16 GB of inbuilt memory.

The upcoming smartphone from Google owned company will run on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and the juice for the device will be provided by a 2,200mAh non-removable battery.The specs we've been able to independently confirm include:

• A dual-core (not quad-core) Qualcomm S4 Pro MSM8960DT 1.7GHz CPU, Adreno 320 GPU (I'm not actually sure what the "d" stands for in the processor model number)
• 2GB of RAM
• 720x1184 4.7" (about 4.5" without on-screen buttons) display
• 2.1MP front-facing camera / 10.5MP rear camera
• Android 4.2.2
• 16GB internal memory, 12GB of which is user-accessible (at least in one variant)
• NFC
• 2,200 mAh battery (tipped by @evleaks and the fact I've confirmed in FCC docs)
• About 18-19K AnTuTu score
• About 7100 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme score