Gadgetory

this episode of android authority is brought to you by Norton security hello again ladies and gentleman I'm Joe Hindy the android authority app guy and welcome back to Google Play weekly first up this week Plex released a huge update with a lot of new features it really is quite the impressive update and includes support for playlists bigger playback notifications improved queues better category management and a whole lot more including bug fixes and performance improvements if you use plex this is an update you do not want to miss and it's rolling out right now Nvidia released half-life 2 episode 1 but only for the Nvidia shield tablet this is both great news and bad news it's great news because it's a half-life game and having it on android only makes the platform better unfortunately the only people who can play it or those with the Nvidia shield tablet and the shield tablet controller and that's the bad news so far the reports are that the game runs great and looks gorgeous google has updated Google Docs sheets and slides with some enhanced editing features all three applications will now play nicer with microsoft office files which is always a big plus each app also received a few individual tweaks to improve editing and formatting such as google docs new line spacing controls and sheets now has scroll bars for faster navigation it's a big update and worth checking out if you use all three speaking of Google they have updated google now with support for Google Drive and nest thermostats the integration of google drive seems to be pretty basic but still very welcome you can now search for documents in your google drive with voice commands in google now along with that they've added functionality to control your nest thermostat with Google now there have been some small issues with connecting the nest so far but we imagine that those will be ironed out soon enough their last bit of news this week Blizzard has finally released her stone for Android but only for Android tablets we kind of knew months in advance that the game would only be released on tablets initially so there are no surprises there the size limit for this version is six inches so if you have a phone or a tablet that is larger than that you should be good to go blizzards soon to be hit card game has been long awaited by us android users and word is that a phone version is in the works and will be here eventually suppose to see some trending applications as usual if you want to check any of these applications out you can find the links in the your description below first up this week is swiftkey keyboard they have been super busy over this holiday season and they continue to be they have released some new themes inspired by the Disney movie frozen there are a total of six teams and they are essentially ice blue keyboards that also display your favorite characters from the movie given that it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere at least it's a good fun and relatively cheap way to decorate for the season if you're really into getting into the holiday spirit Christmas and HD is a newer live wallpaper that will help you out with that it features parallax effects lens blur effects and some seriously gorgeous Christmas scenery there is a free version and a paid version and perhaps the best part about both of them is it neither of them use any permissions it's a great way to theme your device for the holidays SimCity build-it brings you back to the classic days of SimCity but with arguably better graphics this last week they released a sizable update that includes better support for international play any range of bug fixes and performance improvements if you enjoy the original sim city of the olden days you'll probably enjoy this title as well and it's free to play with in app purchases Baldur's Gate 2 has been released on android and old-school PC RPG fans rejoiced the controls and graphics are about the same as they were on the original Baldur's Gate which was released for android earlier this year so if you've been playing that one this one should have a similar look and feel the game also includes all the expansions and some extra non-game content you can purchase through in-app purchases last up this week is pushbullet the app allows you to see your phone notifications on your PC and it also allows you to send things between your devices easily and reply to texts the latest update now allows you to use quick actions so you can do things like archive emails in gmail or snooze your alarm and do pretty much whatever you can do with quick actions on your device the best part is the app remains free if you want to check out the latest news and reviews about android apps and games head on over to android authority calm click on the little menu thingy and check out the application section and if you want to join the discussion head on over to android authority calm / community set up an account and join us in the forums I will see you there once again I'm Joe Hindy the android authority app guy why you're here why not subscribe to the android authority youtube channel and if you want to check out a couple more awesome video we have them linked up for you right over there and in the video description below for you folks on mobile finally don't forget to check out the written companion in the video description below as always thanks for watching everybody and have a wonderful day this episode of android authority is brought to you by Norton security