Chance currently writes for both 9to5Google and 9to5Mac, in addition to 9to5Toys. He has previously written for several other online publications. He uses a Nexus 5, iPhone 5s, iPad Air, Hackintosh, and Macbook Air.
Twitter this evening has announced a change to the “quote tweet” functionality of its service. With an update that’s rolling out to Android users soon, using the quote tweet feature will now embed the actual tweet instead of simply quoting it as text.
Samsung this evening has released its earnings guidance for Q1 of 2015. The company expects to, yet again, post a decline in profit and revenue year-over-year. Samsung expects its operating profit for Q1 2015 to be $5.43 billion (5.9 trillion won), which beats analyst estimates of $4.8 billion (5.3 trillion won). The company expects revenue of 46 trillion won, which is slightly lower than estimates of 49.8 trillion won.
It was announced last year that Android co-founder Andy Rubin was leaving Google to pursue his interest in starting an incubator for startups interested in building technology hardware products. The Wall Street Journal reports today that Rubin is launching a tech incubator called Playground Global LLC. Rubin’s company hopes to provide support and advice to tech startups in search of a helping hand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ5rniR8aaY
LG isn’t set to officially debut the G4 until April 28th, but the company can’t seem to contain its excitement. After unveiling the QHD display that the device will feature last week, the company has this evening announced LG UX 4.0, the interface that will appear on the G4. LG says the focus of its UX 4.0 interface is to provide a simple and easy to use interface that’s also highly customizable.
Reports of a Google MVNO have been circulating for a few months now, with Google itself even adding fuel to the fire. Today, The Telegraph reports that one of Google’s goals with its wireless network is to offer free international roaming to its customers. The report claims that Google is in talks with Hong Kong-based Huchison Whampoa, the owner of Three and soon O2, regarding its ambitions.
According to a post on the Android subreddit, HTC is testing its own competitor to Google’s Android Auto in-car system. The post claims that the device is named “HTC Cello” and runs a version of Sense specifically for cars, currently called Sense Automotive. Test logs from the device show that HTC is looking to integrate its device more with the car than Android Auto currently does.
Reuters reports that the plaintiffs in an antitrust lawsuit against Google have finally withdrawn their case. The case, which was brought against Google nearly a year ago, accused the company of being anticompetitive with several of its Search and Android practices.
Google announced today that it has started rolling out an update to Google Wallet on Android with a couple of notable new features. First off, Wallet on Android now packs Google Maps integration. With this integration, you can see exactly where you performed any given transaction on an embedded map. This feature, Google says, will make it easier to notice any sort of suspicious activity that occurs.
Arguably the best smartwatch to come out of 2014 was the Moto 360. The rounded smartwatch received solid reviews and was relatively popular. Since the device’s launch, however, rumors of a successor to the Moto 360 have been few and far between. Phandroid today reports, however, that Motorola appears to be testing a second-gen Moto 360 near its Chicago-based headquarters.
Heavy metal fans rejoice: the entire Metallica discography is now available for streaming on Google Play. Previously, thanks to harsh distribution agreements, none of the classic band’s catalog was available from Google. All of the albums are available for purchase at $9.49 each now, however, with individual tracks costing the standard $1.29.
LG’s upcoming G4 flagship isn’t set to be unveiled until later this month, but the company this evening has announced one feature of the upcoming device. In a press release, LG Display unveiled a new 5.5-inch QHD LCD panel. LG claims that it has achieved a “quantum jump” in color gamut and brightness with this display, while also and perhaps more importantly, reducing power consumption. The display is also much thinner than any display before, according to LG.
Verizon has announced this evening that it is now rolling out Android 5.0 Lollipop to its Galaxy Note 4 variant. The update carries the build number VRU1BOAF and comes in two parts for Note 4 users. AT&T and Sprint have already updated their Note 4 variants to Android 5.0 Lollipop. The update initially started rolling out in Poland first, back in February.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the European Commission is preparing to file antitrust charges against Google. The charges come after a five-year long investigation that’s stalled three times and caused strong political divides in Europe.
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Google and Motorola this evening have started rolling out Android 5.1 to the Play Edition Moto G. The update carries the build number LMY47M and comes in at 171 MB. The update is rolling out now over-the-air, although as usual, it’s a staged rollout and could take a few days to hit your device (via Android Police).
April Fools’ Day is often one of the more eventual days of the year for Google and other tech companies. This year appears to be no different as a variety of pranks have already appeared around the web. We’ve been analyzing them all, right as they come in, and have listed some of our favorites below. We’ll keep this list updated as more April Fools’ Day gags continue to roll in. We have feeling there will be no shortage of them either…
After adding an April Fools’ Easter egg to Maps this morning, Google has since added another gem to its mobile version of Chrome. First noticed by the Google Operating System blog, there’s now a menu in Chrome mobile that lets you “share a reaction” from any webpage you visit.
Google today has officially released Play Games Player Analytics to developers. In a post on the Android Developers Blog, Google announced that these new tools will allow for game developers to better track in-game player behavior and improve in-app business tactics and performance.
LG this evening has sent invites to events being held simultaneously on April 28th and April 29th in New York, London, Paris, Seoul, Singapore, and Istanbul. At these events, LG will most likely launch its next flagship smartphone, anticipated to be the G4. The invite itself is relatively minimalist, with the tagline reading, “See the great, feel the great.”
HTC’s VP of Product Management Mo Versi announced on Twitter this evening that the AT&T HTC One M7 will finally receive Android 5.0 Lollipop beginning tomorrow, March 31st. Versi, in his tweet, confirmed that HTC has received approval from both AT&T and Google for the update after delays early on.
AT&T HTC One (M7) Owners! Great news, we've received technical approval on Lollipop OS. OTA will start tomorrow. Thank you for your patience
— Mo Versi (@moversi) March 30, 2015
In 2008, HTC acquired design firm One & Co to help bolster its smartphone team. Slowly but surely, however, the team has disintegrated to the point that as of tonight, only one of the design team members remains. HTC’s VP of Industrial Design, Jonah Becker, announced on Twitter tonight that he is leaving the company. Becker was named vice president less than a year ago.
A new set of photos published on XDA Developers claim to show LG’s upcoming G4 Note flagship smartphone. The images show a device with design similar to that of the G Flex 2, which was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, but with a stylus.
It’s unclear if the device shown in these leaked images has an all metal body like reports have claimed the LG flagship will offer. One notable quality of the design, however, is that a stylus for the device appears to be located at the top left of the phone. This lends credit to the possibility that these images are of the G4 Note, not the standard G4. The G4 Note is said to be a higher-end device than the G4, similar to what Samsung offers with its Galaxy Note phablet line-up. Some, however, have suggested that what appears to be the stylus is actually just an antenna.
Plex today has pushed an update to its Android app that bumps it to version 4.0. The update continues to improve the user interface of the application. Plex for Android gained a few Material Design inspired qualities with its last update, but with today’s 4.0 update, the design has been significantly enhanced.
Google today has reveled an update to its notes/lists app Keep. The update adds two notable features and is rolling out now to the Keep web client and Android app. With the update, the Android app is bumped to version 3.1. With it, the update brings recurring reminders and labels to both the web and mobile.
The Wall Street Journal has published a new report highlighting the reach that Google has in the United States government. According to the report, Google employees have visited the White House 230 times since President Obama took office. That comes out to an average of roughly once a week. For comparison’s sake, Comcast employees have met at the White House just 20 times since Obama’s inauguration.