Google Messenger: The Latest Messaging App

Google has released Lollipop Messenger app, the new Google Messenger app will ship on Android 5.0-powered devices like the Nexus 6 in addition to Hangouts, giving folks the option to choose whether to integrate SMS into Hangouts or not. For those that are curious enough to try out the app now, the APK has been unofficially made available and seems to work just fine on Android 4.4 KitKat.

As you can see, the app is very minimalistic in design and follows the Material Design guidelines that you’d expect from a new Lollipop app. If you’re coming from a fresh install without imported messages, you’ll have nothing more than a blank screen on the main page, though as you add conversations they’ll populate here. As with many other apps, your contacts with either have an associated photo or a colored circle with a the first letter of their name.

If you're not a fan of using Hangouts on stock Android to send and receive an SMS then don't worry, the Android 5.0 Lollipop, Google has included a new messaging application for SMS & MMS bearing the features of Material Design. And best of all - you can download it today! Messenger is now available for install from the Google Play Store.

Key features:

• Faster sharing: Select or take pictures and videos directly from the app and share easily. You can even send audio messages to your contacts.
• Easy search: Search through contacts and conversation threads to find exactly what you are looking for.
• Purposeful design: New, fluid, material design that is intuitive and delightful.
• More control: Ability to block SMS senders. No interruptions when you don’t want them!
• More features: audio messages, emoji support 😃, colored text threads, message archiving and more.

Messenger is supported on devices running Android™ 4.1, Jelly Bean, and above.

Nexus 6: Do-Anything-And-Everything Tablet Replacement

Nexus 6

As the first plus-size smartphone from Google, the Nexus 6 isn't a simple upgrade from the Nexus 5. Motorola-made Nexus 6 in those terms -- as a do-anything-and-everything tablet replacement -- then it's a fantastic device. With a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 805 processor, a gorgeous quad HD display, a nimble camera that can take ultrasharp photos, and that large screen, the Nexus 6 gives you more room for things you really do on a smartphone, mainly checking email, browsing the Web, watching movies and taking pictures.

That said, even as other manufacturers rush to build larger phones, the jump to the Nexus 6 is a debatable move on Google's part. Size does matter, and by breaking from companies like Apple and Samsung that make both phone and phablet models of what is essentially the same handset, Google risks alienating users who consider it too big (it's heavier and wider than other big smartphones) or who don't want to pay the $650-plus premium to buy it.

The Nexus 6 is a smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility, running Android Lollipop 5.0. It was first announced on October 15, 2014.

Display: 5.96" 1440×2560 pixel (493 ppi) Quad HD AMOLED display

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 - Quad Core 2.7 GHz

Cameras: 13 MP rear camera with f/2.0 lens featuring OIS; 2 MP front camera

Battery: 3220 mAh with Turbo Charging technology

GPU: Adreno 420

Storage: 32 or 64 GB

RAM: 3 GB

Speakers: Dual front facing stereo

• The Good: The Google Nexus 6 has a razor-sharp and expansive display, a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 805 processor, the latest Lollipop OS and an OIS-equipped camera that takes great outdoor photos.
• The Bad: The Nexus is heavier and wider than most big smartphones, and its call volume is low on audio speaker. And it's the most expensive Nexus yet.
• The Bottom Line: Although the Nexus 6 trails the slimmer Samsung Galaxy Note 4 in processor performance and native productivity features, it's still the most powerful pure Android handset available and the largest Nexus yet.

Tether Your Laptop To Your Android Phone

If you’re away from your office and not able to use a dedicated 3G/4G modem or rent the use of a secure WiFi hotspot then your Android smartphone offers two ways for your laptop computer to access the internet so you can check email, VPN into your corporate computer network or complete online checkin for a flight.

Note: The usefulness of Portable WiFi Hotspot and Tethering functionality depends very much on the signal strength, reliability and speed of the 3G/4G data network used by your Android mobile phone. We have used it at remote office locations where there was only 2G mobile data and it took 10 minutes to send a small email attachment as well as in large cities where hundreds of megabytes of files were transmitted within a few minutes using a 4G mobile network.

• Portable WiFi Hotspot– Wirelessly connects your laptop to your Android smartphone so the laptop can access the internet. The advantage is no cable is required. The disadvantage is that it uses a lot of your phone battery, so how long you can use it depends on the charge level of your phone battery when you start.

• Tethering – A MicroUSB cable is used to connect your phone’s microUSB port to one of your laptops USB ports. The advantage of this method is that your phone battery gets depleted slower when tethered compared to used as a hotspot, as the phone recharges from the laptop battery. The disadvantage is that you have to carry a microUSB cable in your laptop case.

The following instructions are for the Samsung Galaxy S II running Android 2.3.X Gingerbread version.

Setting up a Portable WiFi Hotspot

• Open the Settings menu
• Choose the Wireless and network option
• Choose Tethering and portable hotspot at the bottom of screen
• Choose Portable Wi-Fi hotspot settings

• Read the introduction to WiFi hotspots and tick "do not show again"
• For Network SSID choose a unique name for your WiFi hotspot, not too long in length or commonplace a word
• Select WPA2 PSK for Security level
• Choose a good password. Not the word "password" or the same as your Network SSID.
• Save. Your WiFi Hotspot is now active with the checkbox ticked.
• Turn on your laptop or other device that needs WiFi and search for nearby WiFi networks
• Choose the Network SSID name you chose eg: "Sams hotspot"
• Enter the password you chose and Connect.
• Your laptop should now be connected to the internet wirelessly using your Android smartphone's 3G/4G data access.
• When finished using the WiFi go back into the Android Wireless and Network settings and untick the checkbox for the WiFi Hotspot.

Setting up Tethering

• Open the Settings menu
• Choose the Wireless and network option
• Choose Tethering and portable hotspot at the bottom of screen
• Find your Micro USB cable, connect one end of the cable to your Android smartphone and the other end to the USB port of your laptop (which is already on and logged in to Windows/Mac OSX).
• Your laptop may now install some drivers (special software) to be able to communicate with the Android smartphone. If this fails contact your laptop help line, abandon tethering process and use the Portable WiFi Hotspot process instead.

• The USB Tethering option on the Android smartphone screen should now be un-greyed and say "USB Connected. Tick to tether"
• Tick the checkbox
• Tethering is now active
• Your laptop should now be connected to the internet through the microUSB cable using your Android smartphone's 3G/4G data access.
• When finished go back into the Android Wireless and Network settings and untick the checkbox for Tethering.
• Unplug the microUSB cable from your phone and laptop, store it away safely in your laptop case.

Caution: Some mobile phone carriers (especially US carriers) block Android tethering and/or portable WiFi hotspot functionality, unless you pay them an extra monthly fee. Other mobile phone carriers such as those in Australia allow Android phones on their network to be tethered or used as portable WiFi hotspots without extra charge. Call your carrier to check if they allow Android phones on their network to use tethering and WiFi for free.

Credit: Courtesy of  beready.net

Android L: The Latest Android Version

During the launch of the Nexus 6, Android Lollipop was officially confirmed as the name for Android 5.0.

The Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 are Google's first devices to come with Android Lollipop, but these aren't the only Nexus products which will get the latest sweet treat.

Android 5.0 "Lollipop" is the latest version of the Android mobile operating system developed by Google. Unveiled on June 25, 2014 during Google I/O, it became available through official over-the-air (OTA) updates on November 12, 2014.

Breaking out of the mold from previous releases, Google took to the stage during its Google I/O developer conference to announce a new version of Android, dubbed simply "Android L." In October the name was finally released as "Lollipop" and given the distinction of Android 5.0. The name comes from the Android naming convention that goes in alphabetical order, where L would follow the previous release, KitKat. The difference this time around being that Google released certain parts of the OS ahead of time under the "Android L" name to get it in developers' hands, and released the naming later.

Android 5.0 Lollipop comes with yet another interface design tweak, this time coming with the name "Material Design." The design language builds heavily on some of the interface experimentation Google has done with Google Now, leveraging the "card" metaphor throughout the Lollipop interface. Cards of various colors and sizes appear throughout the system, with different colors and shadows providing a feeling of depth in the interface. Apps can respond to touch with different shadows and ripple effects to make the interface feel as though it is being manipulated directly by users, and bold new colors palettes give apps distinctive personalities. Animations are supposed to reflect user interaction, not just happen at random.

Under the hood in Lollipop are dozens of new features and over 5000 new APIs that developers can plug into as well. Things like new notification hooks to work with Android Wear, better control over battery with Project Volta and cross-platform compatibility with Chrome OS devices are huge pillars of Android Lollipop.

The first builds of Android L were distributed to developers at Google I/O 2014 with factory images made available for both the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7, and then launched officially with the release of the Nexus 6 phone and Nexus 9 tablet.