Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac. He covers Google for 9to5Google.com, the best gadgets and deals on 9to5Toys.com, and delivers a weekly roundup of EV and solar news on Electrek.co. Sometimes he makes weird electronic music as one half of Makamachine.
Contact Jordan with news tips and long-winded complaints:
Pinterest updated its entire mobile app lineup today with a completely refreshed design, and it released all-new tablet and Android apps. Previously only available on the iPhone (and now iPad), the developer released Android versions today that work on both phones and tablets. Pinterest walked through some of the new features in a blog post announcing the updated apps. The app is available as a free download on Google Play now.
Android owners have been very vocal with their requests for an app – every product announcement we’ve recently made has resulted in the question “What about an Android app?” We were listening, and our custom-designed Android app makes it simple and fast to pin, so that the time you spend on Pinterest is as productive as possible. We also made sure the app works well on Android phones and tablets, regardless of your device’s cost, speed or screen size.
According to a report on TheNextWeb, Google appears to be testing a new Gmail login page that will make it much easier to log in and out of multiple accounts. The current Gmail login page requires users to enter their login information each time they sign in from the login page. The new Gmail page will allow you to add login information for multiple accounts and easily select any account with one click. Keep an eye out for a link at the bottom of the login page to try the new feature.
Sporting some pretty impressive specs like a dual-core 1GHz processor, a 5-megapixel main camera (2-megapixel on the front), 8GB of onboard memory, and 1GB of RAM, Acer’s Iconia Tab A100 is going for $130 factory refurbished today only on 1SaleADay.com.
Google updated its Google Translate Android app today to version 2.5, and it added a number of notable features including the ability to translate text from images. When snapping an image of a street sign or anything else containing text and highlighting the text within the image using your finger, Google Translate will instantly provide a translation for devices running Android 2.3 and above (as shown in the screenshot to the right).
Other features added in the update for all users include instant translation results while typing, the ability to select a dialect preference for speech input, and support for multiple characters at once for Japanese handwriting. Google also noted it added “access network state permission to check network availability when sending requests.”
In a recent interview with Forbes regarding benefits for Google employees, Google Chief People Officer Laszlo Bock explained the company has recently announced death benefits for Googlers.
“This might sound ridiculous,” Bock told me recently in a conversation on the ever-evolving benefits at Google, “But we’ve announced death benefits at Google.”
According to Bock, spouses of Googlers whom pass away while employed at the company will continue to receive 50 percent of the employee’s annual salary for 10 years following. Children will also receive $1,000 monthly until they reach 19 (or 23 if they are a full-time student): Expand Expanding Close
Google announced on the Official Lat Long Blog today that it is expanding the Google Maps live traffic feature first launched in 2008 to cover 130 smaller U.S. cities and the capitals of Panama, Costa Rica, and Colombia. On top of travel time estimates and real-time traffic conditions for the new cities, Google also improved its traffic coverage in a list of other locations including parts of Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. A tutorial of the feature is presented in the demo video below, and Google has a full overview of supported cities here.
Now the streets of Bogotá, San José, and Panama City and the arterial roads in Kalamazoo (Michigan), Portland (Maine), Tuscaloosa (Alabama) and many more cities will include real-time current traffic conditions as well as estimated travel times. Whether you’re online on your home computer ensuring no unexpected snarls await your drive to the airport or you’ve been stuck behind a line of cars for a few minutes and can ask your friend in the passenger seat to check whether it’ll clear up just around the bend, we hope these updates save you time and stress when getting to your destination. Expand Expanding Close
We told you in January that MetroPCS planned to bring local broadcast TV to Android devices through the “Dyle Mobile TV” app. We knew, at the time, Samsung would launch the first device to feature the service preloaded, and we get the details today with CNET reporting that the 4.3-inch Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G will officially introduce the Dyle Mobile TV service. Unfortunately, the service requires the device—which is a variant of US Cellular’s Galaxy S Aviator—to have a retractable antenna:
Dyle is the answer for people who can’t live without their favorite daytime talk shows and soap operas. Essentially a mobile TV service that picks up special broadcasts of local TV channels, Dyle allows you to get programming anywhere you have your handset or smartphone. In the works for years, it’s finally launched on the Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G, which MetroPCS began selling today. Expand Expanding Close
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BnUoTyATLo&feature=player_embedded] As a special celebration for the 50th anniversary of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Google announced today that it added a new collection of Street View imagery that allows users to explore the area through 6,000 panoramic views of the complex. To accomplish the task, Google teamed with NASA to capture the special set of imagery. It will allow you to explore outside the facility and areas like the “top of the enormous launch pad.” Some of the locations you can now explore in Street View include the space shuttle launch pad, Launch Firing Room #4, Vehicle Assembly Building (taller than the Statue of Liberty), and the space shuttle’s main engines.
For fifty years, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida has been the launch point for a generation of space technology and exploration. Countless enthusiasts (including this one) grew up longing to see a space shuttle up close and walk in the paths of astronauts. Today, a collaboration between NASA and Street View is enabling people around the world to take a trip to the doorway to outer space, and see Kennedy as it transitions into a multipurpose launch complex for the next 50 years of space innovation… We’d like to thank NASA for making this project possible and giving all of us the chance to digitally walk in the shoes of all of the pioneering astronauts, scientists, engineers and technicians that made our space dreams possible.
If you want to see Google’s largest special collection of Street View imagery for the NASA Kennedy Space Center, go to maps.google.com/nasa now. Expand Expanding Close
We already knew Google supported the Raspberry Pi’s goal of bringing inexpensive and programmable hardware to everyone when Eric Schmidt announced some education investments would go toward purchasing the hardware and providing them to educators as teaching aids. However, we get word from the Raspberry Pi foundation today that Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has now been ported to the $25 ARM GNU/Linux box. The announcement confirmed “hardware-accelerated graphics and video have been up and running smoothly,” but audio is still missing thanks to AudioFlinger support issues. The blog post continued:
Microsoft is no stranger to signing up Android vendors to licensing agreements. Most of the major Android device manufactures are already paying the company royalties, and Microsoft is currently involved in various cases with Motorola in the U.S. and elsewhere. The latest from Microsoft’s intellectual property group is a statement posted by the group’s head Horacio Gutierrez and Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith (via AllThingsD). In a message titled “A Solid Foundation for Peace”, Microsoft explained its willingness to negotiate a settlement of its current litigation with Motorola:
Microsoft has always been, and remains open to, a settlement of our patent litigation with Motorola. As we have said before, we are seeking solely the same level of reasonable compensation for our patented intellectual property that numerous other Android distributors – both large and small – have already agreed to recognize in our negotiations with them. And we stand ready to pay reasonable compensation for Motorola’s patented intellectual property as well.
However, within the post, Microsoft also noted its requirements for reaching a settlement over its various Android-related patent cases with Motorola—which include a comprehensive agreement covering all patents in question: Expand Expanding Close
The world’s cheapest Android tablet running 4.1 Jelly Bean is now on sale and shipping to customers in India starting at Rs. 6999. That is roughly $125 USD. The Karbonn Smart Tab 1 is available through Karbon Mobiles, which is promising an upgrade to 4.1 for those who purchased the earlier model running Ice Cream Sandwich. The full press release is below: Expand Expanding Close
Google updated its universal iOS app today with a couple of noteworthy improvements including smoother animations and scrolling on the iPhone and iPod touch. It even features the ability to save picture attachments to the iOS photo library by tapping and holding an image. The update also includes the usual bug fixes.
What’s New in Version 1.3
– Smoother animation and scrolling on iPhone and iPod touch.
– Save picture attachments to your photo library. Touch and hold an image to save it.
– Bug Fixes
After announcing it would invest around $100 million in original TV quality content for YouTube last year, Google added almost a 100 new channels offering high-quality content. Today, we get some updates on the progress of the project from a report in The Wall Street Journal. According to WSJ’s sources, advertisers already committed over $150 million in ads on the channels for this year alone. Google also plans to throw another $200 million at the effort going forward. Google will also apparently fund content for international viewers:
YouTube plans to expand its channels initiative to Europe by funding a couple dozen video channels for British and French viewers by next year, according to people familiar with its initiative.
In addition to announcing that the service is now up to 15 million active users and 4 million paying subscribers worldwide, Spotify also announced today that it is rolling out the radio streaming feature (previously only available on iOS) to Android. Same as the iPhone version, the feature provides ad-free radio streams for premium subs and ad-supported streams for free accounts. Unfortunately, the free streams are U.S. only at the moment. You can also save songs from radio streams to a “Liked from Radio” playlist.
What’s in this version:
There’s a great new radio experience in Spotify. Now you can discover and save music on the go! If your station plays a song you really like, save it with a single tap.
New: Start a radio station based on your favorite playlist, genre, album, artist or song.
New: Personalize your radio stations by voting songs up or down.
News broke earlier today that Apple is buying mobile security company AuthenTec for $365 million. The company makes the majority of its money from fingerprint sensors and various security tools. AuthenTec also made a deal just last week with Samsung to implement its VPN technology in some of its Android devices. Many have speculated why Apple decided to make the purchase, and some point to the possibility of using AuthenTec’s technology in a future wallet solution. A report from ZDnet’s Larry Dignan offers another reason: simply to “beat Samsung to the punch.” Citing a report from analyst Richard Shannon, who recently said AuthenTec’s technology would be critical to Samsung, Dignan explained:
With Apple and Samsung’s jury trial slated to kick off in a federal district court in San Jose, Calif., this Monday, AllThingsD points us to trial briefs where Samsung’s lawyers argued Apple’s inspiration for the original iPhone CAD drawings and designs were inspired by a Sony product:
Right after this article was circulated internally, Apple industrial designer Shin Nishibori was directed to prepare a “Sony-like” design for an Apple phone and then had CAD drawings and a three-dimensional model prepared. Confirming the origin of the design, these internal Apple CAD drawings prepared at Mr. Nishibori‘s direction even had the “Sony” name prominently emblazoned on the phone design, as the below images from Apple‘s internal documents show..
Soon afterward, on March 8, 2006, Apple designer Richard Howarth reported that, in contrast to another internal design that was then under consideration, Mr. Nishibori‘s “Sony-style” design enabled “a much smaller-looking product with a much nicer shape to have next to your ear and in your pocket” and had greater “size and shape/comfort benefits.” As Mr. Nishibori has confirmed in deposition testimony, this “Sony-style” design he prepared changed the course of the project that yielded the final iPhone design.
The article referenced above is from a 2006 interview with Sony designers that appeared in Businessweek.
Google just announced it is rolling out the ability to handwrite using your finger on mobile devices for search queries. The new feature, which Google warns is still in beta, works on most smartphones and tablets and is activated from within mobile search settings. After the feature has been enabled, a small “g” icon on Google search pages allows you to enable the handwriting mode, and disable to resume normal touchscreen functionality. You’ll also be provided with the necessary “Space” and backspace buttons when the mode is activated.
It’s not always easy to use the keyboard on your phone or tablet, especially when you’re on the go. Instead, try Handwrite (beta) on Google.com to write your search terms with your finger rather than typing the words on the keyboard. As you write, your handwritten text converts into words in the search box.
Enable the feature
Turn the feature on or off in your search settings. Touch Settings at the bottom of the Google homepage or a search results page, or visit google.com/preferences.
Go to the Handwrite section, select Enable to turn on the feature, and then touch Save.
Google is on stage now in Kansas for the launch of its Gigabit Google Fiber Internet and TV service. Interested users can sign up today at Google.com/fiber for a $10 pre-registration fee. Google will not actually deploy the service until the majority of people from designated “fiberhoods” in Kansas pre-register for the service. Fiberhoods are made of about 800 residents, but Google said announcements about the service for businesses would be made at a later time. The fiberhoods that show the highest level of interest by September will get the service first.
Google spent a lot of time demoing the “100 times faster” Internet service, but the majority of the demo was for the new Fiber TV service. Google will offer the Internet and TV service as a $120 per month package. It will also wave the $300 installation fee for early customers, and it will offer a number of other options, including just Gigabit Internet for $70 monthly (which also includes 1TB Google Drive, no data caps, and a one-year contract), and an interesting option for free Internet at $0 per month for only the $300 construction fee (with the option to upgrade to the gigabit service after a year).
The service provides customers with a free Nexus 7 tablet, and Google will ship a Fiber TV app for iOS and Android (pictured in the gallery above). Google noted one TV package would be offered, providing a full channel TV lineup and optional premium movie channels. The service will give access to YouTube, DVR, on-demand libraries, and Netflix. The full list of channels is available at Google Fiber’s Plans & Pricing page.
Other than demoing the user interface for the Fiber TV service, Google also showed off the hardware that will make the Fiber service possible, such as: a network box consisting of Gigabit routing, high performance Wi-Fi, a Gigabit firewall, simple network management functionality, a storage box capable of recording up to eight shows at once for 500 hours of content in HD with 2 TB of storage, and a TV box that connects the other two boxes and turns your TV into a Wi-Fi hotspot. The Nexus 7 is included as the TV service’s remote, but Google noted the Fiber apps would receive the ability to stream content in the future.
Following an article on The Wall Street Journal from columnist Gordon Crovitz, titled “Who Really Invented the Internet?“, Vint Cerf, “father of the internet” and Google’s chief internet evangelist, is weighing in on Crovtz’ assertion that the government’s hand in creating the Internet is an “urban legend.” In an email interview with CNET, the man behind the evolution of TCP/IP networking protocols disagreed with Crovitz and talked about his involvement in the development of the Web:
In his Wall Street Journal column, Gordon Crovitz writes that the federal government’s involvement in the creation of the Internet was modest. Does that jibe with your recollection?
Vint Cerf: No. The United States government via ARPA started the project. (Bob Kahn initiated the Internetting project when he joined ARPA in late 1972. He had been principal architect of the ARPANET IMP (packet switch) while at BBN.
A new report from The Wall Street Journal today, citing an SEC filing, noted Google has put an exact value on the patents acquired in its purchase of Motorola Mobility. In the filing, Google claimed “patents and developed technology” acquired in the deal were valued at $5.5 billion—less than half of the $12.4 billion Google paid for the company.
Google also broke down the rest of the purchase price in the SEC filing: Expand Expanding Close
You may already be aware that Google search provides a calculator that offers answers to queries, such as 2+2 directly, from the main search results page. As pointed out by a reader, Google recently updated the calculator search functionality, and it now provides a full HTML5 scientific calculator for these types of search queries. The features work with voice—except for on mobile devices, as they do not have access to the full scientific calculator presented on desktops.
Earlier this month, Google started to roll out a similar widget on its search page for unit conversions, like inches to centimeters. Now, unit conversion queries are presented with the live unit conversion tool (pictured below) that allows you to switch between units of measurements for temperature, length, mass, speed, digital storage, and much more.
We knew the U.S.-made streaming device would ship sometime in July to those who preordered, but today Nexus Q is officially in stock on the Google Play store. It is shipping in “3-5 business days” to U.S. customers. Nexus 7 certainly had a good start. It sold out at several retailers, but many are skeptical the $299 media streamer will do as well. Expand Expanding Close
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