Google Duo and Allo: The death of Google Voice?

Posted on by Juan Carlos Bagnell

Google Voice was a terrific dream, which I’ve been using since before Google owned the actual service. You can have one phone number umbrella which sends and receives calls to any phone number associated with your account. It was one of the first mainstream solutions for texting over data, it transcribed voicemails, and it was compatible with traditional cell phones.Google Voice has stagnated over the last couple years. We’ve seen Google tinker with Hangouts, and introduce Project Fi, but we’ve seen little progress on the GV front. Today at I/O 2016, Google introduced a ...

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Get one-tap Android Instant Apps without installing them

Posted on by Jules Wang

“What if you could run any app with one tap?”Just like on the web and just like with installed apps, you may soon be able to get into an Android app … without installing it! It’s what we saw with Android Instant Apps at Google I/O.Android’s engineers are working on making sure that you can hit a URL and, if it can connect to an Android app, the Google Play Store can download only the code necessary to show off the content you need. Be it a videos module or a text article module, you can access that part of the app, just like as you would see it in the app, in ...

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Android N gets Split Screen teased, no Freeform Windows or Launcher Shortcuts

Posted on by Jules Wang

Well, we saw the christening of Android N and the feature set is being splayed out as this post is going up. One part of that set that’s made up the buzz of the OS version is the supposed multitasking features that will make it onto this version of the platform.The multi-tasking button and interface now is limited to seven apps and also gets a “Clear All” button. Finally. You can also quick switchFrom the outset, the biggest development we’ve been talking about for N is the Split Screen feature. Lo and behold, it’s here and brings the base OS up to Samsung and ...

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Android N’s name is … up to you

Posted on by Jules Wang

Dave Burke, VP of engineering, took the Google I/O stage to talk about Android N. And its real name is up to you. Yep, still nothing here for us to see. But head on to the source link and submit your own name for Google to consider.“No Nnny McNnnyface,” Burke said.We just thought you should know.The platform’s still out for dev tinkering after the couple month’s it’s already been out in the open.Source: Google

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Allo is a new messaging service that takes advantage of Google Photos

Posted on by Jules Wang

Eric Kay, Director of Engineering, announced a new messaging app called Allo. It focuses on letting you express yourself in a messaging situation while making it secure and smart with the Google Assistant.You connect with your phone contacts and talk with your friends through texts, lots of custom-made stickers and a little something called “WhisperShout”. It’s a slider feature that can shrink or grow how your message will appear in the conversation — sorta like how you can hold the Like ...

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Google Assistant debuts as competitor to Amazon’s Alexa

Posted on by Jules Wang

Google knows that machine learning and artificial intelligence needs to be more human. After all, 20 percent of the search engine’s queries come from users talking to Google Now. So, why not debut something that not only knows how conversations work, but to deliver results based on that conversation?Well, Google chief Sundar Pichai gave an answer to lead off the Google I/O keynote and that’s Google Assistant, a ...

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We may see an Android TV product from Xiaomi at Google I/O

Posted on by Jules Wang

More Chinese manufacturers are on their way to the US, though it’s still all for show at this point. ZTE has a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal, while Huawei’s still holding off on whatever improvements it may or may not have for the Nexus 6P. More relevant to this week’s events, Meizu is said to be

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Launcher Shortcuts not on Android N from launch, say sources

Posted on by Jules Wang

Decent pressure-sensitive UIs on mobile devices have been hard to remember to use — namely, Apple’s 3D Touch. Microsoft has its own idea on what to do and we know that Google has an inkling as well. But ...

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The Pocketnow Weekly Podcast 200th Episode Phone Giveaway!

Posted on by Juan Carlos Bagnell

Is Apple Music deleting your downloaded music? What does Lenovo have up its sleeve for the next generation of Motorola devices? What are we looking forward to at this Google I/O? Plus, we’re giving away TWO phones to celebrate TWO hundred episodes!We’ve been hard at work covering news stories and producing the next generation of phone reviews. We recently started a new series of videos delving deeper into camera performance and phone ...

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3 things we’re watching for at Google I/O 2016 (#io16)

Posted on by Jules Wang

T-minus five days … and counting.Google’s biggest developer conference of the year is happening at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, from May 18 to 20. If you weren’t lucky to be chosen to get tickets for the event, you can still grab a chair at one of the 471 (and counting) I/O Extended events. Better yet, you can stream select events live from the Google I/O app ...

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Google will ‘definitely’ announce standalone Android VR headset at I/O

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

It’s often hard to make heads or tails of rumors pertaining to upcoming software and hardware launches by Google, since the search giant is particularly secretive about its plans, not to mention crafty for bogus intel, and always capable of changing product roadmaps at the last minute.But you had to be a fool to think there was no truth to VR development gossip, with Samsung,

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Google Android Experiments rewards creative devs with free trips to I/O

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

It’s so easy for mobile development to fall into a rut: how many apps out there all seem like they’re just variations on the same thing, few offering much unique that helps them stand out from the crowd? Maybe you update your app every once in a while to deliver support for whatever new features the platform picks up with its latest release, but so does everybody else. In an effort to help push devs to to reach beyond “good enough” and create software that really innovates, inspires, and highlights the best of what Android can do, Google’s announcing its new Android ...

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Heads up, Android devs, Google I/O 2016 tickets are now available for lottery winners

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

There aren’t many tech companies that can charge people $900 for attending a developer-focused conference, and attract so much interest in their software products a raffle is needed to randomly select participants from the hordes of applicants.But Google I/O ticket demand has once again exceeded the capacity of the event’s venue, moved from the traditional San Francisco Moscone Center to the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, so even if you entered the lottery in time, and were lucky enough ...

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Google I/O 2016 registration window opens March 8, closes two days later

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

The information software developers have been waiting for is finally here. While we’ve known ever since January the dates and venue of this year’s Google I/O conference, registration application deadlines and ticket admission prices are only now official.There’s not much time left to raise $900, as the search giant will accept participation requests between 9AM PST on March 8 and 5PM PST on March 10. Obviously, attendance is limited, but signing up at the break of dawn next Tuesday won’t boost your chances of getting ...

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Google supposedly working on stand-alone VR headset, as well as next-gen sensor-laden Cardboard

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Google’s been making a big investment in virtual reality lately, and with all the reports we’ve heard of new VR hires, it hasn’t been hard to imagine that this interest might extend beyond the sort of relatively simple Cardboard viewer we have now. But just how far could Google be planning to go? A recent report suggested news could be coming at this year’s I/O, including a next-gen ...

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