More job cuts are on the way over at Motorola, with parent company Google looking to slash the Moto workforce by 10%, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In an email seen by one of the publication's reporters, it read that the company believes that "costs are too high, we're operating in markets where we're not competitive, and we're losing money," adding, "while we're very optimistic about the new products in our pipeline, we still face challenges."

The cuts will lead to 1,200 members of Motorola staff across the US, China and India losing their jobs.

According to a Motorola spokesperson:

"These cuts are a continuation of the reductions we announced last summer. It's obviously very hard for the employees concerned, and we are committed to helping them through this difficult transition."

Behind closed doors it must have been a really difficult week for the Google/Motorola relationship. Just a few days ago, Google CFO Patrick Pichette, speaking at Morgan Stanley's Technology Conference, really twisted the knife in.

Pichette described Motorola's upcoming products as being "not really to the standards that what Google would say is wow -- innovative, transformative."

Might be best to hold off buying Motorola's new gear then until Google give it their blessing.

Google has updated its Google+ social networking site, adding a new tab for local user generated reviews and the ability to upload larger cover photos.

Added to the left hand panel, the Local Reviews tab lets users discuss and share their favourite local restaurants, amenities and places of interest. While it's not yet confirmed, expect to see these reviews eventually find their way onto Google's over services, such as Maps.Next, Google has added the ability to upload larger cover photos to the site, supposedly at the request of its users. When maximised, users can now pop a 16x9 widescreen image at the top of their personal pages, whilst the About tab has also been given a makeover, split now into colour coded block sections.

The Google Hangout feature also gets a revamp, with a full dialler now present for when calling another user's phone. It's currently limited to users in the US and Canada however.

Expect to see the features roll out gradually in the next few weeks.

Remember those Google Play store gift cards we wrote about that looked set to land in the UK soon? Well they've now arrived.

Available in shops and supermarkets including Tesco and Morrisons, they come in £10, £25, and £50 values.

You can click here and enter your postcode to find the nearest retailer selling the cards, and its worth remembering that retailers often put deals out on gift cards, meaning in time you might find some cheap Google Play credit bargains waiting at the till after your supermarket "big shop".

The US has been enjoying pre-paid Android Play app store gift cards for some time now, but UK Android owners have only been given a whiff of a useless "redeem" page to date, with no actual gift cards to redeem on it.

It looks however as though that's about to change. Android Authority has been trawling the Google support pages, where they've found mention of UK prices.

It seems that we'll soon be able to buy £10, £25 and £50 gift cards for the Android Play store, which can be redeemed on app, music, eBook and movie purchases.

Though there's still no set release date, the launch can't come soon enough. Apple's App Store and iTunes gift cards have been littering the gift card racks of supermarkets for years. Gift cards would be another great way that Google could assert Android as a mainstream, app-centric platform to casual UK users, as well as nabbing a few quid from less tech-savvy grannies out to buy birthday gifts for the grandkids.

That said, Nan, if you're reading, I'd still just prefer the cash, thanks.

When Google bought out smartphone hardware manufacturers Motorola, many thought we were about to enter into a golden age for Android hardware. With Google providing the latest Android innovations to Motorola's always-solid hardware, it was thought to be the start of a flourishing, mutually beneficial relationship for both companies.

That appears to not be the case currently though. While we're still waiting for the first fruits of the partnership to land, it seems Google don't think much of the next batch of Motorola phones. And Google CFO Patrick Pichette, speaking at Morgan Stanley's Technology Conference, has really twisted the knife in.

According to The Verge, Pichette described Motorola's upcoming products as being "not really to the standards that what Google would say is wow -- innovative, transformative."

Ouch.

Apparently, as part of the sale, Google also inherited a 12-18 month product roadmap with Motorola, something that the Mountain View company has little influence over, and obviously doesn't care for. With Google's confidence in the next line of Motorola goods obviously not riding high, it may be wise to hold fire on a purchase until the parent company actually, you know, likes what Motorola are doing.

In its defence, the recent batch of Motorola phones has been pretty consistently good, with the Motorola RAZR HD in particular picking up praise. Still, despite plenty of hype, the rumoured Motorola X Phone may be one to steer clear of going by what Pichette is saying.

Google, makers of the Android mobile operating system, and Samsung, makers of the most successful Android smartphone range with their Galaxy line. You'd think the two would be best buddies, each helping to fill the coffers of the other. But in reality, it seems the two companies are becoming increasingly cautious of the other.

A report from the Wall Street Journal and highlighted by The Verge suggests that Google is beginning to fear that Samsung's mobile might could eventually make them a competitor, not a partner.

The WSJ points to a meeting held in 2012 in which Andy Rubin, head of Android, on one hand praised Samsung's success on the platform, but also warned that Google may find itself on the back foot if Samsung's Android popularity continued to grow unrivalled.

With Samsung accounting for 39.6% of the global smartphone market and the majority of that made up from Android sales, Rubin is said to have cautioned that Samsung may soon feel themselves in a position to make increasingly difficult demands from Google. This could be in the shape of feature exclusivity, with Samsung's smartphone popularity growing to such a point that they could threaten to launch a custom operating system that borrows heavily from Google's own, in much the same way that Amazon did with their Kindle Fire line.

As it stands, even Samsung's closest Android competitor HTC is flailing.

Google's defence? The purchase of Motorola Mobility, an asset that Rubin called a hedge against Samsung's growing popularity. With it, Google may be able to make their Nexus line the most highly sought after Android devices. The Nexus 4 set the ball rolling well in this direction, while the rumoured X Phone could capitalise on that momentum, improving Google's position against Samsung.

Google are said to be planning to launch their own music streaming service in Q3 2013 to rival Spotify, according to new reports from both the Financial Times and Bloomberg.

Google may beat both Apple and Amazon to the punch with a streaming service that offers a "library of millions of songs" to subscribers. Both Amazon and Apple have been rumoured to be launching similar services, though none have materialised.

Google's streaming service would be in addition to the Google Play music store already open for business from the Mountain View company, allowing for MP3 downloads, as well as cloud-locker storage for previously-bought songs.

Bloomberg tip the service to launch in Q3 of this year, but do not share any details on pricing, nor cross-platform compatibility. It may be in Google's interests to lock any such streaming service to their Android devices and Chrome OS, though record company's may be less keen to see the already-slim revenue from streams locked into a single platform.

Indeed, Google have been popping out more and more iOS apps in recent months, and the opportunity to further monetize users of a rival platform will likely be tempting.

The Chromebook just got serious: Google have revealed the Chromebook Pixel, a high-resolution notebook using their Chrome OS, following weeks of speculation and leaks.

Packing in a 2560x1700, 239ppi touchscreen display 12.85 inches in size, it's bigger than Chromebook's from Google's partners, with its anodized aluminum body clearly looking to court those who'd otherwise look towards purchasing an Apple MacBook Air. Indeed, it's got 19 more pixels per inch than even Apple's might MacBook Pro with Retina display.

Interestingly, the Chromebook Pixel sports a 3:2 ratio display. Google executives state this is due to its web-centric nature - websites use more vertical designs than standard applications, and this unusual screen size will accommodate it by meaning you won't have to scroll around them as much to view them. The screen also boasts a 400 nit brightness and 178-degree wide viewing angle.Though using the web-only Chrome OS (the Pixel will come in both Wi-Fi only and a Wi-Fi and 4G variant in the States), the machine is fairly well spec'd compared to the standard low-powered Chromebooks on the market. Though storage space remains low, with only 32GB and 64GB SSD variants available (Chrome OS encourages you to save all your files in the Cloud through Google's Drive storage service, and 1TB of free storage for three years is offered with the Pixel), under the hood also sits a decent 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 processor and 4GB RAM. Don't expect to do any serious gaming on the device though; its only Intel's integrated Graphics 4000 card on offer here.

Other features include a backlit keyboard, glass touchpad, two mics with noise cancelling tech, a 720p webcam, two USB 2.0 ports, a mini-display port and a two-in-one SD and MMC card reader.

It wont come cheap though. Expect to pay $1,299/£1,049 for the Wi-Fi only version, while the LTE build will cost $1,449 in the States. So far, no 4G version is slated for release in the UK. Cost taks into account onboard storage capacities; 32GB for Wi-Fi only, while there's 64GB in the LTE model.

Google's future ranges of Nexus devices will have "insanely great cameras", according to a Google+ posting by a senior Google executive.

Vic Gundotra, head of Google+, was fielding questions about his photography habits on his Google+ page. One question was in regards to the Nexus device's image capturing capabilities, with one man hoping to be able to ditch his dedicated camera altogether in favour of a souped-up smartphone snapper, to which Gundotra replied, "We are committed to making Nexus phones insanely great cameras. Just you wait and see."

Though Google's Nexus phone and tablet ranges have proved remarkably popular, they've still only managed to include passable camera tech (with the camera in the otherwise-superb LG Nexus 4 being one of its few merely average features).

With every smartphone worth its salt now a quad-core monster, it seems that the fight is moving away from processors and towards camera capabilities. HTC's One handset, expected to launch today, has been teased as offering "ultra-pixel" still shots and new ZOE camera tech (neither of which we're entirely sure of what they mean), and it seems Google is ready to stand its ground in this new arena too.

RELATED
REVIEW: Google Nexus 4 Android smartphone by LG

Wii U owners now have access to Google Maps through their console, along with GamePad support and Street View features.

Called "Wii Street U", it's a free download from the console's eShop if grabbed now, though it'll cost an unspecified amount once the limited-time freebie offer ends. It's not yet clear how much this will be, or when the freebie offer will end, though considering Google Maps is free of charge on pretty much every web-connected platform available, this seems a bit rich.

In its defence, the app does come with a host of platform-specific features, including Street View navigation through the Wii U's second-screen GamePad, allowing an overhead map to be shown on the TV screen while a worms-eye-view is displayed on the tablet-like controller.

There's also a Panorama View that allows Wii U owners to explore a range of locations with the controllers gyroscope and accelerometer functions, letting users navigate 360-degree videos of world-famous landmarks. A tour guide feature rounds off the list of Wii U specific features, offering up a number of recommended destinations complete with information and images for families to interact with.

The launch was revealed in today's Nintendo Direct conference, Nintendo's regular video newsletter to fans. It also showed off a slew of 3DS games set for release in the near future, including Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. You can view all the news in the official video below:

How much do you use Google+, Google's social network? More than Facebook? Almost certainly not we'd imagine, unless you call Google's Mountain View HQ home. How about more than Twitter though? Again unlikely, but that's what's being suggested by new stats published by a company called GlobalWebIndex.

The company's data appears to show Google+ grew by 27% over December 2012, seeing it overtake the global user base numbers of both Twitter and YouTube with 343 million users.

Even more interestingly, these figures relate to active users - not simply those who signed up for Google+ to give it a go and then gave up on it.

It seems mad, given the popularity and user retention of Twitter, but when you consider just how many Google products Google+ is baked into, it begins to sound more plausible. Whether you're using Gmail or Calendar or any other Google service, you're bombarded with opportunities to check or interact with your Google+ network, not to mention the fact that any ratings or reviews of Android apps purchased through the Google Play store pass through your Google+ account first. Perhaps we've underestimated just how much we passively use Google+ these days, though we'd still take these figures with a pinch of salt.

Click here for an in-depth look at the stats.

Google's Nexus 7 tablet is now outselling Apple's iPad devices in Japan.

And, rather than just outselling Apple's own 7-inch iPad Mini model, Google's Nexus 7 tablet is beating all versions of the iPad in Japanese sales figures.

The figures come from Japanese business daily Nikkei, who surveyed 2,400 electronics stores on sales figures over the Christmas holiday period. During that time, the Nexus 7 snagged 44.4% of the market, compared to a 40.1% share of all iPad sales combined.

So what's caused the shift? Obviously, price is a big factor. In Japan, the Nexus 7 and iPad Mini (the cheapest iPad) cost 9,800 Japanese yen (£138) and 28,800 yen (£200) respectively; a significant difference.

Also, stock issues may have came into play, with the iPad Mini in short supply over the Christmas period after a sales rush immediately following its launch. The Japanese love miniature items, especially in tech, which may have came into play when consumers were faced with a choice between a full-size iPad or Google's smaller unit.

Not that the iPad sales were slowing during this period. Compared to the year before, the entire tablet market had swelled to "2.8 times the size" of twelve months prior, meaning iPad sales had increased overall, just failing to overtake Google's Nexus 7 in the process.

Via: Nikkei

Smart glasses such as Google's Project Glass and other wearable smart devices including health and fitness trackers could hit 70 million sales by 2017, a new report by Juniper Research has found.

Referring to the period between 2013 and 2017, Juniper predict a steady rise in adoption of wearable devices, reasoning that sales will rise from 15 million devices sold to 70 million by 2017 as prices fall and consumer familiarity and confidence in the new hi-tech market increases.

As well as Google's Glass, Juniper predict similar smart devices to land from Microsoft and Apple, with sports and healthcare devices the most likely launches as they are expected to dominate with a combined share 80% market share by 2017.

Part of the success of smart glasses and wearable devices will be dependent on building a popular app eco system adds the report, preferably one that interacts and integrates with stores that are already established and familiar to consumers.

"The development of the smartphone/app store model has opened up new avenues for other segments within the market, such as the wearable device market, by combining mobility with an efficient method of software delivery," said report author Nitin Bhas.

"The simultaneous development of app-ecosystem and wearable devices will integrate technologies, such as augmented reality, into human life more seamlessly."

Overall, the market is expected to be worth $1.5 billion by 2017, with consumers in North America and western Europe making up 60% of the global market for wearable devices.

However, it's still early days for wearable devices and augmented reality headsets. Just today Google announced a pair of conferences to help budding Glass developers get up to speed.

Click here to read the full report.

Google have announced plans to hold two separate developer conferences in the US for Google Glass, their wearable augmented reality headset.

Open to developers who signed up for the $1,500 developer edition of the Project Glass glasses, the events are to be held at the Google headquarters in San Francisco over January 28 and 29 and New York over February 1 and 2.

Though the events come at short notice for those developers looking to get involved, there's the very exciting promise that each team that attends will "have a device to use while on-site."

Developers at the two day events will be giving tips on how best to use the Google Glass Mirror API, which "gives you the ability to exchange data and interact with the user over REST," according to Google. Babak Parviz who is heading up the Google Glass project said that the company are also working on a cloud-based API that will allow developers to integrate their Android apps into Google Glass.

Space is thought to be incredibly limited at the events, so if you're a developer looking to get involved you'll need to register by Friday 18 January at 4pm PT. Those accepted will receive a confirmation letter with terms and conditions prior to the event.

A Juniper Research paper today has suggested that wearable devices and smart glasses may reach sales of 70 million by 2017.

Google Glass is a work-in-progress project from the search giants, aiming to offer a head-mounted display that uses augmented reality glasses with a mobile data connection to overlay context-aware information onto the world around you through the lenses. Running off the Android OS, the hope for Google Glass is to offer hands-free access to actions currently available through mobile devices, such as email and calendar alerts, travel and contact information and more.

IMAGE - Wikipedia

Google's LG-built Nexus 4 handset was the smartphone bargain of last year, delivering premium features and the latest version of Android at a low, low price. But despite debuting in November, the handset may already be making way for a successor.

Reports are coming in that LG have already began to cease production of the smartphone in order to accommodate production of the next Nexus device. LG had already dropped hints that the Nexus 4 was the "first of many" handsets on the way as part of the new Google partnership, but no-one expected a follow up to arrive so soon.

Indeed, LG had no big smartphone showing at this month's CES conference, instead promising a major launch at MWC 2013. Could that launch be the Google Nexus 5?

If so, what would see in the Google Nexus 5? The Nexus 4, showcased Android 4.2.2 - would the Nexus 5 be the lead Android Key Lime Pie device, the rumoured next-generation of the Android operating system?

Regardless, Google and LG will need to fix the supply problems that have plagued the Nexus 4 so far. The pair have struggled to fulfill pre-order purchases, while it's near impossible to pick up the handset without it being tied to a contract, selling out of SIM-free stock almost immediately on two occasions from Google's own Play Store.

We were very impressed with the Google Nexus 4, calling it our favourite Android handset of last year. You can read our full review by clicking here.

Via: CNET / International Business Times

Microsoft are claiming that Google are preventing YouTube from putting together a fully-fledged Windows Phone YouTube app.

Currently, users of Microsoft's Windows Phone OS have a limited YouTube app that is little better than the lowly mobile web service that YouTube already offer, while Android and iOS both have bespoke, feature-rich apps for accessing the wealth of video content hosted by YouTube.

Microsoft believe that the team at YouTube are willing to go all out and make a solid Windows Phone app, but are being held back by owners Google who will not allow the platform access to the full YouTube API.

"Microsoft has continued to engage with YouTube personnel over the past two years to remedy this problem for consumers," said Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel Dave Heiner.

"As you might expect, it appears that YouTube itself would like all customers - on Windows Phone as on any other device - to have a great YouTube experience. But just last month we learned from YouTube that senior executives at Google told them not to enable a first-class YouTube experience on Windows Phones."

Heiner falls just short of calling the whole thing an anti-Microsoft conspiracy on Google's behalf. But that wouldn't explain why Google allowed a strong YouTube app to be available on the Xbox 360. The reality is probably that, while Google indeed don't want to bolster a platform that rivals their own Android operating system, Windows Phone has yet to reach a large enough audience to justify allocating the YouTube team's resources to in any significant way.

Though Heiner's public statement may speed up matters, there's still no word yet from YouTube as to when a revamped app for Windows Phone users will become available.

Via: AllThingsD

Google have apologised for the stock shortages and delivery delays buyers of their Nexus 4 smartphone have experienced.

Responding to irate consumers on the hunt for a Nexus 4 (who hijacked a post on Google's Zeitgeist 2012 list in order to voice their protests), Google have called the situation "unacceptable", pointing the finger of blame at manufacturing partners LG.

"I know that what you are going through is unacceptable and we are all working through the nights and weekends to resolve this issue," said Dan Cobley, managing director of Google UK & Ireland, through Google +.

"Supplies from the manufacturer are scarce, and our communication has been flawed. I can offer an unreserved apology for our service and communication failures in this process."

Demand for the Nexus 4 seems to have overwhelmed Google. Customers who have been told to expect a 3-5 day shipping wait have in some cases had to wait weeks, or are still waiting for their handset to arrive - a particularly nail-biting experience if it's intended as a Christmas gift, this late in December. The low price of the top-tier handset saw initial stock sell out in minutes, with even the second wave of stock selling out quickly.

The handset is available tied to a network through a number of carriers, but doesn't benefit from the same heavily subsidised price that is offered through the Google Play store.

RELATED:
Google Nexus 4 Android smartphone by LG

Apple's Newsstand has a new rival in the digital magazine publishing space here in old Blighty, with Google finally launching their Google Play Magazine store in the UK.

Plenty of big name titles are already on the store, including GQ, Esquire, Wired Vogue and more, all coming with a free 30 day trial, after which the first payment of a subscription will be due.

The stand alone application is available here from the Google Play Store now. It's already filled up with the latest editions as well as back issues, with big colourful cover page previews to browse through. Prices are set individually by each publisher, with deals in place for ongoing subscriptions. GQ, for example, costs £2.99 for each individual issue, but that price drops to £2.49 per month if you subscribe. A yearly subscription paid up front is the cheapest option at £23.99, working out at roughly £1.99 an issue.

Google have released their annual Google Zeitgeist list, revealing the most searched for terms in the UK and worldwide across 2012.

While the usual list of celebrities feature prominently (the late Whitney Houston topping the list, with royal Kate Middleton in second and Take That's Gary Barlow in third), the top tech search terms make for fascinating reading.

Even with the release of three different iPad models this year, Apple's tablet was tipped to the post in the UK search stakes by the Netflix movie and TV streaming service. Harry Potter social netowork Pottermore makes the list, as do the ever popular Moshi Monster's kids fad, while Diablo III is notable as the only video game to be widely searched for in 2012.

Worryingly for Apple, the second most-popular "what is" search was for their iCloud cloud storage service, suggesting the Cupertino company haven't been successful in educating consumers as to what the product is capable of. It's second in that search category to only "what is love?", which is a question Tech Digest throws out into the eternal void itself everday...

The full list of top searches can be found below:

Top 10 trending UK search terms of 2012

1. Euro 2012

2. Olympic tickets

3. Whitney Houston

4. Kate Middleton

5. April Jones

6. Netflix

7. Natwest online

8. iPad 3

9. Gary Barlow

10. Gangnam Style

Top trending people

1. Whitney Houston

2. Kate Middleton

3. Gary Barlow

4. Tulisa

5. Jessica Ennis

6. Fabrice Muamba

7. Michael Clarke Duncan

8. Morgan Freeman

9. Prince Harry

10. Usain Bolt

Top trending British people

1. Kate Middleton

2. Gary Barlow

3. Tulisa

4. Jessica Ennis

5. Prince Harry

6. Tom Daley

7. Mo Farah

8. Jimmy Savile

9. Victoria Pendleton

10. Danica Thrall

Top trending news stories

1. Euro 2012

2. Olympics

3. Hurricane Sandy

4. Olympic torch route

5. Eurovision 2012

6. Whitney Houston

7. Felix Baumgartner

8. Costa Concordia

9. Lance Armstrong

10. Diamond Jubilee

Top trending UK politicians

1. Jeremy Hunt

2. Boris Johnson

3. Justine Greening

4. Alex Salmond

5. Michael Gove

6. George Osborne

7. Louise Mensch

8. Nadine Dorries

9. Keith Vaz

10. Ed Vaizey

Top trending British Olympians

1. Andy Murray

2. Tom Daley

3. Jessica Ennis

4. Mo Farah

5. Victoria Pendleton

6. Bradley Wiggins

7. Chris Hoy

8. Rebecca Adlington

9. Laura Trott

10. Louis Smith

Top trending global Olympians

1. Usain Bolt

2. Michael Phelps

3. Roger Federer

4. Yohan Blake

5. Ryan Lochte

6. Venus Williams

7. Rafael Nadal

8. Novak Djokovic

9. Tyson Gay

10. Missy Franklin

Top trending TV shows

1. Mike the Knight

2. Homeland

3. TOWIE

4. The Jonathan Ross Show

5. Celebrity Big Brother

6. Sherlock

7. The Great British Bake Off

8. Game of Thrones

9. Big Bang Theory

10. How I Met Your Mother

Top trending movies

1. Skyfall

2. Prometheus

3. The Hunger Games

4. Magic Mike

5. Taken 2

6. The Avengers

7. The Woman in Black

8. The Dictator

9. Sinister

10. The Devil Inside

Top trending music artists

1. Lucy Spraggan

2. The Military Wives

3. Will.i.am

4. Emeli Sandé

5. Psy

6. One Direction

7. The Spice Girls

8. Muse

9. Girls Aloud

10. Dizzee Rascal

Top trending songs

1. Gangnam Style

2. Call Me Maybe

3. Blow Me One Last Kiss

4. Beneath Your Beautiful

5. The Official Olympic Song (Survival by Muse)

6. Skyfall

7. Somebody That I Used To Know

8. We Are Young

9. Too Close

10. 212

Top trending fashion labels

1. Stella McCartney

2. Karl Lagerfeld

3. Victoria's Secret

4. Alice Temperley

5. Versace

6. Mulberry

7. Marks and Spencer

8. Ossie Clark

9. Burberry

10. LK Bennett

Top trending sports

1. Synchronised swimming

2. Murderball

3. Wheelchair basketball

4. Volleyball

5. Archery

6. 100m sprint

7. Taekwondo

8. Gymnastics

9. Cycling

10. Athletics

Top tech trends

1. Netflix

2. ipad 3

3. iPad mini

4. moviestarplanet

5. Kik

6. Pottermore

7. Moshi monsters login

8. Samsung Galaxy s3

9. Superbia

10. Diablo 3

Top trending travel destinations

1. Rio de Janeiro

2. Greece

3. Brazil

4. Dubai

5. Paris

6. London

7. Bruges

8. Cornwall

9. Edinburgh

10. Barcelona

Most searched cities in Google Maps (UK)

1. London

2. Bristol

3. Manchester

4. Edinburgh

5. Brighton

6. Surrey

7. Leeds

8. Oxford

9. Cambridge

10. Birmingham

Most searched Local Places in Google Maps (UK)

1. hotel

2. restaurant

3. pubs

4. camping

5. Tesco

6. parking

7. trainstation

8. Premier Inn

9. supermarket

10. B&B

Top searches for "how to" in 2012

1. draw

2. kiss

3. make

4. crochet

5. knit

6. meditate

7. flirt

8. sing

9. hack

10. pronounce

Top searches for "what is" in 2012

1. love

2. icloud

3. 3g

4. scientology

5. instagram

6. autism

7. diabetes

8. yolo

9. illuminati

10. ms

Google have updated their Gmail app for Android devices running version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and above of the operating system, adding a host of new features to make it easier to manage your mailbox.

Top of the list of new features for Gmail 4.2.1 is an "auto-fit" view that automatically resizes messages so that they fit comfortably on screen without needing to be scrolled around. The update also adds a pinch-to-zoom gesture, letting you easily zoom in on details of a message.

Archiving and deleting messages is now as simple as swiping a message left or right from the inbox view, with an option in the "Swiping conversation list" menu letting you define the action of the gesture.

Thumbnails of photo attachments now appear directly in the message view too - tapping them brings up a gallery view to scroll through if more than one image is available to browse through. Phone-captured videos can now be added to messages as attachments too.

Gmail for Apple's iOS devices however has not received the update, and there's no word on when to expect to see the changes land on iPhone or iPad.