Google search lets you send notes, directions to your android
phones
You can do a lot more from Google's search page
than just look for Web sites and information online, especially if you have a
smartphone that uses the company's Android operating system. The latest updates
let users with Google-linked phones send directions from a desktop search to
their mobile devices, as well as create notes, alarms and reminders.
For
now, the new features are available only to Android users in the U.S. They also
require phone owners to have the most recent version of the Google app
installed on their mobile devices, and to have turned on both Now cards and Web
& App activity.
Earlier
this month, Google revealed that its search function now lets users with
Android phones locate their devices simply by typing in "find my
phone" on their desktops. In addition to showing the location of a device
on a map, that search feature can also be used to remotely ring a misplaced
phone.
It
All Starts with Search
To
use any of the latest Google capabilities, Android phone owners will also need
to have their browser language set to English and be signed into the same
Google account on both their desktops and mobile devices. Location reporting
also needs to be set in "high accuracy" mode.
To
send directions from a desktop search, you'll first need to type, "send
directions to my phone." After that, type in where you want to go and then
click, "send directions to your phone." After receiving a
notification on your mobile device, you can then touch the screen to use Google
Maps to find your way.
You
can create notes, alarms or reminders in much the same way. Starting at
google.com, type in the desired command -- "send a note to my phone,"
"set an alarm" or "set a reminder" -- and then click the
prompt to enable that function on your mobile device.
For
those with Android Wear devices, setting reminders or taking notes doesn't even
require taking out your phones. By using the Keep app, you can start browsing
existing notes or create a new one just by saying, "OK Google, open
Keep" or "OK Google, take a note" to your Android Wear device.
New
Code Samples for Android Wear, NFC
Google
last week also launched five new Android code samples for developers looking to
enable a variety of functions, and posted them to its repository on Git Hub.
The samples help code developers add new functionality for Android Wear,
Android for Work, near field communication (NFC) and screen capturing.
XYZ
Tourist Attractions, for example, "is modeled after a hypothetical tourist
attractions app that notifies the user when they are in close proximity to
notable points of interest." It enables the display of images and summary
information on Android Wear components, as well as providing actions for other
nearby attractions via a grid-view interface.
Another
code sample, NFC Beam Large Files, demonstrates how to transfer large files via
Android Beam with devices running Android 4.1 and higher. After an initial
handshake over NFC, files can be transferred over a high-speed channel using
Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct.
Developers
who want to get a jump-start on building new Android apps for Christmas can
also find Google's Santa Tracker as open source code on GitHub. The code
includes a graphical launcher for videos and games, as well as for the Santa-tracking
app itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment