Jordan Kahn

Rumors of an upcoming messaging service from Google dubbed “Babel” have been steadily popping up in recent months. We first heard back in March that the service would unify Google’s chat services such as Google Talk, Chat for Drive, Google+ Hangouts, etc, and since got a look at two different sets of screenshots showing variations of what tipsters both alleged were an Android app for the rumored service.

After a small hint at Gmail integration for Babel this morning, we now get yet another set of photos, this time reportedly showing what the service will look like inside of Gmail. TechRadar posted the images above that apparently come from an anonymous Google employee currently testing Babel.

From the screenshots we see a slightly tweaked text layout, new emoticons and the expected Google+ integration, but not much else. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung today announced the latest addition to its midrange lineup with the ‘Samsung Galaxy Win’, a new device that appears to step things up in the specs department compared to what we are used from Samsung’s middle range line. A cross between older Galaxy devices and a bit of the refined Galaxy S4 design, the Galaxy Win actually sports some rather impressive specs for a device that we assume will land somewhere in between the S4 and Samsung’s cheaper, low-end Galaxy devices when it eventually gets priced.

Inside the Android 4.1-powered Galaxy Win you’ll find a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, a 4.7-inch display, a 5-megapixel main shooter, 8GB of onboard storage and a large 2,000mAh battery.

In addition to its Continuous Shot, Best Photo, and color effects features baked into the camera, Samsung will also include an “Easy Mode” homes screen, smart alerts, and motion UX:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google today announced in a blog post on its Public Policy Blog that it has asked the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to investigate and take a stronger stance against patent privateering and patent assertion entities, aka patent trolls. Google linked to a document submitted to the government agencies mentioned above and noted that BlackBerry, Earthlink and RedHat are among other companies backing the request.

Within its post, Google’s Senior Competition Counsel Matthew Bye cited losses of nearly $30 billion a year in the U.S. due to patent trolls and urged companies to help Google create “cooperative licensing agreements that can help curb privateering.”

Trolls use the patents they receive to sue with impunity—since they don’t make anything, they can’t be countersued. The transferring company hides behind the troll to shield itself from litigation, and sometimes even arranges to get a cut of the money extracted by troll lawsuits and licenses.

Google described patent privateering as companies selling “patents to trolls with the goal of waging asymmetric warfare against its competitors.” While it didn’t name any companies specifically in its blog post or document submitted to the FTC, it did link to an article on Bloomberg that mentions Microsoft, Nokia, and Alcatel-Lucent as companies linked to patent privateering.

In the document submitted to the FTC, Google outlined its stance on patent trolls and recommended the FTC initiate an investigation into patent assertion entities and or expand its broader inquiry to include a number of important areas specifically related to patent privateering:
Expand
Expanding
Close

As expected, after showing off the new Facebook Home platform for Android phones, Mark Zuckerberg handed the stage over to HTC executives to unveil the first device that will officially run the platform— the HTC First. The device will come in four colors and will be available on AT&T’s 4G LTE network when it launches with Facebook Home preinstalled late this month.

AT&T will start taking pre-orders for the device starting today, and the HTC First will be available on April 12 for $99 exclusively through AT&T. Zuckerberg also hinted the device would be available through other partners in the future including EE and Orange.

On top of the HTC first, Facebook told us Home will be supported on the HTC One and Galaxy S4 in addition to the “HTC One X, HTC One X+, Samsung GALAXY S III and Samsung GALAXY Note II.”

You can also check out our rundown of the Facebook Home platform.

After releasing a free version of the Quickoffice iPad app for its Google Apps for Business customers in December, Google today announced free iPhone and Android versions of the app exclusively for its Apps for Business customers.

Google Apps for Business can already edit Microsoft Office files using Quickoffice on an iPad, and starting today they can do the same on iPhone and Androiddevices. From Word to Excel to Powerpoint, you can make quick edits at the airport or from the back of a taxi and save and share everything in Google Drive… iPad and iPhone users can open and edit Office files directly from the Drive app. Just open Drive and select the file, make edits using Quickoffice and save it back to Drive.

Google noted the updated apps also bring new features including support for multiple Google Drive accounts, improved chart rendering, ZIP folders from multiple files, and the ability to sort Drive files by “Shared with me, Starred, and Recent”:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Not long after AT&T made things official for an April 19 launch and April 4 pre-order date, Sprint too announced today it would launch the HTC One this month. While it won’t have the 64GB model exclusive to AT&T at launch, it will launch the $199 32GB model on its typical two-year contract starting April 19.

Sprint customers will be able to begin pre-ordering the HTC One in Silver or Black one day after AT&T customers on April 5 at www.sprint.com/htcone. The device will hit the usual Sprint retail outlets a couple weeks after on April 19.

The carrier’s full press release is below:

Expand
Expanding
Close

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HKmEHVn_4Q&feature=youtu.be

AT&T officially announced pricing and availability of the HTC One today following some inaccurate rumors floating around yesterday. AT&T confirmed that the 4.7-inch aluminum unibody device would arrive for customers beginning April 19 starting at  $199.99 for the 32GB variant on the usual two-year contract. It also noted that it would be the only U.S. carrier at launch to offer the 64GB model, which will go for $299 on contract.

Preorders for the HTC One on AT&T will start April 4 at 1 p.m. CT, and the carrier will be throwing in a $90 HTC Media Link HD wireless HDMI adaptor for free and the AT&T DriveMode app:

Customers eager to reserve their HTC One will be able to pre-order at www.att.com/htcone on April 4 starting at 1:00 p.m. CT.  Only AT&T offers a free** HTC Media Link HD wireless HDMI adaptor*** (a $90 value), which lets you wirelessly share content from your phone to your HD television. The HTC One runs on AT&T 4G LTE, the nation’s fastest 4G LTE network.****  AT&T has the nation’s largest 4G network, covering 288 million people. HTC One is available in black and silver and boasts a powerful 1.7 GHz quad-core processor, and zero-gap aluminum unibody with a 4.7-inch full HD (1080p) screen and HTC Sense® innovations, to re-shape your smartphone experience.

AT&T’s full press release is below:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung was eyeing a display between 5.9-inches and 6.3-inches for its much rumored upcoming Galaxy Note III last we heard. SamMobile earlier this month said that device would appear at IFA in Berlin this August, but a new report from the Samsung-focused blog today claimed Samsung will introduce a new lineup of devices in the 5.8- to 6.3-inch display size.

While noting “Samsung changed the name of their expected Galaxy Fonblets,” SamMobile said Samsung would soon introduce a new lineup of smartphone and tablet hybrids dubbed “Galaxy Mega” in 5.8-inch (GT-I9152) and 6.3-inch (GT-I9200) variants.

The devices will reportedly launch between the end of May and be available by mid-June:

The Galaxy Mega 5.8 will come in the colour white and will be available around week 22. The Galaxy Mega 6.3 will come in the colours black and white these galaxy devices need to be available around week 25.

It’s unclear what exactly this means for Samsung’s Galaxy Note III. It would be surprising for Samsung to introduce both the Note III and new Galaxy Mega tablet with a 6.3-inch display. Perhaps the Note III becomes the 5.8-inch device, and the Mega branding is reserved for the larger 6.3-inch variant? It’s also possible Samsung keeps the Galaxy Note III at the same 5.5-inch size of the Note II and introduces the Mega line to bridge the gap and cover all bases between its Note lineup and 7-inch to 10-inch tablet lines. We’ll keep you posted when we learn more. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kusQK7PCXTM

If Nuance gets its way with the just announced ‘Voice Ads’ mobile advertising platform, soon every mobile ad could include Siri-like functionality that lets you communicate with and ask questions about the product being advertised.

Nuance, the company behind the voice recognition module now used in Apple’s Siri, today announced a new project to bring its voice recognition technology to the mobile advertising world. The basic concept of the new platform, which Nuance made available through an SDK for advertising companies, is to bring a two-way, interactive conversation to mobile ads. As highlighted by Nuance in the video above, ads that implement the Voice Ads platform will allow users to engage in a Siri-like conversation with an advertisement:

Nuance Voice Ads gives mobile advertisers and creative agencies an opportunity to go beyond the limitations of the four-inch mobile device screen and create a conversation with consumers through the power of voice recognition. Voice Ads finally creates an opportunity for brands to deepen the relationship with their consumers, with targeted interactive ads that deeply engage their core audience – much in the way that the world’s most popular mobile personal assistants have deepened consumers’ relationship with their mobile phones.

In the demo above, Nuance shows an advertisement for a fictional deodorant brand that uses a magic 8-ball theme to answer any question that users might have. The ad of course ends in a pitch for the product in question, as you might expect. Other ads could allow users to ask specific questions about a product’s release date or specs…

Expand
Expanding
Close

AT&T made things official for customers interested in pre-ordering Samsung’s recently announced flagship Galaxy S4. While there is still no word when the actual handset will be available, AT&T announced in a blog post on its website today that customers will be able to pre-order the device starting April 16.

Continuing our legacy as the first carrier to launch Samsung’s Galaxy series, we are excited to announce AT&T customers will be able to begin pre-ordering the Galaxy S4 beginning April 16 for $249.99 with a two-year commitment. We are proud to offer this iconic device and continue to offer our customers the best smartphone line-up, with a variety of devices for every lifestyle and budget.

Those interested in learning more about the pre-order process can go to AT&T’s Galaxy S4 website.

T-Mobile announced earlier this month that it would launch the device May 1s, which is a pretty good indication of when we will start to see it arrive on other carriers.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Glass is set to manufacture its much hyped Google Glass wearable platform right at home in the United States, according to a new report from The Financial Times. Citing a source close to the project, FT said Google has partnered with Foxconn to assemble the headsets on home soil in Santa Clara, Calif. Google will apparently source most components from Asia with final assembly completed in the U.S.:

Google is working with Hon Hai Precision Industry, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer better known as Foxconn, to assemble the sci-fi headset at a facility in Santa Clara, California, according to people familiar with the company’s plans.

The report claimed a “few thousand” Google Glass units will be produced by the California factory “in the coming weeks.” Google’s reasoning for bringing the manufacturing stateside? According to FT, it will allow Google to have better control over the complex and small-scale operation while becoming a “high-profile example” of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

The report also said it will allow Google’s engineers to “be closely involved with the production process and provide more opportunities for last-minute fixes and for personal customization.”

The small scale, high cost and complexity of the project’s initial run makes it practical to base manufacturing operations near the search company’s Silicon Valley headquarters, according to people briefed on the plans.

The company’s last major attempt to bring the assembly of one of its products to the U.S. was with the Nexus Q streaming orb, a product it quietly killed off just weeks after being unveiled.

Google announced yesterday it will begin sending out invites to winners of its #ifihadglass contest in the coming weeks, while press and developers who signed up for the program at Google I/O last year are also still waiting to drop $1,500 on Glass. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google announced an update today to Google Translate for Android that brings an extremely useful feature for those who are traveling or in need of translations when without an Internet connection. Starting today, the updated Android app will now allow users running devices on Android 2.3 and up to access the service using downloadable offline language packages.

Google noted that there are currently around 50 languages available for offline use and detailed how to download the necessary packages through the app:

You can select [Offline Languages] in the app menu to see all the offline language packages available for download. To enable offline translation between any two languages, you just need to select them in the offline languages menu. Once the packages are downloaded, you’re good to go.

While the languages packages provide everything you need to get quick translations when offline, Google warned that the offline modes are “less comprehensive than their online equivalents” without explaining in detail.

Users of the updated app will also now be able to translate vertical text for Japanese, Chinese, and Korean—using their device’s camera.

The updated Google Translate app for Android is available now through Google Play.