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Google Play redesigned to focus on tablet apps

Google rolled out a new design for Google Play on Wednesday, showing some extra love to tablet apps.

Google Play's recommendations -- some of which are based on a user's Google+ account -- will now surface apps designed for tablets in its top app charts, Google announced at its Google I/O developer's conference.

Engineering Director Chris Yerga said the new Google Play will make it easier for users to find the apps they want.

Google beats Apple to it with streaming music service

Google launched a music streaming service Wednesday, taking its first stab at the growing industry with a new service linked to Google Play for Android.

The All Access service costs $9.99 a month and you get a 30-day free trial. And it's launching Wednesday in U.S., with additional countries coming soon. If you sign up by June 30, you get it for $7.99 a month.

The move puts Google in direct competition with music streaming companies like Pandora and Spotify, and also potentially with Apple, which has been inching in that direction. Just last week, for … Read more

Google: Android activations to total 900 million this year

Google expects users to activate about 900 million Android devices this year, more than doubling the number activated in 2012, an executive said Wednesday.

Sundar Pichai, head of Google's Android and Chrome operations, said at the company's developers conference that users activated 400 million Android devices in 2012 and 100 million in 2011.

"The momentum has been breathtaking since then," Pichai said.

And Hugo Barra, vice president of product management, said Google Play has just passed 48 billion app installations, with 2.5 billion installations in the last month alone.

Google is hosting Google I/O, … Read more

Update to Google Play Store includes colorful layout

On the evening before the Google I/O keynote address, the Web giant has spruced up its Google Play Store.

Version 4.1.6, which appeared Tuesday night, features colorful home buttons for the store's App, Movies, and Games categories, as well as improved spacing for the "open" and "install" buttons on individual application pages.

The Wishlist feature also sports a card design that displays apps in rows of three from left to right instead of the previous top-to-bottom list view.

Meanwhile, Google Play Services has received new synching options for "App Data" … Read more

BlackBerry CEO likes tablets, just not as they are

ORLANDO, Fla.--OK, so is BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins a fan of tablets, or isn't he?

Heins, who made waves last month when he said he didn't see a place for tablets in five years, made some seemingly contradictory comments on tablets when he spoke on Tuesday during a Q&A session with the media while at the BlackBerry Live conference.

"We believe in a single element of mobile computing: one on your hip," Heins said.

Roughly 15 minutes later, Heins said BlackBerry was looking at the future of tablets and investing R&D … Read more

Analyst: Nintendo sold 55,000 Wii U units in April

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter has released his monthly estimates on console sales, and not surprisingly, given recent months, April didn't look too swell for Nintendo and its Wii U.

According to Pachter, who estimates console sales in the U.S. based on retail checks, Nintendo sold just 55,000 Wii U units in April, down 19 percent compared to March. The company's Wii, which has been on store shelves for years, sold 75,000 units in April, according to Pachter.

Microsoft was once again the leader in the console market in April, selling 205,000 Xbox 360 units … Read more

Expect games, social, and Now at Google I/O 2013

"Are you still jumping out of windows in expensive clothes?" asks Tom Waits in his song, "Who are you?"

It would be beyond surprising to see Google fling more of its hardware out of low-flying dirigibles, strapped to wingsuits and courageous stuntmen, at this year's Google I/O, which begins on Wednesday.

But make no mistake: Google knows exactly "who" it is, and it's taking the confidence earned from a year of solid hits and few misses, and a strong first quarter of 2013, to define the parameters that it wants other … Read more

Google reportedly readying new Google Play Games platform

Google is apparently beefing up gaming's presence on the Android platform.

The Web giant is pushing out a massive update to make games on the mobile platform more social, according to documents reviewed by the Android Police on Saturday. Tapping the Google+ social network, Google Play Services will sport multiplayer functionality, leaderboards, and cloud syncing, according to the prerelease version (v3.1.36) of the APK.

In addition to streamlining game development, the platform's social sharing capability is expected to make games more viral, perhaps attracting new users who play longer. The new service isn't yet fully … Read more

Dynamic narration makes this action RPG a joy to play

Editors' note: The regular price for this game is $4.99, but it is on sale for a limited time for 99 cents.

Bastion is a faithful iOS port of the award-winning artistic action RPG that first came out for the Xbox 360 in 2011. Now you'll be able to explore the strange world of The Calamity on the go, and solve the mystery of the catastrophe that shattered our world (literally) into pieces.

Enter a broken world You play as the Kid, an adventurer trying to piece the world back together by finding crystal-like "cores" and … Read more