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More information from FTC investigation reveals details of Google’s unfair search result tactics

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 19 2015 - 2:53 pm PT
3 Comments

The Wall Street Journal today published a report highlighting an investigation done by the Federal Trade Commission that began in early 2013. The investigation centered around how Google skewed search results in an effort to promote its own services over competitors. Google, according to the FTC report, was accused of boosting its services for shopping, travel, and local businesses.


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9to5Toys Last Call: $105 in free Android apps, HTC One (M8) $325, GoPro $100-$135 off, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 19 2015 - 12:12 pm PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Up to $105 in paid Android apps for free: Kingdom Rush, Guardians of the Galaxy, more

HTC One (M8) 32 GB Android phone unlocked: $325 shipped (Reg. $700)

GoPro HERO4 Action Cameras: Silver w/ accessory bundle $400 ($535 value), Black 4K edition $400 (Reg. $500)

Amazon Gold Box – Canon imageCLASS D530 Monochrome Laser Printer/Scanner/Copier $69 shipped (Reg. $100)

Free $50 Play Store gift card w/ purchase of Nexus 6, Nexus 9, or Android Wear device

Amazon free app of the day: Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (Reg. $3)

Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900A 16GB unlocked: $419.99 shipped (Reg. $499)

Samsung Galaxy ALPHA SM-G850A 32GB 4G LTE: $279 shipped (Reg. $400)

ASUS Google Nexus 7 (2013) 16GB 7-inch tablet: $149.99 shipped (Reg. $200)

LG G3 w/ free $100 Amazon gift card for $0.01 w/ 2-yr contract or $479 w/o

More new gear from today:

WD Elements 1TB Portable USB 3.0 Hard Drive: $50 shipped (orig. $70)

More deals still alive:

Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-inch Internal Solid State Drive $180 (Reg. $270)

New products & more:

Sony’s PlayStation Vue is now available, but how does it compare to Sling?

Android Auto app arrives alongside Pioneer hardware in US, UK & AU

Avatar for Zac Hall Mar 19 2015 - 11:35 am PT
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Android Auto is here at last. Google’s mobile platform for integrating content like maps, music, and more from your smartphone to the head unit in your car is now live as the Android Auto app has officially hit the Play Store for download. The new app comes as Google announced via Twitter that Pioneer’s support for Android Auto is now live in three countries…
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App Roundup: Google updates Maps, YouTube, Inbox, Play Music, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 19 2015 - 7:55 am PT
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Google tends to push several updates to its apps in the middle of the week, and this week has been a particularly eventful one. Updates have landed over the last 24 hours for several apps in Google’s Android inventory, including Inbox, Google Docs (Sheets and Slides, too), YouTube, Quickoffice, Google Maps, and Google Play Music.


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Google moving up-market with Android Wear, announcing Tag Heuer smartwatch partnership with Intel

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 19 2015 - 6:41 am PT
4 Comments
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While Android Wear has not yet set the world alight, Google is not sitting idly by while Apple grabs all the media attention with its Apple Watch. The company has announced a deal with Tag Heuer and Intel to create a smartwatch version of one of the watchmaker’s best-selling models, the Carrera.

TAG Heuer, Google and Intel have announced a partnership to launch a Swiss smartwatch powered by Intel technology and Android Wear. The effort signifies a new era of collaboration between Swiss watchmakers and Silicon Valley, bringing together each company’s respective expertise in luxury watchmaking, software and hardware.

While the company did not go into details, Reuters reports that the watch “will be a digital replica of the original Tag Heuer black Carrera, known for its bulky, sporty allure, and will look like the original.”

Sincere or not, Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver says that he welcomes the launch of the Apple Watch … 
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Google aiming to have its self-driving car on the market by 2020

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 18 2015 - 12:46 pm PT
5 Comments
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Google’s self-driving car initiative may not be as far off as many might think. During a talk at the TED conference in Vancouver, Google’s head of self-driving cars Chris Urmson said that his team is working to launch the technology onto the market by 2020 (that year may sound familiar if you’ve followed the Apple Car rumors). The executive said that he has an 11-year-old son that could be eligible to get his license in 4 and a half years, although he hopes that won’t be needed thanks to the availability of self-driving cars. “My team and I are committed to making sure that doesn’t happen,” Urmson said (via Re/Code).


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Google to launch ranking adjustment to address growing “doorway page” problem in search results

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 16 2015 - 5:20 pm PT
1 Comment

Google today, in a post on its Webmaster Central Blog, has reveled that it will soon launch a ranking adjustment to search results to better address sites that “maximize their search footprint without adding clear, unique value.” This problem occurs when a user searches for a topic and sees a page of results all from the same website, which Google says creates for a frustrating user experience.


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Google says an open API is coming for Google Now cards

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 16 2015 - 4:46 pm PT
3 Comments
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As reported on by The Next Web, Google at South by Southwest this weekend gave an interesting look at its plans for Google Now. Aparna Chennapragada, Google Now’s Director of Product Management, discussed Google’s personalized predictive data service and revealed some details regarding the future of the product. Chennapragada revealed that the company soon plans to launch an open API for Google Now that will allow third-party services to integrate it into their apps.


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Cyanogen teases upcoming OS 12 release w/ new boot animation (Video)

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 16 2015 - 2:04 pm PT
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Cyanogen recently gave itself a rebrand, and now the company has come out to share the new boot animation shipping with its upcoming Cyanogen OS 12. It’s definitely sporting the company’s slick new logo which, according to Cyanogen, “celebrates space, with minimal letterforms that don’t quite connect, giving the logo a sense of motion and a feeling of inherent energy.”


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Android Lollipop now rolling out to Xperia Z3 & Xperia Z3 Compact

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 16 2015 - 6:41 am PT
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Sony has announced that it is now rolling out the Android 5.0 Lollipop update to its 2014 flagship Xperia Z3 smartphone and its Xperia Z3 Compact little brother:

We’re starting our Android 5.0, Lollipop upgrade from today for Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact.

You’ll see the upgrade hit first devices in the Nordics and Baltics, continuing to further markets, for more Xperia Z Series products, starting in around two weeks time* – we’ll share the latest here, as it happens.

After blending Google’s first Lollipop release with our Sony software, some of the goodies include;

  • Fresh, streamlined looks – based on Google’s material design, but retaining our minimalistic approach to interface and application design
  • New look notifications and lock screen – with fully customizable settings, so you only get the information you really need
  • Multi user profiles and guest mode – making it easy for family and friends to use your device, or the creation of dual environments for work and play…
  • Android for Work – not only are business-ready Xperia smartphones and tablets unique devices for work – with waterproof form factors, great battery life and productivity features – they will now also be part of the Android for Work ecosystem
  • Better storage control and customisation – with the option to easily move applications from internal memory to SD card – giving you more control over your content, particularly useful for devices with slightly less space

More than four months after the initial release of Android Lollipop to Nexus devices, some OEMs are still just now managing to push Lollipop to the masses. It’s no wonder why the Android Lollipop adoption rate is still barely above 3%.

9to5Toys Last Call: HTC One (M8) $325, Galaxy Note 3 $295, LG G3 w/ free $100 Amazon gift card, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 13 2015 - 12:04 pm PT
0 Comments

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

HTC One (M8) 32 GB Android phone unlocked: $325 shipped (Reg. $700)

 

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 32 GB factory unlocked: $295 shipped (Reg. $500)

LG G3 w/ free $100 Amazon gift card for $0.01 w/ 2-yr contract or $479 w/o

LG 34-inch UltraWide LED IPS Monitor w/ Thunderbolt: $750 shipped (Reg. $1,000)

Nexus 5 Case, Spigen Slim Armor Case for Nexus 5: $9.99 shipped (Reg. $25)

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 4G LTE 32GB unlocked: $479.99 shipped (Reg. $700)

LG G2 w/ 32GB unlocked for GSM carriers: $210 shipped (Reg. $300)

More new gear from today:

JBL J56 BT Wireless Bluetooth on-ear headphones $60 shipped (Reg. $90+)

  • New! Daily Deals: OtterBox Defender iPad Air Case $50, Toshiba 1TB Ext. HD $50, more
  • New! Games/Apps: Shades $1, Ultimate Hangman free, more iOS freebies

More deals still alive:

Bluetooth Streaming Audio Adapters: Mpow $9, Aukey w/ hands-free calling $15

New products & more:

LyfeLens dash cam pushes live video to your iPhone and doubles as a hotspot

Google software glitch exposes personal details of 280,000 Google Apps domain owners

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 13 2015 - 4:18 am PT
1 Comment
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The failed privacy add-on offered by Google’s domain registration partner

More than a quarter of a million people who had opted to keep their contact details private when registering web domains through a Google Apps service have had that information made public as a result of a software glitch by Google.

Usually when you buy a domain name, your name, address, phone number and email list are all made available to anyone who wants to view them by using a WHOIS lookup service. Most domain registrars offer a way around this, where their details, rather than yours, are listed. The $6/year privacy add-on offered by Google’s domain registration partner eNom failed when the domains were renewed, leaving the customer’s details exposed … 
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Google Flight search results now include “Happiness Factors”

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 12 2015 - 6:38 pm PT
2 Comments

Google today has announced a new partnership with Routehappy that adds more detailed information to Google’s Flight service. As part of the partnership, Google Flights will show what Routehappy calls “Happiness Factors,” which include things such as legroom availability, in-seat power, and WiFi.

Routehappy calls the information it sources “Flightpad” and claims that it is the most comprehensive and accurate database for flight information.

Routehappy researches and verifies flight amenities by aircraft, cabin, schedule, and route on a constant basis from hundreds of disparate sources to create Flightpad, the most comprehensive, accurate comparable product attribute dataset for flights worldwide. Flightmatch is a set of powerful and intelligent algorithms that dynamically match and score Happiness Factors, duration, and ratings for billions of possible flight combinations

The information will start to appear now in Google Flights results. You can view them yourself on the Google Flights site now.


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Google Code is joining the Google product graveyard, project creation disabled today

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 12 2015 - 1:26 pm PT
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Google has announced today that it is shutting down its project hosting service, Google Code. Its main competitor GitHub has long been seen as the ubiquitous code and project management platform, and even Google itself has long been moving its own open source projects “to meet developers where they are.” Google says that project creation on Google Code is already disabled…

Beginning today, we have disabled new project creation on Google Code. We will be shutting down the service about 10 months from now on January 25th, 2016. Below, we provide links to migration tools designed to help you move your projects off of Google Code. We will also make ourselves available over the next three months to those projects that need help migrating from Google Code to other hosts.

In August of this year, Google Code will become read-only, meaning users will not be able to edit or change existing projects. As the name suggests, however, users will be able to read and view project source until January 25, 2016 when the project hosting service will be closed completely. If you have a project that needs to be migrated off of Google Code, the company suggests you use the Google Code to GitHub exporter tool.

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9to5Toys Last Call: LG Chromebase $250, Verizon Moto G $30, iOttie Air Vent Mount $18, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 12 2015 - 12:24 pm PT
0 Comments

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

LG Chromebase 21.5″ all-in-one desktop computer (black): $249.99 shipped (Reg. $349.99)

Verizon prepaid Motorola Moto G (black): $29.99 in-store pickup only (Reg. $99.99)

iOttie iTap Air Vent Mount for Android devices: $18 Prime shipped (Reg. $30)

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 32 GB factory unlocked for GSM networks: $295 shipped (Reg. $500)

LG 34-inch UltraWide LED IPS Monitor w/ Thunderbolt: $750 shipped (Reg. $1,000)

Amazon free Android app of the day: DogWorld 3D (Reg. $2)

Nexus 5 Case, Spigen Slim Armor Case for Nexus 5: $9.99 shipped (Reg. $25)

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 4G LTE GSM N910A (Latest Model) 32GB unlocked for GSM networks: $479.99 shipped (Reg. $700)

LG G2 w/ 32GB flash storage, factory unlocked for GSM carriers: $210 shipped (Reg. $300)

More new gear from today:

Samsung 850 Pro 256GB 2.5″ Internal Solid State Drive $130 shipped (Reg. $180)

More deals still alive:

JBL Pebbles Plug and Play USB Desktop Speakers $25 shipped (Orig. $60)

New products & more:

Kitchenaid’s new Siphon Coffee Brewer brings fancy gourmet coffee to your kitchen

‘Google Feud’ combines popular game show with Google search autocomplete

Avatar for Mike Beasley Mar 11 2015 - 7:51 pm PT
2 Comments
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Surely by now you’ve seen various jokes about Google’s autocomplete feature, which suggests endings for your search terms based on what other people commonly search for, but now a new game will test your ability to predict those sometimes nonsensical queries.

The game is called Google Feud, and, as the title suggests, it works in basically the same way as the popular TV game show Family Feud. The game presents players with an incomplete search item and asks them to guess the top ten crowd-sourced recommendations Google makes to complete the phrase. The answers are pulled in via the Google API in real-time to ensure the most up-to-date information.


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Google releases its first Android Wear watch face: Street Art

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 11 2015 - 1:37 pm PT
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Google has today released its very first official watch face for Android Wear, and it’s called “Street Art.” The watch face features several artistic selections from the Google Art Project, and while you get a decent variety in terms of the art you might want on your wrist, the app doesn’t have many configurable options beyond that.

You can choose one of three display options: analog, digital, or minimal. Analog is a pretty standard analog set up, the digital face will put the time at the bottom of the screen, and the minimal face is actually an analog face that uses circles instead of numbers as not to distract the viewer from the artwork.

Head over to the Play Store to get the watch face for free.

Google releases new Chromebook Pixel 2 with USB C fast charging, wide angle camera: $999/$1299

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Mar 11 2015 - 11:08 am PT
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC8Xy3Q82hY]

Google just announced an updated version of its Chromebook Pixel notebook alongside a new online Google Store where it plans to sell all of its Google branded devices.

The big standout feature for the new Chromebook Pixel is USB C, the new USB standard that Apple just introduced on its new 12-inch MacBook this week. Google has one USB C port on each side.
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Alive and well: Google posts several new Google Glass engineering jobs on LinkedIn

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 11 2015 - 9:04 am PT
1 Comment

Google has really been shaking up the Glass project since it was graduated out of the experimental Google[x] lab and placed in its own division under Tony Fadell. We exclusively reported in February that Google was mixing up the Glass engineering team amidst this leadership shift, but that story focused mostly on the engineers that were being moved off the team to work in other Google divisions. Now we have further confirmation that the Mountain View company is indeed bringing on some fresh talent, as several job listings for Glass engineers have been posted to LinkedIn…
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Google launches first retail presence with the Google Shop in London, England

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 11 2015 - 6:22 am PT
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More than a year after a failed attempt at establishing a retail presence, Google has opened the first ever Google Shop, reports the Telegraph.

The store, to be called The Google shop, will sell the company’s range of Android phones and tablets, Chromebook laptops, and Chromecast TV services. The shop will hold tutorials showing consumers how to use the devices and hold demonstrations showing off key Google apps. It is the first time that Google has opened a shop under its own name.

The Google Shop is store-within-a-store in a flagship branch of Currys PC World, a large electronics retail chain on Tottenham Court Road. The road is gadget central in London, almost every other store on the street selling consumer electronics … 
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Google CFO Patrick Pichette announces retirement, transition to occur over next 6 months

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 10 2015 - 1:45 pm PT
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According to The Wall Street Journal, Google’s Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette is retiring from the company. Pichette joined Google as CFO and a senior vice president in August of 2008. Prior to joining Google, Pichette worked at Bell Canada for seven years and also was also a partner at McKinsey & Company.


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Former Google executive Michelle Lee to become head of U.S. Patent Office

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 9 2015 - 4:52 pm PT
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According to a new report out of Reuters, former Google executive Michelle Lee will become the head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The position, the U.S. Senate says, has been vacant for more than two years. President Barack Obama was responsible for choosing Michelle Lee to head the patent office, with his choice also having been recently approved by the full Senate.


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