Articles about Google Play

To be first in line to download a new app, you need to be quick off the mark. You might hear about a game or app weeks ahead of launch, and it's all too easy to miss the launch date. You might be wondering why it has taken Google so long to do something about it.

For Android users this is now a thing of the past thanks to the introduction of pre-registration. The first title in Google Play to offer this is Terminator Genisys: Revolution. You can now register your interest in the game and you'll be notified when it is released and is ready for download.

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Despite the recent announcement by Google that it has introduced a vetting process on the Play store it seems that there are still rogue apps to be found.

Mobile security company Lookout has uncovered 13 apps with adware. Worse still these display malware-like characteristics that make them hard to remove. The company has alerted Google to the apps and they've already been removed from the store.

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For a long time now Google Play has been home to just about any sort of app imaginable. Apps covering every subject under the sun are available, with quality ranging from atrocious to incredible. To help sort the wheat from the chaff, Google has announced two important changes to the way apps appear in the store.

Apps that are submitted to Goole Play are now subject to a review process, and an age rating system is being introduced to help indicate the target audience for apps. Google says this will help to weed out "violations of our developer policies earlier in the app lifecycle".

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It seems like Google Play has been with us as long as Android, but in truth it hasn't, although that's only due to a name change for the store that was there from the start. Now the modern version of that store is celebrating a birthday. It's been three years since the relaunch of the app, which comes with most, but not all, Android devices.

In celebration of this momentous occasion Google is offering up some deals, and they span across all manner of things -- from apps and books, to movies and music. Steep discounts are being given for many things and a dedicated page in the store will give you the list.

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Google Play is supposed to be the safe place to download Android apps from, but that’s increasingly not the case. Three weeks ago security firm Avast detailed how it had found three popular Android apps riddled with Adware in Google’s store.

Today Bitdefender reports that it has found ten Google Play apps that are packed with aggressive adware that can do all sorts of nasty things.

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Google is shutting the door on its Helpouts service. Just two and a half years after launching the help and support extension to Hangouts, it has been decided that there just is not enough interest to warrant keeping it running.

Designed as a platform for experts to offer their paid service to people, Helpouts failed to gain the traction needed to make it viable. The shutdown will not take immediate effect, but there's quite a short deadline for users to seek out an alternative.

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If you want to steer clear of malware on Android, just stick to Google Play. I am sure you have heard this line before. And it makes sense, if you think about it, as Google subjects apps to security checks prior to approving them. So, it makes sense to hand out that piece of advice whenever new Android malware is discovered in the wild. But what if the malicious bits are found in Google Play itself? A change of tune is in order.

Security firm Avast details how three popular, seemingly harmless Android apps -- but, riddled with adware -- have been tricking users into visiting unwanted sites, installing other apps, to fix different non-existent issues, like fake malware infections, porn-filled storage (though, I have to say, it is far from an unlikely scenario, in some cases) and so on.

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Facebook is not exactly the lightest mobile app around. In fact, it is one of the worst offenders, no matter if we are talking about Android or iOS. It uses plenty of resources, both in terms of data and processing power. We may have gotten used to it by now, but these are major pain points in developing and emerging markets, where more and more potential users are going online for the first time.

There, lots of consumers are rocking low-spec Android devices and small cellular data plans, and the standard Facebook flavor is not a great match for them. So, the social network has finally released a lighter version of its Android app, called Facebook Lite, which promises to address those shortcomings. Let's take a look at it.

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Google Play is home to apps for every occasion, books to suit every mood, and movies and music for everyone. Today Google announces that Android Wear users can also download a makeover for their wrist wear from the digital store. Watch faces can now be downloaded from Google Play direct to your chosen wearable.

From the serious to the silly, the cheap-and-cheerful to the utterly stylish, you can transform the look of your smartwatch with just a few clicks. And now that the Watch Face API is available to developers, you can expect to see more and more faces popping up over the coming weeks and months.

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For Nokia to get any real traction with HERE outside of Windows Phone and its former brands, the Finnish company must make its app available to as many potential new users as possible. And that means offering it on the biggest mobile app stores around today -- Apple App Store and Google Play.

Today, Nokia is taking a step in the right direction by making HERE for Android available on Google Play. The app's availability on the largest Android app store comes more than three months after the initial launch, for Galaxy smartphones. HERE still sports the beta label, but continues to offer the same lovely features we have come to expect from it.

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This morning there was flurry of activity on Twitter as people became aware of the existence of a game called Ass Hunter on Google Play (link included for the sake of completion, although it's no longer active). There were snorts of indignation, incredulous shakes of virtual heads, and numerous cries for Google to pull the app without delay.

This has now been done. The game, which described itself as a "popular game on hunting gays", encouraged people to "play and do not be gay" is not new. The Android game is (or was) a port of a title that dates back almost a decade, and its appearance in the Play store highlights an important difference between Google's and Apple's app stores -- the vetting processes involved.

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I love me some music, and I love me some Google Play Music All Access. For real though, I use the search-giant's music service for multiple hours every day. Whether it is on my desktop, smartphone or tablet, I consume many songs with the service. Sure, other services like Beats Music and Spotify are good too, but All Access couples its large selection with an unrivaled visual style that makes the entire experience awesome. Heck, starting today, Android app begins using the super-sexy material design.

Unfortunately, with all streaming music services, media discovery can be tricky, as I often find myself listening to the same songs over and over again. While Google's genre-based and curated stations are a good way to discover, even that can be limiting. Today, Google turns it up to 11 and finally integrates features from its Songza acquisition into All Access. The result? Better discovery, plus music that matches a mood or task.

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Google is to pay out at least $19 million to Android users whose children were tricked into making expensive in-app purchases on smartphones and tablets. The Federal Trade Commission has been investigating mobile purchases for the last three years, and Apple agreed at the beginning of the year to a settlement. Amazon was also investigated and plans to appeal against the charges. In agreeing to repay the money, Google has effectively admitted that apps available in Google Play may be deceptive.

The brunt of the FTC case centers around the idea that it was not made clear to parents that their children would be able to make purchases within apps without authorization. Many of these in-app purchases are to be found in games where players are encouraged into parting with money in return for extra lives, game power-ups, or to unlock new levels. The FTC complained that since 2011 Google had indulged in unfair practices that left parents with bills of hundreds of dollars.

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Samsung makes great products -- you really can't go wrong with anything it makes; televisions, washing machines, tablets -- all wonderful. Sure, some people don't like the interface that the manufacturer uses for Android, but those people are just being whiny -- TouchWiz is fine. Just install Nova launcher if it bothers you that much.

Today, Barnes and Noble is releasing Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK. While Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets do not have standard Android or access to Google's Play Store, this new tablet does. In fact, it is essentially just the regular 7-inch Galaxy Tab 4 with the NOOK app pre-installed and some perks. So the question is, why does it exist?

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Google gains some control over the distribution of Android updates by pushing new features and changes directly through Google Play, quickly reaching a significant part of the user base without getting manufacturers and mobile operators involved in the process.

This is how Google Play Services 5.0, announced late last month at the I/O 2014 conference, is also making its way to Android users. The upgrade, which is rolling out now, targets both end users and developers, introducing new tools, features and APIs.

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