How To Disable/Hide Google Search Bar In Android 4.0 ICS Stock Launcher?

Among the many features and interface elements that Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich took from the tablet-exclusive Android OS variant, Honeycomb, is the static search bar that it displays at the top of its stock launcher. Being static (accessible from each of the five homescreens of the stock launcher), it eliminates the need for you to make room for a search widget on the homescreen. That said, users who don’t use the search application that often might consider it dead weight doing nothing more than making their homescreen look all cluttered. XDA-Developers member oscillik has found a workaround that allows you to hide the search bar. Read on past the break to know how it’s done.

The method involves disabling the native Google Search application, so while it may hide the search bar from the homescreen, it will also prevent you from using Google Search itself. That is, hitting the Search key on your device while on the homescreen or within the app drawer won’t launch the search application.

Also, it doesn’t give you extra space on the homescreen. The space that the search bar takes remains unusable. Still, it does make your homescreen look a little less cluttered, and you won’t be losing much if you seldom use the search application. So without further adieu, here is what you need to do to remove the search bar from your homescreen:

Hit the Menu key while on the homescreen, and navigate to Manage Apps > All > Google Search.

From within the App info screen that follows, select Disable.

That’s all there is to it. You can get the search bar back at any time by returning to the Google Search App info screen and hitting Enable. You’ll find the Google Search application at the bottom of the list with all the other disabled apps (if any).

The method is quite simple, but if you do happen to get stuck somewhere, the following video might be able to clear things up for you.

What are the features of Google+ Android App Updated version?

The official Google+ client for Android has received a timely update (to v1.0.7) with a plethora of useful features that would surely help it compete better with some of the other hot-running social apps among users (Facebook in particular). For starters, it adds support for the much anticipated group video chat feature better known as Hangouts. Also added to the updated client of Google+ for Android are some other sought-after features which we shall delve into after the break.

If you have an Android device with a front-facing camera and Android 2.3 or above, then the news of the addition of Hangouts to the Google+ client would surely delight you. For other users, it’s just a matter of time before this feature is available for their devices as well. We put the Hangouts feature to test on our Nexus S with quite satisfactory results. To our (rather pleasant) surprise, an active Hangout session keeps running in the background. To alert you of your active Hangout, the app displays a notification icon in the status bar.

Glancing at some of the other features included with the updated Google+ client for Android, we find that users can now set their profile pictures from within the app. Other noteworthy additions made to the updated client include sharing photos in Huddle (now known as Messenger), long pressing on posts in stream to +1, share and mute them and improved SMS support (for users in India only). In addition, the app brings enhanced public search and App2SD support along with extensive settings for your Google+ notifications.

To set a new profile photo, just tap on the Profile button, tap on the profile photo thumbnail, then pick one from the gallery or simply grab a fresh one instantly from your camera.

As mentioned earlier, Huddle is now called Messenger and allows you to share photos with your contacts. You will notice a camera icon besides the text message field on the conversation screen. Tap on this icon to pick an image from the gallery or capture a new photo. Tapping on a shared image displays it in full screen.

To enable/disable notifications for selective activities in your Google+ network, go to Menu > Settings > Notification Settings.

To install Google+ app on your device for the first time or to upgrade the existing installation, visit the Android Market link or simply scan the QR code provided below.

Download Google+ For Android

Google+ App For Android

Ever since the advent of social media (back in the age when Friendster and MySpace ruled) the social networking industry has enjoyed rapid growth. Most of the people reading this post must know that a Tweet doesn’t have much to do with the chirping of a bird and the word “Wall” is sure to make you think of Facebook. That’s the kind of influence social networking holds over our daily lives these days. Seeing the success of social networking, how can the giants of Internet refrain from entering the fray? Yes, you guessed it, Google is launching a new project called “Google+” that’s all about social interaction.

Let us delve into the features of this Android app one by one. The full app is actually a combination of collaborating utilities working together to give a complete interactive environment.

Stream: “Stream” is the place where you can share your thoughts, news and other things with the people you choose to interact with. You simply post anything here and it is shared with your contacts.

Huddle: “Huddle” lets you send messages to multiple users simultaneously. This is a pretty old facility but one that’s long been marred by bugs, flaws and inconveniences. Google+ is hopeful to give the perfect group messaging experience.

Circles: Privacy is the biggest downside when it comes to social networking. When online, it’s a little complicated to share the right information with the right people. “Circles” comes up with just the right solution to this problem. You can have distinct online social life among your family and colleagues or any other group. What you share with your friends doesn’t necessarily needs to be told to your family too!

Other features: There are a bundle of other really cool features that leave Google+ looking like a good prospect for the future. “Spark” helps you strike up a conversation on any topic of your choice. “Photos” saves and shares your photos and albums. There are also location-based services available for Android users that let you navigate, choose a place you want to visit and tag the locations which are new to you.

That’s pretty much it. The project is in closed beta phase and the app for your Android device is available on the Android market. Fingers tingling to get your hands on this latest hot-cake of an app? But wait, here’s the catch, the testing version is invite only and you need an invitation from Google to download it. Here’s the link where you can request an invite. So just write to Google and you just might get an exclusive invitation to use what could be the social networking giant of tomorrow.

For any further information on the app, you can follow the link to the official Google blog.