Knowledge Graph Card in Google Maps

Google Maps for desktop added a "quick facts" card that uses information from the Knowledge Graph. If you search for a country, a state, a city, a district, a museum or any other important building, you'll find some information from Wikipedia.

Google Maps cards include a lot of useful information, depending on the context: events, transit information, hotel booking.

{ via +Google Maps }

Mobile Interface for Chrome Web Store

One of the most annoying things about Chrome Web Store was that it didn't work if you used a mobile phone or a tablet. Google only displayed a message that allowed you to send a reminder to download the app or extension from the desktop Chrome.



Chrome Web Store now has a mobile interface, but only for individual apps and extensions. The homepage, category pages and the search feature still aren't available. If you find a link to a Chrome app or extension, you can now open it in your favorite mobile browsers, read the description, check the screenshots and some other details. You can't read or write reviews, install extensions remotely, find related extensions, go to the homepage or to a category.

{ via François Beaufort }

PayPal Billing in Google Play

Google Play added support for a very popular payment service: PayPal. "We're making it possible for people to choose PayPal for their Google Play purchases in 12 countries, including the U.S., Germany, and Canada. When you make a purchase on Google Play in these countries, you'll find PayPal as an option in your Google Wallet; just enter your PayPal account login and you'll easily be able to make purchases," informs Google.

Here's the full list of countries where PayPal is now supported: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United States, United Kingdom. One important notice: "PayPal can't be used to purchase devices or accessories on Google Play or for other purchases that use Google Wallet outside of the Play Store."



Google has always tried to promote its own payment service, whether it was called Google Checkout or Google Wallet, so why would Google add support for a competing service? Google offers an answer: "Sales of apps and games on Google Play are up by more than 300 percent over the past year. And today, two-thirds of Google Play purchases happen outside of the United States, with international sales continuing to climb. We're hoping to fuel this momentum by making Google Play payments easier and more convenient for people around the world."



In addition to supporting PayPal, Google also added carrier billing to 7 more countries (including Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan) and Google Play gift cards to 13 more countries (including Japan and Germany). "Developers based in 13 new countries can now sell apps on Google Play (with new additions such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey), bringing the total to 45 countries with support for local developers."