• Portal health and faction control info on Portal Keys in the Inventory carousel.
• Android Notifications for “Portal under attack,” “Portal neutralized,” and “@” messages.
• Support for Jarvis Virus and ADA Refactor objects.
• New Recharge visual animation.
• Bug fixes

This update brings some pretty great features with it. Seeing the faction and health of a particular Portal Key in the inventory is helpful for sure, but it’s the Android Notifications and the Jarvis Virus/ADA Refractor objects being enabled that really make this a great update.

While the Android notifications are easy enough to understand, the Jarvis Virus and ADA Refactor object are a simple enough if you know what they do. The Jarvis Virus is a very rare object that will allow an Enlightened Agent to change the faction of a Resistance portal to their side. The ADA Refactor does the the same for the Resistance. Given the rarity of the objects, it may be wise to keep them stocked until you come across a L8 portal of your opposing faction and flip it to yours!

So be sure to hit up the Google Play Store for the update if you’ve not received the update yet.

[Via: Play Store]

• U.S. Patent No. 8,086,604 and U.S. Patent No. 6,847,959 on a “universal interface for retrieval of information in a computer system”
• Apple asserted the ’604 patent in a preliminary injunction motion. The Federal Circuit reversed a preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Nexus and, in addition to equitable reasons, overturned Judge Koh’s claim construction in a way that affects both “Siri” patents alike (for an excellent explanation of this claim construction issue, see Patently-O’s post). Apple claims that the ’604 and ’959 patents are infringed even under the appeals court’s construction.
• U.S. Patent No. 5,666,502 on a “graphical user interface using historical lists with field classes”
• U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647 on a “system and method for performing an action on a structure in computer-generated data” (which I dubbed the “data tapping” patent, a term many reporters have since adopted)
• Apple prevailed over HTC on this patent at the ITC. Apple claims that Android infringes this patent at the operating system level (the “linkify” library), as you can see in this infringement claim chart from the HTC case. Apple was enforcing an ITC import ban against HTC but ceased enforcement after a settlement (the parties stipulated to rescission of the exclusion order).
• U.S. Patent No. 7,761,414 on “asynchronous data synchronization amongst devices”

Interestingly enough, Apple has not yet mentioned the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition in its claims, and it would not be surprising if they did in the future. How the battle turns out is now in the hands of the courts.

[Via: Droid Life , FOSS Patents] [Image: Techno Buffalo]

Chrome for Android allows users to sync bookmarks and omnibox data across multiple devices, and even send webpages from tablets and smartphones to PC’s running the Chrome browser.

According to Google, the iPhone and iPad versions of Chrome will soon be receiving voice search, and should be rolling out in the next few days. If you’re an Android user using the Chrome browser, head over to the Google Play Store for the new version!

[Via: Google Play]

The Q was introduced at last year’s Google I/O and was designed to allow you to stream content from your phone or tablet to your TV. After  the device failed to garner much interest from consumers and had some initial problems, Google postponed the launch of the consumer model. Last weeks Google Play Music news squashed most hopes that the little orb that couldn’t would be getting a retail launch.

But now it looks like Google may have a new media player in the works, according to Liliputing. The tech site referenced a new FCC filing from Google, for a device called the Google H840. There isn’t much to go on, but the filing mentions that the device, “functions as a media player.” 

While it remains to be seen if this new device from Google is Nexus Q Mark II, or something completely different. But it’s clear that Google’s sights are on the living room!

[Via: Liliputing]

Who could forget, the Google Play Games multiplayer demo fail, the John Hamm look alike in the Android hat, that Google Glass shower guy’s question getting shut down by a sad Larry Page? So many classic moments I could never mention them all. I feel like we all shared something very powerful. We laughed, we cried, we came up with snarky tweets.

Kidding aside, Google dropped some pretty incredible updates to its services. To name a few, there was the aforementioned Games update, Google’s Spotify style “All Access” streaming in the new Google Play Music, a totally revamped Google+, and the really impressive update to Google Maps. We wrapped everything up in our reaction piece here, if you want to get a summary. We’ve also reported more in depth on each of the big announcements.

But there’s nothing like experiencing the entire behemoth of a press conference for yourself. So get yourself some popcorn and settle in for a long, strange trip. Especially long. It’s very, very, very long. Of course, you can skip around to the parts that interest you but that would be cheating.

We are still not sure what to expect from Android 4.3, and we will most likely not see any huge major improvements over Android 4.2. The Android 4.3 update will most likely include bug fixes and speed improvements, and support for Bluetooth Smart.

The white Nexus 4 is expected to be sold on June 10th for $299.

[Via: Android and Me]

Google  made the announcement in its “Developing for Glass” session today at Google I/O.  At the event, the Glass Developer Kit (GDK) was also officially announced. The GDK will come with an updated Mirror API set that will allow apps that can function completely independent of an internet connection and with direct access to the device’s various hardware features. This move opens the floodgates for Glass development, and guarantees we will be seeing a bevy of new Glass apps in the future.

Google sharing it’s API with Facebook is an especially interesting move, considering the beefed up Google+ it unveiled yesterday. The New York Times reports:

“So far on Glass, photos are shareable only through Google Plus. With the Facebook app, Glass users will be able to share photos taken with Glass on Facebook. Twitter’s Glass app lets people tailor their stream to only receive posts from certain people and transcribe new posts using voice. Tumblr’s app shows a user’s full feed or just select updates.”

So be on the lookout for a bunch of new apps coming your way, Explorers!

Below is a screenshot from the Google Glass Twitter app:

[Via: The New York Times]

There are definitely some great ideas in this video, most of which seem like they wouldn’t be too far-fetched for the current hardware if tethered to a phone. In fact, a lot of the features in this video have more to do with Glass becoming widespread and lots of companies and services using it’s APIs. While the likelihood of that happening is debatable, this video shows a world where Glass is commonly used.

But there are definitely some things that seem pretty strange in the video. For starters, I do not approve of the wearing glass while riding your bike. It’s a great way to get hit by a car, run over a gerbil or just look like a giant …..Glasshole.

[Via: Playground Inc.]

Thanks for taking the time to report this issue. As you noticed, the latest version of Google Play Music isn’t compatible with the Nexus Q. The Nexus Q devices given to last year’s I/O attendees and provided free of charge to those who ordered are not compatible with the current version of Google Music.

To make matter worse, Q users who update Google Play Music on their phone lose the functionality they already have, leaving them with “broken” music streaming to their media orb.

Google Support recently added this single sentence to their page:

Please note that currently, All Access can be accessed through the Google Play Music mobile app or a desktop browser and is not compatible with Nexus Q.

While it doesn’t explicitly say the Q will never be getting All Access support, it’s not looking good. This may be the nail in the coffin for the Nexus Q. The purpose of the device was to stream media, so it’s omission from Google’s new streaming music service certainly doesn’t bode well. The Q has kind of been the ugly stepchild of the Nexus family since it was unveiled at last year’s Google I/O. While it’s been discontinued, there are several orbs out there with disappointed owners today.

[Via Phandroid]

To start, it has a brand new user interface that, according to Google, is easier to use and faster. It’s nothing dramatic either — you still search and swipe through results very quickly. Tap a specific result and that’s where you’ll notice some more changes. Maps now has built-in Zagat integration, which will put Zagat scores and editorial reviews for specific restaurants on display. Additionally, you’ll be able to view Google Offers right within the app. The demo used half-off Starbucks Refreshers as an example.

Another big addition is the new Explore feature. It reminds me quite a bit of Foursquare’s Explore functionality, but you can be the judge as to whether it’s better. It comes in handy when you’re not looking for a particular venue. Instead, you just want to browse what the area has to offer. You tap Explore in the search field to bring up main categories like Eat, Drink, Shop, Play, and Sleep. From there you can find top-rated places for each category and of course get more information once you tap them. This is going to be of great use to frequent travelers.

Lastly, Google made some improvements to the core navigation functionality of Maps as well. When you’re driving along a route, you can get live traffic alerts as they occur. Building on top of that, if a faster route becomes available than the one you started taking, you’ll be notified and asked if you want to reroute using the new route.

The Google Maps update comes for Android and iOS this summer. There’s also some great things happening on the desktop side of Maps, which you can check out on Google’s preview page.

We’ve been talking to our devices for a while and but never in such a conversational way, and never with such powerful results. Also, Google Now-like featutres are also rolling out to Chrome too. Google’s improved search will let you search anything and then find related emails and calendars, etc. So, on any device that uses Chrome, people will be able to say “Okay, Google,” and request information. This is similar to the concept of Siri, but it works and it’s fast!

Google’s vice-president of Search and Assist for Mobile, Johanna Wright gave us a live demonstration of these new features.  She started out by saying, “I have never tried hotwording in a room with so much ambient noise.” But it wasn’t an issue at all, as she planned her next trip to Santa Cruz, California with Google Now, down to which of her children were tall enough to ride a rollercoaster. She never typed a single word, and everything work incredibly well in real time.

Impressive stuff. Apple, your move.