google play

Verizon rolling out Google Play payments via phone bill

Google has confirmed that Verizon Wireless customers will soon be able to pay for Google Play apps and other media via their monthly phone bills, making Verizon the last U.S. carrier to offer the service.

The search giant said in a tweet that the ability will be rolled out over the coming weeks.

Reports earlier this week said Verizon likely would enable the feature soon. Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile have been offering the ability for quite some time.

Google is doing all it can to boost the profitability of Google play, which, in its Android Market form, … Read more

Popular book application

Google Play Books for Android is a free application that allows you to purchase books and read them on your electronic device, i.e. mobile phone, tablet, or computer.

The plain gray interface isn't very exciting, but it did prove very easy to use. A prominent Menu button gives access to the settings and allows you to change the screen view. To start reading, you just choose a book and it automatically starts at the beginning or, if you've use the app to read the book before, to the last page you were reading. For those who like … Read more

Verizon may offer Google Play carrier billing

Verizon Wireless is set to become the next wireless provider to offer carrier billing for Google Play purchases, according to unconfirmed reports. An internal Verizon screenshot obtained by Droid Life shows that the feature will be enabled later this week, specifically on October 18.

It it follows through, Verizon would be the last major U.S. carrier to adopt the billing strategy for apps, games, and other content. With that in mind, it appears that Big Red is going to employ a somewhat different tactic from the other players.

As evidenced in the photo, Verizon will put a $25 cap … Read more

Buy credits for Google Play from your browser

Google has added a feature that lets Google Play users top off their credit by simply visiting the Web version of the storefront. The move comes on the heels of the recent introduction of physical gift cards in various retail stores.

Scrolling to the bottom of the Google Play store, you can now click on a link that allows for credit refills in various denominations. It's possible to purchase credit in increments of $5, $10, $15, $25, and $50.

As of now, it's only possible to add to your own account, though I suspect we'll see gifting … Read more

Google Play lets users take subscription apps for a test drive

Google is now letting Android app developers aim to better satisfy customers by launching a free weeklong trial period for subscription apps.

When users want to give a subscription app a whirl -- before fully deciding to buy -- they can "purchase" the app for free. Once a week or less has passed, the user can either cancel the app or let payment automatically kick in at the end of the trial period. Android developers can elect to extend the free trial period for more than one week.

Here's more from the Android developers Web site:

To … Read more

Four forgotten Google-made Android apps

Ever heard of Google's GPS-tracking app called My Tracks? What about its bucket-list-like service called Schemer? In fact, you may be surprised to know that Google has actually developed several dozen Android apps, many of which you've never heard of. Here, we take a look at four such titles that are all incredibly interesting and can be surprisingly useful.

My Tracks A great tool for outdoors enthusiasts, My Tracks records your path, speed, distance, and even elevation while you walk, run, bike, or do anything else that a GPS signal can follow. Visually, the app is a snoozer, … Read more

Google nudges developers to build Android-optimized apps

One of the most familiar knocks against Android tablets: They simply don't have enough apps to be viable.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly mocked Android tablet apps onstage. And while there are more that are tablet-optimized than there were six months ago, it's still tough to say how many more -- Google won't say. (The company instead highlights the total number of Android apps available, including those for smartphones -- it was 675,000, at last count.)

But Google is putting more effort into promoting Android as a platform for tablet apps. Today, with the holiday … Read more

Google TV update enables purchases through Google Play

Google took another step to build out its media offerings today, connecting its Google Play store to Google TV to make its entertainment offerings available for the first time.

Over the next few weeks, purchases and rentals made in the Play store will be accessible inside Google TV. Users will also be able to buy and rent content directly through the Google Play Store on Google TV. And any purchases made on another device -- a Nexus 7 tablet, say, or an Android smartphone -- will automatically show up as purchases on Google TV.

"Google Play gives you one … Read more

Google Play search appears to briefly go down

The front door to Google's universe of apps and entertainment products was shut momentarily today.

For about 10 minutes on Friday afternoon, queries to the Google Play store were met with an error message. "We're sorry, there was an error. Please try again later," the message said.

In the time it took us to ask Google for comment, search was restored. We've asked Google about the cause of the brief outage and will update this post if we hear back.