In April, Google Calendar for Work and Education received the ability to “find a time” when your coworkers are free for a meeting. Now an update to the Android app adds a similar “when you’re free” feature to all personal Google accounts when scheduling an event.
There have been a number of LG handset leaks making the rounds in recent weeks and months. Whether it’s the LG Nexus or the mysterious ‘V10’, the company’s been unable to keep its upcoming devices from making appearances online. The latest device has seemingly been teased by the company itself on an invite promising ‘Something New’ on September 21. While the device name isn’t revealed, serial leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer believes it to be a mid-range phablet named the ‘LG Class’…
StubHub is rolling out an updated version of its Android app today that adds integration with Uber for requesting rides to events.
With the udpated app, users can now request a vehicle directly from within the app when purchasing event tickets or setup a reminder to do so for an upcoming event. Once you’ve booked a ride with Uber, StubHub automatically provides the location of the event venue to the driver:
After completing a ticket purchase on StubHub, fans will now be able to set a reminder to arrange transportation through Uber when the event is imminent. Users who purchase tickets within two hours of the event will be able to order an Uber directly from the order confirmation page.
The Uber integration is available for users in the updated Android StubHub app on Google Play alongside a few other fixes and improvements. The Uber feature, however, is available only for users in the UK, US, and Canada.
Google announced today that some notable new updates are available now in its Google Play Games SDK allowing developers to make even better cross-platform gaming experiences across Android and iOS. Some of the features were announced during its Google I/O developer conference late last month, including an update to the Play Games C++ SDK that brings turn-based multiplayer, quests and events, and saved games support:
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Google announced a couple of welcomed improvements to Google Calendar on the desktop today. Perhaps the most notable new feature is autocomplete for addresses powered by Google Maps:
Calendar will autocomplete addresses as you type so you can quickly and accurately add locations to your events. Your friends can then simply click on the “map” link to make sure you all end up at the right place.
The update also brings suggestions for instant relevant events as you type. Now, when searching Calendar you’ll see instant suggestions pop up for events and contacts relevant to your search query. Like the autocomplete feature, instant suggestions for events and contacts aim to make it easier to quickly input entries into your calendar.
Lastly, Google Calendar will now automatically update event guest lists for Google Groups as members leave or join the group:
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After recently posting its I/O registration page to announce that registration for its annual I/O developers conference will open on March 13, Google today posted some more information about the upcoming event. In a blog post on the Google Developers Blog, Google noted that it has updated the I/O 2013 site with new info on registering, travel, events, and FAQs. It is has also posted information about the addition of subsidized childcare options at this year’s event.
Google’s updated I/O site includes a “Travel” section with a Google map for navigating to Moscone West in San Francisco, an “About” section with info on events such as the keynote and developer sessions, and a help page with FAQs. Something new at Google I/O this year is childcare:
We are excited to announce that this year Google I/O will offer nearby child care to conference attendees at a subsidized cost. When completing your registration form, please indicate if you are interested in child care services and, if so, tell us the number of children you want to have cared for. Once registration closes, we will contact you to gather more information and provide specific details on child care.
Google once again provided some tips for registration and outlined details specific to academic and international attendees:
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Everyone finds a holiday angle during this time of year, and after launching 18 new features, dubbed as “treats” wrapped together “in one holiday package,” Google+ is one of the many.
On the mobile side, according to the official Gplusproject blog, Google+ announced it added new Android features that include on-the-go profile editing , streamlined ways to author content, a notice when there’s new content to read, and the ability to subscribe to mobile notifications from favorite circles and interact with Google+ Communities. Google+ also launched full-sized backups of photos, with up to 5GB free (turn on Instant Upload to start), and photospheres now appear in the mobile stream (Android 4.2 required to snap 360-degree panoramas, but Froyo or later users can enjoy them now).
As for connecting, Google+ pushed out extra features to make event planning easier that include the ability to message specific guests, view opened invitations, and invite people through Google+ by sending an event URL via email or IM. Guests can also now RSVP with the number of people they want to bring, and a new duplication feature allows event makers to copy their original event as Google+ pulls all the important details.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Scobleizer/status/218486102720393216]
When Google announced some updates to Google+ during its I/O keynote this week, perhaps apart from the new iPad compatible tablet version, the most talked about new feature was the Facebook-like invitations called “Events.” While Google calendar integration in the Events feature was supposed to be a big selling point, Google unfortunately did not provide users with control over which invites were added to their calendars. The issue led to massive amounts of spam in the form of notifications and calendar entries—most notably for Google+ users with large followings. Robert Scoble outlined the problem in a Google+ post:
As noted by Scoble, another avid Google+ user, Will Wheaton, highlighted the issue and received a response from Google’s Senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra:
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The search monster’s developer conference dubbed Google I/O has been a runaway success this year, bringing us a series of major product announcements ranging from Chromebooks and the new version of the Chrome browser to Ice Cream Sandwich news and Honeycomb tablet software. Google last month said Google I/O 2012 will be running from April 24-25 at San Francisco’s Moscone West, but they decided to extend the event and push it back two months, citing “an unexpected opportunity to extend Google I/O to three days”.
According to a post over at the official Google Code blog, the company made it known that it is moving the conference to June 27-29, 2012. The event will still take place at Moscone Center West in San Francisco. Surprisingly, the Moscone Center events calendar displayed at press time a two-day rather than a three-day event booked for June 27- 28 and the original ‘corporate meeting’ scheduled for April 24-25 is still up on the site.
Those interested in attending can vote for a Day 3 agenda at this page. The company wrote in the comments of a Google+ post that registration for Google I/O 2011 will open in February.
Handset maker HTC issued an intriguing invitation to its followers on Facebook, inviting them to attend a public event due September 1 in London, just in time for the IFA trade show where giants like Samsung are expected to make major product announcements. The invite simply reads, “Join us to see what’s next” and promises “a few phone treats for you to enjoy”.
HTC will almost certainly pull a series of product updates and announcements at the public event and we expect some new phones to be revealed. First and foremost, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for more information about the Ruby, which is rumored to sport impressive specs and hopefully run Ice Cream Sandwich. The company may also play the safe card with new Windows Phone ‘Mango’ phones, like Samsung, and we’re certainly looking to put our hands on the forthcoming Puccini tablet, which is apparently scheduled to hit the market later that month. Full text of the invitation below the fold.
Barnes & Noble’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that makes mention of “an announcement on May 24, 2011, regarding the launch of a new eReader device” has become official as the company has sent out press invites. The invitation sports clean design and reveals nothing beyond noting stating that “a special announcement” is scheduled for Tuesday, May 24, 2011.
(Cross-posted on 9to5Mac.com)
Here at San Francisco’s Moscone West, the Google I/O 2011 keynote has just wrapped up. Being their most important annual pilgrimage for developers, the show is a launchpad for important new products and announcements. For some people, the biggest news is that popular Angry Birds franchise is now available for the most popular platform of all – the web.
Joining Google’s senior vice president of Chrome Sundar Pichai on stage was Peter Vesterbacka, the CEO of Espoo, Finland-based multi-million dollar Angry Birds developer Rovio Mobile. Wearing a red Angry Birds sweatshirt, Vesterbacka announced that the Angry Birds web app is now available on the Chrome Web Store.
The web version taps several new Chrome capabilities to ensure smooth experience one would expect from a native version. “It’s one of the best we’ve built to date,” Vesterbacka quipped as he cut through several levels of Angry Birds with ease. More information and three screenies right after the break.
Chromebooks, the just announced notebooks optimized to run Chrome OS, will benefit from new features in Chrome OS. When Google introduced Chrome OS a year ago, many people wondered how useful the upcoming notebooks would be the software’s clunky handling of external storage, your documents and other items. Google has been perfecting Chrome OS with these specific concerns in mind and today they dispelled myths that Chromebooks won’t be a fit for the average Joe Schmuck.
First up, Chrome OS has built-in players for music and video that show your content in a panel form factor by default. You can, however, take your video to fullscreen with a simple click. Another sought-after feature is a file manager that pops up when you slide a USB thumb drive or other peripherals to a Chromebook. But what about photos?
Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome, has just announced two cool Chrome notebooks up on stage here at Google I/O 2011. He used a new word to describe them – Chromebooks. Add that to your vocabulary, I have a feeling we’re gonna use it a lot moving forward.
Samsung’s 12.1-inch Chromebook, shown above, has eight-hour battery and sports instant-on performance, like Apple’s MacBook Air, with eight-second boot time.
Acer’s machine, seen below, has a 11.6-inch display, 6.5-hour battery and also boots in just eight seconds. So, how much will those beauties cost you?
Google just said at Day Two Keynote that users have installed 70 million web apps found in the Chrome Web Store in the first three months. To put things in perspective, Google said Chrome has been downloaded 160 million times worldwide so far. The store is also available in 40 new languages as of today.
The company also introduced a simple way to enable one-click purchases withing web apps themselves, via Google Checkout. So, what’s the deal? Unlike Apple which takes 30 percent cut on iTunes content sales or in-app purchases, Google said it would take just five percent. “We at google felt we can do a little better”, a Google engineer said during the keynote in a hint at Apple’s 70:30 revenue sharing deal.
In addition to a whopping 160 million Chrome downloads so far, up from 70 million a year earlier, Google shared some interesting stats related to their live video feed of the keynote. Yesterday’s keynote had been viewed by 60,00 simultaneous users, topping 600,000 people at its peek. Currently, Day Two Keynote is underway. You can tune in at a dedicated Google I/O Live – it’s the next best thing to being there in person. Alternatively, check out live YouTube channel.
Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome, just said that the Chrome browser now has more than 160 million Chrome users worldwide, more than doubling the application’s 70 million-strong user base just a year ago. We are officially impressed!
(Cross-posted on 9to5Mac.com)
Just sayin’…
It’s a familiar scene. MacBook-toting journalists, bloggers and guests providing Apple with omnipresence and free advertising at rivals’ events, thanks in large part to the glowing Apple logo on the well-designed notebook family. Who knows, this time next year some of these folks might carry around machines with the Google logo on them if there’s any substance to the whispers of subscription-based Chrome OS notebooks. Check out seven additional Apple sightings below the fold and meet us in comments.
Check out the sticker: “My other computer is a data center”. Touche.
If you missed big announcements from today’s Google I/O 2011 keynote, don’t sweat – here’s your recap of key takeaways. Google executives first touted 100 million Android activations so far and about 400,000 new devices being activated each day. Other mind-boggling stats include 200,000 free and paid applications on Android Market and 4.5 billion downloads since Android’s launch less than three years ago. That was just a warm-up for big announcements, though…
Google this morning kickstarted its annual I/O developer conference with a keynote full of surprises. Prior to that 9am presentation, however, the company was running a nice teaser over at the official Google I/O page. Thanks to some HTML5 magic, visitors could marvel at a dot-matrix display counting down the remaining hours, minutes and seconds. With each passing second the numbers would fall apart into dozes of dots bouncing off the screen edges. Missed that finale? No problem, Google has you covered with a Chrome Experiment that allows you to rewatch the last twenty seconds of the countdown.
When Google’s senior vice president of engineering Vic Gundotra put up a slide during the morning keynote speech at Google I/O 2011 developer conference, the crowd of developers erupted into thunderous applause. You could have almost felt there was something in the air and you needn’t be a rocket scientist in order to figure out that Google will poke fun of its Cupertino frenemy given how Steve Jobs frequently downplays Android’s success at Apple’s events.
The company later posted the above image as part of the official photo stream, their way of ensuring the press and Apple get the message. They also shared some mind-boggling stats reflecting Android’s astounding growth in a little more than two and a half years
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Google’s annual pilgrimage for developers at San Francisco’s Moscone West Convention Center has just begun with a keynote at 9am Pacific Time. If you aren’t among the lucky few that managed to book tickets online (they sold out in 59 minutes), chances are you’ll be keeping tabs on key announcements from your home or work. We’re living in the age of video so why not watch the keynote instead read about it?
Plus, for the first time in Google I/O history, you’ll be able to join us throughout the two days at I/O Live. We’ll live stream the two keynote presentations, two full days of Android and Chrome technical sessions, and the After Hours party. Recorded videos from all sessions across eight product tracks will be available within 24 hours after the conference.
Tuning in couldn’t be easier. Read on…
