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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
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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:

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
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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
1 Comment
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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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Android 5.1 made official, will begin rolling out to Nexus devices today

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 9 2015 - 2:26 pm PT
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Google today has made Android 5.1 Lollipop official. The update, available previously only on select Android One devices, brings a host of enhancements and changes to the operating system. A report earlier this week stated that the update would be made official this week, and it looks like that has now happened…
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Latest Drive for Android update hints at automatic photo/video back-up and Chromecast support

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 6 2015 - 6:18 pm PT
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Google rolled out an update to the Drive Android app earlier this week, and as usual, what it touted in the change log wasn’t all that changed. Android Police has dug deeper into the APK update file and noticed some changes that hint at major new features coming to the app. First off, it appears that Google Drive will take over the task of backing up photos and videos for users, a responsibility that has been held by Google+ since its inception.


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Google among hundreds of businesses urging US Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 6 2015 - 2:29 pm PT
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Apple, Google, Microsoft and hundreds of other businesses have joined together to urge the US Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage across the country.

The companies have filed what’s known as an amicus brief, a way for parties not directly involved in a case to make an argument for or against a particular decision by the court. The brief argues that there is a sound business case for consistency across the country, explained counsel Susan Baker…
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Jennifer Lawrence’s film ‘Serena’ hits Google Play Store 3 weeks before US theatrical release

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 6 2015 - 8:39 am PT
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Just a day after offering deals on some of its most popular content, Google today has listed Jennifer Lawrence’s upcoming film ‘Serena’ on the Play Store. The film is not slated to hit theaters in the United States until March 27th, but eager Lawrence fans can rent it on the Play Store now for $9.99 in SD or $10.99 in HD.


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WSJ: Google’s wireless network to launch in coming weeks, but only w/ support for Nexus 6

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 5 2015 - 4:53 pm PT
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According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Google’s upcoming wireless service will only work with the Nexus 6 and no other devices. Citing people familiar with the matter, the report doesn’t delve into too many details regarding Google’s reasoning for why it’s limiting the service to the Nexus 6.


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Softcard is shutting down March 31, Google Wallet to fill its shoes

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 5 2015 - 8:28 am PT
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Google announced a couple of weeks ago that it had acquired some technology and IP from Softcard, and today the company has taken to its website to announce that the service will be getting shuttered completely as of March 31st.

This news comes after rumors started spreading that Google would be re-introducing its payments service at Google I/O under the name “Android Pay“. Google’s Chrome and Android lead Sundar Pichai confirmed the existence of such a service earlier this week at Mobile World Congress.

The update, seen on Softcard’s website, reads:

Important News! We are pleased to let you know that Google has acquired technology from Softcard to power the next generation of mobile wallets.

What does this mean for you? As of 3/31 your Softcard app will no longer work. You can continue to use the Softcard app until 3/31. After that your Account will be closed.

To keep using a digital wallet app download Google Wallet now.

For more information read our FAQs.

For those that still use Softcard, the company recommends that you head over to Google’s website to download Google Wallet.