Developments in Google Glass are probably one of the most anticipated announcements in this year’s Google I/O developer conference. Fortunately, Google didn’t disappoint as the event debuted several apps that make the company’s HUD more practical to use.

Apps that made the leap to Glass include Facebook, Twitter and Evernote. First on the list is the Facebook app for Glass which lets users to share photos straight from the Glass to the social network. Tagging isn’t functional yet but tags can be added later on via a mobile device or computer once the images have been uploaded to the network.

Meanwhile Twitter is also announcing its own app for Google Glass. Just like the Facebook app, users will be able to share photos using glass. Users are also able to receive notifications of mentions, direct messages and tweets straight from the network. Favourites, replies and retweets are also available within the app.

Then there’s Evernote, where in users can send a Glass-captured photo or short video to a user’s account from within the Glass sharing menu. Users can also choose a note from Evernote Web and send it directly to the Glass timeline.

Other apps scheduled to hit Glass (which the company refers to as “Glassware”)include CNN, Tumblr, Path and The New York Times.

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In a surprise move yesterday by Google, the company announced its own version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 that runs on stock Android.

The new Galaxy S4 by Google will have almost the same specs sheet as the original S4 by Samsung which include support for LTE and Qualcomm chipset but of course will do away with TouchWiz UI. The Google version of the S4 will also probably won’t have the numerous S-type and Smart apps that Samsung has generously packed into its flagship phone.

With the stock version of Android in the Google Galaxy S4, the device also has an unlocked boot loader that provides additional flexibility to modders and developers who want to customize the phone as much as they can. Moreover, having the same version of Android that goes into the company’s Nexus devices will allow Google’s version of the S4 to receive the future Android updates the same time as other Nexus devices.

The Google Galaxy S4 will be available soon only on Google Play Store but will work with AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S. for around $649.

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It seems Google is really serious in expanding its portfolio by offering new products that targets specific market segments. This time Google is trying to take a chunk off of the education industry with Google Play for Education.

Google Play for Education is a specialized app store with content specifically designed for students and teachers. The new app store was introduced yesterday at Google I/O by Android’s Director of Engineering Chris Yerga in San Francisco, California.

The app will allow educators to bulk purchase application licenses and easily distribute them to their students. The specialized app store is in line with the company’s goals to put an Android tablet in the classroom – an area currently dominated by Apple.

Google Play for Education will launch sometime in Q3 2013 but developers can already begin submitting education apps immediately through a dedicated developer website.

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Google isn’t really the brand you’ll think of whenever someone mentions the word messaging. But the California-based search giant is planning to change all that with the introduction of its newest messaging app – Google Hangouts.

The app was previously rumoured as Google Babel and will now replace majority of the company’s existing messaging apps including Google Talk, Google+ Messenger and the original Google Hangouts app. The app will be able to let users to start a live video conversation with up to 10 friends that combines text, photos and video.

Users will be able to take a conversation from device to device and will remain in the same list format. There’s also a Hangouts history that allows users to swipe back to older conversations. Then there’s also the new one time notification feature that reduces the amount of redundant notifications when connected to multiple devices.

The app is now available for Android, iOS and Google Chrome.

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Google also announced an update to Google Maps today at its annual developer conference in San Francisco. The announcement was made by Google Maps Director Daniel Graf in the event’s keynote alongside other Google products and services.

Changes to Google Maps basically revolve around a more intuitive user interface and an improved system of recommendations such as an improved 5-star rating system for businesses and Zagat listing integration.

There are also new features that cater specifically to drivers and travellers. There’s a new notification system that alerts drivers to incidents on the road and reroute them in real time to avoid traffic jams.

Moreover, the new Google Maps will soon provide smarter recommendations to users including comparison of available public transit in the area which is presented in a very intuitive and informative way. It can also highlight driving routes directly on the map that might be useful for the user at the same time dimming those routes which are unlikely to be useful.

Google Earth is also fully integrated with the new maps which is most useful when zooming in a particular area. And with WebGL support, the new Google maps provide a faster and more fluid experience. The map is currently in its preview stage and users can already sign up using this link.

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Google has also introduced a music subscription service today by the name of Google Play Music All Access (it’s quite a mouthful right?). The new service was introduced by Chris Yerga – Android’s engineering director in Google I/O this morning in San Francisco.

The service will include music recommendations made by automatic algorithms or specially curated recommendations and playlists. Through these recommendations, users can practically create a radio station based on any artist or song, then browse similar artists or titles provided by Google.

The service will also make it easy for users to select which songs they want or not. Users can just swipe away unwanted tracks making it very convenient to arrange and build playlists. Moreover, subscribers will be able to store up to 20,000 songs for free in Google’s cloud and listen to them together with Google’s own catalogue.

The service was leaked ahead of Google I/O through a report from The Verge yesterday. According to the report, Google has already signed several licensing deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group in preparation for the launch of Google Play Music.

Google Play Music All Access includes a library, radio, and a “listen now” feature and will be available for $9.99 a month to US customers starting today. Users will also get a 30-day free trial and those who will sign up before June 30 will get a discounted price of $7.99 a month for the service.

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After a leak last week, Google is now officially unveiling Google Play Games – the Android counterpart of Apple’s Game Center in iOS.

And as it turns out, the leaks last week were very accurate. Google’s vice president of Android product management Hugo Barra was the one tasked to introduce the new service at its Google I/O conference keynote in San Francisco earlier today.

Google Play Game services include cloud save syncing, achievements and leader boards. Achievements are designed to increase engagement and as Google puts it, promote different styles of play. Leader boards on the other hand use Google+ circles to track high scores among networks.

Related Story: Google’s Gaming Network Leaks, Makes Gaming More Social

Barra also announced that the service will include matchmaking services to facilitate multiplayer gaming. Although Google Play Games will initially support up to four simultaneous friends to match in one game session, the company assures that support for more players will comes soon.

Google Play game services will be available starting today through an Android and iOS SDK.

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Google Plus is probably one of the most jam-packed product in Google I/O’s keynote today. The search giant’s social network will come with 41 new features spread across three major areas and will start rolling out today and over the next week. The new features were discussed today at the company’s keynote in Google I/O by the company’s Senior Vice President Vic Gundotra.

The first major new feature in Google Plus is the stream. The company made a total overhaul of the user interface of the stream which now features a set of tiles that to be honest looks pretty much like the ones you see on Facebook’s timeline. Tiles are arranged in columns of 1-3 depending on the screen size and orientation.

Google is also adding an automatic hash tag function to the network. When this feature is turned on, Google Plus will automatically add hash tags to a user’s post using an algorithm. Users can then click on the related ‘#’ option and the post tile will flip to reveal related posts.

Related Story: Google Unifies Storage for Drive, Gmail and Google Plus

The company has also improved the photos section of the social network via a Hangouts app. First and foremost, Google+ users will have the benefit of increased storage for all their photos. Photos uploaded to the network are then filtered and will automatically select the best photo for the user. The feature is called Auto Highlight and will exclude images that are duplicates, blurry or poorly shot.

The Highlight feature will also use an algorithm to give more emphasis on images of people that are important to the user.  The network will also feature something that’s called Auto Enhance, which will take into consideration “human taste” to automatically tweak photo characteristics such as noise reduction, white balance and tonal distribution to name a few.

Lastly, there’s this feature called Auto Awesome that uses existing photos in a user’s profile to create new images such as collages, panoramas and Gifs.

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