Google has just updated its Google Store availability page to indicate that the Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL are now available to purchase in Australia. Australia was included as a launch market for the Pixel 2 and 2 XL at its announcement, but residents of that country were stuck on a waitlist until today.
After a false start yesterday, Android Pay is now live in the United Kingdom. Those with compatible credit and debit cards can set up the contactless payment service after downloading the app from the Play Store. Google has also announced that Android Pay is coming soon to Australia and Singapore.
Many of the products and services that Google releases are usually geographically limited to the United States. After an initial rollout in the US last October, YouTube Red is now available in Australia and New Zealand.
Following signs that a UK rollout is imminent, the Sydney Morning Herald has reported that Australian banks ANZ and Westpac are preparing to launch Android Pay in the next couple of months. Google’s contactless payment system has seen a slower international release compared to competitors.
YouTube Gaming, the platform the company first unveiled back in June to bring live gameplay broadcasting to YouTube, is today expanding to new territory including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.
Google is now further localizing the voice in their apps for Australian users. The new accent will sound more familiar to those down under and be better able to pronounce place names and understand local colloquialisms for tasks and actions.
Android Pay launched earlier this fall bringing a fresh approach to NFC payments in stores to Google’s mobile platform, and today Android Pay is taking payments virtual. Google announced that Android Pay will now support in-app payments in supported apps. This means you can easily make secure payments when making purchases on your phone without having to type in your credit card information. Google also shared that it expects Android Pay to go global in 2016 starting with a launch down under in Australia.
Owners of the recently-released Nexus 6P on Australian carrier Telstra have been complaining of sporadic 4G issues since the phone first launched, and now it appears (via Ausdroid) that these users are receiving an OTA update to fix these issues.
The update comes in at a solid 71.1 MB and specifically mentions improving “4G network connectivity for your Nexus 6P.” The build number is MMB29N, and the Android security patch level is still at November 1, 2015. Reports from Twitter suggest that the problems are indeed resolved.
You can download the OTA update directly from Google’s servers by clicking the link below, and info on how to install it can be found in our guide.
Update: A report out of Re/code says that these drones aren’t actually Project Wing drones. They’re rather being registered for the company’s other drone project, Project Titan, which intends to provide internet access to remote or disaster-stricken locations. Google’s Project Titan is not to be confused with Apple’s Project Titan.
A couple of months ago, a report surfaced suggesting that Google was sidestepping FAA regulations by getting special approval from NASA to test its Project Wing delivery drones in the US. Now, it looks like the company (via Engadget) is actually getting approval for at least a couple of drones, as evidenced by a couple of entries in the FAA’s official registry…
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Google is marking World Oceans Day, on Monday, with underwater Street View imagery in three amazing locations: Bali, the Bahamas and back to the Great Barrier Reef. The Google Maps blog says that the company wanted to draw attention to the environmental damage we are doing to our oceans.
Home to the majority of life on Earth, the ocean acts as its life support system, controlling everything from our weather and rainfall to the oxygen we breathe. Yet despite the ocean’s vital importance, the ocean is changing at a rapid rate due to climate change, pollution, and overfishing, making it one of the most serious environmental issues we face today.
The company says that mapping the ocean not only showcases its beauty, but also provides baseline imagery which can be used to monitor changes and highlight threats …
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Following the first availability of the Nexus Player in the UK last month, the Nexus Player is now available in 9 new international countries. Among them are Australia, as well as eight different European countries:
The device launched in October of 2014 to little fanfare, and we reviewed it not long after saying that it’s a bit unfinished. Right now, owners of the Nexus Player are the only lucky souls to have their hands on Android 5.1.1.
Google just announced that it’s expanding its local inventory ads first launched for users in the US last fall to more countries starting today. The ads, which promote items from local nearby retailers to shoppers on Google, are now available in the UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, and France.
Google said today that it will also start showing the ads to desktop users:
We have also expanded support for store-only products and campaigns to desktop devices, enabling retailers to promote stores to the right customers at the right time. For example, you can prioritize showing local products to get shoppers in your doors during the weeks and days leading up to the holidays. As items go out of stock online and last-minute shipping costs increase, retailers who can provide cost-effective, quick in-store purchase options stand out in the crowd
Retailers can get an overview on the program here and users will in the countries above should start to see the local “in store” ads appear in search results.
Google is offering a new bundle through Google Play in some countries that offers a discounted price for customers that purchase both a Nexus 5 and LG G Watch. Discounts vary with local currencies, but discounts general range from $100 in Australia to £60 in the UK.
We reached out to Google to find out where exactly the deal is available, and it offered up a full list of countries: GB, IE, FR, DE, AU, KR, JP.
You can head over to Google Play now if you’re in a participating country to take advantage of the deal.
Yesterday, Google revealed plans to bring its Chromecast media streaming dongle to the Land of the Rising Sun, but the search giant isn’t stopping there. Today, Mountain View announced that its Chrome OS-powered entertainment stick is now available in Australia, Belgium, Portugal and Switzerland. As with other territories, Chromecast will offer support for local content particular to its market. Google asked some its international team members what they plan on casting and they offered up a few suggestions.
Happy (belated) Birthday, Google Play! It was two years ago that Google rebranded the Android Market to Google Play, and little did we know that it would take off to become what it is now. Not only are great apps and games made available from this vast repository of digital goodness, but you can also buy the latest Nexus devices, Google Play Experience devices, Chromecasts and accessories, books, movies, TV shows, music and so much more.
Just like last year, to celebrate you can grab the following movies and music to exclusive offers on apps, games and e-books:
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Facebook announced an interesting new feature for its updated Messenger for Android app today: the ability to sign up/in using only a name and phone number. The announcement marks the first time Facebook is offering one of its core services and apps without the need of an actual Facebook account. The feature will initially roll out to select markets, including: India, Indonesia, Australia, Venezuela, South Africa, and more countries to follow. Facebook also told us it plans to open the feature to iOS users in the future. Since these users will not have a Facebook account, the app will pull the device’s contacts to start direct or group conversations.
An update to Messenger for Android is available today, and Messenger accounts will become available over the next few weeks
Facebook plans to officially announce the new feature at Le Web today at 6:25 a.m. PST. You can grab the livestream here.
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Google just landed the No. 1 spot on LinkedIn’s fresh list of most “inDemand” employers from around the world.
The occupation-aimed social network pinpointed the most attractive companies for job seekers, and it subsequently broadcasted the list, along with its new Most InDemand Employers website, at the Talent Connect event in Las Vegas this afternoon. LinkedIn further detailed a few insights regarding the results, including: tech/software as the most represented on the list, consumer brands ranked highly, and 50-percent of the top 100 companies had under 7,000 employees.
Google also earned first-place in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Meanwhile, students, recent graduates, marketing professionals, and software engineers perceive it as the best possible employer overall. A few other repeated names on the list include Apple, Walt Disney, and Microsoft.
Check out more details in the infographic below, or read LinkedIn’s blog post to learn more about list’s ranking metrics.
This article is cross-posted on 9to5Mac.
Google has consistently beefed up its licensing agreements with content providers. It added over 1000 titles from Paramount Pictures and MGM to both YouTube and Google Play rental services earlier this month. Today, it announced on Google+ that movies are now available to Australian Google Play users:
Movies on Google Play is now available in Australia, including Australian classics like Bra Boys (http://goo.gl/nWvPX) and Chopper(http://goo.gl/MjAGT), and recent break-out hits like Snowtown(http://goo.gl/hgtwN).
A 30-year-old man used Google Earth to literally move mountains and find his long-lost family after nearly three decades of separation.
Saroo Brierley, 5-years-old, boarded the wrong train in 1986 and accidentally arrived in Calcutta, India. The boy found himself adopted one month later and then grew up in Australia. Roughly 25 years flew by without any way of knowing where he came from or how he could find his family.
With time, came technology. Using Google Earth, coupled with basic math to find the radius of Calcutta and the length of that fateful train ride, Brierley pinpointed his birth city.
A new twist in the Apple vs. Samsung legal proceedings spanning more than two dozen lawsuits across continents as the Federal Court in Australia lifted sales ban on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet today. The court unanimously overturned a ruling last month from Justice Annabelle Bennett which required that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 be banned from sale in Australia.
Sydney Morning Hearld quoted the ruling:
Samsung will be permitted to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia provided it keeps accounts of all transactions involving that device in Australia.
Samsung’s Australian subsidiary says it is “pleased with today’s unanimous decision”. Reacting to the decision, Apple plans on appealing to the High Court. The Federal Court also honored Apple’s request that its injunction remain in effect until Friday at 4pm, to allow the company time to prepare an appeal. A full hearing on copycat accusations is set for March 2012, which could still result in a permanent injunction.
Apple is also seeking a ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, a revised version with an added metal frame around the edges. Samsung engineered the Galaxy Tab 10.1N after a district court in Dusseldorf blocked sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 on the grounds that the product bears too many similarities to Apple’s iPad. A hearing in that case is scheduled for December 22.
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Following a temporary injunction on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, retailers say they aren’t prepared to back down despite legal threats from Apple and will continue selling the device by setting up new entities outside the “jurisdiction of Australian courts”, according to a report from The Sydney Morning Herald.
One retailer, dMavo, is even reorganizing their online operations and setting up an entirely new entity elsewhere in Europe to push the tablets, saying they’re ready for a “cat and mouse game” with Apple:
“We have a new entity established and a separate server – just to deal with the tablet orders – that is undergoing testing as of last Saturday…Was Apple just bluffing or do they really want to play the cat and mouse game?- dMavo managing director Wojtek Czarnocki.
It appears the move is paying off for the retailer on the short term with Czarnocki noting their servers were “almost collapsing on a number of occasions” as demand for the tablet and press from the retailer’s stance against Apple starts to receive attention.
Mark Summerfield, senior associate and patent specialist at a Melbourne law firm, told SMH he is unsure if the move to restructure the online sales of the device will protect the retailer from any wrongdoing related to patent infringement and the pending litigation between Apple and Samsung in Australia:
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Claiming Samsung copied the iPad’s design, Apple has successfully achieved their mission in getting an Australian judge to block Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 from being sold in Australia, reports Sydney Morning Herald. Apple says that Samsung is infringing on two patents, and the judge ruled until changes are made the Galaxy Tab 10.1 can’t be sold from this point on.
Apple and Samsung have current litigation continuing over in Europe and the United States. Apple has already successfully blocked the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany and hopes to do so elsewhere.
Samsung won’t start addressing the core patent issue (screen patent) with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 quite yet. They want to prepare a proper defense against Apple. The fight continues.
Apple today before a Sydney court rejected Samsung’s seemingly practical proposal calling for the removal of certain Galaxy Tab 10.1 capabilities in exchange for a smooth tablet launch in Australia. Samsung reportedly agreed to take out the feature which ignores unintended touches on the home screen to prevent apps from being launched accidentally. Apple, it appears, instead wants a definite ruling on a temporary Galaxy Tab 10.1 injunction, which should be expected later this week.
If the court sides with Samsung, it gets to launch its iPad rival in Australia in time for Christmas. If not, the case drags out into another year, possibly without a clear winner in sight. Remember, Samsung threatened to ban sales of the new iPhone in Korea the instant it launches. Apple is scheduled to unveil their next iPhone at a media event today in the Cupertino headquarters at 1pm ET, 10am PT. The event is headlined under the “Let’s talk iPhone” tagline, suggesting that the rumored Assistant feature will be in the focus, among other things.
Lawyers for the Cupertino, California-based Apple insist the Galaxy Tab 10.1 “is vastly the one that is going to be targeting the iPad 2”. According to Reuters, Apple lawyer Steven Burley made it clear that “the main reason we are here is to prevent the launch and maintain the status quo”. Note: The Wall Street Journal provides a live blog of today’s court hearing. Such a legal maneuvering on the part of the iPhone maker suggests that Apple isn’t interested in settling its dispute with Samsung out of the court unless, of course, unexpected legal setbacks arise.
This is the second blow in two weeks to Samsung’s efforts to make peace with Apple, its largest buyer of components such as NAND flash chips, custom-designed iPhone processors and displays.
Apple has made its concerns official. The iPhone maker fears Samsung tablet will lure consumers away from the powerful iTunes ecosystem. Apple’s been successfully leveraging iTunes to tie people to the platform through app and entertainment content sales.
The heated Apple vs. Samsung legal battle over who’s copying who is really about the ecosystem rather than the hardware or the patents. That’s the gist of today’s hearing before the Federal Court in Sydney related to an Apple-requested ban on sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia. According to Smh.com.au, lawyers for Apple argued that the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 could take away iPad 2 sales so quickly that buyers may be “seduced” from the iOS platform.
It’s all about the apps and the broader ecosystem, Apple’s legal team told Justice Annabelle Bennett, arguing the Galaxy Tab 10.1 “is vastly the one that is going to be targeting the iPad 2”. IDC numbers released today suggest that that tablet shipments to Australia and New Zealand doubled sequentially in the June quarter, which the research firm attributed to an influx of Android tablets recently released into those markets.
Apple’s lawyers then resorted to the “fire hose” metaphor to make their case:
This is going to be launched on the market with the velocity of a fire hose and it is going to just come in and take away iPad 2 sales so quickly that by the time we get to final hearing the full impact of the patent infringement will be to the detriment of Apple and to the benefit of Samsung.
And this bit about the battle of ecosystems:
They’ll then be Android people and the investment in the apps that they make to purchase on their Galaxy Tab will be something they can’t use on an Apple product.