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.