Google Wallet 7.0 rolling out on Google Play, brings healthy helping of Material Design

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Google Wallet 7.0 rolling out on Google Play, brings healthy helping of Material Design

We’re expecting a handful of Google apps to update today and one of the first out the gate is the all new Google Wallet 7.0. A pretty big leap from the previous version (2.0), the latest version of Google Wallet hitting the Play Store doesn’t introduce much by way of new features (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it), but does bring a healthy helping of Material Design into the mix.

Everything has been refreshed from the new lock screen to intro panels explaining how Wallet works. Other than that, you know what to expect. We’re still expecting Google’s promised ad campaign to help spread the word about Wallet which we expect to see as the weeks progress. If you don’t feel like waiting for the update to hit your Play Store, you can always sideload (install) the app by downloading it here.

Google Wallet (Playboard) | Google Wallet (Play Store)

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Best Android apps from October 2014

Previous Best Apps of the Month

Wow, is October already nearing a close? It feels like just yesterday the leaves were starting to turn and we were talking about the best apps from September. Now the leaves are almost all on the ground, and we have another month’s worth of apps to look at. October gave us a bountiful harvest of new apps. These are our favorites, including a few Android Wear apps and watch faces. Enjoy!

ARChon Packager (formerly Chrome APK Packager)

ARChon Packager is an easy way to produce packages that allow you to run Android apps in any Chrome browser. You can generate chrome packages from either APKs on your phones storage, or from apps installed on your phone. For more information on how to do get this working, read our guide.

BASE Music Sensor

BASE Music Sensor listens to music around you continuously, and when music you might like is played in the background it wakes up your phone with the song’s info. You don’t need to actively listen or open a dedicated app, BASE Music Sensor does all of this for you. BASE says the battery usage is negligible.

BrainWave

With BrainWave you can now control your favorite music players simply by using natural hand gestures. BrainWave works with many of the popular music apps, such as Pandora, iHeart, Spotify, Google Play Music, and more. You can Play, Pause, and Select tracks with the ease of waving your hand over the device, without ever unlocking the phone or touching the screen.

djay 2

The ultra-popular DJ app is now on Android. djay 2 transforms your Android device into a full–featured DJ system. Seamlessly integrated with Spotify and all the music on your device, djay gives you direct access to mix your favorite songs and playlists instantly. You can perform live, record mixes on–the–go, or enable Automix mode to let djay create a seamless mix for you.

Google Fit

After showing it off briefly onstage during this year’s Google I/O developer conference, the official Google Fit app is now available to download on Google Play. The app allows users to gather all sorts of data, straight from the many sensors already found in most Android smartphones.

Inbox

Inbox by Google aims to not only group your emails in a meaningful way, but allow you to act on them in appropriate fashion. Inbox is an extension of your Gmail inbox, so it uses the same email you already receive to your typical inbox. The difference is Inbox will do a few different things to help you organize that email a few different ways.

Potential Beta

Potential syncs battery, WiFi and Bluetooth status across all your devices. Forgot to charge one of your devices? It’s not an issue any more. Get a notification whenever the battery of any of your devices is running low. This is the perfect app for tech heads like us who own numerous devices.

Shake

Dealing with legal documents is never a fun experience. Shake aims to make the experience much more simple. Shake combines the simplicity of a handshake with the security of a legal contract. Use Shake to quickly and easily create, sign and send legally binding agreements from your Android device.

Squawkin

Squawkin is the next-generation communication platform that puts you in control like never before. A “Squawk” is a new and unique combination of live audio, photos, text, and location information that you use to create a powerful real-time message. If you change your mind about a Squawk you’ve sent, simply delete it and it’s gone from every other device.

Skype Qik

Qik is a new app from Skype. As you probably guessed, since Skype made this app, video is has a lot to do with Qik. It allows users to send short video messages back and forth, the same way you would a text message. In fact, there’s no real way to send actual text — it’s all video.

Snowball

The first thing to say about Snowball is it is “not another messaging app!” This app organizes your messages from the apps you already love providing you with a single, easy-to-access place to view everything. Snowball supports: Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Snapchat, SMS, Hangouts, Twitter, Line, WeChat, and Slack with Telegram, Viber, and Skype.

Taco Bell

We warned you to stock up on toilet paper and you now can order food ahead of time using Taco Bell’s brand new app. Fresh off the Google Play Store, the new Taco Bell app allows you to skip the line and customize your orders with wherever you crave, straight from the couch/office/toilet.

XDA One

The popular XDA forums now have their very own official app, but it’s still in the alpha stages. The app is called XDA One, which is their first app to be developed completely in-house. In its current state, XDA One is a fast way to browse and post in the forums. You can access the mention/quote system, see your subscriptions, send PMs, and more.

Android Wear Apps

Analog Keyboard

Microsoft has made a keyboard, and it’s actually kinda cool. The Analog Keyboard is a prototype of a custom keyboard for the Android Wear platform that lets users enter text by drawing handwritten letters on the watch face. The current version (0.1) only supports square screens with 320×320 screen resolution and the Moto 360.

Bing Torque

Sick of using Google Search on your Android Wear device? Microsoft has the answer. With Bing Torque you can perform simple Bing voice searches by simply flicking your wrist. Ask anything: “What’s the weather like in Kansas City?” “What is the capital of California?” “Where am I?” for answers right there on your smartwatch.

Escape

Face for Wear

Using Face for Android Wear is as simple as using a light switch. All you have to do is pick the right Face Pack or combination you like and push directly from your Smartphone to your Wear. Face for Wear is a lot like Facer or Wear Faces, but geared to be very easy to use.

Stealth360

Wear Battery Stats

Battery life is a big topic for the Moto 360. At launch the battery life was pretty bad, but a couple recent updates have brought big improvements. If you’re still curious about battery life you can track it with a handy app called Wear Battery Stats. You can see battery life in a chart, and even see which apps are using the most juice. The app can be checked on your watch and phone.

What were your favorite apps from October?

Previous Best Apps of the Month

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T-Mobile Sony Xperia Z3 now available for purchase, comes with 6 free movie downloads

After pre-orders for the Sony Xperia Z3 opened up almost 2 weeks ago, starting today, you can finally pick one up at T-Mobile. It’s arguably one of the best “pocketable” smartphones you can buy this year and while you wont be able to pick up a free copy of DriveClub (pre-orders only), you can rest assured knowing the phone is all yours for $0 down and only $26 a month over the course of 2 years.

Of course, many of those who pre-ordered are already enjoying the phone since last week, but for everyone else, here’s what you can expect out of the Xperia Z3 on the hardware side of things:

• 5.2-inch 1080p display


• 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 processor


• 3GB RAM


• 32GB internal storage (with micro SD card slot)


• 20.7MP camera


• Front facing stereo speakers


• 3,100mAh battery with up to 2 days battery life


• IP68 water/dust proof

As far as media, Sony is throwing in 6 free movie downloads which includes: 22 Jump Street, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Captain Phillips, 30th Year Anniversary Edition of Ghostbusters, and Moneyball. All that just for buying the Xperia Z3.

The phone is already available for purchase online, but you may want to call your local retail store ahead of time to make sure they have stock. While today probably wasn’t the best time to launch a new smartphone given all the Nexus 6 hype, we have a feeling the Sony Xperia Z3 will do just fine for itself on T-Mobile.

[Sony Xperia Z3 on T-Mobile.com]

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