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.
During its press conference to officially kick off CES 2014, NVIDIA has announced its latest next-generation mobile processor. Dubbed the NVIDIA Tegra K1, the processor is the world’s first “192-core Super Chip.” The K1 will begin to make its way into mobile devices, more than likely several Android ones, sometime this year. In addition to mobile Android devices, NVIDIA also plans to implement the Tegra K1 into cars, gaming consoles, and 4k televisions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nupabf5zsGg
For those of you that aren’t going to make it to CES this year, Qualcomm has released several videos to its YouTube channel, showing off some of the features of its Snapdragon 805 processor. The videos focus mainly on the enhancements the chip can make to camera technology and styluses (via Engadget).
In a surprising weekend announcement, Bitspin has announced that it has been acquired by Google (via Android Police). Bitspin is the company behind the Timely alarm clock app, which has become one of the most popular and well designed apps on the Play Store. It has received between 1 million and 5 million downloads since it’s release and has an overall rating of 4.4 stars out of 5. The developers are also the minds behind the Tasks to-do app, although it’s published under a different name on the Play Store.
We’re thrilled to announce that Bitspin is joining Google, where we’ll continue to do what we love: building great products that are delightful to use.
For new and existing users, Timely will continue to work as it always has. Thanks to everyone who has downloaded our app and provided feedback along the way; we truly appreciate all your support.
Recently, we’ve been taking a look at some game controllers for the iPhone over at 9to5Mac, such as offerings from Logitech and Moga. Now another company is looking to get into the market, but this time with Android. Today, Wikipad announced its new Gamevice controller for Android devices. The device is a detachable controller, similar to those made for the iPhone (via Android Central). The Gamevice fully encloses your Android device, allowing only access to the screen.
After being updated with a sleep timer a few months back, Pandora for Android was updated today with the highly sought after alarm clock capability. The feature works just like you would expect it to. To set up your alarm clock, simply choose a station and a time, and when that time rolls around, the selected station will begin to play immediately. You also have the ability to snooze the alarm directly from the lock screen.
In addition to the alarm clock feature, Pandora also included several bug fixes and improvements. You can download it now on the Play Store. The full change log is below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FwJ9QlXwVSU
After teasing the app for what seemed like years, BlackBerry finally released its BBM client to Android last October, to a somewhat surprising number of downloads. Today, the company has released a private beta of the app that includes the promised Channels feature, as well as voice chat support (via Engadget).
Channels is BlackBerry’s stab at a social network. The company describes it as something similar to Tumblr. Voice chat is exactly what it sounds like. It’s essentially Skype, but baked right in to the BBM app. Users can call each other, for free, over WiFi networks. This is something that Android users have been wanting for a while now in Google’s Hangouts app, so it’s surprising to see BlackBerry beat Google to the punch.
The update is available via the BlackBerry Beta Zone now. There’s no word on public availability, or when/if the update will come to iOS.
Over the last few months, interest 4k TVs, monitors, and content has increased dramatically. YouTube has been streaming content in 4k for a while now, but using Flash. GigaOm is now reporting, however, that at CES next week, YouTube will introduce 4k streaming using its new VP9 codec. This is a new royalty-free codec developer by Google as an alternative to H.265 video codec used by other 4k video implementations.
Back in 2010, Google tried to gain traction with its VP8 codec, but due to tough competition and a lack of hardware support, those plans didn’t exactly pan out. In order to avoid the same issues with VP9, Google has already lined up a large number of hardware partners. At CES, LG, Panasonic and Sony will be demonstrating 4k content with the VP9 codec, while 19 other companies have agreed to support the codec, including ARM, Intel, Broadcom, Marvell, Toshiba, Sharp, and Samsung.
Hot on the heels of rumors claiming that Verizon would soon be offering the Moto G for $100, Best Buy has announced that it is now selling the device in its retail stores. Speaking to the LA Times, Best Buy spokesman Jonathan Sandler announced that, the device “is currently landing in stores and is available for sale as soon as it arrives.” This means that there is no set release date for the device from Best Buy, so you’ll need to keep in contact with your local store if you are interested in purchasing one.
A version of the phone for Sprint’s Boost Mobile prepaid service was also released today, this time through HSN. The Moto G is currently on sale for $129.95, but you can get it for $99 after a $30 mail-in rebate (regular price $169.95).
Being priced at just $99.99 sans-contract, the Moto G is easily the best bargain phone on the market. We were big fans of it when we reviewed it, and its recent update to Android 4.4 KitKat only further improved the experience. Of course, it’s also worth noting that the Moto G’s older sibling, the Moto X, received a price drop today as well, and now runs $399.99.
Update: According to an internal Verizon memo obtained by Droid-Life, the Moto G will be available from the carrier on January 9th.
It’s no secret that we are big fans of the Moto G here at 9to5Google. As of right now, the device is available unlocked from both Motorola and Amazon in 8GB and 16GB varieties for $179 and $199 respectively. According to a leaked image shared on Google+, the device will soon be coming for an even cheaper price.
Last week, Motorola announced that the Moto G would soon begin to be updated to Android 4.4 KitKat. Today, it looks like the update has finally started rolling out to users, as both Seth and I have received the update on our respective Moto G devices. The update comes in at roughly 191MB and bumps the device to build number 172.44.4.en.US.
New in the update are many of the changes we’ve come to know and love in KitKat. For one, all the new white-gradiants are present, replacing the blue, as is the new transparent notification bar. Not included is the new launcher found on the Nexus 5, though Google touts that as being exclusive to Nexus devices. You can always side load it, of course. Motorola also touts that new camera controls, such as manual focus and exposure, are included, though that was also included in an update to the Motorola Camera app on Google Play.
Through the holidays, Amazon is offering a $5 App Store credit to anyone who downloads an app from the newest version of the company’s Android Appstore. The promotion will run from December 24th through December 28th. The $5 credit will be valid on any apps, games, and in-app purchases in the Amazon Appstore (via SlickDeals).
In addition to the $5 credit, Amazon is also offering more many paid apps for free over the next week. On December 25th, Amazon will be offering a “Free App of the Day Welcome Pack,” which includes things like a note taking app, alarm clock, and more. On the 26th, Amazon will be offering Office Suite Pro 7 for $.99, down from $4.99.
Other deals include:
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As 2013 wraps up, we’ve seen a variety of different year-end info graphs and data, most of which comes from Google itself, such as the top search terms. This afternoon, Dow Jones has released an info graphic displaying the most talked about companies in 2013.
Google was able to narrowly beat out Apple this year. Google received 123,769 media mentions this year, while Apple received 120,451 mentions, up from 114,954 in 2012. Google saw its biggest spike in mentions came in May, which as we all know, is when Google I/O took place. Other notable technology companies include Microsoft, who received 84,174 mentions and IBM, who came in with 48,734 mentions.
Earlier this month, ClockworkMod developer Koushik Dutta made his AllCast app available in beta to people willing to provide feedback on the app. This morning, however, Dutta released the app to the Play Store, making it available to everyone. AllCast is free to download, although there is a $4.99 premium option available to remove ads, splashscreens, and the limit on video length.
Just a few weeks after the device went up for sale, Motorola has announced that Android 4.4.2 is now rolling out to the Moto G. The update brings all of the KitKat features we’ve come to know and love. One of the biggest selling points of KitKat is the improved performance on lower-end devices that don’t have as much power under the hood. Given that the Moto G is own the lower-end of the totem pole, KitKat should drastically improve the performance of the device, not that it was bad before.
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Following its release on Android back in July, Google has just made its One Today charity app available on iOS. For those unfamiliar with the app, it details a new charity everyday and encourages users to donate $1 a day, or more, to it. Users can share their donations to social networks, or keep them totally private.
One Today will present you with a new project every day from a nonprofit that is changing the world. You can donate to the projects that inspire you with just one click. Amplify your impact by sharing your donations with your friends on social media and matching their contributions to your favorite projects.
Google notes that all donations are tax deductible, as well. One Today is available on the App Store now.
According to source code discovered by the unofficial Google System Blog, Google Play Music users will soon get the ability to upload music directly to the service from directly within their browser. As of right now, in order to upload files to the service, you have to download Google’s Music Manager app and select which files you would like to upload.
The source code discovered reads “Drag songs or folders here to add music to your library. Or, if you prefer, select from your computer.” Google already allows users to drag and drop files to nearly all of its other online services, so it makes sense that Play Music would be next in line to receive the feature.
When Google announced Glass, people instantly became worried about the privacy implications that came with it. One of the biggest questions surrounded the potential to use the device for some sort of facial recognition. Google quickly confirmed that it would not allow such apps to be officially installed on the device, but as we all know, there are multiple ways to install an app to Glass and Google can’t stop everything.
Forbes reports on a new app, dubbed FaceRec, that will collect and catalog images of faces a user sees throughout the day. In addition to faces, the app will also work with things like computer screens and license plates. The app will integrate the image data collected with location coordinates to create a map. This will allow users to go back and see exactly who they saw and where they saw them. 
Chrome OS-powered desktops have not caught on in the past, to say the least, but it looks like that won’t stop LG from trying. The company has just sent out a press release announcing a new Chromebase, that it will officially unveil at CES 2014. The Chromebase is an all-in-one computer, much like the iMac, but powered by Chrome OS. The Chromebase will feature a 21.5 inch 1080p display, as well as 2GB of RAM, 16GB of solid state storage, and an unspecified Intel Celeron processor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUL4d4t17j4
Keeping up with the year-end videos, Google has just released another video, highlighting the best ads that appeared on YouTube this year. The company says that 2013 was the year in which “brands re-invented ads on YouTube – by making ads people chose to watch.”
To celebrate this amazing year, and gear up for what’s sure to be an even bigger 2014, we created this video to celebrate just some of the great work done by brands. Do you remember all of these? Which was your favorite?
The video shows off twenty ads, many of which ended up going viral. The ads are for a variety of things, such as the Honda, Oreos, Kmart, and Samsung.
Check out the video above.
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Update: @evleaks has screenshots of the Android companion app:
Google: coming to a thermostat near you
[https://t.co/8lPHX9vONK] pic.twitter.com/EftKr5ZrKG— Evan Blass (@evleaks) December 17, 2013
According to a new report from The Information, Google is currently testing Internet-connected thermostats, similar to products like the Nest, to help people easily monitor and adjust energy use. The report, citing “two people told about the project,” claims that Google has been testing the service in the St. Louis area with “Trusted Testers” that are not employees.
The report goes on to add that the project is reportedly dubbed “EnergySense” and the hardware is reportedly created by a third party, such as Ecobee. Ecobee denies that it is working with Google, but says that the company could still be using its hardware.
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Motorola had a pretty exciting 2013. The company released the highly-anticipated, highly-customizbale, American-made Moto X back in August. The company then released the budget Moto G, which received high reviews from many people. In a recent interview with AP, Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside sat down to discuss the company’s past year and give a peak into the future and how the company has changed since its acquisition by Google.
When asked what he thought consumers were most interested in seeing in their future smartphones, Woodside commented that a big area was durability.
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-Manual control of focus and exposure-Locked exposure during Panorama capture-Enabled additional language support-Bug fixes
Google this afternoon announced a major update to its Google Keep service on the web, just in time for the holiday season. The service has been updated with a totally new design, based heavily on the Keep Android app. There are now full color notes, a custom font, and text that scales to fit the size of the note. Also new is the ability to rearrange items in a list. The search functionality has also been improved, and a navigation drawer has also been added to make it easier to switch between notes.
Try out all the features for yourself at keep.google.com.
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Google this afternoon released a new folio case for its Nexus 7 tablet. The case is a lot like Apple’s Smart Cover for the iPad, as it does not cover the back of the device. Though, Google’s case does not attach like Apple’s, but rather is fit to the device and covers the sides. It does, however, turn on and off when you open or close the front cover.
The folio can hold the Nexus 7 up at two angles, one of which is better for watching video content, while the other is better for typing.
The case is not cheap by any means, coming in at $49.99. It is available in Bright Red and Black and is available to ship within 1-2 business days.
Play Store: Bright Red – Black