Tag: Google
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Google Acquires the Pixel Division of HTC for $1.1 Billion
Reality has fallen a bit short of rumors that Google would acquire Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC — today, the two companies announced that Google will only acquire the division of HTC responsible for producing the Pixel smartphone, accounting for 20 percent of HTC’s workforce (about 2,000 employees). The $1.1 billion deal will also give Google non-exclusive […]
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Android 8.0 O is Officially Called Android Oreo, But the Update Won’t Arrive Until Later This Year
Oreo’s getting all kinds of new flavors these days! Peeps for spring, apple pie for summer, and software for fall! Hmm. I guess one of those isn’t as delicious, but we like what we see all the same. At a brief press event in New York City today, Android revealed that their yearly update will […]
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Apps,
Google Street View is Blasting Off Into Space With Photos of the International Space Station
Satisfied with a job well done on planet Earth, Google Street View is now setting its sights a little higher. They’ve been working with the International Space Station to get pictures of the inside of the facility, and they’ve finally stitched them together in Street View form for your viewing pleasure. You can go here […]
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Google Glass is Back, and This Time it Means Business
It’s been over two years since Google’s early attempt at wearable augmented reality blew up in their face. In 2015, Google finally had to admit that Google Glass in its then-current form wasn’t going to work as a consumer device after receiving tons of blowback about the unsettling idea of someone staring at you with […]
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Apps,
Google’s New Desktop App Can Backup and Sync Folders to Their Cloud Storage
If you’re a heavy user of Google Photos or Google Drive or you’re looking for an easy way to back up your computer, good news today — Google Backup and Sync is finally ready to go. After some delays, the new desktop program can help you backup and continuously sync individual folders on your computer, keeping […]
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New Google Pixel XL 2 Leaks Suggest the Phone is Going to Look Way Better This Year
It’s time to gear up for fall smartphone season, when we’ll see the new iPhone, Moto, Galaxy Note, and most likely the new Google Pixel. Representing a new line of smartphones for Google, the original Pixel phone from last year was technically terrific, but got some heat for a boring design. Someone at Google noticed, […]
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Google Gets Rocked By $2.7 Billion Fine by the EU for Anti-Competitive Practices
They’ll certainly appeal, but it sure looks like a European Union decision will cost Google a hefty chunk of change. In the culmination of a seven-year investigation, the EU has ruled that Google unfairly promoted its own shopping comparison service on its search engine, resulting in the handing down of a €2.4 billion (about $2.7 […]
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Apps,
Android O Will Bring Picture-in-Picture to Android Phones Later This Year
It seems we’ve moved past the era of fast and furious UI changes to mobile operating systems. Google showed off a little of the upcoming Android O update today at Google I/O, and while it looks very familiar, there are a few cool new features on the way. Right at the top of the list […]
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Apps,
Watch Out Siri, Google Assistant is Coming to the iPhone
It’s been an interesting month for Apple and its nearest competitors. Last week at the Microsoft Build developers conference, we learned that iTunes is coming to the Windows Store as an app, and now this week we’ve got Google with some big Apple-related news. At their I/O developers conference today, the company revealed that Google […]
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Apps,
Google AutoDraw Transforms Your Terrible Doodles Into Something Pretty
Google’s not out to judge your doodles — well, it kind of is. With their new AutoDraw tool, their machine learning technology can take a look at your doodles, guess what you’re trying to draw, and then replace your, er, work with something more pleasing to the eye. AutoDraw is a web-based canvas, sort of. It’s […]
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Apps,
YouTube Releases an App Optimized for Slow Internet Connections
With many of the affluent markets already saturated with tech, greater and greater attention is being paid to lower-income markets. Already this year, we’ve seen an affordable new Nokia phone for emerging markets and Amazon Cash, a service that makes it easier to shop on Amazon without having a debit or credit card. Today, it’s […]
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Apps,
Google Puts Ms. Pac-Man on Google Maps for April Fools
April Fool’s Day falls on a weekend this year. Google, worried that they wouldn’t be able to prank office managers around the world, did us all a solid and got things started a day early. Your time-waster for today is Google’s April 1 tradition — Pac-Man on Google Maps. For 2017, they’ve got Ms. Pac-Man chomping […]
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Here are Some of the Changes Coming in the Android O Update
We won’t get a full rundown of the changes coming in this year’s Android O update (or the official candy name), until the Google I/O developer conference in May, but Google gave us all a sneak peek with a developer preview. Meant for app developers to begin work implementing the upcoming new toys, the preview […]
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Fossil Brings the Android Wear 2.0 Update to Their Q Line of Smartwatches
There’s usually a big risk in buying into first generation tech. That was true with Android Wear smartwatches — the original operating system wasn’t great, requiring a huge number of taps and swipes to get something done. Fortunately, Android Wear 2.0 brought a lot of refinements, plus new dials that make those digital watch faces a […]
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Google and Levi’s Connected Jean Jacket Will Hit the Road in the Fall for $350
I’ll admit it — I totally forgot about the jean jacket Google and Levi’s have been teasing for ages now. We hadn’t heard much since they detailed the Commuter Trucker Jacket at the Google I/O developers conference last year, but at SXSW over the weekend, Google announced that it’ll be sold starting this fall for $350. […]
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TV,
YouTube TV is a Streaming TV Service with Unlimited Cloud DVR
YouTube is becoming ThemTube. The video hosting site that first got big featuring random videos from random people is now getting into pay TV thanks to the cord-cutting trend. Announced today, YouTube TV is a streaming television service that will include over 40 channels for $35 per month, plus unlimited cloud DVR. It looks like […]
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Google Boss Tables Seven-Year-Old’s Application With a Smiley Face
Call it a dream deferred. Seven-year-old Chloe Bridgewater of Hereford, England sent off a handwritten letter straight to Google HQ (addressed to “Google Boss”) inquiring about job opportunities (and praising office amenities), and hey, she got a response! In other words, she’s probably already doing better than most applicants to Google. To be fair to […]
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Google Finally Introduces Android Wear 2.0 Along With Two New Smartwatches from LG
Smartwatch news wasn’t good for anyone last year, but it was especially bad for the Android Wear crowd. Lenovo was the only Android Wear device maker in the top five at fourth, alongside Apple, Fitbit, Samsung, and Pebble — and the last one doesn’t even exist anymore. But, Apple reportedly saw good holiday sales following the release […]
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Apps,
Launchpad Toys Releases Kid-Friendly 3D Cartoon Version of Their Toontastic App
Since early in the decade, Launchpad Toys‘ Toontastic app has been a great way for kids and adults alike to create fun, animated stories, complete with narration and music. It’s great for art and animation classes as a quick, gentle introduction to storytelling, but for a while, it was only available for iOS. Well, that […]
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Apps,
The Top 10 Apps of the Year Will Not Surprise You
It’s been like this for a while, but the Wild West has been tamed. The world of apps has been whittled down to a few giants, and it’s those giants that dominate the top 10 apps of 2016. Nielsen has been getting into mobile analytics lately, and they’ve put together the list based on average […]
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Cronologics, Makers of the CoWatch, Have Been Acquired by Google
2016 has been a rough year for smartwatches — not only did sales drop over 50 percent from last year, but the entire year has gone by without an update to Google’s Android Wear smartwatch operating system. Android Wear 2.0 is slated to arrive early next year, but it’s already seen considerable delays, and some Android […]
