Category: App Update

The Google News & Weather app is one of those apps that doesn’t get a huge amount of airtime but it is actually a pretty good little app.  Curating news from over 65,000 sources, it gives you one touch access to headlines, sports, financial and world news quick and easy.  It is also pretty customizable to the content you are interested in seeing and this latest update, version 2.3 for those keeping score at home, brings one new feature that has been missing for a long time from the app:  Push Notifications for important news events.  As one who uses the app, it is a great new feature and for those who haven’t given it a go, it is certainly worth a look for your Android phone or tablet.

Google News & Weather app – Free – Download Now

We all have those apps that we can’t see how we would get along without them and for me, Transit App for Android is one of them.  The app provides bus, training and city bike information for a wide range of metro areas globally and given that I do not actually own a car I’m very reliant on buses, trains and what we call our B-Bikes.  That’s where an app like this one comes in handy and Transit App is in my opinion one of the best.

This week the makers of Transit App have released a new build of the app which brings an all important reminder feature so you know when your next bus or train is leaving or, more importantly, when the last bus or train is leaving so you don’t get stuck paying for a taxi home.  This latest update, version 3.7.1 for those keeping score at home, brings this easy-to-configure alarm along with some other improvements that bike riders will appreciate.

I should point out that Transit App isn’t just about public transportation but gives you all the options to get from point A to B including services such as Uber and Car2Go.

Transit App for Android – Free – Download Now

Google Fit, the activity tracking app that uses the GPS and accelerators in your Android Phone, has been updated with a raft of new features and functionality.  Chief amongst those updates is a new Home Screen Widget where you can quickly see your progress towards your daily fitness goals. The latest update is build 1.52.44-000 for those keeping score at home and it is certainly worth the update for those who use or are considering using the app.  If you aren’t familiar with it, Google Fit allows you to easily and accurately (especially with this update) track your steps, miles you have walked or run along with other activities which you can select to keep track of your activity levels.  While it isn’t going to give you the granular detail of say a Fitbit or Up!, it is certainly a great and free way to track your activity levels for a healthier lifestyle.

Google Fit for Android – Free – Download Now

Google has released an update to the Google Keyboard app for Android, the keyboard replacement app for phones and tablets.  Keyboard, like Google Messenger and Google Camera, are apps that Google has been harvesting out of Lollipop and releasing as stand alone apps.  As I posted a few weeks ago, this is great for the platform and apps like Keyboard gives everyone the opportunity to try it out without having to worry about Lollipop on their devices.  Personally I’m a big fan of Google Keyboard and highly recommend it.  This latest update, build 4.1.22123.2053724 for those keeping score at home, brings a lot of improvements on typing accuracy as well as significantly improved auto completion of words if you use the gesture typing the keyboard offers.

Google Keyboard – Free – Download Now

Major League Baseball has released an update to the MLB Ballpark app and while it is considered a dot-release, there are some significant new features in this update.  The biggest of these new features is a new journal section of the app where you can keep a record of your MLB stadium visits and games watched.  The updated build is version 4.2 for those keeping score at home (and yes, that’s a baseball term) and you will need to have a MLB.com account (which is free) to use the app on your Android Phone.

MLB Ballpark – Free (Account Required) – Download Now

Google has issued an update to the Google Maps app for Android, bringing with it the ability to send Google Maps search results on your PC to your mobile.  It gives you the best of both worlds: Search on your larger display PC then have that result show up on your mobile device.  The best part is you don’t really have to do anything to make all this work.  This new version, build 9.11.0 for those keeping score at home, is for both Android Phone and Android Tablet powered devices.

Google Maps – Free – Download Now