Google has a new Android statue on its Mountain View campus.

Android Community Manager Paul Wilcox posted a photo on Google+ of the chrome-coated statue this morning that looks as though it is waiving to folks from Building 45’s entryway.

Google typically installs statues opposite of the lawn, as The Verge also noted, when a new version of Android debuts. The color of the statue, however, seems to suggest an upcoming blend of both Google’s Android and Chrome operating systems. Wilcox dashed any hopes of a new version of Android in his Google+ post, though.

LG launched the Optimus L3, L5, and L7 at last year’s Mobile World Congress, and new leaked renders suggest the South Korean manufacturer plans to introduce a successor to the lineup.

Russian website Hi-Tech posted both black and white renders of a smartphone— allegedly called “LG Optimus L7 II Dual”—and claimed it will launch in Russia next month.

The device supposedly boasts dual-SIM capabilities, a 4.3-inch IPS display, 1GHz dual-core processor, 8MP camera, and a 2460mAh battery. Oh, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will come onboard with LG’s QuickMemo, QuickTranslator, and QSlide.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rqcg7BJwJM&feature=player_embedded]

Google launched its third annual Google Science Fair today to find the next generation of scientists and engineers between the ages of 13 and 18.

Google explained on the official Google blog that students can enter the Science Fair in 13 languages, but deadline for submissions is April 30 at 11:59 p.m. PST. Google will select 90 regional finalists in June, and the public can meet the 15 finalists in a series of Google+ Hangouts on Air in August and even vote for the Inspired Idea Award. Judges will then choose 15 finalists, who will then go to Google headquarters for the last event on Sep. 23.

Lastly, at the finals, a panel of distinguished international judges will pick winners in each age group, along with one Grand Prize winner. The Science Fair is in partnership with CERN, the LEGO Group, National Geographic, and Scientific American, and Google said prizes include a $50,000 scholarship, a trip to the Galapagos with National Geographic Expeditions, as well as “experiences at CERN, Google or the LEGO Group and digital access to the Scientific American archives for the winner’s school for a year.”

Google will also give a $10,000 cash grant and offer a Google+ Hangout with CERN to the Grand Prize winner’s school. Meanwhile, the Scientific American will specifically give a $50,000 Science in Action prize to one project that “makes a practical difference by addressing a social, environmental or health issue.”

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The company formerly known as RIM, Blackberry, just unveiled BlackBerry10 and two new devices, and it looks as though Samsung decided to not waist time and run competing ads for its Note II.

The above “Work. Life. Balance.” advertisement surfaces on Google when Web surfers try to search for more information about BlackBerry 10. But, that’s not all: Samsung also apparently bought promoted spots on Twitter, as evident by the tweet below.

[tweet https://twitter.com/jessiwrites/status/296658947799142400]

At Blackberry’s event, musician Alicia Keys said, “I want to further enhance this concept of having your work life and your personal life in one device.” She was promoting BlackBerry 10′s marketing strategy of business and consumer functionality. Samsung clearly knew this would be the company’s target, because its promoted ad instead suggested the Note II as the perfect balance between work and life.

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Google wants the world to know that many of its products and businesses are spearheaded by highly skilled immigrants.

Immigrants are also prevalent in the tech sector, Google said, as they have founded over 40 percent of tech companies, such as Yahoo, eBay, and Intel. Moreover, according to a recent Kauffman Foundation study, roughly one-quarter of all companies started between 2006 and 2012 had a foreign-born founder. These same companies generated $63 billion in sales and employed over 560,000 workers in 2012.

So, why is Google showing so much appreciation for foreigners born outside of the United States? Aside from the fact that co-founder Sergey Brin is Russian-born, Senior Vice President of People Operations Laszlo Bock explained the reasoning on Google’s official Public Policy blog:

This is why we strongly support the bipartisan efforts being made to reform our high skilled immigration laws. We look forward to working with Congress and the Obama Administration to ensure that talented individuals will continue to innovate in the U.S. – a critical part of getting the economy back on track and making it stronger for the long-run.

Google is specifically referring to a bipartisan group of four senators that unveiled a bill this morning that could boost Silicon Valley and help immigrants. The Immigration Innovation Act of 2013, among other things, would increase the H-1B visa cap for skilled foreign workers, according to The Hill.

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Engadget sat with Daniel Graf recently, who is working on Mobile Maps at Google but originally joined the company in 2011 in an entrepreneurial role at Mobile Apps Lab, and got the lowdown on the Android and iOS versions of the mapping app.

In regards to the iOS counterpart that launched in December, according to Engadget, Graf said, “It has been an interesting project, because we got the opportunity to start from scratch. [The Android version] is actually seven years of history, seven years of product, […] seven years of user experience. On iOS, we didn’t have those seven years so that gave us a chance to take a step back and say. ‘Hey, what would be the next-generation mobile mapping experience?'”

He also talked about the iOS app’s user experience: “When Larry came on board as CEO two years ago, he talked about beautiful experiences and we had very functional and very useful experiences and in term of beauty I think there was work to do. Now two years later if you actually use our product on desktop, on Android, on iOS there’s a theme there … there’s a design language there, and I would say actually they’re beautiful.”

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HP plans to enter the Chromebook space, according to a leaked spec sheet available on the company’s website.

The newly discovered PDF listing has the lowdown on a yet-to-be-unveiled Pavilion Chromebook. The noteworthy specs include a 14-inch, 1,366-by-768-pixel display, as well as a 1.1GHz Celeron processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB solid-state drive.

HP’s first Chromebook notably sports a display that is—although the same in terms of resolution— much larger than the current 11.6-inch models, as The Verge also noted. The first Chromebooks, made by Acer and Samsung, launched at Google I/O in May 2011 and began shipping a month later, with Lenovo subsequently entering the market in early 2013.

Google’s Chrome operating system, known for its Web-based applications, powers the Chromebook. Aside from the low-cost laptop models, various desktop versions, dubbed “Chromeboxes,” also exist.

9to5Google contacted HP to gather more details, such as a confirmation, price, and availability, on the Pavilion Chromebook, and we’ll update when more information is available.

UPDATE: HP has declined to comment on the leaked spec sheet. The actual PDF, however, designated Feb. 17 as an embargo date for advertisements. So, more details may emerge in a couple of weeks.

Get more images in the gallery below.

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Google outlined the growing request for users’ data in its latest Transparency Report, and now the company has detailed just how it handles such requests when they start to trickle in.

The Internet Giant chiefly advocates for legislation, such as the U.S. Electronic Communications Privacy Act, that safeguards personal data online. When a government agency asks for users’ personal information, including Gmail messages, documents, photos, and YouTube videos, etc., Google makes sure the request is in writing, officially signed, and complies with the law.

Google also demands a search warrant before handing over data, verifies that requests are not too broad in scope, and then contacts its users about requests when not legally prohibited. Last, but not least, according to the official Google blog, Google works “hard to provide you with information” about government requests:

“Today, for example, we’ve added a new section to our Transparency Report that answers many questions you might have. And last week we released data showing that government requests continue to rise, along with additional details on the U.S. legal processes—such as subpoenas, court orders and warrants—that government use to compel us to provide this information.”

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Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 8.0 was spotted in the wild earlier this week, and now French blog Frandroid has additional images of the phablet with an S Pen.

The website (Google translated) posted the images on Friday, agreed with recent rumors that claimed the 8-inch device would launch next month at Mobile World Congress, and said it should sport a Super Clear 8-inch LCD at 1,280-by-800 pixels and run Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

Additional specs—also rumored in other reports—include: 2GB of RAM, 16- or 32 GB of internal memory, MicroSD card reader, 5-megapixel camera sensor, 1.3-megapixel front camera, Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth 4.0, and USB 2.0 connectivity, and a 4600 mAh battery. It will also purportedly feature a 211.3-by- 136.3-by-7.95-mm dimension and 330-gram weight.

The stylus-equipped device notably looks like a huge Galaxy S III smartphone and includes the company’s physical home button. Check out another image below.

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Google just pushed out new data for its Transparency Report to show how the U.S. government’s requests for users’ data have steadily increased in recent months and years.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company notably highlighted request growth in the second half of 2012, and how they’ve increased by more than 70 percent since 2009, as usage of its services continued to grow. Google specifically revealed on the official Google Blog that it received 21,389 requests from 33,634 users between July and December 2012:

We’ve shared figures like this since 2010 because it’s important for people to understand how government actions affect them. We’re always looking for ways to make the report even more informative. So for the first time we’re now including a breakdown of the kinds of legal process that government entities in the U.S. use when compelling communications and technology companies to hand over user data.

Among the notable numbers from the second half of 2012, Google said 68 percent of government requests were through subpoenas under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act without the involvement of a judge. The company then said 22 percent of government requests were ECPA search warrants issued by judges, and the remaining 10 percent were ECPA court orders issued by judges, etc.

Check it out: 

• Transparency Report | User Data Requests

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Google just released Q4 2012 earnings ahead of its conference call, and the company notably reported $14.42 billion in consolidated revenues, up 36 percent from last year, and $2.89 billion in net income.

Google’s revenues were also up 8 percent quarter-over-quarter, and the Internet Giant hit $50 billion in revenues for the first time. The company further reported earnings per share of $10.65 on a non-GAAP basis, as well as $8.62 using GAAP measurements. Revenues from outside of the United States totaled $6.9 billion and accounted for 54 percent of total revenues in the fourth quarter.

Analysts pegged Google to have revenues of $12.3 billion, and so it has performed slightly above expectations.

“We ended 2012 with a strong quarter,” said CEO Larry Page in a press release. “In today’s multi-screen world we face tremendous opportunities as a technology company focused on user benefit and seo services. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be at Google.”

Google alerted Wall Street analysts last week that their Q4 2012 earnings estimates were too high and did not accurately reflect the yet-to-be-reported results, and it clarified financial results from Motorola Home would be “presented as a separate line item.”

True to its word, Google said today that consolidated revenues would have hit $15.24 billion had Motorola Home been included. Moreover, Motorola Mobile reported an operating loss of $353 million.

Google also reported employee headcounts for the quarter: the company’s full-time staff grew, with 53,861 overall compared to 53,546 globally in Q3 2012, but Motorola lost 1,111 employees from last quarter.

Get the full press release below, or listen to the earnings call at 4:30 p.m. EST.

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