Saturday, October 29, 2016

Microsoft adds Undo and Redo to OneNote for Android.

Microsoft has updated OneNote for Android with some new features that will make your note-taking habits a lot easier. The most noteworthy addition is the ability to Undo and Redo things in OneNote and, as Microsoft puts it, "rewrite history". Additionally, this update lets users rename sections, re-enables support for auto-correct on the Google keyboard and the usual bug fixes and performance improvements.

Grab OneNote for Android for free in Google Play Store.

Friday, October 28, 2016

Quickly reply to Google Allo messages from your computer with Pushbullet.

Pushbullet is a nifty app that lets you reply to messages on your computer and it supports popular messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Kik etc. Today Pushbullet was updated with support for Google Allo. Users will be able to quick-reply to messages from their PCs.For that to work though, users must have the latest version of Allo, version 2.0, on their devices. Google has updated Allo on October 26th and it hasn't shown up on my devices yet. The quick reply feature means that you will only be able to reply with text, thus missing out the library of emojis and other features Allo has to offer in the app.

You can download the update for Pushbullet from Google Play Store even if you do not have Allo 2.0 yet.

Pocket Casts for Android now supports split-screen and icon shortcuts on Android Nougat.

My favorite podcast app for Android was updated today, adding support for Android Nougat split-screen and icon shortcuts. Owners of Nougat powered devices will be able to run it alongside other apps. Unfortunately, Pocket Casts still does not support split-screen on Samsung devices running Marshmallow and that is a bummer, considering Samsung is the market leader of the Android world. So if you have Nougat on your device, and that is currently limited to Nexus and Pixel devices, you're in luck. I don't really use the feature on my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, so I'm not missing anything.

This update also allow users to share their list of podcasts with other people. The change log states that you want to "pick out Rusty's Top 5 Rowing podcasts, or Jenny's Top 12 Jogging ones and share that with the world, you can now!". The last new added feature lets you use audio effects when streaming. This update also contains some Chromecast and playback fixes.

Download Pocket Casts in Google Play Store to enjoy your favorite podcasts.

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Microsoft Arrow Launcher for Android lets you choose your favorite search engine.

Seriously folks, if you haven't tried Microsoft Arrow Launcher yet, you are missing what probably is the best launcher around. This thing knows me better than I do. Arrow is not just a launcher. It brings your digital world within your fingers reach and constantly tracks your habits and adjusts to it. So your apps, friends, messages are there where you want them to be so you do not have to open apps to start a conversation. Again, try Arrow Launcher for at least a week and see it get better and get ready to just love it.

Microsoft is always updating the app and the latest one does add new features and improvements. The first one adds choice for your favorite search engine. Bing was the de facto search engine and with this update, Microsoft lets you choose your favorite search engine. 

Users of the launcher have enjoyed the ability to access our conversations through the Recent page without firstly launching the messaging app. Microsoft has improved this feature by adding support for more messaging apps without mentioning which ones.

Arrow Launcher also received some performance optimization making it "faster" and bug fixes for the badge notification count.

Again, give Arrow Launcher a shot. It is free for download in Google Play Store.

Evernote for Android updated with note statistics and camera auto-focus improvements.

I have been slowly gravitating away from Evernote and that move started before they implemented their new terms of service that only allows for the app to run on two devices and you have to go premium to enjoy Evernote across all your devices. I believe this move won't help Evernote gain more adoption when users can and have been migrating to Google Keep for its simplicity or Microsoft OneNote for its robustness. I use the latter on all my devices and have been happy ever since. With that said, let's see what Evernote has for its users in its new update.

Evernote was updated two days ago and it took its time to show on my Samsung. It's finally here with a new feature that gives users count statistics on their notes for words, character, line and paragraph. This is the only new feature.

The team also made some improvements to the camera auto-focus and squashed some bugs. 

Download Evernote for Android in Google Play Store.


Saturday, October 15, 2016

Google Clock update lets you set alarm and timers from your Home screen.

Google Clock for Android is a very simplistic app presented by Google as a "beautiful alarm clock for Android". Sure they haven't tried and used Timely, which in my opinion, is the most beautiful app of its kind. If you haven't tried Timely or simply never heard of it, get it in the store for free. You will love the beautiful UI and the smart rise feature. 

Google acquired Timely two years ago and I was thrilled thinking Google was going to use it to beautify its own apps or, at the very least, its own Clock app. While Timely is still available in the store, I can't remember when it was last updated nor has Google built stuff based on the beautiful design.

In today's update Google lets users use shortcuts to set an alarm  or start a timer right from the Home screen. The timers and stopwatches will also "keep running" after you restart your device.

Download Google Clock in the Play Store.


Google adds Android Nougat, multi-window support to its Calculator app.

How often do you use the Calculator app on your device? I don't use it much, but it's good to know it's right there should the need for it arises. Google has updated its Calculator and while it doesn't bring much in terms of new features, the very fact that it got an update is worth mentioning. Calculator app for Android has been updated with support for Nougat, Google's latest Android iteration which the company still refers to as "Android N" in the change log. With this update, Calculator joins the ranks of those apps that supports multi-window, one the new features added to Android Nougat. Google also added digit grouping for large numbers. As a side note, the Calculator app only has 5 million downloads in the store.

Grab the update in Google Play Store.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

SofaScore sports app adds all match statistics for NFL and Shoot map for NBA.

My favorite sports app on Android has been updated again with features that will please fans of the NFL and NBA. This update provides a lot of info, most of them statistics in regards to touchdowns, first downs, passing, and rushing. SofaScore also introduces team rosters, with player details and seasonal statistics.

On the NBA front, SofaScore added Shoot map, a graphical representation of positions players scored during a game. Certainly a feature that can be improved upon and become more lively.

Download SofaScore free in Google Play Store.