Chance Miller

At Google I/O in June, Google announced a new line of Android One smartphones that it said would be affordable and marketed at emerging markets, such as India. The Economic Times is now reporting that Google is planning to launch its first smartphones of the Android One program as early as next week in India. The report also claims, however, that the devices will be more expensive than the initial $100 price point Google announced at I/O.

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When Google’s $35 Chromecast was originally released, obtaining root access was incredibly easy. So easy that some users believed that it had been intentional on Google’s part, as to allow curious developers to explore the inner workings of the device a bit. Nevertheless, the vulnerability used in that root method was eventually closed. Now, however, developers once again have discovered another exploit that allows root access on the Chromecast.

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Google and Citrix today announced a new partnership that will bring a variety of new enterprise features to Chrome OS powered devices. Citrix’s Receiver app is now available for Chromebooks everywhere and allows direct access to the device’s system resources, including settings for things such as printing, audio, and video.

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A new law signed into action in Delaware recently deals with how to handle a deceased person’s online data on sites such as Google and Facebook. Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed into law a new bill that gives estate attorneys and other fiduciaries more control over and access to their deceased customers’ data. Executors authorized to take control of a person’s will also are included in the new law and have the ability to transfer email and data to another family member, but is not required by the law to do so.

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Popular file sharing service MediaFire announced a major update to its Android app this afternoon, bumping it to version 2.0. The update adds a variety of new features and enhancements, both visually and feature-wise. Overall, the interface looks much cleaner in version 2.0 than it did in earlier versions. The overall navigation process remains the same for the most part, but icons, menus, text, and other visuals have been modernized quite a bit.

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When a totally revamped version of 1Password for Android was released to the Play Store earlier this summer, the AgileBits developers still weren’t quite sure on how to price the app. Since the release, the app has been free for anyone to use. At the time of release, AgileBits said that eventually, a premium version would be released with many of the features hidden in it.     Now, in a blog post, the developer team has announced that, as part of today’s 1Password 4.1 update for Android, many of the premium features are behind in-app purchases.

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We’ve been hearing rumors of a YouTube streaming music service for quite a while, but now Android Police has published a report detailing Google’s streaming music plans. The report claims that Google will soon launch a new service called YouTube Music Key, as well as rebrand Google Play Music All Access to Google Play Music Key.

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A few months ago, reports started circulating that Mozilla was developing its own streaming stick to compete with the Chromecast. The device was reportedly going to be marketed as a more open alternative to Google’s offering, but despite these reports, Mozilla today added Chromcast support to its Firefox browser on Android. For the time being, you must be running the nightly build of Firefox to use it, however.

You can download the nightly build of Firefox for Android from this page. Once you get the APK installed, Mozilla offers a test video casting page for users to visit. If a Chromecast icon appears on that page and your device offers the ability to cast the video, then you’re good to go.

Download the Firefox nightly APK here to get going.

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The Korea Times is reporting that LG is planning to show off a successor to its G Watch wearable at IFA next month. The report, citing an unnamed LG official, claims that the device will go by the LG G Watch 2 moniker and be more high-end than the current generation G Watch. LG is reportedly planning to market the device as a competitor to Apple’s supposed, still unannounced iWatch.

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LG’s G Watch and Samsung’s Gear Live

When Google unveiled Android Wear, it said that ASUS was among the partners signed up to release a wearable device, but since then, both companies have been quiet on the matter. In June, rumors started circulating that ASUS was working on a smartwatch that would be low-cost and appealing to consumers. Now, according to quotes from Focus Taiwan, ASUS may launch its Android Wear device as soon as next month at IFA next month.

ASUS CEO Jerry Shen told an investors’ conference Tuesday that his company could debut its smartwatch as early as September at the IFA electronics trade show in Germany, with aggressive marketing efforts to promote the device.

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Just a few weeks ahead of IFA in Berlin, an alleged image of Samsung’s virtually reality headset has been leaked. According to The Verge, Samsung is set to unveil this headset, alongside the Galaxy Note 4, at its Unpacked event in Berlin next month. The report claims that the headset, codenamed Project Moonlight, is similar to Google Cardboard in how it allows you to pair it with a smartphone display to transport you “into an immersive world” with its lenses.

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Like it always does during the first half of a new month, Google this evening updated its Android Distribution data to reflect a 7 day period ending on August 12th. The data shows the most recent version of Android, KitKat, reach an all-time usage high at 20.9 percent, up from 17.9 percent this time last month. Jelly Bean continued its steady decline, falling from 56.5 percent to 54.2 percent.

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Rumors of when we can expect a Moto X successor have been around for a while now, but now Droid Life is reporting that the device will be released on Verizon in late September. The blog claims that its sources are currently hearing that Verizon is planning to launch the device on September 25th.

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Google today rolled out an update to its Android Device Manager app that bumps it to version 1.3.8. For those unfamiliar, Android Device Manager is Google’s solution for those who have lost or misplaced their phone or tablet and need to locate it. Today’s update is relatively minor, but there is one feature that will be incredibly e helpful, should you misplace your device.

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Google this afternoon, as part of its Update Wednesday regiment, started rolling out an update to the Play Music app on Android. The update bumps the app to version 5.6.1616 and includes several interface tweaks and new features. For one, the update adds a newly-skinned 4×1 widget, as well as a new 1×1 widget that allows you to instantly listen “I’m Feeling Lucky” radio. For those unfamiliar, the “I’m Feeling Lucky” feature provides an infinite stream of music that Google thinks you will like.

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Photo: ibtimes.com

Samsung and Apple just announced that they have agreed to drop all patent suits against each other in countries outside the United States, Bloomberg reports. The two companies will drop suits against each other in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, the U.K., France and Italy. This agreement does not include any licensing agreements, though. This has no effect on United States battles either.

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It’s no secret that we were huge fans of the Moto G when it was released last fall. At under $200 and with the performance of a flagship device, it was a steal of a phone at the time. Now, two benchmarks have emerged from what is allegedly the Moto G successor. First noticed by CNET, these benchmarks peg the second-generation Moto G as having a 5-inch display, up from 4.5-inches, and a higher-resolution 8MP rear camera, up from 5MP.

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During the summer of 2013, the line-up of Google Play Edition devices grew incredibly quickly, with devices available from HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony. Last month, however, the selection of devices dropped to just three: the Moto G, Galaxy S4, and HTC One (M8).  Now, this evening, Google has removed the Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition from the store without any replacement in sight.

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As first reported by the Kansas City Star, several cable companies have started bumping up their internet speeds for customers, free of charge, in order to better compete with Google Fiber in Kansas City. Both Comcast and Time Warner announced changes for their internet packages.

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Last week, reports started to emerge claiming that the charging contacts on the LG G Watch were causing skin irritation for many users. Dubbed #CorrosionGate, it was clear this issue was going to need to be addressed by LG at some point. Now, the company has started rolling out an OTA update, bumping the software from build number KMV78V to KMV78Y, to address the issue.

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