Google announced it at the beginning of this month, and now it’s happening. More than 6 months after its United States launch, Google Home is available from Canadian retailers as of today, June 26th. Google announced that the device would be coming to six new countries over the course of the summer, and Canada is the first…

Google’s AppleCare-like warranty protection program Nexus Protect is now available in Canada. The company announced the expansion in a post on Google+ more than a month after the program launched in the United States alongside the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X.

Nexus Protect, for those unfamiliar, offers an additional year of coverage for mechanical breakdowns within your Nexus phone, as well as two years of protection from accidental damage like water damage and shattered displays. Google touts that, after you file a claim and it is approved, you’ll receive your replacement device as soon as the next business day, with shipping both ways covered. Nexus Protect coverage is attached to the phone itself, so if you switch carriers or give the phone to someone else, the coverage stays with it.

Nexus Protect runs $69 for the Nexus 5X and $89 for the Nexus 6P. It’s also important to note that claims are subject to a $79 deductible and that Nexus Protect only covers 2 incidents of accidental damage every two-years.

If you reside in Canada, you can find out more about Nexus Protect on Google’s webpage for the program here.

National carriers across the US have been adding features that make it easier to use their service in Mexico and Canada as a growing trend, and today AT&T has announced enhancements to its pre-paid GoPhone plans to include 4GB of high speed data use in Canada and Mexico as well as the United States. The new AT&T GoPhone feature goes into effect on August 21st and is supported on the carrier’s $60 pre-paid plan without making any changes.

In addition to 4GB of data for use across North America, the GoPhone plans include unlimited talk and text in the US, Canada, and Mexico as well. AT&T’s $60 GoPhone plan is reduced to $55/month for customers using the carrier’s Auto Refill automatic payment feature. Important to note, though, is that AT&T’s GoPhone plans specifically mean data speeds up to 3G, not faster 4G LTE speeds, when mentioning high speed data.

For post-paid subscribers, AT&T supports international calling and texting to Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands on its 15GB and 20GB Mobile Share Value plans that it simplified over the weekend. More similarly, T-Mobile enhanced its own plans last month to support 4G LTE data use in addition to text and calls in Canada and Mexico without international roaming fees.

Google this evening rolled out an update to the Google Voice app on iOS, adding several new features and much-needed visual enhancements. Bumping the app to version 1.6, this evening’s update is the first the app has seen since September 2013, and the first major update since 2012.

Google announced today that it’s launching the ability to purchase and rent textbooks in Canada through its Google Play Books service:

Starting now, students in Canada can rent or purchase digital textbooks from Google Play Books. With thousands of textbooks from top publishers, we have a comprehensive selection of higher education titles from science and mathematics to history and English, and everything in between… With the Google Play Books app, you have convenient tools at hand to make studying simpler and faster. You can instantly search within a textbook for a particular word or phrase, bookmark chapters and pages, highlight and annotate key passages and get quick access to dictionaries, translation tools, Wikipedia and Google search.

Google first started rolling out the feature to Google Play Books in the US last year.

The textbooks library is available through Google Play Books and accessible on Android, iOS devices, and through Google Play on the web. Canadians can head over to Google Play now to purchase or rent textbooks now.

Engadget reports that Google has been testing a new iOS and Android app at its Mountain View campus recently that would allow users to automatically join public WiFi hotspots without going through the usual log-in process. Google is apparently considering using the app in connection with its recently announced deal to provide WiFi to 7000 Starbucks locations in the US:

According to our sources, the search giant has built Android and iOS versions of an app that automatically authenticate and connect to its free hotspots inside Starbucks stores or wherever they are available. Google is currently trialling the Android app at its Mountain View HQ and has plans to offer an iOS app too.

Perhaps more interesting is Engadget’s claim that Google has “specific plans” to roll out more Google WiFi hotspots in the US and Canada as part of the ongoing “Google WiFi” effort it first launched in Mountain View back in 2006.

The report adds that the app could link to a user’s Google account and “install a dedicated security certificate on their device to automatically authenticate devices when a connection is available.” Engadget says an expanded partnership with Boingo is also a possibility:

Google may also expand its partnership with Boingo, extending logins to locations where it’s footing the bill for free wireless.

Google plans to have its WiFi rolled out at all 7000 Starbucks locations by the end of the year.

(image via ABC)

Google is rolling out a new hashtag experience in Google Search today that will see search results for queries with hashtags display related Google+ posts and content from other social networks:

– When you search on Google for a hashtag, say [#AmericasCup] or [#WaterfallWednesday], a set of relevant Google+ posts may appear to the right of regular results.

– You’ll only be able to see posts that have been shared publicly or shared with you.

– If you click on any of these posts you’ll go to Google+, where you’ll see the full set of relevant posts.

– You’ll also see links to search for these hashtags on other social sites.

The new feature will only be available to English users in the US and Canada initially and will go live on Google.com and Google.ca sometime today.

Google announced today on its Google Maps blog that its rolling out a ton of new Street View imagery for over 1,000 locations across Asia, Europe, Latin America, the U.S. and Canada:

Today we’re adding more than 1,000 locations around the world to Google Maps, making it more comprehensive and useful for you. From historical landmarks to sports stadiums, these panoramic photos available via Street View can help you ease into vacation mode with just a few simple clicks… you can use to preview a vacation spot, to plot your next hiking route or just to become an armchair explorer from wherever you may be.

Google highlighted a number of the new addition including new imagery for historical landmarks and more in Brazil, Singapore, Denmark, Mexico City, Chile,

You can get some of the highlights here and check out the imagery for yourself in the latest Google Maps apps for iPhone and Android.

Google today announced a new pilot program rolling out in Canada dubbed “Google Partners” that will allow businesses to easier connect with experts and advertising agencies on the web. What that really means is Google will hand out a “Google Partner” badge to selected marketing companies that will assist businesses get setup with Google Ads and other Google products to help maximize their success online. Google says the program makes “it easier for agencies to access Google resources, training, and support all in one place.”

The program is for now open via a new website to Canadian businesses and agencies, but Google says it is interested in rolling it out more broadly in the coming months.

Here’s what Partners will get:

• Become a Partner: Earn the Google Partner badge to indicate to your current and future clients that you are a trusted Google Partner.
• Hangout with Google: Join an exclusive Google+ community to receive support from Google specialists and to talk with industry experts.
• Connect with Customers: When you earn the badge, we’ll introduce you to potential clients through Google Partner Search.
• Access Exclusive Content: Explore a library of the latest Google-created trainings, case studies, and pitch materials to help deepen your expertise.

Just a few days after we learned that the city of Boston had dropped Microsoft and switched 20,000 employees to Google Apps, Canada’s national broadcaster CBC announced today on Google’s Canada Blog that it has transitioned 12,000 employees to Google Apps in just 90 days.

CBC’s Senior Enterprise Architect made a point of noting that the company looked at both Microsoft Office 365 and Google Apps before making the decision to go Google:

With a company-wide goal to reduce infrastructure and a need for better messaging and collaboration, we decided to look at public cloud solutions such as Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365. It was clear that Google Apps was the right solution for us based on cost, proven service level and availability guarantee and the breath of tools the platform offered for collaboration. We also had great support from the media groups in our company (about 70% of our employees), as many of them had been using personal Google accounts to communicate already with external users. Once we decided to “go Google” we were able to complete a smooth 90-day deployment with the help of Google Apps reseller, Onix , by March 1, 2013.

Users in other countries have had access to Google’s public alerts for weather warnings and other critical public information through its Google Public Alerts platform since as early as January of last year. Now, Google has teamed up with Public Safety Canada and Environment Canada to roll out the feature in Canada, bringing severe weather alerts in both English and French to users through Google Search, Google Maps, and the Google Public alerts website. Users on Android will also be able to receive the alerts through Cards that automatically appear in Google Now:

We couldn’t have launched Public Alerts in Canada without Public Safety Canada and Environment Canada. Their meteorological data will ensure our users are notified of severe weather when relevant. We also appreciate their commitment to open data standards such as the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP).

For more information, or to see all active public alerts, visit our homepage at www.google.org/publicalerts. If you are a data provider, we also provide instructions here that will help you get your emergency data ready for Google Public Alerts.

Google has been constantly updating its Maps and Google Earth apps with new Street View imagery in recent months. Earlier this month it began rolling out new imagery for famous mountains including Kilimanjaro and Everest, and now Google’s Street View team is hitting Northern Canada for the first time with its Street View Trekker backpacks:

This is the first Trekker expedition in Canada for Google Maps. I’m wearing the backpack to collect Street View imagery as I walk to the shore of Frobisher Bay, where the wind is the strongest and you can see the tide piling up mountains of sea ice. On the way I’ll pass sled dogs tied up outside houses, yapping in anticipation of their next trip. And I may stop to check out an igloo, built by Inuit craftsmen using methods passed down over a millennia.

As it did around the holiday season last year, Google is once again extending its free calling service for United States and Canadian Gmail users for another year. Google announced on the official Gmail blog today that Gmail users will continue to be able to place free domestic calls in the U.S. and Canada through 2013.

Many of you call phones from Gmail to easily connect with friends and family. If you’re in the US and Canada, you’ll continue to be able to make free domestic calls through 2013. Plus, in most countries, you can still call the rest of the world from Gmail at insanely low rates.

We told you last month that Nexus 4 owners in Canada were able to enable LTE on their Nexus 4 using a few relatively easy steps. Now, users posting in XDA developer forums claim to have LTE service up and running on AT&T’s network in select areas. However, that doesn’t exactly mean any Nexus 4 user on AT&T can get LTE working… As explained by AndroidPolice, those utilizing LTE on AT&T are likely on band 17 operating at the 700 MHz frequency, but AT&T also has band 4 AWS spectrum only in select cities and possibly not even deployed:

in some, very select areas, AT&t utilizes band 4. Also referred to as AWS, the carrier has holdings on this spectrum in select markets including Phoenix, Raleigh, San Juan, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte. Also Athens, GA and College Station, TX. That being said, the fact that AT&T owns spectrum here doesn’t mean it’s deployed.

Google just landed the No. 1 spot on LinkedIn’s fresh list of most “inDemand” employers from around the world.

The occupation-aimed social network pinpointed the most attractive companies for job seekers, and it subsequently broadcasted the list, along with its new Most InDemand Employers website, at the Talent Connect event in Las Vegas this afternoon. LinkedIn further detailed a few insights regarding the results, including: tech/software as the most represented on the list, consumer brands ranked highly, and 50-percent of the top 100 companies had under 7,000 employees.

Google also earned first-place in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Meanwhile, students, recent graduates, marketing professionals, and software engineers perceive it as the best possible employer overall. A few other repeated names on the list include Apple, Walt Disney, and Microsoft.

Check out more details in the infographic below, or read LinkedIn’s blog post to learn more about list’s ranking metrics.

This article is cross-posted on 9to5Mac.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9VWge-Q_08&feature=player_profilepage]

YouTube just announced to the world that it is live streaming the 2012 London Summer Paralympics.

The news comes roughly 48 hours after the games actually began, however. Better late than never I guess. Over 500 hours of live content and 1,000 hours of on-demand and behind-the-scenes footage will run until the Paralympics end Sept. 9, according to the YouTube Global Blog:

Whether your favorite sport is powerlifting, sitting volleyball or wheelchair basketball, you can catch all the action on the International Paralympic Committee’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/paralympicsporttv. The channel will feature 500 hours of live competitions accompanied by a real-time commenting feature for viewers in the United States and Canada.  Additionally, others around the world have access to over 1000 hours of on-demand catch-up footage of current and previous games, interviews with Paralympic athletes and other behind-the-scenes footage.

The Paralympic Games is the second-largest international multi-sport event for physically disabled athletes. Folks can also watch original game content on YouTube by the United States Olympic Committee at youtube.com/teamusa.

YouTube also partnered with NBC earlier this summer to broadcast the 2012 London Summer Olympics online.

Every hear of Cambridge Bay? It is not in the United Kingdom, as one might think, but rather the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut in Canada’s Arctic and Google is trying to put it on the map.

According to the official Google blog:

• There are 4,000 years’ worth of stories waiting to be told on this map. Today, we’re setting out on an ambitious mission to tell some of those stories and to build the most comprehensive map of the region to date. It is the furthest north the Google Maps Street View team has traveled in Canada, and our first visit to Nunavut. Using the tools of 21st century cartography, we’re empowering a community and putting Cambridge Bay on the proverbial map of tomorrow.

Google further revealed a local nonprofit group, Nunavut Tunngavik, is helping to map the hamlet in both English and Inuktitut, which is one of Nunavut’s official languages, while the Internet giant pedals around with a tripod and the Street View trike to collect imagery.

“This is a place with a vast amount of local knowledge and a rich history. By putting these tools in the hands of our people, we will tell Nunavut’s story to the world,” said Nunavut Tunngavik’s Chris Kalluk, who’s organization helped plot the remnants of an ancient Dorset stone longhouse that pre-dates Inuit culture.

Get more mapping details and images at the Google blog.

Google has a ton of different blogs covering various aspects of its business, and the company has now launched an Official Google Canada Blog today to make announcements and share news specific to Canada and Canadians:

Ten years ago, Google Canada opened its doors in Toronto, becoming one of the first international Google offices. Since then, we’ve added Google offices in Kitchener-Waterloo and Montreal, bringing together an incredible team of people who you just might find scrambling up an indoor climbing wall or sliding into their office on any given day of the week.

What a lot of people may not realize is how, over this time, Canada has had a hand in many of the products Canadians love—from the Chrome browser to Gmail for Mobile—or how Canadians themselves are gaining global recognition for the amazing things they’re doing on the web, whether they’re launching a music career, making us laugh, or discovering new ways to reach out and inspire others online.

The unlocked Samsung Galaxy S III has not officially released in the United States, nor have pricing details, but at least one seller on eBay is offering the 16GB version for just $649.99.

The listing offers free standard shipping to the United States and Canada with a 30-day money back guarantee, and the top-rated seller has near-perfect feedback based on thousands of reviews. Hurry and purchase this off-contract device now, because the eBay page indicates “limited quantity available.” PayPal is the only form of payment accepted.

Check it out: New Samsung Galaxy S 3 I9300 16GB Unlocked GSM Phone Android 4.0 OS 8MP Camera

Canadians can now rejoice: Rogers Wireless is accepting pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S III.

MobileSyrup discovered prices for many of the Canadian carriers at BestBuy. However, it seems as though the prices are no longer live on the page. BestBuy previously indicated Rogers plans to charge $149.99, with Telus and Virgin Mobile aiming to grab $159.99 each. The page also displayed SaskTel as asking customers to fork over $169.99 for the latest Galaxy-branded smartphone. Of course, all these price tags would have come with a three-year contract.

Pricing details for Bell were not listed and are unknown, but the cost for a reserved unit is $50. The presumed no-contract price is $649.99.

It is worth mentioning that Rogers’ pre-order page does not list a quad-core Exynos processor under the Galaxy S III’s LTE capabilities. Therefore, the LTE version might début with a dual-core Snapdragon S4. The Rogers website also lacks a release date, but AndroidCommunity cited June 20 for the main launch across Canada based on earlier reports.

Existing customers can reserve their flagship device online (here), while those looking to switch carriers can sign up for more information.

Google’s Business Photos program, which was previously only available in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and France, is now being expanded to Canada, Ireland, and the Netherlands due to the service’s positive feedback.

According to the Official Google Lat Long Blog:

Since April 2010, we’ve been testing and developing the Business Photos program, which gives users a virtual peek inside businesses through interactive 360-degree imagery. After hearing your positive feedback about how showing off panoramic views of your business interiors helps you attract potential customers, we’re excited to announce further expansion of this program. Starting today, in addition to the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and France, this service is now available in Canada, Ireland and the Netherlands.