Now that Google I/O is wrapping up here in San Francisco and we finally have a chance to take a minute and breathe, we decided to sit down and do an overview of the new Google Play Music app along with its accompanying All Access service. Announced on Wednesday as a subscription-based Pandora and Spotify competitor, All Access is an important piece to the media puzzle for Google. The future of music appears to be in streaming services. 

So in the video below, we try to walk through it all, from starting radio stations to saving music to your library to navigating around this beautifully designed app.

Keep in mind that All Access is currently available as a 30-day free trial, but will jump up to $8 per month after the trial ends. Also, that $8 price is only good as long as you continue your subscription or sign-up before June 30. Once June 30 hits, the service will run $10 per month. If you sign-up for the free trial, you will be automatically billed once the trial ends, so should you not want to get charged, be sure to cancel it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video: Overview of New Google Play Music and All Access is a post from: Droid Life

We have heard rumors up until this point, but today during their keynote, Google made their new streaming music service official. Google Play  Music “All Access” gives users the ability to search through Google’s huge amount of songs and the ability to play them instantly. An all new UI allows you to swipe away songs if you don’t want them and the ability to make radio stations instantly based on one song. The price of this new streaming service is $9.99 per month, but everyone gets a 30 free trial. If you are an early adopter and sign up before June however, your price is only $7.99.

The I/O keynote is still going on, come and join us!

Update:  The service is now live! Get to it here. 

Google Announces Google Play Music “All Access” for $9.99 Per Month (Updated: It’s Live) is a post from: Droid Life

We’re at the Google I/O keynote and Google just announced their new Google Play game services which include cloud save, achievements, and leaderboards. They also announced that it will be cross platform, so that iOS users can take advantage. As if those new, awesome features weren’t enough, Google+ sign-in has been integrated into this service and once games are installed with this API you can invite friends from your circles on G+ and they will receive notifications to join directly into your game. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as we learn more about this new awesome service.

If you are not there already, join us in our liveblog to watch the event!

Google Announces Google Play Game Services With Cloud Save, Achievements, and Leaderboards Across Platforms is a post from: Droid Life

Well, Google Play Games has been confirmed by a number of app updates before the Google I/O keynote has even started. As you can see in the changelog for the update to TripleTown (and Modern Combat 4 below), we’re getting “Google Play game services” that include leaderboards and achievements as long as you sign into the game with your Google+ account. 

More to come!

Be sure to tune into our liveblog of the keynote, with live video feed.

Cheers @cjohnson481 and Manny!

Multiple App Updates Confirm Google Play Games and G+ Integration for Apps, Leaderboards, and Achievements is a post from: Droid Life

As we approach Google I/O’s keynote tomorrow, all sorts of changes are beginning to happen in and around the world of Android. We just saw the new Google Play store version 4.1.6 go up and become available for download. It features a tweaked section button experience from the home page, new Wishlist appearance, and spaced out buttons on app pages. Following that news, we have the new Google Play Services app version 3.1.36 that includes new toggles for “App Data” and “People Details.” 

You don’t need to download this manually, as yours has likely already updated behind the scenes. While it’s tough to tell exactly what we are looking at in terms of these two sections, it seems sort of obvious, doesn’t it? App data syncing could range from having all of your apps synced across multiple devices to being the center of the new cloud gaming service that we are expecting to see tomorrow. Rather than having to worry about manually backing up your devices, this could be Google’s way of handling it automatically.

And as far as the People Details section goes, we’re assuming this ties into Google+ and whether or not you have your contacts synced with your Google+ account. Should you be using Google+ with your contacts, I would imagine this syncing option will keep your contacts up-to-date with G+ profiles.

It doesn’t seem as if you can currently take advantage of any of this, but that could change by the early morning hours of tomorrow.

App Data and People Details Syncing Now in Google Play Services is a post from: Droid Life

A day ahead of the Google I/O keynote, an update is rolling out to Google Play, version number 4.1.6. Inside the update is a new look for the home buttons (Apps, Games, Movies, etc.), giving them a more colorful appearance. On top of that, it appears that each application page is laid out better, with the  ”open” and “install” buttons being separated a bit more. In the previous version, they were a bit cramped and I know we voiced our minor frustrations about that during one of our DL Shows. 

Users who use the Wishlist feature will also see a new layout for that, as apps now appear as rows of three from left to right, instead of just top to bottom.

If you would like to download the newest version, hit up the download links below and install it right over your current version.

Download: Google_Play_4.1.6.apk [mirror]

Via: Android Police

Google Play Updated to Version 4.1.6, Brings Sporty Looking Home Buttons is a post from: Droid Life

The value of comments anywhere on the internet can range from very bad to very useful. When it comes to Google Play, the best way to get feedback on an application is to read the reviews from the people who have actually used it. To cultivate more interaction in reviews, Google now allows all app developers on Google Play to respond to reviews on their applications. 

Google has been testing this feature with certain developers for a while now and has received enough good press that they feel ready to roll it out to everyone. Google says that this allows developers to more easily “identify and prioritize bugs, reply constructively to both negative and positive reviews and to get ideas about new improvements or features.”

If you are a developer, check your Google Play Developer Console to find the new reply feature.

Via: Android Developers

Google Now Allowing All App Developers to Respond to Play Reviews is a post from: Droid Life

One of the bigger surprises to come out of last year’s I/O keynote was the announcement of the Nexus Q. The spherical entertainment system was meant to bring Android and Google Play right into your living room, but for the price of $300 many weren’t sure if it was worth it for what it did. After only a month of sale, Google put the Q on hold indefinitely and now with I/O coming up again, rumors are contradicting each other over whether or not the Q might be given a second life. 

Today, AllThingsD published a story  that has sources familiar with the matter saying that the device will not be seeing any press this year. However, everything that we have been hearing from sources says that the Q will be getting some sort of re-vamp at this year’s I/O. Hints of a link to Google’s new Gaming service and maybe even a shape change could give the Q a second life if Google does it right, but we will have to wait until I/O to see.

What would it take for you to be interested in the Nexus Q?

Via: AllThingsD

Could the Nexus Q See a Rebirth at This Year’s I/O? New Report Says No is a post from: Droid Life

It’s finally Friday, but that means you will need something to keep you busy this weekend while we are out doing other things besides bringing you the latest and greatest Android news. Why not some games and apps to fill up your time? For a limited time, you can pick up a few apps that we have discussed before or try some new apps we have never heard of.

You can grab Carmageddon for free which we have been hypebeasting or you can pick up Robird, a new Twtter client that looks pretty nice. Also, I highly recommend the Liquid Cloud live wallpaper which I wrote up earlier this week. It’s great. Either way, you can’t go wrong with app sales. 

Today’s sales:

• Carmageddon – (Promo edition)
• Solar System HD Deluxe Edition – ($0.99)
• CarHome Ultra Unlocker – ($1.99)
• Photo Studio Pro – ($1.99)
• Wipeout - ($0.99)
• RadiON – ($0.99)
• Strategy & Tactics: WWII – ($0.99)
• IM+ Pro – ($1.99)
• Giana Sisters – ($1.95)
• NFL Kicker 13 – (Free)
• A Liquid Cloud LWP – ($0.99)
• Robird – ($0.99)

Go grab ‘em!

Friday App Sales: Wipeout, IM+ Pro, Robird Twitter Client, and More is a post from: Droid Life

Fork Android and the likelihood that Android sites and enthusiasts are going to care much for your products is slim to none. Take the Nook HD and Nook HD+ as prime examples. When these new tablets were announced back in September, our readers cared enough to drop 16 comments on the announcement post. We realized at that moment that there was no need to talk about these products any longer. Whether you agree with that stance or not, I can tell you that we have not received one email related to either since that day. It is what it is. 

But today marks a new beginning for the Nook series. Thanks to an over-the-air (OTA) update that will arrive at any moment, both the Nook HD and Nook HD+ will become official Android tablets. Since the update includes Google Play, Gmail, YouTube, Chrome, Google Search, and Google Maps, it’s clear that Barnes & Noble realized the importance of being a true part of the ecosystem. Sure, Amazon is doing quite well with their Kindle line, but they are certainly the exception to the rule.

So if you own a Nook HD or HD+, be on the lookout – Google Play is coming your way.

Barnes & Noble Announces Google Play™ on NOOK® HD and NOOK® HD+

The Best in Reading and Now Over 700,000 Android Apps and Games, Millions of Songs, Movies, TV Shows and More, Plus Chrome™, Gmail™, YouTube™, Google Search™ and Google Maps™ on Stunning 7- and 9-inch Tablets

New York, New York – May 3, 2013 – NOOK Media LLC, a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced it is expanding its extensive catalog of reading and entertainment content with the addition of the popular Google Play digital content experience on its acclaimed NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ devices. With Google Play on NOOK HD and NOOK HD+, customers have access to more than 700,000 Android apps and games, millions of songs and more. Barnes & Noble’s highly acclaimed lightweight high-definition 7- and 9-inch tablets will also include popular Google services like the Chrome browser, Gmail, YouTube, Google Search and Google Maps.

“By adding Google Play to NOOK HD and NOOK HD+, we are offering our customers even more great entertainment on our award-winning tablets,” said William Lynch, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble. “Now with access to more than 700,000 apps and the best reading experience available, NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ are must-see products for entertainment lovers looking for high-quality tablets at incredibly low prices.”

Always a great value, NOOK HD, now with Google Play, is available starting at just $199 and NOOK HD+ starts at only $269. NOOK products are available at the nearly 700 Barnes & Noble stores, NOOK.com and leading retailers.

Google Play and the other Google services will be available to all new and existing NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ customers in the US and UK at no cost through an automatic over-the-air update that will roll out to all devices connected to Wi-Fi beginning today. Customers who would like to enjoy the major new software update immediately can learn more at www.NOOK.com/support or www.NOOK.co.uk/support.

NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ Features

More than 700,000 Android Apps and Games: Choose from more than 700,000 great apps including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Temple Run, ESPN, TED, Netflix and so many more, all ready to enjoy right away. The NOOK Store™ continues to feature a wide selection of thousands of high-quality NOOK Apps™ tailored for the devices including the highest-quality educational apps for kids through age 12, all organized by subject area and easily searchable.

Millions of songs: The addition of Google Play Music lets customers browse millions of songs, discover new artists and fill NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ with favorite tracks to enjoy anytime. Google Play also lets people store 20,000 songs from their personal collection in the cloud for free and stream them to their NOOK HD, NOOK HD+ and other devices.

Favorite Movies & TV Shows: Choose from thousands of movies and TV shows including new releases, the latest episodes, award-winning films and past seasons from favorite TV series. Stream movies and TV shows to watch instantly on NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ or make them available offline to watch later, even when not connected to Wi-Fi.

The Very Best in Reading: The NOOK Store offers millions of books and magazines to choose from. Sample any book free or choose from over 1 million free titles. Barnes & Noble offers thousands of best-selling magazines and newspapers from around the world, all in spectacular HD and delivered right to NOOK as soon as they come out. Enjoy free 14-day trials on any newsstand title and get expert recommendations on what to read next from the reading specialists at NOOK through NOOK Channels™. With NOOK Catalogs™, browse top catalogs like Pottery Barn and L.L.Bean delivered right to the device and virtually tear out magazine and catalog pages and save them in a NOOK Scrapbook™.

Faster Web Browsing with Chrome: As Web browsing continues to be among the most popular tablet activities, NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ now feature the Chrome browser for fast start up and page loading and an unlimited number of tabs open at once. Customers can even sync bookmarks across any device with Chrome.

Google Search™, Gmail™, YouTube™ and Google Maps™: Customers will have instant access to Google Search, Gmail, YouTube and Google Maps, now built in to NOOK HD or NOOK HD+. Sync calendars across multiple devices and check email from any account including Exchange, Yahoo! and Hotmail.

Additional great tablet features include:

• Stunning HD Displays: Crisp text and beautiful graphics make books and magazines stunning to read. With NOOK HD’s highest resolution of any 7-inch HD tablet and Full HD at 1080p on NOOK HD+, videos and games look life-like from any angle, with rich color, deep contrast and minimal glare.
• Light and Portable: Weighing in at only 11.1 ounces, NOOK HD was designed to fit naturally in an adult or child’s hand for hours of enjoyment. And at just 18.2 ounces, NOOK HD+ is the lightest tablet of its kind – more than 20 percent lighter than iPad 3 – making it the perfect companion for movie watching, long reads, Sunday crosswords or favorite games.
• NOOK Profiles™: A personalized experience instantly transforms the device in hand to any family member’s very own tablet so only they can see their own content.
• NOOK Channels™: This pioneering recommendation system provides an easy way to discover new titles by theme.
• The ability to sync the last page read on any NOOK Book across NOOK devices and apps so customers don’t lose their place.
• Expandable memory on the evices and free unlimited NOOK Cloud™ storage for all NOOK content.
• Adjustable fonts, spacing and themes for a customized reading experience.
• Powerful dual-core processors and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
• The NOOK Store offers more than 3 million titles in the US, with 2.5 million available in the UK, including more than 1 million free titles. For more information on NOOK HD and NOOK HD+, or any of NOOK’s innovative products and devices, customers can visit www.nook.com or www.nook.co.uk.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) is a Fortune 500 company and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The company operates 677 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites, BN.com (www.bn.com). Its NOOK Media LLC subsidiary is a leader in the emerging digital reading and digital education markets. The NOOK digital business offers award-winning NOOK® products and an expansive collection of digital reading and entertainment content through the NOOK Store™ (www.nook.com), while Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC operates 678 bookstores serving over 4.6 million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble is proud to be named a J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Customer Service Champion and is one of only 50 U.S. companies so named. Barnes & Noble.com is ranked the number one online retailer in customer satisfaction in the book, music and video category and a Top 10 online retailer overall in customer satisfaction according to ForeSee E-Retail Satisfaction Index (Spring Top 100 Edition).

Barnes & Noble Nook HD and Nook HD+ Become Real Android Tablets – Update to Include Google Play, Other Google Services is a post from: Droid Life

In need of some new games to get you through the week? Yeah, I hear you! For a limited time, you can pick up the Metal Slug series on Google Play for $2 a pop or show off your wizardry skills on Star Wars Pinball for $1. Either way, there are plenty of sales going on, so making it to Friday shouldn’t be too hard. 

Today’s Sales:

• Star Wars Pinball ($0.99)
• Repulze ($1.00)
• Metal Slug X ($1.99)
• Metal Slug 3 ($1.99)
• Metal Slug 2 ($1.99)
• Metal Slug ($1.99)
• Musical Pro ($0.99)
• ABBYY TextGrabber ( $2.99)
• Real Boxing ($0.99)
• Anomaly Korea ($1.99)
• Anomaly Warzone Earth HD ($1.99)

Get ‘em while they’re hot.

Tuesday App Sales: Star Wars Pinball, Metal Slug Series, and More is a post from: Droid Life

A new incremental update is out for Google Play, version number 4.0.27. In terms of what’s new, it must be some bug fixes or something along those lines. Definitely nothing major on the front end. Grab the download link below if your Play app has not already auto updated. 

Download Link

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via: XDA

Download: New Google Play Store 4.0.27 is a post from: Droid Life

Google updated the content policies section of the Google Play developer program today with a special note directed at any developer who attempts to update, modify, or replace an APK (app) within their own app or using an outside service. This new note, written under the “Dangerous Products” section, specifically says that no app from Google Play can be updated using any method other than the update mechanism in Google Play. With malware and security an ever-growing focus and area of concern, you can see why Google would be ready to enforce such a policy. 

Here is the note:

Click to enlarge.

No developer or company was named in particular, but as we were discussing shortly after this note went out, Facebook immediately comes to mind. Everyone remember a month or so ago when the Facebook app was updating itself within the Facebook app, asking you to “Install a new build,” only not through Google Play? It scared a number of Android users, prompting the creation of threads all over the internet to try and figure out if it was safe or not. I personally can’t think of another app that has done this, however, I’m sure there are many and Facebook is not alone.

Keep it clean, developers.

Google Reminds Developers They Can’t Update Apps Except With Google’s Update Mechanism, Stares Directly at Facebook is a post from: Droid Life

All you Fieldrunners fans have your work cut out for you, as the highly anticipated sequel Fieldrunners 2, is now live on Google Play. In the game, you can expect to see the classic tower defense action that the previous title is known for, along with some new features like bee hive-shooting towers, plus a ton of new weapons and levels. 

Key Features:

• Pint sized invaders seeking revenge!
• A tower that launches bee hives!
• Tons of levels in a 20+ hour campaign!
• Revolutionary AI – each enemy creates a dynamic, realistic path through the battlefield!
• Gorgeous, hand painted, 2D graphics by award winning artists!
• 20 unique, upgradeable weapons!
• Custom loadouts let you pick the perfect weapons for each battle!

If I had to guess, I would say we can expect this to be Kellen’s app of the week on tonight’s DL Show.

Play Link ($2.99)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Fieldrunners 2 Hits Google Play, a Massive Sequel to the Popular Tower Defense Title is a post from: Droid Life

With the weekend coming up, it’s time to start prepping and get some new games and apps on your device to keep you busy. If a new game is what you are looking for, check out the epic title, Real Boxing. With extremely detailed graphics and sound clips that would make anyone squint, it’s certainly worth the dollar. As for utility apps, Perfectly Clear is a good choice if you enjoy tweaking with your on-device photos, an easily justifiable $1.50. 

App Sales:

• EDGE Extended ($0.99)
• EDGE ($0.99)
• Real Boxing ($0.99)
• Grow ($0.99)
• Perfectly Clear ($1.49)
• Gangstar Rio ($4.99)
• Redneck Revenge ($0.99)

If you spot any other noteworthy sales, feel free to drop them down below in the comments section.

Go get ‘em!

Friday App Sales: Real Boxing, Perfectly Clear, Redneck Revenge, and More is a post from: Droid Life