After much speculation and a few bizarre viral videos starring James Franco, Motorola and Verizon stepped forward to announce the Droid Turbo last week. That’s great for folks in the US, but what about phone fans in different markets? Today, the former Google company announced the Moto Maxx, which appears to be an international version of the Turbo.
And then there were two. Google recently released the factory image for its Nexus 9 tablet and for an encore the search giant has uploaded an image of its Nexus Player. Indexed as version LRX21M, if you’ve invested in Mountain View’s media puck, it’ll be a good idea to snag this download, just in case you decide to tinker with your TV’s newest companion.
Yesterday, AT&T confirmed that it will start selling the Moto 360 at the end of the week for $250 and it appears that the carrier will have some competition. Today, via Twitter T-Mobile product manager Desmond Smith confirmed that America’s fourth largest wireless network will also carry the Motorola-made smartwatch on November 12th.
Android enthusiasts rejoice! Google has just published the factory image for its recently released Nexus 9 tablet. While more people are likely waiting for the full image of Android 5.0 Lollipop to show up, today’s new addition is still welcomed with open arms.
Google is now accepting Brazilian Real (BRL) for content purchased from the Play Store. New Brazilian Google Play developer accounts will use BRL as their default currency, however they’ll still be able to price applications in other supported funds.
Stroke experts from Memorial Hermann in Houston are using Google Glass at sites of emergencies to test if the wearable can be used to help save time, money and lives. Dr. James Grotta, director of Stroke Research at Memorial Hermann’s Texas Medical Center hospital started using Glass to share critical medical information with the hospital’s staff while responding to 911 calls related to potential stroke victims.
Last week, multiple security reports hit the web claiming that Samsung’s Find My Mobile service had a flaw that left users vulnerable to remote attacks by hackers. Today, Samsung has addressed the claims, saying that the issue was already addressed in an update on October 13th, which pre-dates most of the claims associated with this exploit.
Google recently launched a new program called “Open Roberta,” a cloud-based platform that helps teachers and students in Germany learn to program small robots. In terms of hardware, the search company’s new project uses LEGO MINDSTORMS kits that feature unique hardware and software to develop simple programmable robots.
Last month, AT&T confirmed that it was going to exclusively carry the selfie-focused HTC Desire EYE and today the carrier announced that it will start selling the device on November 7th for $150 under a two year service agreement. Ma Bell is also pushing HTC’s new smartphone through its Next program for $22.92 per month (20 months) or $27.50 per month (24 months). However, if all of the aforementioned purchase options sound too complicated, you can just buy the handset with no strings attached for $550.
Samsung’s mobile revenues may be slowing down a bit and with its two flagship smartphones already available to consumers, the company is rumored to be focusing on its next big release. The mega-electronics manufacturer is reportedly in the process of developing its new Galaxy S6 handset under the codename “Project Zero.”
For the past several years Google has been winning. The company is responsible for the world’s most popular search engine. Its Android mobile operating system has the lion’s share of worldwide smartphone shipments and the tech juggernaut’s advertising platform generates gigantic sums of money every year. So when a habitual winner like Google actually loses, it typically doesn’t handle defeat too well, and despite all of the company’s accolades, it’s been getting clobbered in one area for almost four years straight.
Google has successfully captured your desktop’s homepage and managed to work its software into the pockets of millions of people, however the Internet’s reigning search king has continuously struggled to find success in one very critical space — the living room.
Since 2010, Google has been aggressively trying to attach itself to your television, and despite several software and hardware revisions, the company has continued to come up short. However, when Google revealed Android TV during its annual I/O developer conference earlier this year, hordes of cord-cutting couch potatoes were optimistic about what the future might hold.
Fast-forward to today and Google’s first Android TV-powered device has been deemed fit for full duty by the company’s leadership. But does Google’s Nexus Player have enough bells and whistles to stand out in an extremely crowded space loaded with cable boxes, game consoles and other TV-friendly contraptions?
Last week, AT&T confirmed that it will carry the LG G Watch R, but absent from the carrier’s reveal were pricing and an exact release date. Today, however, the outfit announced that it will start selling the device online on November 5th for $299, followed by its retail locations on November 7th. A little on the expensive side, the timepiece’s top round face sporting competitor, the Moto 360 goes for $250.
The Nexus 9 is now available to purchase directly from Google Play, with an order processing time of one to two business days. As of right now you’ll have your choice between the device’s black or white models, with 16GB ($399) or 32GB ($479) of storage. There’s also a listing for a “sand” color variant of the HTC-made tablet marked as coming soon.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU3H1t0kIrQ]
We’ve already seen an early build of Android 5.0 running on a Galaxy S5 and today we’re getting a closer look at Samsung’s progress. The folks at SamMobile have gotten hold of an updated version of Lollipop for the GS5 and have put together a quick video showing how it handles TouchWiz.
AT&T announced today that it’s increasing the data allotment on two of its wireless service plans. Starting on Sunday, November 2nd, Ma Bell will begin offering 3GB of data for $40 per month and 6GB of date for $70 a month. Also sweetening the pot, AT&T is tossing in unlimited talk, text and international messaging at no additional charge.
Google isn’t the only one feeling festive this Halloween. If you’re rocking an HTC One M8 and invested in the device’s Dot View Case, there’s a nice little jack-o’-lantern theme ready to be installed. If you’re allergic to pumpkins, there’s also a theme featuring a groovy skeleton and a pair of bats.
Spain’s parliament recently approved a set of new intellectual property laws referred to as “the Google tax” that give publishers the right to charge aggregators whenever they display their news content in web search results. This new law is set to go into effect on January 1st, 2015 and doesn’t disclose how much search engines like Google or Bing could be charge for an incident.
Google’s Chromecast supports screen mirroring for a limited number of mobile devices and it appears that the search giant’s popular media stick has added support for a few new products. Owners of the Sony Xperia Z3v, Z2 and Z2 Tablet can now share their respective device’s screen on their big screen if they wish to do so.
If you’re the punctual type, odds are you run a tight ship and to help make life easier, Google has added a few noteworthy updates to its web-based version of Calendar. For starters, you no longer have to refresh the app for updates. Things like invitations and event updates are now displayed in real-time.
The Moto 360 is arguably the hottest Android Wear device on the market and if you’ve purchased Motorola’s new timepiece, you might want to protect your $250 investment. Accessories for smartphones and tablets are big business and smartwatches might be getting in on the action.
Google is now deploying an update for its Google My Business Android app that makes it easier for business owners to reply to customer reviews. With this revamped software, entrepreneurs can track customer critiques in real-time on the web, allowing them to address praise or complaints in a timely manner directly from their mobile device.
In celebration of Halloween, the Google+ Photos software has been updated with a couple of new Auto Awesome effects that “Halloweenify” your pictures. If you’re feeling festive, just head on over the Photos tab in Google+ and you’ll have your choice between adding a “fun” or “spooky” effect to your collection of pictures.
After a rebranded run with Verizon, the Xperia Z3 is now officially on sale at T-Mobile. Last week, some of the carrier’s customers received their pre-orders early, but if you weren’t among the lucky few, you can now purchase Sony’s waterproof flagship smartphone directly from the magenta-hued wireless carrier for no money down at a price of $26.25 per month for two years.
Google’s Project Ara is steadily making progress and the folks from Phonebloks recently paid a visit to NK Labs, a contractor working on the device’s prototype for Mountain View. The engineering firm sat down and talked about some of Ara’s recent developments, along with the challenges that come with taking on such a complex project.
