Androidifying

It was the perfect viral story. A Google bigwig casually sporting a Milkshake watchface on his smartwatch during the Google I/O keynote . Milkshake name for Android M confirmed! Well, not so fast. Dave Burke, who introduced most of the core features of Android M on stage at Google I/O yesterday, admitted that his Huawei Watch happened to display a milkshake during the event. But it wasn’t the only M-named desert on his device. Rumors of Milkshake are exaggerated. My watch face hack cycles thru' my fav M desserts :). Doodles by @dsandler ! http://pic.twitter.com/0GwoQ78thD — Dave Burke (@davey_burke) May 28, 2015 So there you have it. The M-ystery lives to see another day. What about you? What dessert name you’d like to use come this fall?

If you can’t beat them, join them. That seems to be the bottom line in Intel’s strategic partnership with Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics Co. Ltd. It’s a tectonic shift on Intel’s part; the venerable silicon powerhouse has traditionally been focusing on premium computing devices that require the performance levels consistent with the Intel architecture. Intel, which had kept the SoC development in-house so far, announced in May 2014 that it would join hands with Rockchip to co-develop low-cost system-on-chips (SoCs) for sub-$150 tablets. The Santa Clara, California–based chipmaker, stopping short of licensing its IP, would allow Rockchip to modify design around its x86 Atom core. The partnership doesn’t prevent Rockchip from using ARM processor cores, and there is no financial investment from Intel in Rockchip. Still, there were more questions than answers, and soon the chip deal became a matter of intense speculation among technology business circles. There has been a lot of ambiguity

While the first day of Google I/O 2015 is just coming to an end, there’s still another full day ahead of us. Google went through  a lot of announcements today, and it can be really easy to miss out on some of the most important info. If you’d like to re-live the experience, the full keynote from I/O 2015 has just been posted on YouTube. The video is attached below, so be sure to take a look if you missed out on something! Of course, you don’t  need to watch the entire presentation again, because we’re here. Our very own Bogdan Petrovan created a wonderfully informative I/O keynote roundup , and our own Joshua Vergara made a great video on the Google I/O 2015 keynote , that explains the whole thing in just over eight minutes. A lot has been covered over the past few hours, so be sure to check out our keynote roundup , or watch the video below for more information. What’s been your favorite announcement so far? Android M ? Google Photos ? Let us know your thoughts!

Even though Google showcased Material Design back at Google I/O 2014, the entire concept is still largely being developed. Not only did the company roll out aesthetic changes, but Android 5.0 Lollipop was completely filled with functional changes as well. Eliminating menus, adding in multi-functional buttons, and focusing on the user experience was a huge focus in last year’s update, and today, Google reminds us that it’s still being mastered. To give us a good example of Material Design, Google has just updated its Google Design webpage , which adds a slew of new Material enhancements. There’s also a lot of new functionality on the website, too. A new video has been created by the Google Design team that tries to outline what exactly Material Design is. A number of lead designers are featured in the video, along with none other than the man himself, Google’s VP of Design, Matias Duarte. He talks about the fact that Material Design isn’t just a visual overhaul; it’s also a step

While we didn’t get a revamped version of the Chromecast at Google I/O like many were expecting, the first generation media streamer is still quite powerful. And pretty soon, it’s going to become much more versatile than ever before. Just like with individual applications like Netflix or Hulu that allow you to autoplay episodes of your favorite TV show, Chromecast will soon get this feature, only for  all applications. Developers will be able to add functionality to their content that will let a second video buffer while the first one is still playing. Users will also be able to control their queues, which will let them re-order/add/subtract videos as needed. This feature will certainly be welcomed by Chromecast owners. Related Videos Amazon Fire TV vs Chromecast Chromecast vs Belkin Miracas... Chromecast Review Chromecast Tips and Tricks Google doesn’t stop there, though. Google has also added in multiplayer gaming support, which allows folks to invite t

Have you had greater success with your spelling after taking control of your auto-correct settings in last week’s Android customization post? I hope so. Now that you are in control of your Android keyboard , let’s take a look at controlling your Android lock screen, or at least utilizing it with widgets. The idea of putting a widget on your lock screen is not new, it has been around since Android 4.2 natively, and prior using alternate apps. When it was introduced, it was available as a tool that any developer could create or modify their Homescreen widget to show on the lock screen. This was utilized by having the user swipe the default clock to the side and manually add widgets as desired. Android 5.0 Lollipop changed things up a bit. Gone was the ability to select near any widget for your lock screen, instead swiping to the sides now triggers your phone application and your camera, on stock Android at least. In place, Android introduced a new and complex method and controls f

    For us non-developer types, the big draw of Google I/O is the keynote speach, where we learn about all the new goodies heading our way. Of course that’s only just a small part of what I/O is about, with developers coming from all over the world to participate in various Android and Google related sessions. One such session is “Material Now”, which kicks off at 7:00 PM EST (4:00 PM PST). The upcoming session is hosted by none other than Matias Duarte, where he’ll take a look at “where we’ve been and where we’re going with material design”. Here’s the full session description taken from the schedule: This talk will examine the logistics of materializing products inside and outside of Google over the past year, from working collaboratively with product teams, to expanding and refining our guidelines for designers and developers. It will ask: how can we push material design into new and exciting territory? While these types of sessions aren’t for everyone, if you enjoy Mate