Google Translate improves offline translation by 12% and transliteration by 20%.

The language barrier is a problem when traveling, but apps like Google Translate makes it a bit easier to read road signs and even engage in short conversations with locals. Add to that offline translation and you get the perfect translation tool in case you do not have a data plan or you're in an area where the internet is spotty. Google Translate has long offered offline translation, but it was not a great experience in some cases. According to Google, the experience just got more accurate by 12% "with improved word choice, grammar, and sentence structure." Sami Iqram said in a blog post that "some languages like Japanese, Korean, Thai, Polish, and Hindi the quality is more than 20 percent." And there's more.

Enter Transliteration. This tool helps spell and pronounce words that are written in a script you do not understand. As an example, "when you translate “hello” to Hindi, you will see “नमस्ते” and “namaste” in the translation card where “namaste” is the transliteration of “नमस्ते.” Google Translate supports transliteration for the following languages: Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telegu, and Urdu.

You can download Google Translate in the Play Store.

OnePlus announces new bug bounty program and partnership with HackerOne.

After suffering two data breaches in its history, OnePlus is today launching a new bug bounty of its own that will pay between $50 up to $7000 dollars to security professionals who discover threats to its security systems. To make this happen, OnePlus created the Global OnePlus Security Response Center, which, the company says, "will engage academics and security professionals to responsibly discover, disclose and remediate issues that could affect the security of OnePlus' systems...". Security professionals can find details about the programs by visiting this website. OnePlus said a public version of the program will be available next year.

OnePlus also announced that it is partnering with HackerOne which will start as a pilot program. Select researches will be invited "to test out OnePlus' systems against potential threats." 

It's great to see OnePlus taking the security of its systems seriously to prevent any future mishaps.

Source: OnePlus

Microsoft Launcher 5.9 brings live update to "your original calendar app icon." (Whatever that means.)

Microsoft posted an update today for their Android Launcher. The update has me confused though. The changelog says this: "Live date update is now available on your original calendar app icon, and Microsoft Launcher calendar icon is also updated with a cleaner look."

My "original calendar app" is Google calendar and the app icon is live. In case you're wondering what's a live icon, it's simply an icon that shows you today's date. In other words, this is a feature built into Google Calendar and has been there for a while, like forever. So I really don't know what Microsoft is referring to. Let me know if I'm missing something.

So there you have it. Version 5.9 of Microsoft Launcher for Android brings you live calendar app icon. And the icon has a cleaner look. 

Microsoft Launcher is available for free in Google Play store.

Microsoft Outlook for Android will soon let users RSVP from their lock screen.

Microsoft released an update today for Outlook on Android that lets users quickly RSVP to meeting requests right from the notification on the lock screen, thus circumventing the need to unlock the phone first. However, at the time I'm writing this post, only the changelog has been updated.

After installing the update on my OnePlus 6T, I decided to test the new RSVP feature. I created a test event on my iPhone and sent an invite to my Outlook.com account. The event did show up in my OnePlus notification on the lock screen but without the 'RSVP' feature. Only 'Accept', 'Decline', and 'Tentative" were there. The RSVP feature is still in the invite email.

I'm not sure why the new feature is missing after installing the update or maybe a Microsoft employee forgot to toggle that server switch. Anyway, check it out in Google Play store. The 'RSVP' button will eventually show up.

WHAT'S NEW

RSVP to meeting invites in the moment! The next time you're invited to a meeting you can RSVP right from the push notification on your lock screen.

Microsoft Outlook now lets users easily compress videos to avoid attachment limit.

Sending attachments in emails can be a frustrating experience because of the size limitations imposed on us by the service providers. All of them - Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo - have the same limitations and while they may sometimes frustrate us, users, these limitations exist to save precious storage and bandwidth. Currently, the attachment size limit in Outlook is a measly 34 MB. If sending from OoneDrive, the size gets bumped up to 2 GB. However, Microsoft Outlook for Android has decided to give its users some slack.

The latest update to Microsoft Outlook allows users to send videos that exceed the attachment limit by compressing them. The app now has an option to easily compress the videos before sending them. I'm sure some will welcome this new feature. Personally, it does not make a difference as I always upload whatever I need to share to my OneDrive and send a link to it to my recipients.

The update is available for download on Google Play store. Check it out.

Google One will now automatically backup your phone data.

Google One cloud storage went live last year offering a paid storage for backing up phone data to the cloud. Starting at $1.99 per month, users are offered storage options ranging from 100GB to 30TB to save messages, photos, videos, and contacts online in case disaster strikes. 

Yesterday Google announced in a blog post they're improving the service. Besides the standard features mentioned above, Google One will now automatically backup your phone. In addition, the service will backup original quality photos, videos, and multimedia messages (MMS). And users will be able to manage all that on their Android devices from the Google One app.

Google said, "With Google One, you already get more storage for your photos, videos, and documents—giving you the peace of mind that your memories and important files are stored in the cloud. Now with automatic phone backup, we're taking another step in helping you keep the stuff you care about safe." 

Source: Google

How to: Send web pages from Chrome desktop to your Android phone and vice-versa.

Before diving in, first verify you have the latest version of Chrome installed on your computer and phone, and that you use the same Google account on all your devices. Using the same account is key to synchronizing such things as tabs, favorites across all your devices.

The ability to send tabs or web pages from a device to another is recent. Google took its time to implement, test, deploy the feature, but it’s been available through extensions and third-party software.

I'm going to show you how to send pages to and from your Android device. But first, you have to download and install the latest version of Chrome for Android an all your devices. Once that is done, open a website on your computer in Chrome. Then, with your mouse, right-click on the tab and select "Send to your devices". In doing so, you will see the devices on which you signed in with your Google account. Select the device you want to send the site to. You will receive a notification with the title of the website and the name of the computer from which it was sent on your phone. Tap the notification on your phone to open the page.

Like I said earlier, this works both ways. If for some reason, you want to send a page from your phone to your computer, follow these steps.

Open the site on your Android device. Then click the three vertical dots at the top-right corner and click "Share..." to open the share menu. In the menu, click "Send to your devices" - that's the icon with the Chrome icon - and click the device listed in the "Send to" menu. Click the notification in the "Action Center" on your Windows 10 computer to open the site.

It's as simple as that. I love this feature.

Google Docs for business now displays word count as users type.

Starting today, Google will be rolling out a minor but very useful update to Google Docs for businesses that will give users the ability to view their word count live while working on a document. This feature can be extremely useful if you're limited to a certain number of words in the document you're drafting.

Word Count has been available in Google Docs for a while, it just wasn't handily available and required users to stop typing, dive into the menus to fetch the data. "Instead of going to Tools > Word Count each time you want to view this information, now, you can simply select Tools > Word count > Display word count while typing to continuously display it in the lower-left corner of your doc.", Google wrote in a blog post.

There's more. Clicking on the Word Count box will provide additional information like page count, character count, and even counts per section of the document.

As I said above, the update is gradually rolling out and is intended for business users. Google did not say if Word Count is coming to home/mobile users.

Source: Google

How to: change the background color of the Google Search widget on Android.

By default, the Google Search widget on Android phone and tablet has a white background. But thanks to Android openness when it comes to customization, it is possible to change the color to your liking and the steps to do so is very simple. Just follow through and you'll be able to customize the search bar to your liking.

If it's not already the case, add the Google Search widget to your home screen.

• Press and hold in an empty space on your Home screen.
• Tap Widget at the bottom of the screen.
• Scroll down until you find Google Search in the list.
• Tap and hold, then drag the widget to your Home screen and release.
• That's it. Now you have the Google Search Widget on your screen.

The next step is to customize the widget with the color you like.

• Tap the Google Search bar to open it.
• Tap "More", then "Customize widget".
• Tap the color palette. That's the third icon from the left.
• Tap the edit icon. That's the first icon from the right.
• Use the color sliders to choose the colors you want. The sliders let you mix the colors to get different color gradients.
• Tap Done when you made your choice.
• Go back to the Home screen and admire your work.

That's pretty easy. You may go back through these steps anytime to change the color to, say, match your mood.

Official Premier League app for Android updated with 2019/20 Fantasy Premier League season.

Originally created in 1971 by Bernie Donnelly, Fantasy football is a game in which participants assemble an imaginary team of real-life players and score points based on those players' statistics; and this is still a thing 45 years later in a variety of sports. With the Premier League starting in August, the Premier League app now includes the 2919/20 league game. So if you're into Fantasy League, hit that update button in Google Play Store on your device. I can't wait for the Premier League season to begin.

Microsoft Launcher for Android now supports Adaptive Icons; restores hidden dock.

Microsoft has updated its Launcher app for Android today and if you're using it on your device, it's worth a look. This new version introduces adaptive icons. Adaptive icons, as the name suggests, adapt to any shape or size on your device. Almost all launchers available on Android supports this feature making all app icons on your devices look the same, standardized. It's great to see Microsoft follow the trend and make its Launcher app much more pleasant and neat.

Additionally, this update restores the hidden dock. I'm not sure why it was removed in the first place, but it's back and Microsoft lets you hide the dock if you want to and still be able to access your apps and widgets.

Microsoft also made some UX adjustments which the company says will allow users to access "shortcuts when the home screen is locked."

Now, if you don't want to set Microsoft Launcher as your default, this update will still let you get notification badges for calling and messaging apps. However, if you want better accuracy, Microsoft recommends setting Launcher as your default assistant.

Microsoft Launcher is a neat launcher or assistant for your Android device. Sure there are other launchers out there, but Microsoft Launcher stands out for its simplicity. Do check it out if you're not using it yet. It's available free in Google Play Store.

Opera browser for Android now comes with a free VPN built right into it.

I use Opera browser on my Windows Computer and the reason for that being that the browser comes with a VPN built right into it. A VPN allows users to browse the Internet in a secure way and I strongly recommend you use one when connected to a public network. Unfortunately, not all browsers offer this feature. But that changes today thanks to Opera. Users won't need to subscribe to a third party VPN.

Opera had a free dedicated VPN app for Android back in 2016. However, the app was shutdown in 2017. Two years later, Opera is now offering the VPN functionality right into the Opera browser for Android; which, if you ask me, is awesome.

Turning on the VPN is very easy. Simply tap the new VPN icon at the top left corner of the browser and toggle it on. It's as easy as that. As with the dedicated app, The VPN feature remains free to use.

The new VPN feature is available in version 51 of the app. The update is available in some countries to download. But it's not available yet in Mauritius at the time I'm writing this post. Do check out in Google Play Store as the update gets gradually rolling out. Safe browsing to you all.

SofaScore introduces graph with monthly average player ratings in latest update for Android.

Today SofaScore published an update to its Android app that should make stats geek happy. The app already offers a myriad of built-in tools for users to keep track of their favorite teams and players performance. In today's update, SofaScore introduces graph with average player ratings per month, the ability to switch players with a simple swipe, and more. See the full changelog below for details.

• Graph with average player ratings per month (in player details). Tap on the graph to change between number of matches and average rating.
• Swipe left or right to change the player in pop-up (from lineups and box-score).
• Dropdown menu for easier selecting statistics in "top players" and "top teams".
• "Matches" tab in Manager page.
•  "Media" tab in Motorsports.

The update is available for download in Google Play Store.

Formula 1 app for Android updated with new leadership board for 2019 season.

We're a week away from the beginning of the 2019 seasons and the official Formula 1 app for Android has been updated based on fan feedback. At least, that's what the app "What's New" says.

The app has been redesigned with an optimized live leadership board. With that, users will be able to see more drivers data. I haven't seen what this change brings yet as I haven't downloaded the update yet. And I'm not even sure it will show more driver data. But I'll keep you posted next week after the new season begins.

This update will also allow fans to track driver data with a split screen of the live leaderboard data. Just select a driver and the app will display the driver's data in the other half of the screen. A much welcome addition.

That's all about it for now, but I expect to see another update before the Melbourne GP. The app has yet to be updated for the year 2019 calendar. So expect another update during next week.

In the meantime, download the Formula 1 app update in Google Play Store.

SofaScore for Android now provide links to similar tournaments and detailed Baseball match statistics.

You're a sports fan and away from a TV set while your favorite sport is live on TV, SofaScore is the app you need on your Android device to follow the games and should the name be any indication, SofaScore will bring live scores to your device as well as short videos of the actions. Since SofaScore covers pretty much of any sports, I strongly recommend you download it.

The app was updated today with the following new features:

• In tournament details, we have added links to similar tournaments (other league groups or tournaments on the same division level).
  
• Match statistics in Baseball are now divided to batting, pitching and fielding.

Check out SofaScore in Google Play Store.

SoloLearn, the free learn to code app, now supports App shortcuts.

Learning to code takes time and a lot of practice but that shouldn't deter you from trying. It's similar to learning any spoken language - the more practice you have, the better. And I believe any kid and adult today should learn to code. If you're asking yourself where to start, I have an easy answer for you. Android has a lot of learning apps in the store and there's two that I can recommend and SoloLearn is one of them.

SoloLearn gives you a wide choice for you to pick from as a beginner. You can easily pick among various coding languages such as C++, C#, Java, SQL, HTML5 etc. With SoloLearn on your device,  you can learn wherever you are and compare your progress with other members of the community and exchange ideas them, making the learning experience fun and engaging.

Whether you're a kid or not and want to start coding, SoloLearn is your starting point. The app will track your progress and even deliver a certificate at the end of the course that you can print out and add to your CV.

In the latest update, the app adds support for App shortcuts. Users will be able to create shortcuts to their courses, actions, and more. This update also includes the usual bug fixes and improvements. Download it in Google Play Store and start learning.

F1 TV Pro now available in Cyprus, Greece, Malta, and Portugal.

We're a month away from the 2019 F1 season and the Android app has been updated today. Fans of the sport in Cyprus, Greece, Malta, and Portugal will be able to watch the races on their devices by purchasing an F1 TV Pro subscription. The ability to watch live races on Android phones and tablets was released last year in a few countries. It's great to see the offer being extended to more countries.

This update also allows users to stream live races on the F1 TV app. Previously, this was only possible on the F1 app. If you live in one of the above-mentioned countries, download the Formula 1 app in Google Play Store.

New Microsoft Launcher Beta update introduces daily rewards cards and more.

Today Microsoft has released another update for Microsoft Launcher beta on Android. For users who installed the beta version, Microsoft added a daily deal card that allows users to earn rewards for using Microsoft Launcher and "completing other tasks."

This beta version of Microsoft Launcher also introduces the following features:

• Non-full screen folders for easier one-handed use and large-screen devices.
• Long-press shortcuts enabled on icons even when the home screen is locked.
• Customers can send a CPU profile through "Contact Us" in Settings in case of performance issues.
• Launcher font size will now respect the system font size.

These features are currently available in the beta version of Microsoft Launcher. Anyone can join as a beta tester by signing in on the app's page in Google Play. If you'd rather wait, it should not take long for the features to reach the release version of the app.

Beta testers can download the update on Google Play.