8 things to learn from the Apps, Games, & Insights podcast

Our new Apps, Games & Insights podcast is for app and game enthusiasts—whether you play them or build them. We’ll talk to experts from across the industry about topics ranging from privacy and accessibility, to responsible growth and player engagement. Here are eight things you’ll learn from the series:

1. Diversity creates better games

In episode 1, we hear from Sarah Fuchs, VP, Covet Fashion and Judy Chen, Director of PM at Crowdstar on why it’s important for the diversity of their company to reflect their players. The team who designs one of their games, Covet Fashion, is 60 percent women. In their words, “If you want to create an environment that will attract women or attract probably more diversity, you need to create an environment and model the behavior that it's OK to have a life. And if you have a life and you enjoy your life, you will be better at your job.”

2. Mergers and acquisitions are like a marriage

Zynga has deployed more than $1 billion in mergers and acquisitions over the last 10 years, including the acquisitions of Gram Games and Small Giant Games. In episode 2, we’ll hear from Chris Petrovic, SVP at Zynga, who says that it’s about building a partnership that brings together the best of both businesses. 

3. Streaming sports wasn’t easy until now

When planning the launch of their service and mobile app, DAZN gave themselves just a year to get all the technology in place. This was challenging because it was unthinkable to miss the start of the football season. In episode 3, hear how DAZN brought together some of the best players in subscription management and payment solutions, and how they’ve grown the business.

4. Investors take sustainable businesses and products seriously

When venture capitalists look at a business, it’s not just about whether the business has a hot product or service, it’s as much about the founders, their team, and their business processes. Venture capitalists are always looking for a solid foundation on which to build—learn more in episode 4 of the podcast.

5. Privacy matters more than ever 

As more countries and territories introduce strict laws on consumer privacy, episode 5 explores why it’s increasingly important to ensure that apps and games are privacy-friendly for businesses and consumers. It’s not just about staying on the right side of the law—one security breach can easily destroy trust in your app, and winning back that trust isn’t easy. 

6. The best games put players first 

According to Jagex Games Studio, over 270 million people have played one of their RuneScape games. In episode 6, Ben Clarke, Senior Global Marketing Director at Jagex, talks about their approach to launching and testing, and keeping players engaged every day. For example, when adding a new feature, they open a polling booth within the game where players vote on the feature.

7. Accessibility debt is a real thing, and it matters

According to the World Bank, there are over 1 billion people worldwide with a disability. As a public broadcaster, a central part of the mission at the BBC is to be accessible and inclusive. This mission is as much a priority for their apps, such as iPlayer and Sounds, as it is within their traditional broadcast channels. In episode 7, find out how the BBC tracks this by what they call “accessibility debt,” and why it should be important to everyone.

8. Mobile games aren’t always on mobile

Many of your favorite Android games are now available on more devices than just your smartphone. Mobile game developers want you to have every opportunity to play your favorite game, regardless of the gaming platform. Gameloft has embraced a multi-platform approach. In episode 8, listen to Maximiliano Rodriguez, Platforms Operations Director at Gameloft, talk about how Gameloft considers games for ChromeOS and Android TV platforms as soon as they start developing a game for mobile.

Join us for all eight episodes to find out more about these topics and the apps and games industry. Listen to the latest episodes on your favorite podcast channel including Spotify, Apple, and Google Podcasts.

Bringing more people online and introducing Camera Go

There are more than 3.5 billion people who use smartphones, but that’s only 45 percent of the world’s population. We created Android (Go edition) to bring more affordable, high-quality smartphones to people around the world. Thanks to our partners who have made more than 1,600 device models available in 180+ countries, there are now more than 100 million active Android (Go edition) devices around the world. Here are some updates on Go edition’s progress and where we’re going next.

Powering universal access to information

In partnership with Safaricom, Kenya’s largest telecom provider, we brought more than 900,000 Android (Go edition) smartphones to people in Kenya—53 percent of whom were women—through their “Life is Digital” campaign. This is especially important because there is a significant gender gap in mobile internet usage in Sub-Saharan Africa.

With the help of the suite of Google apps designed for Go edition, people are connecting with new   opportunities and making gains in their daily lives. For example, Google Go has helped connect millions of people to information by providing a lightweight search engine that works on unstable connections. And with Lens in Google Go, people can quickly translate, hear and search text they see in the real world using their phone camera—helping them understand words on street signs, medicine labels, documents, and more.
Across the Google apps designed for Android (Go edition), we’ve introduced a number of user privacy features to protect the next billion people coming online for the first time. For example, a new mode within Google Go lets people search without their searches being saved to their account, and Gallery Go leverages on-device machine learning to help people organize photos without ever sending data to the cloud.

Bringing a beautiful, fast camera experience to affordable devices

Your phone’s camera gives you the power to capture memories that you’ll want to share with those around you. But on many smartphones, camera apps are often slow or complex to use, and your phone can quickly run out of storage.

The new Camera Go app from Google helps you take beautiful photos without worrying about speed or storage. It has features like Portrait Mode to give your photos a professional look by focusing on your subject. It’s built for people using smartphones for the first time, so it has a clean and simple interface. And, most importantly, Camera Go tracks how much photo and video storage space you have left, and then it helps you clear up space so you never miss a shot.

Camera Go will be available on Nokia 1.3 and more Android (Go edition) devices soon.

The six best podcast apps for Android

While we usually think of our mobile devices as great for music listening of all kinds, increasingly our Android phones and tablets are being used for listening to podcasts. We produce a bunch of them here at Mobile Nations, and the popularity and scale of the podcast continues to grow. But just as is the case with music player apps, not all podcast players are created equally.

Thankfully Android is blessed with a strong selection of podcast apps to choose from, but there are some more worth your time – and money – than others. So, head on past the break to see the top podcast apps for Android. And once you've chosen, why not subscribe to the Android Central podcast and join us each week for a listen!

1. Pocket Casts

Pocket Casts has long been a favorite among avid podcast listeners, but in its current incarnation it has arguably risen to the top of the mountain. If you want style and function, cloud sync, a huge library, video support, variable speed playback oh and not forgetting Chromecast support, then look no further. The folks at Shifty Jelly have you covered with all of those.
Add to all that a widget, full controls in the notification tray, auto download and delete, filters and playlists, a sleep timer and OPML import and export support and you're looking at one of the most full featured podcast apps available in Google Play. And it goes beyond Google Play, too. Pocket Casts is also available on iOS and the web, keeping your podcasts in sync no matter what device you're on.
Pocket Casts also takes on the task of podcast discovery and pretty much succeeds. The featured, trending and top podcast sections are brimmed with a bevy of shows covering all kinds of different subject areas. If you really are looking for one of the very best, then give Pocket Casts at least a look. The developers also post probably the best changelogs anywhere in the Play Store!
DOWNLOAD: Pocket Casts ($3.99)

2. BeyondPod

BeyondPod used to lack the visual flare of something like Pocket Casts, but it always brought it where it matters most. And now, it's also a damn fine looking app with its recent redesign. A favorite of many for a long time now, BeyondPod has power, features and access to a huge library of podcasts that should please even the most obscure show hunter.
It too has Chromecast support, something fast becoming a "must have" when it comes to media delivery applications, as well as cross-device sync and automatic background downloading. BeyondPod is available to trial, in full free for 7 days before you need to pay up the $6.99 for the full version. That's a nice touch and not something seen every day.
With that free trial, BeyondPod should certainly be given a look.
DOWNLOAD: BeyondPod ($6.99, 7 day free trial)

3. Podcast Addict

Podcast Addict is a free, ad-supported or paid-for premium podcatcher that may lack a little on the visuals but more than makes up in the features. It'll let you import your feeds from a number of sources but it'll also help you easily find some great new content to listen to. Search by channel, interests and more, and Podcast Addict will come up with the goods.
Besides podcasts, though, it'll also let you organize RSS feeds and YouTube channels which is something competing apps don't offer. It's also got Chromecast support built in which is fast becoming a must have feature. After all, why wouldn't you want to listen to your podcasts on the best speakers you own?
The option of a truly free and ad-supported version is appealing, but if you're going to be spending the $2.99 to remove the ads you may want to consider one of the prettier options out there. But if you're all about function over form, Podcast Addict will suit you just fine.
DOWNLOAD: Podcast Addict (Free, $2.99 to remove ads)

4. Doggcatcher

Doggcatcher is another long time favorite, indeed it once claimed the title of Android Central's Editors Choice for podcast app of the year – back in 2011 if you were wondering. The alternative choices weren't quite as strong as they are today, but Doggcatcher is still a strong choice.
The UI has gotten better with the past few updates, but still feels a step behind the leading competition. What it lacks in the user interface department it makes up for everywhere else, though — the way it handles podcasts with its auto download and delete, variable speed playback and feed categorization makes it worth checking out. And it has Chromecast support which we love to see.
At $2.99 all-in it's an inexpensive choice in the grand scheme of apps as well, so it's really worth giving a shot.
DOWNLOAD: Doggcatcher ($2.99)

5. Player FM

If you're looking for one of the most modern looking podcast players on Android, Player FM is where it's at. Embracing Google's new Material Design principles, Player FM just looks amazing. There's no other way to describe it. Beneath the good looks though, Player FM is packed with useful features like cross-device subscription sync and support for both Chromecast and Android Wear.
One of the other strong points to Player FM is its excellent discoverability features. Be it individual shows or subscribing to channels, you're going to be well looked after in finding some quality content. Tell it what you're interested in and watch it work its magic.
Oh, and it's completely free — forever, not just a trial — for up to 20 subscriptions, with a new Gold service coming to unlock unlimited subscriptions and a few other neat features.
DOWNLOAD: Player FM (Free)

6. Stitcher for Podcasts

Stitcher may be mostly known as an internet radio service, but it's also a great podcast service as well. You can browse and add all of your favorite podcasts, and "stitch" them together into stations for listening in the order you want. You can also keep up with breaking and daily news through a variety of top news programs to mix it up from your normal weekly podcasts. There's single sign-on support from Google and Facebook, which is convenient as well.
It's still sticking to its older-style of design that doesn't quite look as modern as Pocket Casts and Player FM do, but it's functional and familiar to folks who have been using Stitcher for years. And the fact that you're getting this many features in a free app definitely makes it worth considering.
DOWNLOAD: Stitcher for Podcasts (Free)

The 5 best keyboard apps for Android

Keyboards are important. Really important. Without a good keyboard, communicating on a smartphone can go from heavenly bliss straight back to teeth-pulling torture. Keyboards are also one of the most important apps you select from a security standpoint, as they are by their very nature keyloggers. And while most users will never really need to worry about if their keyboard is stealing their emails and passwords as they type it in, it is something that you should keep in mind if you're checking out a keyboard that you know absolutely nothing about.

There are a number of great keyboards out there, each with its own features, flaws, and followings. There are utterly simplistic keyboards and bleeding-edge keyboards with a longer list of features than some smartphones. Finding a keyboard that fits you and your lifestyle can be a bit daunting.
Whatever your style may be, these are the five keyboards that we think stand above the rest, and may be worthy of composing your LOLs and WTFs.

SwiftKey

You can't talk about keyboards without someone chiming in about SwiftKey, one of the most popular keyboards on Android. For years, SwiftKey soared above Google's included keyboard, and it did — and still does — come preinstalled on many a phone and tablet. SwiftKey's prediction methods, called the "fluency engine," has made it the keyboard that many users and editors alike keep coming back to. SwiftKey has been pre-loaded on millions of devices over the years, including on flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S4.
While SwiftKey used to be a paid app, the keyboard itself went free last year, instead having users pay for themes — such as their Frozen theme pack. SwiftKey led the keyboard pack for a while, but don't think they're the only game in town.
Download SwiftKey

Swype

Swype is to SwiftKey as GM is to Ford. Both are established, respected, feature-rich keyboards. Swype allows you to swipe out words or whole sentences, and Swype supports typing in two languages at once, for bilingual users. Swype offers a free version, but the full version is a dollar, and themes are an additional two dollars apiece. For those uninterested in having Elsa on they keyboard, Swype offers sports themes, including Major League Soccer themes.
Swype ties into Android's Accessibility features for TalkBack and Explore By Touch, which make Swype a keyboard vision-impaired users can learn more easily on their own. Copy/Cut/Paste functions are embedded as gestures in Swype's keyboard, too. Swype all the things!
Download Swype

Google Keyboard

While years ago, Google's built-in android keyboard was considered a bit of a slouch, it's built to compete today. The Google Keyboard is completely free, supports gesture typing for both individual words and entire sentences, a bounty of languages, a modest choice of themes, and it was the first keyboard to feature the full library of Kit Kat emoji last year. That may not sound like much, but after years of mediocre or downright dreadful emoji from the OEMs and keyboard manufacturers, Kit Kat system emoji was a welcome change and drew in quite a few users before third-party keyboards began to integrate it.
The Google Keyboard employs Google's own text-to-speech engine for voice dictation, and the many advancements in voice recognition made for Google Now and Android Wear over the last few years have benefitted this keyboard greatly. Google's keyboard still has a little ways to go on the text prediction, but it does learn from your typed data across Google's apps and services.
Download Google Keyboard

Fleksy

Fleksy is a keyboard that exudes class with its minimalist styling and its artfully done themes — if you want a Frozen keyboard theme that actually looks good, go get the Fleksy one. Now, make no mistake, Fleksy is not a cheap keyboard, though they do offer a 30-day trial to decide if it's worth the $1.99. After paying for the keyboard, most premium themes are also paid, including licensed themes like Frozen and The Hunger Games.
Beyond more traditional customization options like a fifth row for numbers and support for more layouts than your standard QWERTY and DVORAK, Fleksy's keyboard has extensions, allowing it to send things like gifs or work while becoming invisible. Another interesting addition to Fleksy is are the badges and rewards system that encourages users to master the keyboard and its features.
Download Fleksy

TouchPal

TouchPal is one of the lesser-recognized keyboards out there, but a few useful features have helped it stand out and get over 10 million installs. TouchPal's keyboard held the freemium model of an always-free keyboard with a paid theme store and paid cloud syncing before SwiftKey and the rest of the field headed that direction. However, while you can pay for premium themes, you also have the option to simply upload your own background image and make your own for free.
What has stood out about TouchPal for me, and made it my primary keyboard for the last year now are three things: the dialogue between the developers and the beta community, swiping from the backspace to delete the last word, and swiping the space bar up to access the emoji drawer, which supports system emoji and now emoji art and emoticons.
Download TouchPal

Which keyboard do you use?

What keyboard do you use?

SwiftKeySwypeGoogle KeyboardFleskyTouchPalOther (tell us in the comments!)

So, which keyboard graces your device? Do you prefer a more simplistic keyboard or a model with more bells and whistles? Chime in below in the comments section with your keyboard setup.

Gmail Inbox invites available until Friday morning

Anyone still itching to try out Google's next-generation Gmail experience, Inbox, have until 9 AM PST on Friday (tomorrow) to shoot an e-mail to inbox@google.com from a Gmail address to get in.
As a part of the new #InboxHappyHour, Google also released an infographic detailing the data they've gathered so far. A whooping 70% of Inbox users have been doing so on their Android device, which isn't a huge surprise. 85% of incoming messages fell under the organizational bundles, the busiest of which was the promos category. You can read the whole thing here. For those unfamiliar with Inbox, be sure to check out Phil's initial impressions.

How many of you are already in Gmail Inbox? Are you digging it? What would you change?
Source: Google

Z Launcher beta update brings preliminary icon pack support, UI improvements

After making its Z Launcher open to the public in beta form last fall, Nokia has issued the first major update for the app. In this update, Nokia is laying the groundwork for icon pack support, along with various UI and design improvements.
Here's the full breakdown of what's new and improved in beta version 1.1.0:

• Preliminary support for icon packs
• Long press on text - you can uninstall or hide app app from the ranked list, in addition to existing long-press behavior such as long-pressing the icon to drag it to the favorites bar
• UI improvements for a wide range of Android devices
• Improved design and performance of carousel widgets
• Improved Scribble handwriting recognition
• Play store icon will load Play store without pre-searched text (We heard you on this one!)
• Bug fixes

One of the hallmarks of Nokia's launcher replacement is its predictive nature. In other words, the launcher tries to predict what you're going to want to do with your device and populates a list of apps or actions at your fingertips based on those predictions.
If you're intrigued by this launcher replacement, feel free to hit up that Google Play badge above and grab the update — provided you have a compatible device. If you want a more in-depth look into what Z Launcher does, also feel free to check out our hands-on.

Pandora's app redesign is now available to all streamers

Pandora Radio announced an upcoming update late last year, which included a redesign of its mobile apps. The new design was available as a beta to just a fraction of Pandora users, but the update has hit supported Android hardware today.

Following on from the iOS release, which hit the Apple App Store earlier this week, here's the list of changes in the latest version for Android:

• A refreshed look and feel with a brand new design
• New Personalization Icon, providing convenient access to favorite stations
• "Un-thumb" a song, perfect if you mistakingly thumb a song up or down
• New mini-player to allow playback control while browsing around
• Notification and activity feed has been redesigned

It's quite the update and one we recommend everyone who uses Pandora to download right now. It remains interesting how Pandora fares up against the ever-growing competitive market that is music streaming.

Can't watch the Super Bowl? Use these Android apps instead

Whether you're just "in it for the commercials" or you're cheering on a team, you can watch from mobile if you have to

We can't all be comfortably seated in the best spot in the living room with a huge plate of wings and a threatening glare toward anyone who dares to even think about touching the remote control this Sunday night. For reasons passing understanding, Super Bowl Sunday is not a national holiday yet. As a result, you may have obligations that put you somewhere that doesn't have the big game playing. The good news is there are mobile options if you're able to watch. The bad news is, if you want to watch live, there's not a lot of them.
Basically your options for live streams come down to whether you have a tablet and whether you're a Verizon Wireless subscriber.
If you have an Android tablet, the NBC Sports Live Extra app is what you want. You can set a reminder in the app to drop a notification at you when the stream is about to begin, and through this app you'll be able to watch the game.
Even though the app is for both phones and tablets, the game is only available on tablets. For phones, the only live streaming options is NFL Mobile. As has always been the case, this app is only available to Verizon Wireless subscribers. If you have a "More Everything" shared data plan, the app is already set to stream the game for you. If your plan does not currently include NFL Mobile streaming, you'll be asked to pony up $5 to gain access.

If you really are one of those folks who just watches for the seemingly endless parade of typically impressive ads, your best bets are going to be through Hulu and YouTube. Hulu organizes the ads in the order they will be shown during the game, and lets you watch them as they become available through their "Ad Zone" section. If Hulu isn't your thing, almost all of these ads will show up on YouTube as they are being broadcast. There's currently no clever organization system in place for these ads, but these ads are usually heavily promoted as they are broadcasted so locating them is usually not hard to do.
Speaking of YouTube, the shiny new NFL page on YouTube has a ton of content for Super Bowl XLIX already, and the expectation is highlights and the halftime show will be added to the channel quickly. Subscribing to the NFL page on YouTube is probably the best way to get access to extra content as it becomes available.
Where will you be watching the Super Bowl this year? Bonus points if the answer involves a Football Leather Moto X.

Google Earth Pro features now available for free to everyone

Google has announced that they are making Google Earth Pro features free to all users. Google Earth Pro adds a number of features and on top of the standard Google Earth desktop setup that allow you to measure 3D buildings, record HD video of your virtual flights, and more. You'll now be able to record your virtual trip to your favorite city absolutely free.

To use Google Earth Pro for free, you can download the desktop app and grab a free key from Google. Enter your user name and license key when you open the app and you'll be good to go. Existing Pro users don't need to do anything, and their license keys will continue to work just fine.
Source: Google

Google Now gets integration with 40 third-party apps

If you were looking to pick a little more information in your Google Now cards, there's some good news today: Google has rolled out integration with third-party apps, enabling them to surface information within their own Now cards.

Google says it worked with a wide variety of developers to initially add support for 40 different apps. From its blog post:

In the morning, catch up on news of the day with cards from The Guardian. On your commute, Pandora can give you recommendations for music to play, based on what you like, or you can be reminded to complete your daily French lesson on Duolingo. During your downtime, you can take care of the groceries, with a card from Instacart reminding you to stock up on the things you often order. If you're planning a trip and looked up places to stay on your Airbnb app but couldn't make up your mind, you'll see Now cards from Airbnb for the location and dates you've researched. And when you land at an airport, you'll see a card to order a Lyft.

We haven't yet seen any cards from third-party apps on our devices, but Google notes that you should make sure you're on the latest version of its Google app to start seeing the new cards. Still, Now cards just got a whole lot more convenient. If you'd like to browse a list of currently supported apps, you can find that here. For more information on the integration itself, you can hit up that source link below.
Source: Google