Walyou

Third-Party Android Apps Will Soon Use ‘OK, Google’ for In-App Searches

Posted: 31 Oct 2014 01:15 PM PDT

The search giant doesn’t only want to expand Google Now functionality to its other apps, now it also wants other developers to be able to include in-app search based on the ‘OK, Google’ phrase.

With mobile devices, it’s much easier to do a voice search instead of typing all the details of your query. By enabling app developers to include their voice search in their Android apps, Google does not act like an uninvited guest at a party, but it actually makes the other apps easier to use.

According to a post written by Jarek Wilkiewicz, Developer Advocate, Google Search, on the Android Developers Blog, the changes that need to be made are minimal: “How many lines of code will it take to let your users say Ok Google, and search for something in your app? Hardly any. Starting today, all you need is a small addition to your AndroidManifest.xml in order to connect the Google Now SEARCH_ACTION with your searchable activity.”

Basically, the entire code that needs to be added to that file is this:

There is a great number of ways the new in-app search could make our lives easier, and Google provided a couple of examples: “At Google, we always look for innovative ways to help you improve mobile search and drive user engagement back to your app. For example, users can now say to the Google app: ‘Ok Google, search pizza on Eat24′ or ‘Ok Google, search for hotels in Maui on TripAdvisor.’”

That’s right, ‘OK, Google’ will be available for in-app searches, but Android users will also be able to search within an app using Google Now, without having to launch the third-party app. I would say that this makes the whole experience even smoother.

Wilkiewicz also explained that there are some “system requirements,” in order for the ‘OK, Google’ in-app search to work on your Android smartphone or tablet: “This feature is available on English locale Android devices running Jelly Bean and above with the Google app v3.5 or greater. Last but not least, users can enable the Ok Google hot-word detection from any screen, which offers them the fastest route between their search command and your app!”

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about how Google Now’s flight tracker saves frequenty flyers a ton of cash, and why Google Now cards no longer require an Internet connection.

HP Sprout 3D Scanning AIO PC Unleashes Your Creativity

Posted: 31 Oct 2014 12:28 PM PDT

Most new devices rely on a single innovation as their selling point, but HP’s Sprout AIO PC is more than that. It ditches some of peripherals we’re all too familiar with, and replaces them with some spectacular accessories.

First of all, HP Sprout gets rid of the mouse and keyboard, thinking that while for gamers such peripherals are essential, artists could very well do without. As a replacement, Hewlett Packard equipped this AIO PC with a 20-point capacitative touchmat. Just in case you’re not that comfortable to typing on a flat surface, a chiclet keyboard is also included in the pack.

Secondly, HP Sprout features a built-in projector and four cameras. By using it the Sprout Illuminator, as this entire gizmo is called, artists can easily transpose physical things into the digital world. All this couldn’t have been possible with an Intel RealSense 3D camera, which features a 14.6 mega-pixel sensor. The chip maker’s plans to equip smartphones and tablets in 2015 needed to be somehow exhibited in a bigger format.

As soon as the 2D or 3D objects are scanned, they are displayed on the 23″ Full HD touchscreen display, which I assume is an IPS panel. From there on, artists are able to manipulate the objects as they desire. However, the touchmat can be used for more than just editing photographies. It can also mimic musical instruments such as pianos, enabling people to play their tunes right in front of their computer.

HP will obviously launch some software to complement all this revolutionary hardware, but I think that as far as playing piano goes, the Sprout AIO takes away some of the magic. The Sprout Marketplace, as the dedicated app store will be called, is in fact just a storefront for the Windows 8.1 Marketplace featuring only the apps that are compatible with this AIO.

In terms of technical specs, the HP Sprout packs an Intel Haswell CPU with the integrated Intel HD4600 GPU and a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GT 745A graphics card with a 2GB DDR3 RAM. In case the standard 8GB of RAM are not enough, users can opt for 16GB instead. The 1TB hard-drive should be sufficient for storing edited photos, but not much else.