Google Play Music Brings Music Match Feature To The US

You might be thinking, doesn’t Google Play Music already stream my own music back to me? Yes it does but now it does it in a way that has a few hidden bonuses. Not only does matching the music in your collection with music in Google’s library mean all of your music will be played back at 320 kbps, it also eliminates the need for the long upload process. As a guy who still has tracks ripped at 128 kbps, this makes me very happy.

Google launched Play Music, including the music match feature, last month in Europe. The free service has a 20,000 song max. If that’s not enough music for you, check out our guide to the best music streaming options out there.

Source: Google Play on Google+

Hulu Plus app adds kids sections and improved discovery in update

Hulu has been pretty content with their Android app lately as it hasn’t seen much of an update in quite a long time. But in the shadow of some looming competition, it looks like Hulu is trying to improve the experience with a few new features on their Android application. The biggest new feature in Hulu’s latest update is kid-friendly; there’s a new section dedicated to things younger viewers want to watch, as well as the ability to lock out some of the more mature content. If you let your children watch videos on your phone or tablet, this is going to be a pretty useful feature. They’ve also added in some new discovery tools, which makes it easier to find something to watch if you just can’t decide on a movie or show. Overall, a nice update to the application. Hit the break for the download links.

Google Play Download Link

New Action Launcher Pro now available in Google Play Store

Developer Chris Lacy, who brought us the Tweet Lanes Twitter client, is taking a crack at the market for launchers on Android devices. The new app is called Action Launcher Pro and is now available in the Google Play Store for $3.99.

Lacy has incorporated a couple unique features in an effort to stand out from the crowd. Action Launcher includes an app drawer that slides in from the side of the screen, providing a smooth scrolling list of apps. Lacy demonstrates in a video for Action Launcher how this feature gives users access to an app in only a couple seconds max. The other major feature is a concept called “covers.” The covers let users group their most used app destinations into a group that can be accessed via a double-tap on the app icon. Using covers, users can get to their most visited web sites or contacts in only a couple clicks. Lacy indicates the app includes several other tweaks to improve the user experience like having the action bar present on the homescreen, organized customization options, and importing of your current launcher setup.

Some feedback for the app indicates there are still a few bugs present. If you want to give Action Launcher Pro a try, use one of the download links below.

Google Play Store reaches 700,000 applications

 With all the excitement surrounding the impending launch of Google’s new family of Nexus devices, it isn’t surprising to hear that the company has reached yet another promising milestone. The folks from Mountain View announced today that the Google Play Store had surpassed 700,000 total applications. Keep in mind this is the same number of applications Apple said it had in its App Store just last week.

There’s no doubt the portfolio of games and productivity apps will continue to increase, ultimately beating out Apple for the number of total applications available to users. However, with the introduction of the Nexus 10, Google will need to make a push for tablet-specific applications if it intends to successfully compete in the 10-inch tablet space.

Source: Bloomberg 

Xbox SmartGlass available for Android

A few days ago we reported on a new app coming from Microsoft, Xbox SmartGlass, that creates a connection between a user’s mobile device and their Xbox. The app is similar to immersive entertainment solutions like Netflix or IntoNow that enable you to watch content on your big screen TV while controlling the content from your device. These apps typically provide you with access to other information about the content and social media interaction with other fans. Xbox SmartGlass does the same thing for users who have an Xbox Live Gold subscription and the popular gaming platform.

When Microsoft released a video about Xbox SmartGlass, it appeared it would be released today only with support for Windows 8 devices. Android and iOS version supposedly would not appear until early 2013. Like Samsung’s announcement about the U.S. rollout of Jelly Bean for Samsung Galaxy S III devices that indicated “coming months,” only to be followed up a week later by Sprint’s rollout, it looks like someone at Microsoft decided sooner was better than later.

Day 4 of Google’s 25-cent app deals is now live

There’s just two days left for Google’s 25-cent app sale that’s going on in the Google Play Store. As you know, the sale started this past Wednesday to celebrate the milestone of 25 billion downloads. Hit the break for today’s action.

• Broken Sword: Director’s Cut
• Camera Zoom FX
• Cogs
• Cut the Rope
• Cut the Rope HD
• Dr. Suess’s Sleep Book
• Endomondo Sports Tracker Pro
• Farm Invasion USA – Premium
• MADDEN NFL 12 from EA Sports
• Order & Chaos Online
• Pool Break Pro
• RealCalc Plus
• Ski Safari
• Where’s My Perry

Also to note is that SwiftKey 3 Keyboard is on sale as well. It’s not at 25-cents, but at 99-cents, it’s still a great buy for easily the best replacement keyboard on Android.

If you missed out on yesterday’s sales, you can still grab those deals as they are still live. Hurry, because they probably won’t last long.

source: Google Play