I’m not sure how long Google and Samsung sat through negotiations to try and get a product like this out the door. I think it may have been a long time coming. But it makes so much sense that you have to wonder, why didn’t they do this sooner? In fact, why don’t all Android phone makers release a Nexus-like device of their own? It simply baffles the mind.

What we have with the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition is a device with absolute top-notch hardware paired with the best software that Android has to offer. It is, strictly speaking, one of the best Android phones ever — at least if you’re with T-Mobile and AT&T. The only thing that will keep it out of most people’s hands is its prohibitive price tag. And that’s where real Nexus devices have it beat.

Still, it makes a truly compelling case for an upgrade or a switch. It’s exactly what a lot of people want: a top-of-the-line phone with the latest version of Android. And it will be updated to even later versions of Android when newer ones start coming out. If Google wants to stop making new Nexus phones like the highly rumored Nexus 5, then the Galaxy S4 with pure Android is the perfect excuse. The question is, would Google really go that far?

State of the Nexus

The maker of the current Google Nexus phone, LG Electronics, managed to snag a mere 3% of the global Android market in Q1 2013. This shows that adding high-end hardware and timely Android software updates together doesn’t always result in a killer combination. The Nexus 4 does have a few glaring faults — such as lack of microSD card support and lack of 4G LTE — that might have contributed to its weak sales. But it really should have sold more units and the bottom line is that it didn’t.

Google’s end-game is, as we all know, to get Android into the hands of as many people as possible. So it makes sense for it to partner with the current market leader, Samsung. And as for why it was necessary to inject an already existing phone with Nexus DNA instead of delivering a new one with actual Nexus branding (which they’ve already done in the past)? Well, the Galaxy brand is a much bigger brand than Nexus. It has more clout, and might possibly lead to bigger sales which would then translate to Android getting into the hands of more and more people.

There’s also the fact that the Galaxy S4 trumps the Nexus 4 in terms of hardware and sheer performance, which makes it a sensible candidate to become the latest Nexus model.

The power of the Galaxy

Google’s Nexus effort, as a whole, doesn’t appear to have been very successful. On the other hand, Samsung’s Galaxy brand has been a huge success. Only last week, an exec at Samsung declared the Galaxy S4 to be the fastest-selling Samsung handset ever. It’s on track to hit the 10 million unit sales point by the end of this month. And now we have this, a pure Android version of the same smartphone. Can you imagine what will happen next?

In all likelihood, the standard Galaxy S4 — with TouchWiz and all — will go on to sell many millions more after the end of May. And all the other people who have been keeping an eye out for a true high-end phone with stock Android can now set their sights on the Galaxy S4 Google Edition, which of course in the end means even more sales for Samsung yet again.

The mere existence of the Galaxy S4 Google Edition solves a number of problems all at once. It takes care of the Galaxy S4 storage problem because removing TouchWiz and all the extra software features that come along with it means less storage space is taken up by “system apps.” It also ensures that Android users have a chance to really enjoy the best of the Android software, because the hardware in the Galaxy S4 is more than capable of supporting pretty much everything (except worldwide carrier support, of course, at least for now). Developers will also benefit because now they can treat this phone like a special developer version of the Galaxy S4 (it comes with an unlocked bootloader).

Is this the end for the Nexus?

The Galaxy S4 Google Edition shows that Google is starting to finally get it. Google took a phone from Samsung and made it go from great to greater. Now, ongoing software support can help ensure that it sells fairly well despite the high price tag. But where does this leave Google’s Nexus line of smartphones?

If Google has plans of retiring the Nexus phone, now is the right time to do it. It just put the word out on a Nexus-ified version of one of the most advanced handsets ever, plus as we all know, it is supposed to be working on other high profile projects, such as its first smartwatch as well as the upcoming (still rumored) Motorola X Phone (not to mention Google Glass). Android phone makers are doing a good enough job of producing great models, and the world certainly doesn’t need more Nexus phones. If anything, there needs to be less phones with Android to cut out the issue of fragmentation.

The decision to release the Galaxy S4 Google Edition may be part of an experiment to see how the market reacts. If successful, we may never see another Nexus branded smartphone from Google ever again.

Fortunately, it looks like Samsung never stopped looking at the issue, and now it has issued a new response. We think this is one that a lot of people won’t have any trouble getting behind now.

According to a statement just released to the guys over at CNET UK, Samsung can “appreciate this issue being raised,” and that they will work on improving communications for a better understanding of it. And not only that, but they are also looking at “the possibility to secure more memory space through further software optimisation.”

That’s one way of saying that a future software update could soon arrive to slim down, if not completely take away, some of the Galaxy S4′s more superfluous software features.

Samsung wrapped up its statement by saying this:

Samsung is committed to listening to our customers and responding to their needs as part of our innovation process.

If the recent unveiling of the Vanilla Android-flavored Galaxy S4 at this year’s Google I/O is any indication, we’d say that Samsung is listening quite well to its customers. That, or it’s just gotten extremely lucky, and was at the right place and the right time when Google decided to choose to support a non-Nexus flagship handset. Either way, we’re looking forward to seeing how Samsung rolls out these much-needed “software optimizations” to see if the storage problem goes away.

Do you think Samsung can do it? Let us know what your thoughts are by commenting below.

Microsoft is currently battling with Google for the right to let users download and use a Windows Phone-based YouTube app for, well, watching YouTube videos on Windows Phone. But apparently, Google doesn’t want that. And according to an exclusive report on The Verge, Google has now issued a cease and desist letter in order to get Microsoft to stop what it’s doing at once.

Google’s demand is a simple one. As specified in the cease and desist letter that it sent to Microsoft (and addressed to Todd Brix), it just wants the Microsoft YouTube app to be taken down from the Microsoft store and that all existing installations of it should be disabled by May 22.

For its part, Microsoft has responded to Google’s demands by saying that it would be happy to cooperate with the search giant to show ads on its YouTube app, but only if Google itself offers some cooperation first. Unless this altercation gets taken care of very soon, users will keep getting caught in the crossfire between companies, which is particularly bad since there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. For now, Windows Phone users are encouraged to check out other YouTube app choices available from the Microsoft Windows Phone store unless the matter gets settled.

To read the cease and desist letter sent out by Google to Microsoft in its entirety, go to the source link below.

Google Play Books, which is currently on version 2.8.59, now boasts a couple of new features as well. Firstly, a navigation tray that automatically pops up after a user taps a certain icon is now in place. Also, a new confirmation dialog has been added to the app in order to prevent users from accidentally removing downloaded books from their devices.

The new Google Play Books app also comes with a feature that lets users upload their own PDF or EPUB files and then read them off just about any device that they prefer. The feature lets users either upload books directly, or simply import books that are already stored on a user’s Google Drive. Right now, Google has set a limit for books to be under 50MB each. However, they are allowing up to 1,000 books to be uploaded per account.

If you think that this Google Play Books update is for you, then simply make your way to the source link below to get the apk from the Google Play Store and install the latest version of the app on your device right now.

As you may already know, the Galaxy S4 currently exists in an “official” configuration. It’s manufactured by Samsung and comes with a whole list of additional software features on top of the default ones found on Android. It isn’t without issues, and some of its features can’t be considered the best. But despite all of its flaws, it still managed to become the fastest-selling Samsung smartphone to date.

In other words, it’s selling well enough. Heck, it’s selling so well that it’s on track to hit the 10 million unit sales mark by the end of this month. Was it really necessary to come up with and release an entirely new version of it?

Whose idea is it, anyway?

The Samsung Galaxy S4 has been regarded by many as one of the best Android smartphones ever. However, it has also been the subject of harsh criticism from users who have found it lacking in sufficient internal storage space, especially the model with 16GB of memory. Was it Samsung who decided to work with Google for a cleaner version of the Galaxy S4 with less system apps and more user-available storage space?

It’s more likely than you think. In the past, Samsung has been known to resort to good old-fashioned trial and error to find out what type of phone sells the most. During the height of the Samsung Galaxy S3′s popularity, Samsung thought to come up with a smaller version of the same handset, and decided to call it the Galaxy S3 mini, to see if any people would be willing to buy it for a less expensive fee.

As it turns out, people did like the smaller and less expensive version, and now Samsung is trying to duplicate the process of creating a miniature version of its current flagship with the production of the rumored Galaxy S4 mini.

To make a long story short, Samsung is willing and able to make moves such as this one just to make sure its best-selling products actually keep on selling.

But what about the Nexus 5?

Many people thought that Google I/O would be the venue for the official announcement of the Nexus 5. It was either that, or the Motorola-Google X Phone. But we saw neither of these two phones, and instead we found ourselves greeted by a familiar face wearing a very different set of clothes.

The Galaxy S4 with pure Android is the very first non-Nexus handset running the stock version of Android with Google’s blessing, and it is said that it will launch pre-loaded with Android 4.2. Then, when later versions of the Android software arrive, it will be among the few phones that will get the software first.

What does all of this mean for the future of the Google Nexus smartphone brand? Quite simply, it means everything.

Einhorn is Finkle. Finkle is Einhorn.

Google didn’t cancel or postpone the launch of the handset that would be known as the Nexus 5. The Galaxy S4 with pure Android is the Nexus 5.

It’s quite an ingenious setup, as it brings the best of Android hardware and software all in one place. And the lack of unnecessary software add-ons takes care of the known Galaxy S4 storage problems at the same time.

The big issue now is with the price. At over $600, it’s certainly not as affordable as the Nexus smartphones that came before it. But we think that it will all work out in the end, as it is likely that there are a lot of people who have been waiting for a chance to buy this exact same type of device. Now that it’s here, these people will finally be able to fulfill their electronic desires once and for all.

How about you? Do you think this is the one? Could this actually be the droid that you have been looking for? Sound off in the comments below.

Hardware-wise, the Aquos Pad SH-08E is quite gifted, boasting a 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, an 8.1-megapixel rear camera, and a 4,200mAh battery. At the same time, it’s also fitted with some of today’s latest wireless features, such as Wi-Fi, NFC, mobile TV, and LTE. But its biggest, most important feature yet lies in its screen.

The Sharp Aquos Pad SH-08E for NTT DoCoMo comes equipped with a 1920×1200 pixel IGZO display, not unlike the ones sought after by Samsung for possible use in some of its future devices. It runs Android 4.2 by default.

Will it ever be made available out of Japan? For how much? We honestly don’t know. But what we do know is that it will be released first in the land of the rising sun in July of this year, so watch out for that.

The new features added to Google+ Photos makes the overall experience of using Google+ for sharing images so much better that Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram should all be scared out of their minds right now. Google is about to take the power back. But what exactly has been added to Google+ for photos, anyway?

Google+ now comes with a number of new features such as Auto Enhance and Auto Awesome which make the process of making photos share-worthy as easy as possible. Other changes include an improved Auto Backup and a speedier way of finding highlights in photos so that, according to Google, it’s easy to find the right moments to share.

Read on for a better understanding of the changes to Google+ photos with the help of pictures we took during this year’s Google I/O developer conference.

At Google I/O, the main changes to Photos in Google+ were highlighted, and the most important new features were enumerated via a talk on stage.

The Auto Backup feature available for photos on Google+ has now been upgraded from 5GB to 15GB of storage space, allowing users to upload full-size photos without having to worry about running out of space. One of the most popular photo sharing services in the world, Instagram, doesn’t even have such a feature, while Facebook only added it later in its existence.

Meanwhile, Highlight helps users spend less time sifting through individual photos by automatically organizing all the good stuff and taking out all the rest. When used in combination with Auto Enhance, it will easily allow users to experience first hand what is quite possibly the best photo sharing experience that has ever existed.

Other photo editing niceties are mentioned in the above picture, such as tonal distribution, skin softening, noise reduction, sharpening, red eye removal, and white balancing.

But by far one of the most exciting additions to Google+ Photos unveiled today is a new feature called Auto Awesome. It takes a user’s photos and turns them into animated GIFs, panoramas, and more. At this rate, Google is going to steal the thunder of every single popular photo sharing service and app on the planet.

These interesting new software enhancements for phtos can be traced back to the Q3 2012 acquisition of the makers of Snapseed. Even then, we predicted that it would somehow play into a future where Google comes out with vastly improved photo sharing options. And now that the cat is out of the bag, all that’s left is to see how users actually react to it.

If you still want to learn more about these new photo editing and sharing features, head on to the source link below for all of the details.

As you may already know, the Chromebook Pixel is a high-end notebook powered by Google’s Chrome OS, which is Web-based, and features a high-resolution 12-inch screen in a lightweight and relatively slim metallic body. It’s a sight for sore eyes, though its features leave a lot to be desired. We’ve written plenty about it, but the fact remains, it’s an expensive laptop with a limited number of benefits for the average computer users.

The Chromebook Pixel has a few things going for it. But still a big problem has kept it from becoming more popular with consumers, and that is a problem with its price. With this move, Google has shown that through a giveaway is perhaps the only real way to get the Chromebook Pixel out onto the hands of that many people at once.

One of Google’s numerous Play Store updates today involves adding a dedicated tablet section for users of Android-powered tablets who wish to find out the top ranking free and paid apps available on the Google Play Store. If you check out the Play Store, you’ll see that Google has already made the necessary changes.

Also part of today’s Google Play Store update is the introduction of the recent Play Store mobile redesign to its Web-based counterpart, allowing users to get more out of the Play Store by putting all of the extra screen real estate to good use — a sidebar to toggle between media types is now available alongside the regular Google Play Store setup.

As mentioned above, the changes have already been made by Google, and you’ll be able to see them for yourself by navigating to play.google.com/store. For more on Google I/O this year, check out our live blog or follow all of latest stories here.

Today, Google officially took the wraps off Google Play Game Services, its attempt at offering mobile gamers the ultimate cross-platform gaming experience. We imagine that comparisons with Apple’s Game Center for iOS are inevitable, but truthfully it’s much more than that. So what makes Google Play Game Services so special?

For starters, Google Play Game Services comes with four major features, which are real-time multiplayer, achievements, cloud saves, and leaderboards. But the great thing about it is that the last three things mentioned above will be available for Google Play users across three different platforms.

Achievements, cloud saves, and leaderboards will be available not just on Android but on iOS and the Web as well. And that fourth Google Play Game Services feature — real-time multiplayer — will for now remain available only on Android.

Google lead product manager Greg Hartell has mentioned that real-time multiplayer could one day be made available for iOS, but he didn’t set a definite date for its rollout. For now, only Android users can enjoy its benefits (it’s available now through an update for a handful of games), along with the cross-platform features mentioned above. To learn more about Google Play Game Services, peep at the official press release posted below.

For more from Google I/O, check out our liveblog here.