Apps for Business customers can now yell at Google over phone

9to5 Staff

Google’s post-sale support leaves a lot to be desired and this has especially been true for advertisers, publishers and businesses who host their business on Google’s servers. As the search company adds many more thousand and millions of users under its fold, so does the need for friendlier ways of addressing customer issues grow. Publishers and advertisers should get phone support anytime now, as promised.

As for the Google Apps for Business customers, Google today announced in a post over at the official Enterprise blog the new Google Apps for Business support page which lets Business and Education edition customers yell at Google over phone, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day:

To improve the experience of our customers, we now provide 24 x 7 phone support to small, medium, and large Google Apps for Business customers for all issues affecting the core services. Our customers may also receive support through our web-based support portal, online help forms, and online help center. All support cases are handled directly by trained Google Apps experts.

Phone technical support is available in the United States, internationally and in local markets. For local phone numbers, Google advises folks to visit the Support tab in their control panel.

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Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus — Fantastic form factor takes Honeycomb on the road

Jordan Kahn


Photos by Veronica Oggy

When the original Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 was introduced, it was hardly proof the iPad had much to worry about from the 7-inch Android market. Not because of the its 7-inch display, however, which actually turned out to be a much nicer experience than cheerleaders of Apple’s view would have you believe. If the new Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus accomplishes one task successfully, it’s proving once again a 7-inch slate is an undeniably ideal size for the majority of everyday, on-the-go tasks, and with Honeycomb 3.2 and beefed up insides, Samsung’s new 7-inch experience could be your next tablet.

Right out the gate it’s clear this is the best Android tablet I’ve used– While pretty much the same experience on the slightly scaled up Galaxy Tab 10.1 feels inferior to the iPad, the 7.0 Plus seems to stand on its own. It’s also never been more clear how much Apple needs a product in the 7-inch category, and that’s saying a lot for the short amount of time I’ve spent with the device.

Design:
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Microsoft’s anti-Android, cross-licensing strategy exposed by Barnes & Noble

Jordan Kahn

Ever wonder what patents Microsoft has been using to sign up Android vendors such as Samsung, HTC, Huawei, Acer, and over 10 others in cross-licensing agreements? Just last week Barnes & Noble asked US regulators to probe Microsoft’s anti-Android strategy, which sees the company collecting millions in profits from royalties paid by just about anyone shipping Android on their devices.

In their initial letter to the Department of Justice, Barnes & Noble claims Microsoft’s patents “cover only arbitrary, outmoded and non-essential design features,” and today we get a look into exactly what they’re talking about thanks to a detailed report from Groklaw of the exhibits attached to B&N’s letter.

Below B&N walks us through some of the patents Microsoft claims the Nook infringes on and also describes their stance for each. These could very well be some of the same patents the company is using to collect royalties from other Android vendors, patents B&N describe as only covering “trivial and non-essential design elements in Android”.
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Review: Sprint EVO Design 4G World Phone – the budget device you’re looking for

Jake Smith

I’ve been playing with the EVO Design 4G for the better part of a month now, after showing off the hardware and software quickly in October. Today, we’re back with our full review of the device to answer a few questions. Is this the premier mid-range Android device on Sprint? Does it live up to its EVO name? Is this the world phone you’re looking for? But first, let’s go over some specs.

The Design 4G is packing Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)  HTC Sense, a 1.2 GHz processor, 4-inch qHD display, 5-megapixel rear-camera, 1.3-megapixel front-camera, Wi-Fi, and World Phone capabilities. So how does this hardware hold up with the software? Head on after the break for our full review.

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Lenovo dropping 10.1-inch quad-core tablet by December, Ice Cream Sandwich included

Jordan Kahn

This morning we told you about HTC’s plans to bring a quad-core tablet to market thanks to Nvidia’s new Tegra 3 chip. That was after we introduced you to the new Transformer Prime from Asus, which will most likely be the first Tegra 3-powered tab you can get your hands on starting in December. Now, not to be left out of the Tegra 3 tablet party, Lenovo is gearing up to launch their own quad-core tab.

According to Engadget, the company is prepping a new 10.1-inch, Android 4.0 tablet powered by Nvidia’s new chip for December. As for specs, you can expect 2GB of DDR3 RAM, USB host socket, main backside camera, and a “Special Fusion-Skin Body”. The report also mentions a fingerprint scanner on the backside of the device that can also be used as a joystick for gaming. We’ll obviously have to wait for more info before we know if this will be a true competitor to the many quad-core tabs we’re bound to see in 2012. Until then, check out a few more images below.
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Google Music Store leaks ahead of November 16th announcement

Jordan Kahn

Google sent out invites on Friday for their upcoming “These Go To Eleven” music related event slated for November 16th. Ahead of the announcement, which we obviously assume will be Google Music related, the guys over at TechnoDroidVe (via Android Police) have posted images of what appears to be an early build of the Google Music store running within the Android Market.

According to the report, they were able to play previews of songs, although music isn’t available to purchase as of yet. It appears the app is still being updated, as yesterday a “Free Song of the Day” feature was added, and today some final finishing touches to the UI. We’ll be keeping you posted from the live event on Wednesday. More screenshots after the break.
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