Editing Contacts with Android Got Easier

Project Status: Solved / Completed
Original Project Post: Unable to Edit Contacts on Android 5.0 Lollipop

As far as I can tell there seems to be no issue with editing contacts using the Contacts app on Android as there used to be. Check out the original project post if you need to know more about what the issue was, but basically when the Contacts app first came out with Lollipop the edit button was either non-existent or often missing.

Edit Icon as seen in the Contacts App

There is nothing you need to do to get this fix to start working, they seem to have resolved the issues with the app internally. I am running build version 1.4.9 as of today and it allows me to edit any contact as far as I can tell. I should have posted this some time back because this issue has been resolved for quite awhile, but better late than never I suppose.

One thing I have noticed but have not figured out yet is that some contacts who have been in each of my Android phones and in my Gmail contacts for several years now happen to have an add contact icon instead of an edit icon.

Add Icon as seen in the Contacts App

When viewing some contacts in the app I will have to first touch the add contact icon, which shows up where the edit icon normally should be, and then once they are added I have to touch the edit icon. It's only one extra step so it's much easier than it ever was before, but as I said I'm not sure exactly why that issue has come about.

It's almost like some of my contacts were saved to my phone or came from somewhere else and so they have to be added to my Gmail contacts before I can edit them. Which would make sense except the fact that the only place I have ever kept my contacts is in Gmail and with each new phone they have populated from there automatically.

Over all I am very happy that this is working now. If you are still having any issues please use the comments below or catch me on my Google Plus page for a much faster response. Also if anyone knows why some contacts first show up with the add icon please enlighten me, I would be very appreciative.

Unable to Edit Contacts on Android 5.0 Lollipop

Project Status: Solved / Completed
Update to this Post: Editing Contacts with Android Got Easier

Original Issue (which has now been resolved):
Is it just me or is there actually no way to edit contacts on the new version of Android? The previous version had a people app and it was possible to edit contact information from this app. The lollipop release no longer has the people app, it has been replaced by an app called contacts.

I have tried tapping and long pressing on just about everything within the contacts app, with no success. Since the new version of Android I have only been able to edit contacts by going to a computer, opening my Gmail and making changes there.

There is one other way but it is not very convenient. I am able to edit a contact from the Hangouts app, but only if I can open up a conversation with the contact. If I don't have an existing conversation with the contact, then I am not sure how to edit the contact.

I was frustrated when I stopped using Android's messaging app and changed over to the Hangouts app for texting because the Hangouts app also had no way to edit contacts. Back when I switched over though I was still using the Kit Kat version of Android and was able to edit contacts by closing out the Hangouts app and opening up the people app. It was super frustrating but at least it was possible to make edits.

Eventually the Hangouts app has added a way to edit a contact, but as I said before it is not convenient. If I have an on going conversation with a contact I am able to touch the contact's photo in the conversation. That takes me to the contact's information and in the top right corner there is a pencil. Touching the pencil allows me to edit the contact.

The problem is that if there is not an on going conversation with the contact, then there is no way (at least that I can find after some time of trying) to get to this same editing pencil icon. I can add the contact to a new conversation as if I am about to send a text message. If I don't actually send the contact a message then touching on the contact's photo doesn't take me to the contact information as I would hope. If I go to the menu in the top right corner I can choose "People and Options". On the "People and Options" screen I touch on a contact in the given list at the bottom, but sadly nothing happens. Soooo frustrating.

It would be so easy for them to fix this by allowing me to touch on a user's contact photo anytime it is in the Hangouts app and allowing that to take me to the contact's information. Instead of only in certain cases as it does now. I also find it super annoying that the contacts app which came with Android 5.0 Lollipop has no way for me to edit contacts.

YouTube Playback Speeds

Project Status: Complete

Very glad to find out that this is another one of my pipe dreams that actually came true. I had always wanted the option for playback speeds on YouTube and even though it seems to have been an option for quite a while, somehow I am just now coming across this.

While watching a video on the desktop version of YouTube you have the option to click the "Settings" gear and then to choose from a few speed options. Pictured here those options are currently: 0.25, 0.5, Normal, 1.5 and 2. The 0.25 and 0.5 play slow motion. The 1.5 and 2 play faster speeds which are very helpful when you are watching tutorials or lectures and really want to get through it faster without having to skip over anything.

Screenshot from YouTube.com of Playback Speed Options

I think it would have been interesting, even though not always that useful, to also have negative speeds. This would allow playing videos in reverse. It also seems that a slider control instead of a preset list with only a few options would be more useful. A slider would allow the user to drag the speed anywhere from let's say negative 2 to the currently available positive 2.

While this is all well and great, I still have no options on YouTube's mobile app to adjust the playback speeds. Hopefully this is a feature that will soon make it's way into the mobile app.

Google Maps Business Hour Glitch

Project Status: Product Bug

With Google Maps you can look up a local business and view the hours of operation. The problem is that the focus is always pulled to the current day instead of the current time. Hours that extend through the end of the day are only seen as a part of the day the time block opened on and the morning hours never relate to the correct day as they should.

In the case that a business stays open past midnight (as in the pictured example where one actually closes at 3:30 AM) and it is after midnight at the time a user looks up the business hours, Google Maps will actually report the business as closed.

In the pictured example provided at 1:54 AM (using the android Google Maps app, version 7.5.0), Sunday becomes the focus and these overlapping hours are ignored. This business should be searchable as "open" rather than appearing as "closed" when using the Google Maps search box with terms such as "open restaurants near me" but the glitch appears to propagate through there as well. It is hard to say for sure though because many other factors are effecting the search results list.

The average user wouldn't have even noticed this glitch, but the night owls like myself sometimes need to find open locations to get their grub on.

If you also believe this is an issue then feel free to check out this post (Issue 102) on Google's Map Engine issue tracker. You can star the issue to help it get resolved sooner, the more stars the more important it is seen as to the Google Map Engine team. You can also watch the post on the issue tracker to keep up to date with the status of the issue, once you star the post you will be notified of any updates to the issue.