For some time now, Google have been throwing some of the core Android apps into the Play Store for all to see. They’ve done it with GMail and YouTube, Maps, Navigation and now we go ahead and get our hands on it straight from the Play Store. This might seem a little strange but, by making these apps non-system apps it means users can update the apps, getting bugfixes and new features without having to wait for a carrier OTA. It’s worked well for GMail and YouTube as everyone – who met the version requirements – got these updates without having to wait for a small OTA. This then, could well mean that there is some updates and added features coming to the Calendar app on Android.
You can go ahead and grab Google’s Calendar just as long as you’re running Android 4.0.3 or above – which I sincerely hope most of you are! If you’ve never used the Google Calendar – which up until a few months ago I hadn’t either – then the Android Blog does a good job of explaining the main features:
- Snooze events directly from a notification if you’re not quite ready and want to be reminded later.
- Use predefined messages to send quick “I’ll be late” updates to your event participants directly from the notifications or the event itself (of course, you can always write your own).
- Pinch to zoom in and out of a day.
- Set a home time zone to help you manage your time better when traveling.
You can also look at events from up to one year ago as well send feedback so, if you aren’t lucky enough to have the Google Calendar on your device then now’s a good a time as any to go ahead and grab it!
