Pixate was founded in 2012 with the goal of creating simple design and prototyping tools for native mobile applications.

Apparently they delivered on that promise as today they have been acquired by Google and will be joining the Google design team.

The software that Pixate created, Pixate Studio, will now be available for free to anyone interested and support of the software will continue. There is a paid Pixate cloud plan that enables features which allow you to work collaboratively with a team and that is dropping to $5 a month.

With design finally taking a more prominent role in Android in recent years it is good to see Google continue to invest in talent that will help not only improve Google’s own apps, but offer the sort of tools that will make thoughtful design accessible to all Android developers.

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For a few weeks now, 9to5Google has been leaking a steady stream of information on the latest version of Google Glass set be released in the near future, called Google Glass Enterprise Edition. Today, the blog has released a new set of leaked information on the wearable with hardware details and how it will be positioned in the market.

As stated above, the next release of Google Glass is set to be released under the name Google Glass Enterprise Edition. Google has apparently seen less promise in the consumer market for Glass at the moment, and wants to focus on enterprise where Glass could be used in industries like infrastructure and healthcare.

As such, the Enterprise Edition of Google Glass will be more durable, foldable, and water resistant. Physically, it will look almost identical to the original Google Glass. But along with those small design tweaks, Glass Enterprise Edition will also have a faster CPU, bigger prism for better viewing and better battery life.

For those that are excited by the promise of what Google Glass Enterprise Edition means for consumers, don’t get too riled up yet. Apparently, individual units of the device may end up never seeing a retail release, with Google only selling the device though a Glass for Work program.

If even half of these leaks and rumors are true, Google Glass still has quite an interesting road ahead of it.

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Sprint users, you can finally breathe a sigh of relief. After seeing multiple carrier variants of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ pass through the FCC recent, but none with Sprint support, we were left wondering why the carrier would be left out for the time being. Thankfully that has changed today with the arrival of the SM-N920P and SM-G928P at the FCC.

The SM-N920P is the Sprint variant of the Galaxy Note 5 (note the P at the end) and SM-G928P is the Galaxy S6 Edge+. Current rumors have the devices being unveiled under a month away now on August 12, with a release date of somewhere around August 21. Now that we’ve seen every carrier model of the two devices you could possibly need pass through the FCC, those dates are starting to look more and more promising.

Both devices will almost certainly be the Android flagships to beat until probably spring 2016. Samsung has really raised the bar with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, there’s no reason the believe the Galaxy Note 5 or S6 Edge+ will lower it back down. Let us know if your excited for either device in the comments below.

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The official launch of the 2015 Motorola Moto G is still a week away now, but thanks to a product listing from Swiss retailer Digitec, we may already know just what to expect from the new device.

According to the new Moto G product listing on the retailer’s site, the phone is set to launch with a 1.7GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of expandable storage, access to LTE networks, and most impressively a 5-inch 1080p display. If Motorola is able to fit all of this into the new Moto G and still sell the device for under $200, it’s sure to have another hit on its hands. And with Moto’s commitment to updates and vanilla Android, those looking to upgrade from the Nexus 5 should be happy as well.

Keep it locked to Android and Me next week, on July 28, when we bring you the all the latest info on Motorola’s new products as they’re unveiled.

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The Logitech UE Mini Boom is one of the consensus favorite small portable Bluetooth speakers on the market and today it is all the way down to $54.99. That’s nearly half of the retail price of $99.99 and you will typically only see it discounted about $10, so this is quite a deal.

The one big asterisk on this deal is that it only includes the orange UE Mini Boom, so if you had your heart set on black or purple this is not the deal for you.

The UE Mini Boom offers 10 hours of battery life, if you have two they can be paired for stereo, it can serve as a speakerphone, and it also features an enhanced Bluetooth range (50 feet) versus most other speakers on the market.

So if the orange UE Mini Boom sounds appealing to you make sure you head over and pick it up before 2 a.m. Central when the deal runs out. It’s also worth mentioning that this is part of a larger Logitech Gold Box Deal Day on Amazon so anyone looking for a new keyboard, mouse, speakers or a webcam might want to take a peek at the full deal page.

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With T-Mobile becoming a scrappy and ferocious competitor, the other wireless carriers are working hard to keep profits and customer bases intact. Out of all of them, Verizon looks to be faring the best, with its Q2 2015 earnings showing a steady revenue and a decreased churn rate (amount of customers leaving). In total, Verizon raked in $32.2 billion in revenue, up 2.4% year-over-year, showing that the carrier isn’t feeling the squeeze too much.

Earnings came in at $4.23 billion, an ever so slight bump up from last year. In terms of churn rate, Verizon managed to drop its churn rate to just .90%, the lowest number in three years, indicating that Verizon is still offering enough to keep customers from jumping ship to other carriers. In Q2, the company even managed to add 1.1 million retail postpaid connections, which consisted heavily of tablets, an area that the carrier has focused on. Verizon has worked hard to nudge customers to put tablets on their shared data plans, with deep discounts on the actual price of the tablets.

As a whole, Verizon is doing quite well. The company has a network strength that’s unrivaled, with vast coverage and high speeds that help retain customers. That being said, it’ll be interesting to see how the carrier continues to respond to competitors like Sprint and T-Mobile which both offer unlimited data to customers.

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New apps need lovin’ too, right? Every day there are thousands of additions to the Google Play Store, but many go unnoticed and never receive the attention they deserve. We’ve shown in the past that this community can discover great apps and propel them to new heights. Our weekly Fresh Meat column highlights new apps with fewer than 100,000 installs. Browse our new Android app picks below and let us know which ones you enjoy.

Metromile

Description: The Metromile app helps make car ownership easier, less expensive, and more enjoyable! Review your driving stats, get insights into your car’s running condition, and even find your car if it’s missing. After you sign up for an account, we’ll send you our “Metronome” device which plugs into your car’s OBD-II port.

Blinkist

Description: Most of the world’s knowledge is hidden in books. Blinkist unveils it in a beautiful, concise, and eminently usable format: blinks. Download our blinks straight to your phone and glean a book’s insights & ideas in just 15 minutes.

Bring! Shopping List

Description: Bring! allows you to create a shopping list in seconds. At a glance, Bring! informs you which items still need to go into the shopping cart. And thanks to the automatic sorting, shopping is a breeze.

MIX by Camera360

Description: Created by the team behind the popular Camera360 app, MIX is the most creative and comprehensive standalone DIY photo effects layering and blending app. Designed as the perfect companion to Instagram, MIX has close to 200 handpicked effects and filters. 

Delvv

Description: Delvv is a free, personalized, intelligent news feed that helps you find the best events, apps, and articles without having to search for them. With Delvv, you can get more connected to what you love, and discover things you didn’t even think to look for. Delvv finds concerts you’ve always wanted to see, trending news articles you might have missed and videos on topics of interest to you.

Folr

Description: Introducing, Folr, a location-tracking application, that gives real-time information on the whereabouts of family members, significant others, best friends and more. Installed on any mobile device (smartphone or tablet), it unobtrusively updates you on the locations of the most important people in your life.

Wakie

Description: Wakie is a fun, friendly community of people who wake each other up in the morning. It’s a brand new way to wake up, made especially for those of us who hate the jarring noise of an alarm clock. When you use Wakie, you get to start your day with a smile instead of a frown!

LINK

Description: Introducing LINK, the only social network you need. Whether you’re new to town or just feel like chatting, Link instantly connects you with people nearby! Join local interest groups, find a date, or chat with friends and family. No matter what your social needs, Link’s got you covered – any time, anywhere.

Heart Rate Training

Description: Build your own workout on your phone, send it over to your Samsung androidwear watch – you can then leave your phone at home. App uses the heart rate monitor from the watch and displays in green when you are in correct zone, orange if 1 zone off, or red otherwise

Vimo Golf

Description: For half the price of a bucket of driving-range balls, VimoGolf delivers a golf swing analyzer right on your wrist. Watch your golf swing at up to 200 samples per second, as captured by the built-in motion sensors of your Android Wear watch. There’s no extra hardware to buy and the introductory price is only guaranteed while we are in public beta (similar products sell for up to $150).

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We have some excellent news for Nexus 5 owners out there, though it comes without official proof. According to reports, Google has employed a new policy that will allow owners of the Nexus 5 to get one chance to replace a damaged phone. This means that if you happen to drop your device and shatter the display, you can get a free replacement straight from Google just one time.

This is similar to policies that both HTC and Motorola have enacted, both of which allow for a one time replacement due to damage. They each have their own limitations though, so know them before getting too careless with your device. But it looks like Google may be lenient about it and allow any sort of damage that may have occurred.

If you have a damaged Nexus 5, give the customer service line a shot and see if you can get it replaced. If so, it’ll save a lot of people a lot of money. Plus, such a policy is rare and very much appreciated (if not a little ripe for abuse). Let us know what you think of Google’s awesomeness!

Via: +Joshua D., Droid-Life

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With recent HTC device purchases, you were given some free Google Drive storage for two years as a promotion. For the HTC One (M8) and the One Max, it was 50GB of online storage space. But it looks like HTC decided to be generous for absolutely no reason and bump that storage up to 100GB, with the same offer extending to the new HTC One Remix.

If you want to take advantage of this offer, open the Google Drive app, hit Redeem, and follow the on screen prompts. Then you’ll get an extra 50GB of online storage, which is nothing to scoff at. Sadly, if you have unlocked your bootloader, you cannot redeem this offer.

We’re not sure why HTC decided to bump the existing offer to double the storage, but we can’t complain. If you own a mentioned HTC device, go redeem the extra storage and enjoy!

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ISIS has been a solid alternative to Google Wallet for those who want a mobile payment system. Tap your NFC enabled device to a supported sensor inside a store, and your bank card is charged. No need to carry around your wallet or fumble with cards (not that it’s very difficult).

But with growing problems elsewhere in the world, the name ISIS was more and more associated with a terrorist group, and ISIS mobile payments clearly wanted to get away from that image. Despite the group no longer calling itself ISIS, the mobile payment system will be renamed to Softcard.

It’ll take a few weeks for this change to roll out to everyone, so your app won’t be updated immediately. And with this name change, nothing else will be different. So keep an eye out for the app update and let us know in the comments how often you use mobile payments.

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