Jordan Kahn

We’ve heard any number of dates now for a “solid” Galaxy Nexus launch stateside, some of which have come and gone and others are quickly approaching. If you had any doubt that you’d get your hands on the device this week (same as Canada), RootzWiki has published what it claims is proof of a December 9 launch, which is this Friday.

The email and accompanying PDF you see above were reportedly leaked by an authorized Verizon retailer, and as you can see, lists December 9 as the earliest date to display and sell the CDMA Galaxy Nexus. We already know the device has started popping up in some retail locations, but the documents also confirm those who haven’t will receive their shipments today, December 6. Yesterday we discovered that Google Wallet functionality would not be included in the device, while the WSJ claims it will debut for $299.99 a two-year agreement.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KU1l9DFS0i8]

Google chairman Eric Schmidt joined French President Nicolas Sarkozy to open a brand new 10,00 square-meter office space in France that will act as the company’s headquarters for France, Southern Europe, Africa, and Middle East. The new office is located in a 19th century Second Empire building close to the St. Lazare Train Station in Paris. President Sarkozy had this to say at the inauguration:

“Why as President, do I make this symbolic move and come to Google?” I love the United States, and its motto that everything is possible whatever your origins.”

Sarkozy also announced the launch of the Elysee Palace’s YouTube channel and took part in a Google+ hangout to answer questions from French Google employees. Google also outlined in a blog post their efforts with expanding into French speaking regions:

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The Android Market just recently reached the 10 billion download milestone and to celebrate Google has made 10 premium apps available for 10 cents each. Most of the ten apps being offered through the “10 Billion Promo” page on the Market typically range from 99 cents to a few dollars or more, and at ten cents,  the majority of them are must have apps. Here’s what’s on offer:

SketchBook Mobile

Asphalt 6

Color & Draw for kids: phone ed

Endomondo Sports Tracker Pro

Field Runners HD

Great Little War Game

Minecraft Pocket Edition

Paper Camera

SoundHound

Swiftkey X Keyboard
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There is no shortage of cheap Android tablets from Chinese manufacturers that can be found for under $200 online, most of which are running an older version of Android and don’t have Google’s blessing (meaning no Google services and Market). MIPS Technologies and Ingenic Semiconductor announced today availability of the world’s first Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0-powered tablet, and it just so happens to a $99 budget-friendly tab with decent specs.

The tablet will pack in a 1GHz MIPS-based ‘XBurst” CPU, 7-inch capacitive touchscreen, microSD, HDMI 1.3, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, USB 2.0, 2-megapixel main cam, front-facing cam, and bluetooth. Ainovo, the company offering up the tablet to the Chinese market, is promising 30 hours standby and 8 hours video playback for battery.

The Novo7 will become available to the US market (likely with different branding) through other companies including OMG Electronics Ltd. and Leader International Inc. at a later date. There will also be 8 and 9-inch variants released in the future, mostly likely depending on the success of the 7-inch model. You might have to pay a little more than the US $99 price tag to get it shipped from a Chinese supplier before it lands stateside, but it will probably be your first chance to get your hands on an ICS tablet if you do.

Google’s Andy Rubin had this to say about the launch of new MIPS-based ICS tablets like the Novo7:

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Google has just pushed out an update to the Google+ iOS app compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, bringing it up to version 1.0.7.2940 and introducing a few new features including full resolution photo uploads, search, and photo +1. Also included are the usual bug fixes and performance enhancements. As always, you can grab the update from the App Store now or download the free app if you haven’t already.

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Google took to the Official Google Enterprise Blog today to share that the U.S. Coast Guard Academy is the first service academy to adopt the Google Apps platform. The 1,100 cadets at the academy started transitioning to Google Apps in January for all of their email, collaboration, and course assignments. They’ve even taken advantage of video chat features to collaborate and communicate with friends and family back home.

Google described out one group of cadets collaborated using a number of Google services to create a Google Site for their mini gas turbine engine project:

The cadets are also using these tools to improve collaboration on team projects. One group of four cadets created a Google Site for their capstone project designing a mini gas turbine engine. They could simultaneously edit spreadsheets, use video chat to share ideas, and even work together with students and professors from other universities to gather input. The cadets are a driving force of change across the campus. Today, nearly half the faculty and staff have converted to Google Apps and that number continues to climb.

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is the one of the oldest federal service academies having been founded in the late 1880’s with a small campus in Connecticut. No word on whether Google+, which is now also available to Google Apps users, has also been made available to cadets.

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Google chairman Eric Schmidt is set to face the European competition commission this week to address potential antirust issues concerning their dominant position in the search business, according to a report from The Guardian. The meeting will be held by the commission’s antitrust chief, Joaquin Almunia, following initial talks held in January stemming from complaints by several search companies including Microsoft’s own Ciao.

Almunia is expected to present Google with a 400-page “statement of objections” that documents the commission’s research regarding “allegations that Google Inc has abused a dominant position in online search, in violation of European Union rules”.

The antitrust investigation started as far back as November 30, 2010, after claims from several search related companies including 1PlusV, Euro-Cities, and German organizations representing publishers filed complaints. The complaints themselves range from Google displaying there own services in search results to unfairly using content from publishers.

If Google is found guilty of abusing its dominant position in the market they could face fines up to 10% of the company’s annual turnover in Europe, or be forced to make changes to the way it runs its search business in the region. While some reported that during initial negotiations in January Almunia told Schmidt he would have a chance to offer up a solution, Almunia had this to say late last week about the upcoming meeting:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdERk059GNE&t=53m51s]

Mark Zuckerberg gives us a look into what he really thinks about Google+ in a small clip from this one-hour special on Facebook’s creator aired by the BBC (via TNW). When asked if Google+ is a threat or if he ‘takes it seriously’, Zuckerberg responded (skip to 54:32):

Yeah Google’s a great company, and I think we want to look at and learn from everything that they do. But at the same time, people have shared a lot on Facebook and have already told a lot of their life story on Facebook. And we think that we have by far better tools for doing that.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=f4AhTiQkWwk]

Samsung today released the video above showing off a flexible, transparent, concept device that might be the company’s own take on Microsoft’s recently released Productivity Future Vision 2011 concept video.

Judging by a rough translation of the Korean video, the device would be a flexible, foldable, 3D capable sheet of glass (approximately 10-inches) with context sensitive UIs. Of course we’re not likely to see anything close to Samsung’s concept in the first batch of flexible displays, which are expected from the company sometime in 2012. However, the concept is yet more proof that Samsung is, at the very least, strongly considering bringing a flexible device to market. Samsung originally showed off their flexible AMOLED tech at CES 2011 with the 4.5-inch displays seen in the clip below:

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If you don’t know what Carrier IQ is by now, you might be interested in knowing carriers have been installing the software capable of tracking user input on some of our devices. The situation has become so heated that Senator Al Franken is now demanding the company answer a list of questions that mirror the concerns of mostly everyone, and government regulators abroad want to question smartphone vendors like Apple. The good news? There is now an easy method to detect Carrier IQ on your device using a free Android app called Voodoo Carrier IQ Detector.

As of right now, removing the software requires installing Cyanogen Mod, but an easier solution and/or carrier or manufacturer intervention is likely coming soon. However, first you’ll want to find out if your device is even running the software, as not all are. Developer supercurio put together the tool, which he admits still needs some work and might not be 100% accurate, but he’s open sourced the code here for all to improve and promises updates.

A few more details have emerged today (via Los Angeles Times) shooting down concerns that Carrier IQ transmits sensitive user data to carriers. In a statement released Thursday, the company had this to say:

“While a few individuals have identified that there is a great deal of information available to the Carrier IQ software inside the handset, our software does not record, store or transmit the contents of SMS messages, email, photographs, audio or video.”

Senior consultant at Virtual Security Research, Dan Rosenberg, also claims the idea Carrier IQ transmits or records personal user data to carriers is simply “not true”. He reverse engineered the software and had this to say about his findings:

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Although carriers are staying light-lipped about a solid U.S. launch date, the Galaxy Nexus pure Google superphone will officially be landing in Canada one day before the expected launch. BestBuy.ca confirmed December 7th availablity today in the ad shown above. As part of a promotion and the early launch, it will only be available at one location– Bay and Dundas— and all Galaxy Nexus accessories will be 50% off. Supported carriers, Virgin Mobile and Bell, and other BestBuy stores will make the device available through their own retail outlets starting December 8th. It will debut for $159.99 CDN on a three-year agreement.

When it comes to when the device might be landing on Verizon, you can pick any number of unsubstantiated rumors ranging from December 8 to December 19. As of latest rumors, Engadget claims to have an internal Best Buy doc showing the Galaxy Nexus for December 11. We’ll obviously have to wait a couple more weeks to find out for sure. You might have to make your way to Toronto on December 7th if you just can’t wait.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=W-ajXnrpkio]

We already gave you an early look and detailed some of the changes included in the major YouTube UI overhaul a couple weeks ago, and now Google has finally made things official. On top of a completely redesigned homepage with gray background and brand new layout, the update also brings improved channel integration for both users and content providers including new channel templates. The major focus, however, is Google+ integration with new sharing and filtering options based on your Google+ account preferences.

Another addition included in the update is the official launch of TrueView, the advertising model that allows users to skip an ad after five seconds or select from one of three pre-roll ads. It also allows advertisers to pay only for users who don’t skip their ads. However, traditional ad formats will still be available in addition to TrueView.

YouTube has had no problem staying relevant amid a growing number of competitive content providers, especially in the mobile space. As of today, YouTube is reporting around 400 million views a day on mobile, up 3x year/year (13% of the service’s daily views which gets approx. 800M uniques a month). The rollout is happening today, so you should be seeing the redesign anytime now.

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A nice addition to Hangouts with extras has been made available today over at plus.google.com/hangouts/extras, bringing with it the ability to place phone calls directly from within a hangout. Much like phone calls in Gmail, which recently got an international rollout, the feature will be available for free, initially to users in the US and Canada. Also, outgoing calls will come from your Google Voice number, if applicable. If you’re interested in trying it out, here’s how to do it:

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Following a blitz of media coverage over the past couple days regarding tracking software Carrier IQ being deployed on select Sprint smartphones, Senator Al Franken is urging the company and carrier to answer questions on specifically how the software works and what data it transmits.

Consumers need to know that their safety and privacy are being protected by the companies they trust with their sensitive information,” said Sen. Franken. “The revelation that the locations and other sensitive data of millions of Americans are being secretly recorded and possibly transmitted is deeply troubling. This news underscores the need for Congress to act swiftly to protect the location information and private, sensitive information of consumers. But right now, Carrier IQ has a lot of questions to answer.

Franken, who has pressed many technology companies before as head of the Senate subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and Law, is giving Carrier IQ until December 14 to answer  everyone’s concerns. So what does Franken want to know? Here are the questions he demands Carrier IQ answer:

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Thanks to Bay Area-based startup Cataloupe Systems, Google Wallet is once again expanding its reach, this time with NFC-enabled vending machines.

According to a report from All Things D, The startup has already installed Google Wallet-powered payment terminals in roughly 6,000 vending machines across Chicago, the mid-Atlantic region, and San Francisco. A good start, but a fraction of the approximately six million vending machines in the U.S., 80,000 of which Cantaloupe is responsible for.

While credit card payments among users tend to be much less for lower priced items due to transaction fees, the company plans to offset those concerns with coupons and rewards delivered to users through the app. Users will also be able to send real-time complaints and possibly even requests for particular products to be included next time the machine is restocked.

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AT&T has officially announced a white variant of their Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket slated for a December 4th release. The device is more than likely identical to the original black model which debuted on AT&T as one of their first true 4G LTE devices on November 6th.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Skyrocket, you can expect a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED display (800×480),  8-megapixel cam (2-megapixel front shooter), a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and Android 2.3.5. That device is available for $250 on a two-year contract, and the white model will land for the same price at the end of the week.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=T17XQI_AYNo]

Last we checked in on the Carrier IQ situation, XDA-Developer member Trevor Eckhart, the researcher who exposed the tracking software being deployed on various Android devices from Sprint, was receiving legal threats from the company behind the software. Eckhart didn’t back down, however, with the Electronic Frontier Foundation issuing a response to Carrier IQ on his behalf. Now, to further solidify his claims that Carrier IQ described as “false allegations”, Eckhart has put together the video above (via TechCrunch) showing how the software could theoretically track, record, and transmit user input.

While the video in no way proves that Carrier IQ or Sprint is actually collecting and recording the data, it’s clear IQ does have access to log user keystrokes with unique identifiers, track phone numbers dialed, record unique codes for SMS messages, and log secure data over WiFi unencrypted. While Carrier IQ and Sprint both deny actually transmitting and recording this data, it doesn’t seem necessary that the software would have these capabilities for its intended purpose– to improve the quality of their customer’s (Sprint’s) network and “understand device issues”.

More troubling is the fact that users are not informed of the software at any time and, according to TechCrunch, some are even reporting increased battery life and improved overall performance when the software is removed. Eckhart’s video ends by posing four questions to Carrier IQ and Sprint:

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Time Warner has just launched an official Android tablet app allowing subscribers to check listings, program their DVR, and also provides access to the typical features familiar from similar apps by other cable providers.

Other features include an interactive program guide with listings seven days in the future, filtered views for HD channels, search by episode and title, and the ability schedule DVR recordings. This follows TWC releasing a similar iPad app, which (unlike the Android app) also provides live streaming of 32 channels.

You can grab the free TWC TV app from the Android Market now. Of course a Time Warner account and DVR or Navigator set-top box is required. Unfortunately, as of yet the app is only compatible with a handful of Android tablets including the Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab family, and a few other tabs running Honeycomb 3+. Full press release below, if you’re interested.

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Google has officially rolled out the next stage of their redesign with the an all new Google bar enabling users to quickly switch between services using Google menu, a drop-down list of Google services baked into the Google logo. The new bar, which replaces the old black toolbar, will also provide access to search and Google+ tools as highlighted in the video above. As part of the update, the new Google Menu will also be accessible when not signed into your account, providing quick links to Google services for everyone. Goog breaks it down:

Above each of Google’s products, the gray bar has three main regions. On the left, the Google logo contains a drop-down menu with links to Google services that displays when you hover over or click on it. The central area contains a search box for the Google service you are currently using. The right side features a share box and notifications to participate on Google+ from any Google page.

The roll out is happening now, but it might take a bit of time to reach all users. Until then, you can learn everything you need to know about the new Google bar here.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Gy-DI_bWElg]

Google is today rolling out a major update to Google Maps for Android with perhaps the most intriguing feature of Version 6.0 being the highly-anticipated indoor maps of select malls, airports, and retailers. Google explains:

Detailed floor plans automatically appear when you’re viewing the map and zoomed in on a building where indoor map data is available. The familiar “blue dot” icon indicates your location within several meters, and when you move up or down a level in a building with multiple floors, the interface will automatically update to display which floor you’re on. All this is achieved by using an approach similar to that of ‘My Location’ for outdoor spaces, but fine tuned for indoors.

Google has partnered with handful of retailers in the US and Japan including the Mall of America, IKEA, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and The Home Depot. Business owners can contribute by uploading a floor plan of their building here, while users can view a full list of available indoor maps here. Google also posted before and after screenshots (below) of the Mall of America in Minneapolis after the new feature is applied and a video showing off how indoor maps can be used to navigate through an airport.

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According to a report from Politico earlier this month, Google was considering quitting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce due to their support of the Stop Online Piracy Act. Now, a new project known as GoogleQuitTheChamber.org is urging everyone to petition Google and vote for the best reason they should quit the Chamber. The project’s tagline– “The Chamber’s policies are evil, Google– Don’t be evil”.

Together, we will work to hold the world’s corporations accountable to the public interest and move our global economic system towards social equity, democratic principles, and long-term sustainability. By signing our petition to Google, you’ll join SumOfUs’s email list. We’ll send you opportunities to fight corporate power and build a better, safer, more democratic world about once a week.

When visiting the site’s homepage (which looks suspiciously like a Google site), you’ll be greeted with the petition, and you’ll also be able to +1 the most important reasons Google should quit the chamber. Currently the leading reasons to quit include “The Financial Crisis” with 16.83% of votes, and “Corporate Greed” with 14.85%. Other reasons range from intellectual property to climate change, invasion of privacy, and healthcare reform, but the site allows you to submit your own as well. While highlighting some of Google’s work to protect the environment and advance open internet policies, the “Where Google Stands” page notes Chamber of Commerce’s views are in “direct conflict with Google’s mission”.

The project was started by SumOfUs.org, a “global movement of consumers, investors, and workers” who say they stand for “Governments that answer to citizens – not corporations”. They correctly point out that in 2009 Apple quit the Chamber over environmental concerns, while Nike quit the board of the Chamber shortly after, and Yahoo recently quit over internet censorship legislation. So what’s so bad about the chamber? SumOfUs explains their stance:

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