Senior Editor at 9to5Mac.
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Mark has been at 9to5Mac for over three years, covering Apple and other topics related to the technology industry.
Mark frequently appears on technology news curation website Techmeme and news accuracy tracking website Tracour.
He also works on 9to5Mac’s Product Pages and covers news on 9to5Mac sister-site 9to5Google.
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Google has begun charging developers who entered the lottery for the upcoming Google I/O conference, indicating that people have been chosen to attend the two-day event. The above email indicates the charge through Google Wallet, but it does not appear that more official confirmation emails are yet to be sent out. The event takes place from June 25th-June 26th at Moscone West in San Francisco, and the tickets are $900 for the standard rate and $300 for student applicants.
With a new website, Samsung is making a statement regarding its design philosophy. This comes amidst a large-scale patent battle with Apple in California where Samsung is accused of infringing Apple’s patents for iPhone and iOS design features. The new website explains that Samsung believes in “Balance of Reason and Feeling,” “Simplicity with Resonance,” and “Meaningful Innovation.”
Google has announced that it will be holding its Q1 2014 earnings results conference call on April 16th. The call will take place at 1:30 PM Pacific Time.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (March 28, 2014) – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) will hold its quarterly conference call to discuss first quarter 2014 financial results on Wednesday, April 16th at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time).
A webcast of the call will be available, and we’ll have live coverage of the announcements at that time.
Amazon has been developing a set-top-box product for several months, and the company appears set to take the wraps off of it next week. Amazon has issued invitations for a media event to be held at 11 AM EST on Wednesday April 2nd.
The invite reads “please join us for an update on our video business,” and the couch and popcorn seems to point directly to a new video watching product. Last year, we reported on trademark filings that seem to indicate that Amazon has considered calling the device the “FireTube,” which blends nicely with the company’s other “Fire” branded devices.
The box is expected to feature applications, the streaming of Amazon Prime video content, games, and it may be controlled by either smartphone apps or a dedicated hardware remote control. The new product comes amidst work from both Apple and Google on their own new boxes. Like the Kindle Fire, it is likely that the set-top-box’s software will be based on the Android OS.
We’ll have live coverage of the proceedings next week, so stay tuned.
The guys over at TechSmartt have gotten their hands on the upcoming HTC One M8 and have posted a thorough hands-on look at the phone. The video also compares the device to the (about to be) old HTC One, clearly demonstrates the camera software, and showcases some benchmarks. HTC clearly has not had an easy time keeping this upcoming phone a secret as this is one of several hands-on videos already on the web. The phone will officially be announced tomorrow (we’ll be live at the event), and here are some of the specifications we’re expecting:
Image: Business Insider
Just a couple of days after taking the wraps off of a pair of new Gear smart watches, Samsung has entered the health and fitness game with a dedicated fitness wearable. The device, dubbed the Gear Fit, features a 1.8-inch AMOLED curved display, a water-resistant design, and three-four days of battery life on a single charge. The fitness oriented device has fitness coaching, can count your steps, and measure your heart rate.
BusinessInsider has some quick impressions of the device:
A series of leaks point to Google releasing a red variant of its popular Nexus 5 smartphone in the coming days. The launch would be perfectly timed ahead of this month’s Valentine’s Day “Hallmark holiday.”
Today, leaker @evleaks published a clear shot of the red LG Nexus 5 (shown above). Earlier this week, Android Police received some spy shots and word from a Sprint internal notice that the device is launching on February 4th:
Since Beats launched its Beats Music streaming music service earlier this week, the launch has been plagued by reliability issues and new customers not being able to sign up.
Responding to these complaints, Beats CEO Ian Rogers has sent out an email to customers with an explanation:
Huge thanks to everyone for making our launch day yesterday so successful. We’ve been blown away by the love that made us the #1 Music App in the iTunes Store.
Due to the extremely high volume of interest in our service some users are experiencing issues. Most people are unaffected but our priority is to give everyone a great experience. We prepared for issues like these, have a plan, and are going to hold off on letting more people in while we put this plan in action.
For those of you that claimed your name in the lead up to launch, we still have your username reserved and we’ll be in touch with your invite. We appreciate your support.
Everyone who registers this week will get an additional seven days added to their trial.
We’re staying focused on bringing you the best music experience from the people who know what song comes next. Stay tuned, and thanks for being excited about Beats Music.
Ian Rogers
CEO
Notably, for people who register this week, free trials will be extended by seven days. That is essentially the trial being doubled as the free trial was initially seven days.
Today, Google has released a new application for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to allow Google Play users to stream purchased movies and TV shows. You cannot rent or purchase content via this application: you must download it from Google Play on Android or the web and then the purchased titles will be available to stream via this app. The application is only supported in the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. WiFi is currently required for streaming. The app also allows streaming to the ChromeCast.
Earlier this year, Google launched Zagat for iPhone and iPod touch. The application is Google’s form of allowing users to discover new places, such as restaurants, across many cities in the United States. Today, Google has updated the application with support for the iPad’s larger display. Also in the mix is support for ratings and reviews for shops and restaurants. Support for Charleston, South Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee has also been added. The 2.0 update is free on the App Store.
Update: It’s back!
Google has just increased compatibility between its Google Glass wearable computer and iOS: the company has released its MyGlass companion app for the iPhone. The application allows users to setup their Glass, connect to WiFi networks, install Glassware apps, integrate with contacts, and mirror content from Glass to the iPhone’s display. The app is free, but it (obviously) requires you to have Google Glass hardware on hand. Update: Looks like the app has been pulled. Google offered a mention of the app on a help document discussing the XE12 update to Glass:
Google Drive has always had a way to make, edit, and manage spreadsheets, and today, the software has received significant upgrades. The web application, now known as Google Sheets, now has the ability to work offline. This is a significant addition for those who need to be productive without an internet connection. Additionally, Sheets has gained significant speed and performance improvements that allow content to load more quickly. The app can now also crunch even more cells and data simultaneously…
New filter and calculation views have also been added. “Filter views is a new feature unique to Google Sheets that lets you quickly name, save and share different views of your data. This comes in handy when you’re collaborating so you can sort a spreadsheet without affecting how others see it,” Google writes on its official blog. Improved text flowing and function help modes. “Whether you’re new to formulas or a wiz at running complex functions, it’s now easier to set up and perform calculations. New function help and examples guide you as you type, and error highlighting and coloring make it easy to spot and fix mistakes,” Google says.
AT&T has launched a new initiative called Mobile Share Value Plans that is designed to save customers money on their monthly AT&T mobile phone service bills. The following changes are specifically for the Mobile Share program, which allows devices to work under the same AT&T account and share data, talk, and text plans. Similar to T-Mobile’s “un-carrier” approach, the new AT&T plans separate the cost of the device hardware completely from the monthly service charges:
Google has updated its Google Wallet application for the iPhone with a few notable enhancements. First, like it has added to its other apps on iOS as of late, Google now allows single sign-on for Wallet. This means that if you are signed in via Google to YouTube, Gmail, Adsense, or other compatible Google apps, you can be automatically logged in to the Wallet app. More interestingly, you can now use your iPhone’s camera to capture the data from your debit card or credit card to connect it to the app. Google added that feature to the Android app last month. Google Wallet recently launched a physical card program for Wallet. The update is free in the App Store.
Google has announced that the new Android KitKat operating system will begin rolling out to Google’s own tablets starting today. The rollout process will likely be completed over a period of time. Android 4.4 will be reaching the Nexus 7 (both last year’s model and this year’s new model) and the Nexus 10. KitKat brings several improvements to Android, including changes to Google Now, SMS integration with Hangouts, and general performance enhancements. Google says KitKat for the Nexus 4 and cellular-enabled Nexus 7 is coming soon.
Following the significant revamp of Google’s iOS Search app earlier this week, the search company updated its Google Drive application for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with several new features.
What’s New in Version 2.1.0
– Multiple Account Support. You can now switch between personal, work, or any other Google account
– Single Sign In: Sign in once to Google Drive and you’ll automatically be signed in to apps like YouTube, Google Maps, Chrome, and G+
– Print your files now with Google Cloud Print or AirPrint
– iOS 7 Support
Notably, users can now have multiple accounts on Drive for iOS and the app supports single-sign-on across Google apps on iOS. Also new is increased compatibility for iOS 7 and printing either via AirPrint or Google Cloud Print.
In line with my report from earlier this month, Facebook has announced that it will be revamping its Android and iOS Messenger apps. As we previously noted, the new apps have an entirely new design that is flatter and distinct from the standard Facebook application on Android and iOS. The Verge was given a preview of the Android version has some new features besides the new design:
In terms of functionality, there are a host of under-the-hood improvements to make sending and receiving messages faster, says product manager Peter Martinazzi. There are also some front-end tweaks that makes the app faster — especially on Android, where the SMS texting feature, which let you text friends who don’t have Facebook, has been removed.
The highlight feature, however, of the new apps is phone number integration. The repot summarizes the functionality as a WhatsApp competitor:
While Facebook won’t let you text a phone number from Messenger, the company plans to use phone numbers in a new way: to identify its users, just like in WhatsApp. Upon opening Messenger for the first time, it will ask you to provide your phone number. Then, the app can match you with people whose numbers you have, but whom you aren’t Facebook friends with. Facebook guarantees your messages will reach somebody’s inbox if you have their phone number.
The Android version is available as a test with a limited number of users beginning today and on iOS in the future. Also incoming, we previously reported, are updates to the main Facebook app that integrate Graph Search, but Facebook has not confirmed this as of yet.
After leaking a clear image of the black model yesterday, prolific leaker @evleaks has posted a render of the upcoming Nexus 5 in a white color option. As can be seen in the image above, the white model is actually a two-tone device: a black front, a white back, and black accents around the sides and rear-camera system…
T-Mobile today announced that it is launching a new un-carrier initiative for tablets next month (November). The plan will offer tablets to T-Mobile customers (new and existing) for no money down. Like with smartphones, the customers will be able to pay for the device over the life of a 24-month plan. T-Mobile is yet to provide pricing specifics for tablets other than the iPad, but those details will arrive soon. What is known now: customers on T-Mobile with tablets will be able to get 200MB of data per month for free. T-Mobile recently announced the Simple Choice international unlimited data free roaming plan, and T-Mobile will likely support this for tablets.
Twitter has finally launched a version of its official Android client that is fully-optimized for the larger displays on tablets. The app has a multi-screen view for scrolling through tweets while reading links in an accompanying browser.
The app also brings a new Android home screen widget and illustrating of images that are to be shared via Twitter. Interestingly, the app is launching first on the Samsung 10.1-2014 tablet, with launches on other Android tablets to come in the future.
Update: Evleaks has posted another image of the device, which appears to be similar to the new Galaxy Note III as previously rumored (above).
Prominent leaker @evleaks has published the first photo of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy phone with a curved screen. Recent rumors have pegged an announcement of this new phone to occur in the coming days, or perhaps as soon as later this week. The new display, which will likely be made from plastic instead of glass, will offer enhanced durability. It is typically more difficult to crack a curved display than a flat glass panel found on most modern handsets. For its part, Samsung competitor LG also has a curved phone in the pipeline.
It’s no secret that BlackBerry is currently amidst a downward spiral that will either land the company in bankruptcy, or more likely, to be acquired or end up as a privately-owned-firm. Unsurprisingly, the uncertain fate of the once Canada-based technology superstar is causing concern from companies and employees of firms that have relied on BlackBerry’s secure devices, enterprise software, and emailing/messaging functionality for many years.
We’ve learned that the concern over BlackBerry’s fate is definitely causing talk internally at one major firm: Boeing, the global aviation and space-based technologies company. According to a source, Boeing currently has just under 41,000 employees using BlackBerry smartphones, and Boeing is not sitting still on the possibility of service interruptions due to BlackBerry’s uncertain fate. We’re told that Boeing has conducted meetings in recent weeks with BlackBerry about this topic. A summary of the meeting was sent via email to Boeing employees:
With the Galaxy Gear and new Note out of the gate, a rumor from Eldar Murtizan has it that Samsung is now developing a competitor to Google Glass. Glass is Google’s yet-to-be-released take at wearable computing: an accessory that pushes your content into the view of your eye.
Samsung developing own version of Google Glass. We will see it (probably) around april-may under Gear Glass brand
— Eldar Murtazin (@eldarmurtazin) October 7, 2013
There’s no actual detail on what Samsung’s take on a face-worn computer would be, but it apparently will be called “Gear Glass.” The “Gear” in the name is perhaps unsurprising given the name of its recently launched watch, but the “Glass” part will surely put the company in some trouble with Google.
Of course, none of this is confirmed to be true, but given Samsung’s historical approach to developing several different product lines, it could happen.
This morning we reported that Amazon had trademarked FireTube, and the trademark could serve as a name for the company’s long-rumored TV product. Now, the WSJ follows up by claiming said device is on Amazon’s roadmap for the holiday season. Here are some of the details on the device:
Of course, the device could be shelved at the last minute, but given the uptake in reports about an Amazon TV device, today’s trademark discovery, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s want to expand his company’s hardware portfolio, it seems likely that the device truly is in the imminent Amazon product pipeline.
