The Internet giant Google on Tuesday issued a small update to its Chrome for iOS browser, adding better support for the “Retina HD” iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screens.
The free download also enables another interesting feature — the ability to download and open files directly in the Google Drive application, if installed on your device. Finally, this release includes customary bug fixes and stability improvements.
Google Chrome is available free in the App Store.
The official Google Drive app for iPhone and iPad has been updated to version 3.1 with several added features. An all-new incoming view displays files that have been shared with you as they arrive, alongside an activity stream for viewing changes to files and folders made by you and others from the details panel. We've recapped some of the other changes and have the official release notes after the break…
Google's frontend iPhone and iPad app for its Drive cloud-storage service has received a much-needed passcode lock feature in an update this morning.
If your productivity depends on the Google cloud and you store your documents, presentations and spreadsheets in Google Drive, a thief was able to access all your files simply by launching the Drive app on a stolen device.
Fortunately enough, this won't be possible going forward as Google Drive 3.0 is now live in the App Store with a handy new passcode feature...
Google announced some drastic price cuts for its Drive cloud storage today, dropping its 100GB plan down to just $1.99 per month. The service now significantly undercuts rivals like Dropbox, which charges $10 per month for 100GB, and iCloud, which doesn't even offer a 100GB option.
To be fair, Google's Drive pricing was already lower than Dropbox, with a 100GB plan costing $4.99 per month vs. $9.99. But that extra $3 per-month savings equates out to $36 per year, making it even more attractive. Don't mind paying $9.99 monthly? Drive now offers 1TB at that price...
The popular cross-platform desktop media player, VLC by VideoLan, has finally received its iOS 7 makeover in Monday's version 2.2 update. Launching later today in the App Store, VLC for iOS 2.2 includes a number of new features and refinements, and a long list of bug fixes.
Perhaps most notably, you can now stream media stored in your Google Drive and Dropbox. As you'd expect from any iOS 7 app refresh, there are some new multitouch gestures for easier navigation.
VLC has always had a very robust support for non-iOS friendly audio and video file types and today's update is no exception: matter of fact, VLC 2.2 expands on that with support for some new streaming formats and protocols...
The search monster Google today updated its free Drive for iPhone and iPad app with the much-needed ability to sort your cloud files according to several built-in criteria. The highly requested feature finally makes it easy to access your files by last edited, last modified, title and last opened by you. Additionally, you can also find and replace in documents.
I switched from the native Microsoft Office apps to Google Docs years ago and never looked back. Google's suite of cloud productivity apps has won me over with its ability to access, edit and share my stuff on any network-enabled computer, right in a web browser, without having to install anything...
In terms of feature additions, it's been a quiet period for the Google Drive iOS app after a major visual makeover two months ago brought the software in line with its Android counterpart. But the team hasn't been standing still. In a small but sweet update Thursday, the app has finally gained a much requested new feature - support for multiple Google Accounts - as well as the ability to print your documents wirelessly via either Apple's AirPrint or Google's Cloud Print protocol.
Jump past the fold for additional tidbits...
With just five days left until Apple's big iOS 7/iPhone 5S/5C big reveal next Tuesday, a bunch of iOS 7 focused updates have begun trickling in. Some of the most popular apps from both Apple and well-known brands like PayPal are now being refreshed with a matching flat iOS 7 look and feel, including major games such as Electronic Arts' Real Racing 3.
You can now add Google's Drive app for the iPhone and iPad to your iOS 7 compatibility list. You'll immediately notice a drastically redesigned interface that behaves much like its Android counterpart, without looking out of place on iOS 7.
Along with a few other enhancements, you're going to absolutely love the card-style thumbnail layout from Android as it makes it dead easy and fun to browse and preview your files - and it looks even more gorgeous on the iPad.
Jump past the fold for additional facts...
Folks with Gmail, Dropbox and/or Google Drive accounts will be happy to hear that there is a new app available that allows you to search through them with a single tap. It's called FindIt, and it can locate emails and files for you on all three services.
Need to pull up an old email? No problem. Just type in the name of the person who sent it to you, or part of its subject line, and FindIt will track it down. And the same goes with media and other file types. Think Spotlight search for your cloud apps...
Google is building a nice little ecosystem around Apple's iOS by feverishly updating its iPhone and iPad warez with deep cross-app integration. For example, earlier this month the Internet giant refreshed its Chrome iOS browser with the ability to open URLs for YouTube, Maps, Google+ and Drive in Google’s native iOS apps instead of the browser.
Notably absent from that update: the Google Drive client for the iPhone and iPad. Well, Google saw to that with today's Drive iOS release which can now open links in Google's Chrome or Apple's Safari browser. Google Drive version 1.5 also adds support for inserting rows and columns using the “+” button in Google Sheets...
If you use Google Drive to keep your files safely backed up in the Google cloud, pay attention as the Internet giant has just pushed an interesting little update making its iOS client a whole lot more useful for collaborative work than before.
Google Drive for the iPhone and iPad has been bumped up to version 1.4, adding swipeable images while viewing them in full screen, in addition to comments for your Google Docs files.
The first feature lets you swipe through the images stored in your Drive as you would in Apple's stock iOS Photos app. The latter capability supports viewing, creating, replying to and resolving comments in Google Docs files.
Commenting was previously available via the web interface, but not on mobile devices. The free application is now live on the App Store so go ahead and update it if you haven't already...
Hands up who lives in the Google cloud. If you keep your images on Google+ Photos (formerly Picasa Web Albums), manage documents in Google Drive or file messages with large attachments in Gmail, you are tapping the power of Google's cloud storage. But up until today, each of these relied on their private cloud locker in the sky, which was inconvenient.
This morning, Google has tweaked the offering to include fifteen gigabytes of unified, free storage shared across Gmail, Drive and Google+ Photos. Previously, Google gave you ten gigabytes for Gmail and an additional five gigabytes of combined storage limited to Drive and Google+ Photos.
The change strengthens the Drive brand while simplifying things for consumers, akin to Apple's iCloud that comes with five free gigabytes of shared cloud storage...