Posts by Oliver Haslam

Google's newest VP, Rich Osterloh. Photo: Motorola

Google’s newest VP, Rich Osterloh. Photo: Motorola

Google has created a whole new hardware division that will bring Chromecast and Nexus devices under the stewardship of one man while taking Glass away from Tony Fadell.

Former Motorola president Rick Osterloh has returned to Google, two months after leaving the company that was sold to Lenovo around the same time. Osterloh will head up a new hardware team and report directly to CEO Sundar Pichai.

Now ultimately responsible for the Chromecast, Google Glass and the Nexus lineup, Osterloh managed to drag himself through the ranks at Motorola while it was under Google’s wing, moving from head of product management to president during that time. Osterloh eventually left Motorola following its purchase by Lenovo as part of a wider reorganization of the company’s management team.

Qus searches multiple sources simultaneously - Photo: Google Play Store

The Qus music app searches multiple sources simultaneously. Photo: Google Play Store

Choosing a music streaming service is no mean feat right now, with Spotify, Deezer and even Apple Music among the offerings available to those who enjoy their tunes. The new Qus music app makes listening to your favorite songs as easy as possible by breaking down the barriers between streaming services.

Aggregating streaming services and throwing in a global search option is all well and good, but Qus goes a step further by adding a social listening experience that may be just enough to push it over the edge from fairly useful to magically musical.

The transforming Mi Pad 2 Photo: Hugo Barra

The transforming Mi Pad 2 in its “normal” state. Photo: Hugo Barra

It’s not every day you see a tablet transform into a, well, a Transformer. But that’s exactly what we’re going to show you today, after Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra shared photos of a Mi Pad 2 that morphs into a robot.

Fans of the Transformers universe, whether that be the original cartoons back in the 1980s or the more recent reboots of the franchise, will no doubt agree that this is about as awesome as the Mi Pad 2 gets.

Google's Android Marshmallow is still some way behind Kit Kat. Photo: Google

Google’s Android Marshmallow still lags behind KitKat. Photo: Google

Google’s Android Marshmallow update is now running on over 4.6 percent of devices worldwide, the company reports, up from the 2.3 percent point at which it sat during March. As those with a keen eye will already have noted, that means Android 6.0.x is now live on double the number of devices than last month.

Google’s statistics, which cover the seven-day rolling period ending April 4, have Marshmallow still a long, long way behind the most dominant Android release currently keeping devices ticking along. That badge of honor belongs to Android KitKat, which makes up a comparatively massive 33 percent of the Android installed base.

The latest WhatsApp beta is available now. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

The latest WhatsApp beta is available now. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Those on the WhatsApp Messenger beta track will notice a new version is ready to install, with Quick Reply functionality sitting pretty at the top of its release notes.

As always, it’s only for those brave enough to live life on the beta bleeding edge. But WhatsApp beta v2.12.260 might actually be worth the risk of downloading test software.

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