Snapchat today has announced that it’s brining an entirely new search functionality to its iOS and Android apps. The feature will partially solve one of the long-standing complaints about Snapchat, with the company hoping that it will help users quickly find content to explore and new users to add as friends.
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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.
LeEco’s Le S3 and Le Pro3 are now available from Target in the United States
LeEco first launched sales in the United States via its own website and now the company is expanding availability with one of the country’s largest retail chains. LeEco announced today that its Le Pro3 and Le S3 are now available from Target.
Vine to officially shutdown and transition to new ‘Vine Camera’ app on January 17
Back in October, Twitter announced that it was shutting down the popular 6-second video sharing service Vine. After outcry from users, however, Twitter slightly revised those plans, saying that the Vine app would be replaced with a new Vine Camera app, but that the community as is would still be shuttered.
Now, Vine has confirmed a date for the shutdown, saying on a FAQ page that the Vine app will transform into the Vine Camera app on January 17th.
Google sued by Department of Labor for refusing to supply pay data in anti-discrimination audit
Google today has been hit with a lawsuit by the United States Department of Labor for withholding data in an ongoing audit centered on anti-discrimination efforts.
It’s important to note that the lawsuit doesn’t accuse Google of actually engaging in discrimination, but rather that it is not being as forward as the Department of Labor would like through the audit process.
Twitter’s Periscope adds support for 360-degree live video broadcasts
Twitter has announced today that it is bringing support for live 360-degree video to the broadcasting service Periscope. The move comes as Twitter continues to heavily invest in live video and faces increasingly strong competition from Facebook and others. Twitter and Periscope outlined the new feature in blog posts.
Qualcomm fined more than $850 million in South Korea over antitrust violations
Qualcomm, the company behind the Snapdragon processor found in most popular Android phones, is being fined more that $850 million in South Korea over alleged antitrust violations. According to Reuters, the company plans to fight the decision.
Google shaved $3.6 billion off its 2015 tax bill using infamous Dutch & Irish loopholes
As Apple defends its own actions related to its Ireland tax maneuvering, new filings from Google show that it saved $3.6 billion in worldwide taxes during 2015 by using infamous Dutch & Irish tax loopholes. The move is a continuation of a scheme Google has been running since 2004.
Honda says it is in talks with Google’s Waymo spin-off for self-driving car technology
Just last week, Google announced that it was breaking its self-driving car project out into its own company, called Waymo. The news was announced during a small press event, with Waymo being described as a “self-driving tech company with mission to make it safe for people and things to get around.”
Now, Bloomberg notes that Honda is in talk to partner with Waymo for its self-driving technology…
Google employee lawsuit claims company violates CA laws, details clandestine ‘Stop Leaks’ program
Google has been hit with a lawsuit by one of its project managers that alleges it goes so far with its internal confidentiality policies that it is breaching California labor laws. The lawsuit was filed by an employee who wishes to remain anonymous, going simply by John Doe in the document.
First reported on by The Information, the lawsuit specifically claims that Google runs an internal “spying program” to help combat employees leaking information to the media…
Trump talks job creation, innovation, & more w/ Larry Page & Eric Schmidt, other tech executives in meeting at Trump Tower
While Twitter may have not been in attendance, President-elect Donald Trump held a meeting with other top technology executives including Tim Cook, Larry Page, and Elon Musk today at Trump Tower. The meeting, according to The New York Times, covered a variety of topics, mainly centering around immigration, jobs, and GChina…
Google rolling out support for reserving fitness and wellness classes right from search results
As we head into 2017, people are starting to form their New Year’s resolutions and Google today is rolling out a new feature to make it easier for its users to stick to their fitness-released goals. In a blog post, Google detailed a new Reserve with Google feature that will allow users to easily book fitness and wellness classes right from Google.
Hiroshi Lockheimer: One goal of Pixel devices & marketing is to attract iPhone users
When Google announced its new Pixel devices, many began to speculate that perhaps they were the company’s most serious attempt yet at competing head to head with Apple and the iPhone. With a premium price tag and Google having greater control than ever over the development and support of the device, it seemed like the goal was to win over iPhone users.
Now, in an interview on TWiT’s “All About Android” show, Hiroshi Lockheimer Google’s senior vice president of Android, Chrome OS, and Play, has admitted that capturing iPhone users is in fact one of the goals of the Pixel..
Yahoo Answers Now for Android leaves invite-only period, now available to the public
Last week, we covered Yahoo’s new Answers app for iOS and Android, but noted that at the time it was still invite-only. Today, however, the company officially announced that Yahoo Answers is available to all users on iOS and Android.
Dropbox for Android adds long-awaited support for offline folders
Dropbox today updated its Android app with a new feature that brings it closer in terms of features to other cloud storage apps on the market. The update adds support for offline folders, making it easier for users to prepare for being without a data connection…
Samsung working with carriers in Australia to block the Note 7 from accessing mobile networks
Following a similar move in New Zealand, Samsung is working with mobile carriers in Australia to shut down network access from all Note 7 devices. This, of course, is a move on Samsung’s part to try to get all of the fire-prone devices out of the wild to avoid any more potentially dangerous situations.
Deeper discounts push Google Pixel ahead of iPhone 7 during Black Friday weekend
Now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are wrapped, we’re starting to see some data roll in that shows the most popular purchases of the weekend. New data from Localytics shows that, in terms of smartphones, the Google Pixel beat out the iPhone 7 as the most popular purchase this weekend, but it’s not as simple as that…
Google updates Docs, Sheets, & Slides with new features on iOS and Android
Google announced in a blog post today that it is rolling out a handful of new features to the mobile apps of its Docs, Sheets, and Slides. For iOS, there’s anew trash view, while Android users gain the ability insert GIFs with Google Docs.
Strategy Analytics: Huawei was the most profitable Android manufacturer during Q3
A new report from Strategy Analytics today sheds some light into the smartphone industry for the third quarter of 2016. The report shows that the mobile industry as a whole brought in $9.4 billion in profits, while Apple accounted for a monstrous 91 percent of that number. In second place, however, was Huawei…
In continued enterprise push, Google acquires cloud training startup Qwiklabs
Google today announced in a blog post that it has acquired Qwiklabs, the startup aimed at educating IT professionals on the benefits of using the cloud. The company was founded in 2012 and Google says that Qwiklabs will remain available following the acquisition.
Android Pay goes live in Poland with support from 3 banks and 400,000 retail locations
Android Pay is continuing its slow expansion around the world. The mobile payment platform is going live in Poland on right now with support for 400,000 points of sale and a handful of banks…
Google’s new AI-powered Quick Draw game is crazy smart and addictive
As it continues to increase its efforts in artificial intelligence, Google today launched a new web tool called Quick Draw. The website, which looks like a basic drawing game on the surface, is actually using a whole lot of artificial intelligence knowledge behind the scenes.
eBay revamps Android app ahead of holiday shopping with improved browsing, product pages, more
Ahead of the holiday shopping season, eBay today has updated its iOS and Android apps with a new, more user-friendly interface and browsing process. The update comes following the addition of Touch ID and Android Wear support over the summer.
Samsung running full page Galaxy Note 7 apology ads in major US publications following recall
It’s no secret that Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 debacle had an impact on the overall brand, and today the company is looking to remedy that in part with full page apology ads in major United States daily news papers, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post (via The Verge).
LG begins Android 7.0 Nougat rollout for G5 users in South Korea, other countries to follow
Following a preview period for customers earlier this year, LG today has announced that it is now rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat to G5 users in South Korea. The company says that South Korea is just the start of the rollout and that the update will expand to additional countries as time progresses.