Official Blog
News and notes from Android team
Voice Search arrives in 13 new languages
Thursday, August 16, 2012
“Norwegian restaurants in New York City.” I can type that phrase fast, but I can say it even faster—and when I’m on the go, speed is what I’m looking for. With Voice Search, you can speak into your phone to get search results quickly and easily. Voice Search is already available in 29 languages, and today, we're bringing support to 13 new languages for Android users—bringing the total to 42 languages and accents in 46 countries. In fact, 100 million new speakers can use Voice Search now, with the addition of:
Basque
Bulgarian
Catalan
European Portuguese
Finnish
Galician
Hungarian
Icelandic
Norwegian
Romanian
Serbian
Slovak
Swedish
Each new language usually requires that we initially collect hundreds of thousands of utterances from volunteers and, although we’ve been working on speech recognition for several years, adding these new languages led our engineers and scientists to tackle some unique challenges. While languages like Romanian follow predictable pronunciation rules, others, like Swedish, required that we recruit native speakers to provide us with the pronunciations for thousands of words. Our scientists then built a machine learning system based on that data to predict how all other Swedish words would be pronounced.
This update has already started to roll out, and will continue to do so over the course of the next week. How you get started with Google Voice Search depends on what kind of phone you have. If your phone runs Android 2.2 or later, and you see the microphone icon on the Google Search widget on your homescreen, all you have to do is tap the icon to start a voice-powered search. Otherwise, you can install the
Voice Search app from Google Play
. Note that you can only speak one language into the app at a time, and you may need to change your language settings to use one of these new languages.
As with other languages we’ve added, one of the major benefits to Google’s cloud-based model is that the more people use Voice Search, the more accurate it becomes.
Posted by Bertrand Damiba, Product Manager
Use any credit or debit card with Google Wallet
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
(cross-posted from the
Google Commerce Blog
)
Since we released the first version of
Google Wallet
, the app that makes your phone your wallet, we’ve made it available on
six phones from Sprint and Virgin Mobile
, as well as the new
Nexus 7 tablet
. We’ve also partnered with more than
25 national retailers
, and thanks to MasterCard PayPass, you can pay with your phone at more than 200,000 retail locations across the U.S.
Today we’re releasing a new, cloud-based version of the Google Wallet app that supports all credit and debit cards from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. Now, you can use any card when you shop in-store or online with Google Wallet. With the new version, you can also remotely disable your mobile wallet app from your Google Wallet account on the web.
A wallet with all your credit and debit cards
To save a card to Google Wallet, just enter the number into the mobile app,
online wallet
, or Google Play when making purchases. When you shop in-store, you can use Google Wallet in conjunction with your selected credit or debit card for purchases (
more info here
). Shortly after making a payment, you’ll see a transaction record on the phone with the merchant name and dollar amount. You can now view a history of all your in-store and online purchases from the
online wallet
.
To support all credit and debit cards, we changed our technical approach to storing payment cards. The Google Wallet app now stores your payment cards on highly secure Google servers, instead of in the secure storage area on your phone. A wallet ID (virtual card number) is stored in the secure storage area of the phone, and this is used to facilitate transactions at the point of sale. Google instantly charges your selected credit or debit card. This new approach speeds up the integration process for banks so they can add their cards to the Wallet app in just a few weeks. Banks that want to help their customers save cards to Google Wallet, including their custom card art, can
apply here
— there is no cost.
A wallet you can lock — and remotely disable
We take security very seriously and have always had a dedicated Google Wallet PIN to prevent others from making payments with your Google Wallet. And as always, we encourage Google Wallet customers to set up the phone’s screen lock -- as an extra layer of protection.
Today, we’re adding a Google Wallet security feature that makes it possible for you to remotely disable your mobile wallet on a lost phone. It’s easy. If you lose your phone, just visit the
‘Devices’ section in the online wallet
and select the phone with the mobile wallet you wish to disable. When you successfully disable your wallet on a device, Google Wallet will not authorize any transactions attempted with that device*. If the Google Wallet online service can establish a connection to your device, it will remotely reset your mobile wallet, clearing it of card and transaction data. There is no way you can do that with your leather wallet.
The new
Google Wallet app is available now on Google Play
, and if you have a
supported NFC device
and are in the United States, we encourage you to give it a try.
Posted by Robin Dua, Head of Product Management, Google Wallet
* For now, Google Prepaid Cards and some Citi MasterCard cards will remain active until Google Wallet can remotely connect and reset your mobile wallet.
Android @ I/O: the playground is open
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Last year at Google I/O, we talked about
momentum, mobile and more
. This year, we’re picking up right where we left off. More than 400 million Android devices have now been activated—up from 100 million last June. And twelve new Android devices are activated every every second—that’s more than 1 million a day. Today, we’re rolling out a new version of Android called Jelly Bean, adding more entertainment to Google Play, and introducing two powerful—yet distinctly different Nexus devices to bring you the best of Google.
Jelly Bean: simple, beautiful and beyond smart
Jelly Bean builds on top of
Ice Cream Sandwich
. It makes everything smoother, faster and more fluid. For example, notifications are now more dynamic: if you’re late for a meeting or missed a call, you can email or call directly from notifications. The keyboard is smarter and more accurate, and can predict your next word. And voice typing is faster, working even when you don’t have a data connection.
We’ve redesigned search from the ground up in Jelly Bean, with a new user interface and faster, more natural Voice Search. You can type your query or simply ask Google a question. Google can speak back to you, delivering a precise answer, powered by the Knowledge Graph, if it knows one, in addition to a list of search results.
Today’s smart devices still rely on you to do pretty much everything—that is, until now. Google Now is a new feature that gets you just the right information at just the right time. It tells you today’s weather before you start your day, how much traffic to expect before you leave for work, or your favorite team's score as they’re playing. There’s no digging required: cards appear at the moment you need them most.
Starting in mid-July, we’ll start rolling out over-the-air updates to Galaxy Nexus, Motorola Xoom and Nexus S, and we’ll also release Jelly Bean to open source.
Google Play: more entertainment
Google Play
is your digital entertainment destination, with more than 600,000 apps and games plus music, movies and books. It’s entirely cloud-based, which means all of your content is always available across all of your devices. Today our store is expanding to include
magazines
. We’ve been working with leading publishers Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith and more to offer magazines like
House Beautiful, Men’s Health, Shape
and
WIRED
.
Now, you can also purchase
movies
in addition to renting them. And we’re adding
television shows
on Google Play—in fact, we’re adding thousands of episodes of broadcast and cable TV shows, like "Revenge," "Parks & Recreation" and "Breaking Bad," from some of the top studios, like ABC Studios, NBCUniversal and Sony Pictures. You can play back movies and TV shows on all your Android devices, through Google Play on the web, and on YouTube, and soon we’ll bring the experience to Google TV devices.
Movie purchases, TV shows and magazines are available today on
play.google.com
, and will roll out to Google Play on devices over the coming days.
Nexus 7: powerful, portable and designed for Google Play
All of this great Google Play content comes to life on
Nexus 7
, a powerful new tablet with a vibrant, 7” 1280x800 HD display. The Tegra-3 chipset, with a quad-core CPU and 12-core GPU, makes everything, including games, extremely fast. And best of all, it’s only 340 grams, lighter than most tablets out there. Nexus 7 was built to bring you the best of Google in the palm of your hand. Hang out with up to 10 friends on Google+ using the front-facing camera, browse the web blazingly fast with Chrome and, of course, crank through your emails with Gmail.
Nexus 7 comes preloaded with some great entertainment, including the movie "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," the book “The Bourne Dominion,” magazines like
Condé Nast Traveler
and
Popular Science
, and songs from bands like Coldplay and the Rolling Stones. We’ve also included a $25 credit to purchase your favorite movies, books and more from Google Play, for a limited time. Nexus 7 is available for preorder today from
Google Play
in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia, and starts at $199 in the U.S. It will start shipping mid-July.
Nexus Q: It’s a sphere!
It's great to be able to take your entertainment with you wherever you go, but sometimes you want to ditch the headphones and enjoy music with friends and family. So we’re introducing
Nexus Q
, which combines the power of Android and Google Play to easily stream music and video in your home—all controlled by an Android phone or tablet. Designed and engineered by Google, Nexus Q is a small sphere that plugs into the best speakers and TV in your house. It’s the first-ever social streaming device—like a cloud-connected jukebox where everyone brings their own music to the party. Available first in the U.S., you can preorder Nexus Q today from Google Play for $299, and it will ship mid-July.
If you own one of the 400 million Android devices out there, you already know that it’s much more than simply a phone or tablet. It’s your connection to the best of Google—all of your stuff and entertainment, everywhere you go. Now you have a new version of Android, more entertainment and a growing portfolio of Nexus devices to choose from—all available in Google Play. The playground is open.
Posted by Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content
A new friend just moved into the neighborhood...
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
The statues on the front lawn of the Android building got a new friend this afternoon...
Also, you may have noticed we did a little redecorating. We’ve been asking you what content you wanted to see more of on the Google Mobile blog, and the answer was quite clear: more Android! This blog, in addition to the +Android page on Google+, will be your place to find all the latest news from the Android team.
See you tomorrow at I/O!
Posted by: Hugo Barra, Director of Product Management, Android
Shop and travel smarter with Google Maps 6.7 for Android - now with Google Offers and indoor walking directions
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
(Cross-posted on the
Lat Long Blog
)
Wherever you are, Google Maps for Android helps you get around and discover new places. Today with the
6.7 release
we will help you find offers from nearby businesses in the U.S. -- everything from restaurants, to salons, to city tours. Also, we’ve added indoor walking directions in the U.S. and Japan, plus 360-degree interior photos of businesses, to help you intrepidly make your way indoors and out.
Discover great offers near you
Today, in the U.S. only, we’re launching a way to discover nearby
Google Offers in Google Maps for Android
. To see great deals near you, tap on “Maps” to open the dropdown menu and then tap on “Offers.” If you see something you like you can click on it to learn more. Some Google Offers can be purchased and saved for later while others are immediately available for free. With free Google Offers, press “Use now” to redeem instantly or “Save for later” for future use. You can also opt-in to receive notifications in the app when there are offers near you.
Explore the great indoors with walking directions and Business Photos.
Since we launched
indoor maps
in the U.S. and Japan in Google Maps for Android last November, business owners have been adding their floor plans to our maps with
Google Maps Floor Plans
. Today, we are launching indoor walking directions for participating venues in these countries. This will help you get directions not only to a building’s front door, but also through those doors to the places where
you want to go inside
.
Get Indoor walking directions in indoor maps (photo: Macy’s San Francisco)
With
Google Business Photos
you can explore panoramic photos of the inside of a business from the palm of your hand. Now you can get a feel for a restaurant or store inside as well as outside using Street View technologies. To access these 360-degree panoramic views, look for the “See Inside” section on the Place page of select businesses.
See the interior of participating businesses with Business Photos (photo: Toyjoy)
Download Google Maps 6.7 for Android from
Google Play
, and use it as your trusted guide to help you find and discover places to eat, shop and play! You can also learn more about other great features on the
Google Maps YouTube channel
.
Posted by Benjamin Grol, Product Manager for Google Maps for Android
Galaxy Nexus now on sale in Google Play
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
We started shipping Nexus phones more than two years ago to give you a pure Google experience and access to the latest Android updates. Today, we’ve started selling Galaxy Nexus (HSPA+) from a new
Devices section
in the Google Play web store, so you can quickly and easily purchase an unlocked version of the phone. We want to give you a place to purchase Nexus devices that work really well with your digital entertainment.
Galaxy Nexus
by Samsung runs the latest Android software,
Ice Cream Sandwich
, with Google mobile services, Google Play and new
features
like Android Beam and Google+ mobile hangouts. It also offers a 4.65” HD Super AMOLED display that’s perfect for watching movies, playing games or reading books on the go.
First available in the U.S., Galaxy Nexus costs $399 and arrives at your door unlocked, without a carrier commitment or contract. You can use it on the GSM network of your choice, including T-Mobile and AT&T. It also comes pre-installed with the
Google Wallet
app which lets you easily make purchases and redeem offers with a tap of your phone. Best of all, we'll give you a $10 credit to get you started with your new mobile wallet.
We’ve come a long way since the first Android devices started hitting shelves three and a half years ago and since the launch of the first Nexus device. More than 300 million Android devices have been activated globally. We’ve worked with developers and content partners to launch Google Play, offering more than 500,000
apps
, millions of
songs
and
books
, and thousands of
movies
. And we’ve implemented new customer support services to improve the purchasing experience on Google Play. We’ve taken all of this into consideration in designing Devices on Google Play. We hope to bring it to more countries soon.
Posted by Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content
Google Currents goes international
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
In December we
launched Google Currents
, an
app
for Android and iOS devices that lets you explore online magazines and other content with the swipe of a finger. We’re thrilled by how many readers and publishers are using the app in the U.S.—nearly 400
publisher editions
and over 14,000 self-produced editions are now available.
After the U.S. launch, the top features readers requested were to make the app available internationally and to allow content to sync quickly. We’ve heard you, and today we’re making Google Currents 1.1 available around the world. Hundreds of U.S. editions are now readable in your preferred language with a new publisher-selected translation feature, and local publishers can begin adding their content to the catalog through
Google Currents Producer
. Plus, a new dynamic sync feature improves your reading experience with fresh content wherever you are.
Whatever you’re interested in—whether it’s science (
Popular Science, Scientific American, Space.com
), sports (
Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Surfer
), business (
Harvard Business Review, Inc.
), celebrities (
Celebuzz, HollywoodLife, Now magazine, TMZ
), health & wellness (
Men’s Health, Yoga Journal
), design (
Colossal, Dwell
) or news (
The Atlantic, PRI, Slate
)—it’s easy to find a great edition to read in Google Currents.
Read in more places
With this update, we’ve made Google Currents available globally, wherever apps are available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. International publishers, using Google Currents Producer, can now begin adding local content for an international audience, choosing where to make it available globally and whether to enable auto-translation. For example
The Guardian
in the UK,
LaStampa
in Italy,
Financial Times Deutschland
in Germany,
ABC News
in Australia,
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
in Switzerland and
Hindustan Times
in India have already started publishing editions with local content. Readers can also add their favorite local blogs which are instantly converted into Currents editions.
Read in your favorite language
To help you enjoy content in your preferred language, we’ve integrated
Google Translate
into Google Currents. Just press the globe icon while reading an edition, and you can automatically translate that edition to one of 38 supported languages. So it’s easier than ever to keep up with Italian and German sports (
Corriere dello Sport
, kicker.de), or read
Scientific American
, in your preferred language.
Read fresh content, automatically
With our new dynamic sync feature, you’ll always have fresh content to read. As you open each edition, new content is dynamically delivered, using a minimum of your phone or tablet's battery, bandwidth and storage. Those of you who travel on planes and trains can choose which editions you would like fully packaged for offline reading, including images.
Learn more about what’s new in Currents
here
.
Google Currents is now available for
download
on Google Play and in the Apple App Store, wherever apps are available. Whether you’re a reader or a publisher, we hope that Google Currents helps you easily experience the best content on the web, now in even more languages.
Posted by Mussie Shore, Product Manager
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