Preview Microsoft password-protected files in Google Drive.

No matter if you use Google Docs or Microsoft productivity suite, starting today, you will be able to preview Microsoft documents whether they're password protected or not. Going forward, when you open one of these files, you will be prompted for password and Google Drive will kindly oblige and upon entering the right password, Google Drive will open a read-only preview of the document. Not exactly what you're expecting, but i's a beginning. After all, Google is still playing catch up with Microsoft. This update does not apply to Android yet, but if you use Sheets on the web, then you're good to go.

Check out this update and preview password protected files on any Android devices. The update is available on Google Play Store.

Flipboard on Android won't play videos with sound unless you explicitly want it to.

Flipboard published a big update a few weeks ago and today, they're issuing a fix to a problem related to how videos are played in the app. Based on users feedback, Flipboard now will not auto-play videos with sound unless users actually tap to open and view the video. The videos in your feed will remain silent otherwise. So Flipboard users will enjoy the same experience as in apps like Twitter or Facebook where the videos will play without sound until you tap on them again.

A very welcome feature that has started rolling out in Google Play Store for you to download.

Google Play Developer Console now gives information about apps install base.

Google Play Developer Console is an app made for Android developers to get statistics about their apps install, uninstall and crash data. The app also provides detailed data about devices that have your apps installed. All in all, Google Play Developer Console is a very useful app for devs in their strategy to get their app on more devices. Today,  Google has updated the app with the "Devices" tab giving more information about the app's install base. Interestingly, I see that my Mauritius Holidays app has only one install on Android Nougat 7.1. While my app is certainly not a must-have app, that piece of statistic also means that Nougat has a long way to go before being the most popular Android version on current devices and for that to happen, manufacturers have to provide the update. Looking at you Samsung, my Galaxy Edge 7 still isn't on Nougat yet. 

If you're a developer, check out Google Play Developer Console in Google Play Store.

Google Sheets now supports rotated text, accounting number formats, thicknesses and double borders.

Not all can afford Microsoft Office or Office 365. Google, thankfully, offers a free option that works on the web, a Android phone and Apple's iPhone. While Google productivity apps do not match Microsoft's offer yet and is even far from it, it is still an alternative to consider with Google constantly adding new features to its productivity app. Today Google has updated Google sheets app with new features based on users feedback. 

Users will be able to rotate text in Google Sheets cells to fit long header names into thin columns. This feature only works on the web, meaning you cannot rotate text on an Android device. The rotated text will show on any Android device though.

Google also made it easy to add currency symbols within the same monetary cells amounts. Again, this feature is available only on the web version of Google Sheets. Additionally, users will get to choose several border styles, including thicknesses and double borders. This feature is available in Toolbar > Borders > Borders Style.  

Google also added the following features:

• Support for using a mouse with the Sheets Android app
• Ability to view and select existing custom colors in the Sheets Android app
• Ability to drag and drop rows and columns in the Sheets Android and iOS apps
• Formatting suggestions in Explore in the Sheets iOS app

Google Sheets is available free for download on Google Play Store.

Slowly but surely, Google is catching up with Microsoft offerings.

Source: Google

CNN redesigned its Android app and it's terrible.

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CNN has redesigned its Android app yesterday and I dare say, it is terrible for a news app. For this update, they went with a list of card-like views for each news category that require a lot of scrolling and patience for the big sized pictures to load; really, the new app does require a lot of scrolling vertically to read the news in each category and horizontally when you move between the ten tabs at the top. CNN says "the entire app has been rebuilt for speed, simplicity, in-depth story telling and a focused, first-in-class video experience". It's all but that. Now, this is my opinion and I suggest you make your own by updating or downloading the new CNN app for Android in Google Play Store. Do you like it?

Opera browser supports Facebook and Google sign in for syncing bookmarks, tabs and history.

Modern browsers allow users to sync their data to the cloud and easily restore them after reinstalling the browser. For that to work, Opera required users to create a Opera account in the settings of the browser. In the update published today, Opera no longer requires a Opera account to take advantage of that feature. Users will be able to sign in with their Facebook or Google account to sync their bookmarks, tabs and history. Opera states that "Facebook and Google is only used for authentication and simplifying the sign in process. No actual sync data is shared with the social accounts."  If that is not clear enough, say you're accessing your Gmail inbox within Opera, you will still be required to enter your Google password.

Support for Facebook and Google sign in is more widespread than a Opera account and that also means one less password for users to remember.

Check out Opera Browser for free in Google Play Store.

Telegram for Android updated with theme editor.

Telegram, the encrypted messaging platform for Android, has been updated today with support for themes. This update adds new default Dark and Blue themes which are accessible in Settings > Themes. If that is not enough, Telegram will also let users create their own themes using the new built-in editor. To do so, tap "Create New Theme" and give it a name. A color palette will appear after clicking OK; Pick one of the proposed themes to reveal the editor and customize it to your liking before sharing with the rest of the Telegram community. Users can also follow the @themes channel on Telegram for more ideas.

Get the update in Google Play Store.

Google Maps let users create Lists of favorite places to share with families and friends in new update.

Google Maps is getting more social thanks to an update that is yet to be published to Google Play Store. Google announced in a blog post that their maps app will soon let users save and share places they have been to with families and friends. All that is needed is for users to tap on the place name and "Save" to add the place to built-in lists like "Want to Go" or "Favorites. Users can also create their own. Once done, Google says that "to recall the lists you've created, go to Your Places (in the side menu) and then open the saved tabs."  Google made it easy to share these locations via text, email, social networks and messaging apps. On clicking the link, your families and friends can tap "follow" to see your list. 



Additionally, they made the lists viewable on desktop, mobile - Android and iOS - and offline. The latter feature will work after users download offline maps and the saved places will show on top of the maps.

This sounds like a nice update. Unfortunately, at the time I'm posting this, it is not available yet. Here's the link to Google Maps in the store so you can check.

Source: Google

Cloud storage service Box now supports unlocking via fingerprint on Android devices.

Box is one of many cloud storage service on offer for users to store their data and today, the app for Android was updated with support for finger unlocking, provided you have Passcode enabled. Box uses a 4 digits numeric passcode and when enabled, users have to type in that passcode every-time they open Box on their phones or tablets. As from today, users that have phones with fingerprint scanners will be able to unlock the app that way, making it faster to access the data they store on Box. The new feature is not enabled by default and can be activated in the settings of the app, under Security Settings.

Waze for Android now supports Google Smart Lock for faster login.

Waze has been updated today with support for Google Smart Lock, a feature that lets you sign back into the app without having to remember your Waze login details. I use Google Smart Lock for some of the apps on my phones; I call them the lesser-apps, meaning I do not care if a hacker cracks my password as I do not share sensitive data about myself with these apps and their developer. While Smart Lock is very useful when switching phones or after a factory reset, I prefer to keep sensitive passwords in my head. Just to be clear, I do not use any password manager app on any of my devices.  So what is Google Smart Lock?

Google Smart Lock is an app that will store your passwords on Google's secure servers. Say you have to reinstall Waze on your device, you won't have to remember your password, Google Smart Lock will handle that for you and restore your data.

This update also includes a new way to see if you have new messages and Waze friends online. Those will show up in the "Waze menu navigation list."

Check out the full changelog below and head over to Google Play Store to download or upgrade Waze.