On January 2, Microsoft‘s Vice President Dave Heiner posted a rather lengthy admonishment of Google on TechNet, claiming the company is intentionally trying to harm Windows Phone, with one of the biggest reasons cited being the lack of a full-feature mobile YouTube app, forcing the company to offer a weaker sub-par option. Not to be
Tag Archives: Google - Page 2
Google demands Microsoft pull Windows Phone YouTube app by next week
Posted by Gsurface
on May 16, 2013
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Recon Instruments Jet heads-up display debuts at Google I/O, we go hands-on (video)
Posted by Gsurface
on May 16, 2013
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Google Glass is a lot of things, but it’s hardly a superstar when it comes to the world of sports. Though we’ve seen proof it is at least water resistant, it doesn’t feel particularly durable and isn’t entirely well-suited to wearing while, say, sweating profusely during a lengthy climb on a road bike. Recon Instruments has what it thinks is a solution: the Jet. It’s a pair of sporting sunglasses with an integrated, Android-powered display that could make things like running and cycling far more exciting — or at least far more information-packed. Join us after the break for our impressions.
Gallery: Recon Instruments Jet hands-on
Filed under: Wearables
Google+ Games to get ax in favor of Google Play Games
Posted by Gsurface
on May 16, 2013
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Games on Google’s social network will be retired on June 30 as part of a switch to a new game development platform. [Read more]
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Google Wants to Help Apps Track You
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Google Play Music All Access hands-on
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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More Info
Among the worst kept secrets to be revealed during today’s Google I/O keynote was Play Music All Access. Mountain View’s desire to create a subscription-based music streaming service was pretty well-documented. Now it’s finally here, for $ 9.99 a month (or $ 7.99 if you’re an early adopter and get in on the free trial before June 30th), with at least a couple major labels on board. Of course, All Access is entering a rather crowded field — one already dominated by heavy hitters like Spotify. We spent the afternoon getting acquainted with Google’s subscription music service to see if it has what it takes to hang with more established properties. Head on past the break to see what we learned.
A soft-spoken Larry Page makes surprise appearance at Google I/O
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Google CEO Larry Page made a surprise appearance Wednesday at the Google I/O conference, where he overcame problems with his throat to take questions from developers in the audience for almost an hour.
Computerworld News
Death By A Thousand Cuts? Google Wallet’s Plan To Take On PayPal Leverages Chrome, Android, Google+, Gmail & More
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Flying under the radar amid a flurry of announcements coming out of the Google I/O developer conference this morning, is the bigger news of how Google is stepping up its efforts to compete with online payment giants like PayPal with a revamped checkout process for the web, mobile web, within mobile applications running on Android, and more. It’s a proposed death to PayPal by a thousand cuts, leveraging everything from Chrome to Android and even Gmail. What Google hasn’t quite worked out yet is how all this will tie together in the long run, but you can see the plan beginning to form. #1: Google Wallet On The Web: Storing Payment Credentials In Chrome Lets start with the browser, the de facto home for online shopping. It’s not news that the checkout experience is broken. Shopping cart abandonment is one of the biggest pain points for today’s merchants, mainly because their websites have traditionally offered only cumbersome and tedious forms for shoppers to fill out in order to make a purchase. As noted during today’s keynote, one of the hardest things you can do on the web is try to buy something. The process takes around 21 steps, the company explained. Of course, Google is exaggerating here a bit – billing and shipping details are usually the same, but Google counted each field (street, zip, etc.) twice. That being said, things are even worse on mobile. Google notes that shopping cart abandonment on mobile devices is now an outrageous 97 percent. Again, that seems high (here’s the source for that figure), but the trend Google is illustrating with these slightly puffed up figures is not. For comparison’s sake, Monetate’s data put global cart abandonment at around 82 percent as of Q4 2012. The company has been seeing increases in cart abandonment – which had been around 60 percent over the past several years – due to an increased number of shoppers doing research on mobile phones and other devices. As they reach the point of checking out on mobile, they’re now more likely to give up and move on because of the increased difficulty of the experience on mobile’s small screen, combined with retailers’ failure to roll out mobile-optimized experiences even as percentages of mobile shoppers continue to grow at record rates. A number of startups have been attacking this challenge in various forms – mobile apps featuring universal carts,
TechCrunch
Google CEO on innovation: ‘We’re at 1% of what’s possible’
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Google CEO Larry Page took the stage today to wrap up a nearly four-hour long keynote that kicked off the Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco.
Computerworld News
At Google I/O 2013 event, new new maps, music tools, phones, photo software
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Google Now voice search arriving on the desktop
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Google Now will be available on the desktop via Chrome and the Chrome OS, and add new cards for public transit commute times and movies, tv shows and video games. [Read more]
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Google brags that it has 900M Android activations
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Google's Android OS has more than 900 million users, the company said Wednesday at its I/O event began in San Francisco.
Computerworld News
Google Play for Education brings Android to the classroom
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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It wouldn’t be Google I/O if the company didn’t talk about all the fun stuff that they’re doing for education. Luckily, they announced Google Play for Education, which is a new section in Google Play that includes apps and games that are meant specifically for the classroom in order to help students learn in a
Google unveils Samung Galaxy S 4 running stock Android Jelly Bean
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Google just dropped a pretty big surprise during its opening day I/O keynote. It’s taken the wraps off a new edition of Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 that runs stock Android Jelly Bean. The device itself is fully unlocked and packing LTE support for AT&T and T-Mobile, along with 16GB of storage and what Google promises will be prompt system updates. Not surprisingly, this won’t quite be the budget-friendly off-contract option that the Nexus 4 is — the phone will run $ 649 when it hits Google Play on June 26th.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Google
Google I/O 2013 Underway: Watch For Updates
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Google’s I/O annual conference is ramping up at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. Last year, in the conference keynote, the company took its biggest-yet dive into hardware when it introduced the Nexus 7 tablet, Google Glass, and the ill-fated Nexus Q. The secret is out on Glass, of course: this year, there’s a pavilion inside the conference center where I’m sure they’ll be showing off applications for it. (Quite a few of the people in the endless lines here are wearing their own, too.) Anticipating the announcements at I/O is practically its own industry, but it’s easy to guess that there will be announcements from all the major pots in which Google has its many thousands of (tapping) fingers. Android, search, Chrome, mapping, and all the other ways in which the behemoth of Mountain View is watching what you do. You can watch the keynote talk (talks, really) streamed online from the main conference link above, but this story will be updated with highlights of the announcements, as well with stories that readers contribute.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Google I/O: Watch The Live Video Stream Here
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Google’s annual I/O conference in San Francisco kicks off this morning at 9am PT/noon ET and, as usual, the good folks from Mountain View are making a live video stream of the event available for all of you who can’t be there in person. Unlike other years, when Google ran two separate keynotes on the first two days of I/O, the company is only running a single keynote this time around. Last year’s skydiving antics definitely set the bar very high for this year’s event and so far, we haven’t heard how Google plans to top this today. We do expect to hear quite a bit about Google+, however, and the rumor mill also predicts the launch of the next version of Google Talk/Hangouts, some news about Compute Engine and, of course, Google Glass – the star of last year’s event. The keynote is scheduled to last for a whopping three hours, so grab your coffee, donuts or popcorn, kick back, and enjoy the show. If you can’t watch the video, you can also find our play-by-play live blog here.
TechCrunch
The 12 best animated Google doodles and hacks
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Treading Carefully, Google Encourages Developers to Hack Glass
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Breaking its own restrictions, Google will show developers how to build any kind of app for Google Glass.
Google has set plenty of restrictions on the functionality of apps for Glass, the head-mounted display it is now shipping out to early adopters. At the company’s annual developer conference, I/O, which kicks off today, it will show app creators how to break those rules.
Update to Google Play Store includes colorful layout
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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Tweaks to marketplace’s user interface includes colorful home buttons and improved layout spacing. [Read more]
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Google I/O 2013 behind-the-scenes preview tour: we’re here!
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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It’s day zero at Google I/O 2013, the company’s developer event made for and by developer groups and Google to strengthen their world of software, services, and everything in-between. SlashGear has gotten the opportunity to step behind-the-scenes at this event on registration day – that is, the day before everything begins. Here we’ll begin to
Sensor motes sniff out Google I/O data trends
Posted by Gsurface
on May 15, 2013
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A mesh network of 500 electronics boards captures radio noise, temperature, humidity, and foot traffic at Google’s developer show. [Read more]
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Google Glass vs HTC One vs Olympus OM-D video shootout
Posted by Gsurface
on May 14, 2013
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With Google Glass finally in the hands of developers, and HTC’s flagship One smartphone readily available around the globe it’s time to test the video camera capabilities a bit, while also showing off some cool new technology. Get ready for a video capture comparison from Google Glass, the HTC One, and the Olympus OM-D camera.
Google loses case in Germany over autocomplete search suggestions
Posted by Gsurface
on May 14, 2013
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The company will not have to remove autocomplete in Germany, but it must evaluate potential defamation claims when they are brought to its attention. [Read more]
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Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen tries out Google Glass for real (video)
Posted by Gsurface
on May 14, 2013
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There’s a good chance that you, like us, enjoyed a certain Saturday Night Live sketch recently in which Weekend Update’s newly branded tech correspondent Randall Meeks gave his raw impressions of Google Glass — using a prop made of plastic and attached to a pair of sunglasses. There was a lot of shouting, twitching and, for us at least, laughing. Meeks is played by the incredibly talented Fred Armisen, also well-known for IFC’s surreally hilarious Portlandia. In reality, we learned, Armisen had never used Google Glass. That was a situation we were happy to fix.
Gallery: SNL’s Fred Armisen with Google Glass
Google CEO Larry Page Reveals He’s Recovering From Vocal Cord Paralysis, Will Fund Research
Posted by Gsurface
on May 14, 2013
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In a post on Google+ today, Google CEO Larry Page discussed the voice problems he’s been experiencing for the first time publicly. While it doesn’t sound like Page is experiencing life-threatening medical problems, it definitely has become a topic of interest every time he speaks publicly. During the last earnings call, Page actually spoke for a long time, albeit a bit labored, even answering questions towards the end of the call. He’s addressed his fellow Googlers over the years, letting them know that nothing was “seriously wrong.” He had to skip I/O last year because of these issues, then skipping the next few earnings calls. Here’s his post, where he says that his problems started some 14 years ago: About 14 years ago, I got a bad cold, and my voice became hoarse. At the time I didn’t think much about it. But my voice never fully recovered. So I went to a doctor and was diagnosed with left vocal cord paralysis. This is a nerve problem that causes your left vocal cord to not move properly. Despite extensive examination, the doctors never identified a cause — though there was speculation of virus-based damage from my cold. It is quite common in cases like these that a definitive cause is not found. While this condition never really affected me — other than having a slightly weaker voice than normal which some people think sounded a little funny — it naturally raised questions in my mind about my second vocal cord. But I was told that sequential paralysis of one vocal cord following another is extremely rare. Fast forward to last summer, when the same pattern repeated itself — a cold followed by a hoarse voice. Once again things didn’t fully improve, so I went in for a check-up and was told that my second vocal cord now had limited movement as well. Again, after a thorough examination, the doctors weren’t able to identify a cause. Thankfully, after some initial recovery I’m fully able to do all I need to at home and at work, though my voice is softer than before. And giving long monologues is more tedious for me and probably the audience. But overall over the last year there has been some improvement with people telling me they think I sound better. Vocal cord nerve issues can also affect your breathing, so my ability to exercise at peak
TechCrunch
Google adds Gladstone, Mo., as fifth recipient of Google Fiber
Posted by Gsurface
on May 14, 2013
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The Web giant has picked up the pace of its expansion announcements for the speedy Internet and video service. [Read more]
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Google welcomes Gladstone, MO to the Fiber family
Posted by Gsurface
on May 14, 2013
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It looks like the slow and steady fiber-fication of Missouri is well underway, as the Gladstone City Council has voted to bring Google’s speedy broadband service to the city. This comes just a few days after the Mountain View company welcomed Grandview into the fold, and we’re sure the Show Me state will soon see even wider Fiber adoption just like neighboring Kansas. Of course, Gladstone’s induction is merely honorary at this point; there’s still plenty of work to be done before its citizens can surf the fastest internet waves in the Midwest.
Source: Google Fiber
Google Commemorates The 37th Anniversary Of Atari’s Breakout With Image Search Easter Egg
Posted by Gsurface
on May 13, 2013
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If you’re an old-school gaming nerd, then you might remember a little game released by Atari called Breakout. The idea was simple, just hit a ball around and break things. Don’t let the ball get past you, or you lose.
TechCrunch
Google celebrates Breakout’s 37th anniversary the only way it knows how
Posted by Gsurface
on May 13, 2013
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The 37th anniversary of a video game — even a classic like Breakout — isn’t something most would ordinarily celebrate in any major way. But Google, as we’ve seen, isn’t one to pass up an opportunity to inject a bit of fun into its websites, and it’s now turned in a particularly inspired easter egg to commemorate the landmark Atari title. Hit the source link below or do an image search for “Atari Breakout” to try it out for yourself.
Source: Google
Google triples free storage to 15GB
Posted by Gsurface
on May 13, 2013
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Google said it is increasing the amount of free storage for users of its Google Drive cloud storage service to 15 GB.
Computerworld News
Google Drive triples free storage
Posted by Gsurface
on May 13, 2013
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Free storage on Google Drive leaps from 5GB to 15GB, just ahead of this year’s Google I/O developers conference — but why? [Read more]
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Google Launches Content Recommendation Engine For Mobile Sites, Powered By Google+
Posted by Gsurface
on May 13, 2013
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Google continues to increase the reach of its Google+ platform, and today the company is launching a new mobile content recommendation service powered by Google+. These recommendations will appear as small widgets at that bottom of the screen as users browse a news site that has enabled this service. Google’s launch partner for this service is Forbes, but others can implement these recommendations by just adding a single line of code to their mobile sites. Recommendations, Google says, can appear regardless of whether a users are signed in to Google+.
TechCrunch
Expect games, social, and Now at Google I/O 2013
Posted by Gsurface
on May 13, 2013
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Google rumors and leaks pick up speed as Google I/O 2013 arrives this week. Here are some of our predictions for the annual Google developers confab. [Read more]
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Google I/O keeps browser focus despite fancy phones, eyewear
Posted by Gsurface
on May 13, 2013
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Android and Glass get a lot of attention at Google I/O, but Chrome and Web programming sessions are core to Google’s conference for developers. [Read more]
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What Android hardware lovers should expect from Google I/O
Posted by Gsurface
on May 13, 2013
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CNET’s Marguerite Reardon takes a look at the possible new Android products Google might show off at its annual developer conference this week in San Francisco. [Read more]
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Google drops SMS Search, nudges basic phone users toward smartphones
Posted by Gsurface
on May 13, 2013
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If you’re still wielding a basic feature phone, you may be familiar with Google SMS Search: it’s a handy tool that lets you text a search query and get a quick result. Or rather, it was a handy tool. Google now confirms that it quietly dropped the service within the past few days, delivering an automated shutdown warning to anyone messaging the short code. A Google employee explains the closure as a simple “streamlining” effort, although we’ve reached out for greater detail. It makes sense that Google would drop SMS Search when basic phones are quickly becoming the minority in a world full of web-friendly smartphones. However, the lack of advance notice could have some in that group upgrading their devices sooner than expected — if that’s even an option in the first place.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Google
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Google Product Forums
Google Wallet physical card plans reportedly axed last-minute by CEO Page
Posted by Gsurface
on May 13, 2013
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Google has scrapped plans to launch a physical Google Wallet credit card at Google IO next week, it’s reported, focusing instead on the digital wallet and NFC functionality baked into Android smartphones. The company had intended to reveal the credit card – which was to be black with a rainbow “W”, so AllThingsD reports –
Google X Phone leaks converge: is Nexus done for?
Posted by Gsurface
on May 12, 2013
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Here in the weekend days before Google I/O 2013, the company’s big developer conference for the year, two new clues leading to a new era in Motorola-made Android smartphones have been added to story called X Phone. The device in question has appeared as an AT&T-supported smartphone in the FCC this weekend as well as
Protect your privacy on Google
Posted by Gsurface
on May 12, 2013
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Google reportedly readying new Google Play Games platform
Posted by Gsurface
on May 12, 2013
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Massive update will make games on Android more social with multiplayer functionality and cloud syncing, according to code reviewed by the Android Police. [Read more]
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Google Babel to rebrand as Google Hangouts, could launch at Google I/O
Posted by Gsurface
on May 12, 2013
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We’ve heard rumblings of Google‘s new unified chat service in the past, called Babel, but it seems the company is expected to announce the new service at Google I/O next week. However, before they do that, it’s been reported that Babel is being rebranded as Google Hangouts, and will merge with the company’s current Google+
Google Play Games Leaks Ahead of I/O
Posted by Gsurface
on May 12, 2013
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Android Police reports on an information leak out of Google in the lead-up to their I/O conference, which starts on May 15th. A new version of Google Play Services contains information about “Google Play Games,” the company’s long anticipated unified gaming service. The leak shows support for saved game syncing, matchmaking, notifications, game invites, achievements, leaderboards, and integration with other Google services. “Who can send you notifications is, of course, managed by Google+. Pressing that button will bring up the usual circle dialog. All Play Games identity work will be done by Google+. Try and look surprised. … Play Games can somehow “auto pick” players, which means you can manually pick them too. Presumably this would go down in a match-making lobby of some kind. There are limited slots to a game, we just don’t know how many. … Leaderboards by time – choose this week, all time, or today. You can also show “player-centered” scores so you can find where you are on the boards. Leaderboards plug into G+ and can be non-public. You can also filter the leaderboard by people in your circles. It will also show you what percentile you’re in.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Google Play Games revealed: Android gaming gets serious
Posted by Gsurface
on May 12, 2013
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Details of Google Play Games, the Android alternative to Apple’s Game Center, have leaked, with suggestions that the cloud-syncing, leaderboard-scoring, and multiplayer-matchmaking system will debut officially at Google I/O this coming week. Evidence of the refreshed gaming component was unearthed from a prerelease version (v3.1.36) of the Google Play Services APK, with Android Police sifting
‘Google Play Games’ uncovered as Android’s home for invites, achievements and more
Posted by Gsurface
on May 12, 2013
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A Google-built alternative to Game Center on iOS and Games Hub on Windows Phone surfaced last month, and we know even more about it. Android Police dug into a new Play Services (an Android component you don’t access directly, but does things like update Google apps) APK, and found the latest version hid a massive update getting ready for Google Play Games. Although it’s not directly accessible yet, so far it’s revealed support for system wide notifications, standardized notifications managed by Google+, and cloud synced game saves to work across multiple devices. Also built in are the other parts of any modern gaming service like matchmaking, leaderboards, achievements, lobbies and such. Exactly how all this works and how devs will put it to use will probably be revealed next week at Google I/O, but for now there are a few more screenshots beyond the source link.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Source: Android Police
Amazon Cloud Drive Photos for iOS takes on Google, Dropbox and Apple
Posted by Gsurface
on May 11, 2013
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Amazon has launched its Cloud Drive Photos app on iOS today, joining the Android app as a solution for avid mobile photo snappers to automatically have their creations uploaded in the cloud and organized for sharing and viewing. The app looks to take on Apple’s Photo Steam iCloud feature, as well as Google’s and Dropbox’s
Microsoft sends gamblin’ Pete Rose to the plate in swing at Google Docs
Posted by Gsurface
on May 11, 2013
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Microsoft today took another shot at rival Google, calling its rival’s online application suite, Google Docs, “too big a gamble.”
Computerworld News
At Google I/O, expect Android, Chrome, and some privacy questions about Glass
Posted by Gsurface
on May 11, 2013
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Google kicks off its I/O developer conference next Wednesday and if there's one thing that could steal the limelight from Android, Chrome and all the other Google projects, it's Glass.
Computerworld News
Google teases pallet full of Chrome swag headed to I/O
Posted by Gsurface
on May 10, 2013
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Google’s whetting developer appetites for next week’s I/O conference with nothing more than a stack of boxes. No really. [Read more]
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Boston Replacing Microsoft Exchange With Google Apps
Posted by Gsurface
on May 10, 2013
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netbuzz writes “The city of Boston, which employs 20,000 people, has become the latest large organization to switch from Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps. The city estimates that the move will save it $ 280,000 a year. Microsoft’s reaction? ‘We believe the citizens of Boston deserve cloud productivity tools that protect their security and privacy. Google’s investments in these areas are inadequate, and they lack the proper protections most organizations require.’ More and more customers aren’t buying that FUD.” Hopefully they’ll be more satisfied than Los Angeles was (PDF).
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Google abandons plans for physical credit card
Posted by Gsurface
on May 10, 2013
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Friday Poll: Can Google I/O possibly top last year’s?
Posted by Gsurface
on May 10, 2013
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Google set a high bar with its skydiving introduction of Glass last year. Could this year’s conference contain more “wow-ness?” [Read more]
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