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When Google released its Android distribution numbers for December earlier this week, Lollipop was notably missing from the chart as it had not gained enough of the market to appear. In a move that will slowly start to get Lollipop onto more devices, however, Samsung this evening has started to rollout its Lollipop update to the Galaxy S5. At this point, though, the update is only rolling out to the Poland Galaxy S5 variant (via SamMobile).

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Download links for the OTA update release of Android 5.0.1 are popping up on the internet following last night’s release of the AOSP download links for WiFi-only devices. Last night’s release was for the Nexus 9, 2013 WiFi-only Nexus 7, and Nexus 10, and the links that are popping up tonight are for much the same. But rest assured, if you’re waiting to update your cellular-enabled device, it’s most likely not going to be too long before you can grab the latest build. Below you’ll find the download links for the 5.0.1 OTA and a couple guides to get you started…

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Google’s Update Wednesday regiment is in full effect this afternoon as the company has rolled out updates to a handful of its Android apps. While many of the updates contain merely bug fixes, several are somewhat notable.

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Earlier this year, a report emerged claiming that Google was hard at work making its services more appropriate and accessible for children. The report noted that the company wanted to overhaul its online products to allow children to legally use them. USA Today has now published a new report, confirming the rumors earlier this year regarding specific services catered to young kids. Google VP of Engineering Pavni Diwanji told the news outlet that Google is currently working on versions of its most popular products, such as Search and YouTube, for kids aged 12 and under.

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It has always been one of the biggest benefits of going with one of Google’s Nexus devices: It means getting Android updates before basically everyone else. But with the return of Google offering its flagship Nexus on all major U.S. cellular carriers, it comes as no surprise that they want to have a bit of a say in that update process. And while that might not be a completely bad thing, it does mean that getting access to the latest versions of Android—while still likely faster than if you had any other phone—could be slower…

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Material Design–announced at Google I/O 2014 in June of this year–was introduced as Google’s new way of presenting a coherent, beautiful user experience across apps, and one of the first pieces of software to exemplify the new look is the latest release of Android, version 5.0 Lollipop.  But Google is going beyond Android and has already started incorporating this design scheme within many of its other products, including the online interface for Google Docs, for instance. One place that hasn’t seen a Material overhaul (yet) is Google’s main search engine, but thanks to designer Aurélien Salomon, we have an idea of what it might look like–and it’s gorgeous.

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The roof terrace of Google’s London HQ

New corporate tax measures aimed at preventing multinational companies making profits in the UK and then shifting them overseas where they incur lower taxes could potentially impact a number of tech companies, including Google, Apple and Amazon.

Dubbed “the Google tax,” the British government announced a new 25% tax on profits generated in the UK and then “artificially shifted” overseas, reports the BBC … 
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Google announced on Wednesday that it has fundamentally changed its reCAPTCHA security feature by removing CAPTCHAs entirely and adding a one-step solution for users to prove they aren’t robots. Instead of typing a few warped words, the new version of reCAPTCHA simply has a box labeled “I’m not a robot” that users can hover over.
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Google this evening has pushed out an updated build of Android Lollipop to the Android Open Source Project. Albeit a minor version number increase, Android 5.0.1 is now showing up in AOSP, carrying the build number LRX22C. While it’s unclear exactly what has changed in this build from the initial Android 5.0 release, we don’t expect too many noticeable additions, with most of the improvements likely coming in the form of under-the-hood bug fixes.

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Google’s diminutive and cheap Chromecast is making strong headway against its competitors according to a report today by Parks Associates. Priced at $35 but now going for just over $20, the dongle, which is controlled by Apps on iOS and Android devices rather than a traditional remote has passed the almost forgotten Apple TV and is closing in on the king of streamers, the Roku.  Roku and AppleTV represented two thirds of the market last year but with entrants like Chromecast and Amazon’s Fire TV/Stick, the two dropped to around half the market.

The research finds Roku is still the leading brand with 29% of sales, but Google Chromecast (20%) has supplanted Apple TV (17%) in second place. New entrant Amazon Fire TV is in fourth place with 10%. Consumer content choices are also increasing, with Showtime and Sony planning to launch their own OTT video services to compete with Netflix and HBO.

“Nearly 50% of video content that U.S. consumers watch on a TV set is non-linear, up from 38% in 2010, and it is already the majority for people 18-44,” said Barbara Kraus, Director, Research, Parks Associates. “The market is changing rapidly to account for these new digital media habits. Roku now offers a streaming stick, and Amazon’s Fire TV streaming stick leaves Apple as the only top player without a stick product in the streaming media device category.”

Sticks are where it is at it would seem. Conversely, Google’s Nexus Player, introduced in October, has yet to make a blip but it might also show up in results next year.

Google this evening has announced a trio of updates to its Drive suite of apps. First off, Google Docs has been updated to add the ability to merge the cells of a table. In order to merge cells in Docs, simply highlight the cells to be merged, then right-click and choose the “Merge cells” option from the pop-up menu.

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After revealing pricing last week, Google has today opened signups for Fiber in Austin, Texas. Google is starting its Austin rollout by opening signups in the southern and southeastern sections of the city. The company will expand the rollout to other portions of Austin “on an ongoing basis.” Both residents and small businesses in the pre-determined Fiberhoods can signup for the service today.

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Google and Santa have a lot in common. They know when you are sleeping/awake. They also give you cool stuff but also freak you out a little bit sometimes.

Well, Google also keeps tabs on Santa and for the umpteenth consecutive year Google is following Santa on his round the world trip from the North Pole on Christmas.  This year’s tracker has some fun games to play every day but this year you might actually learn a thing or 2:

This year, you’ll find an edu touch — new geography games let you explore local holiday traditions, while a new coding project teaches basic JavaScript as you help Santa and the reindeer navigate the map. Learn how to say “Santa” in different languages, and connect with nonprofits around the world.

Of course, fan favorites are making a return this year — you can send a call from Santa to your friends and family, display Santa’s journey on the TV screen with Chromecast, and play gumdrop and reindeer racing games. You’ll be able to play each game on desktop, mobile web, or on the Santa Tracker Android app.

Jump on board with the Android app, Chrome extension or website or follow Google Maps on Google+, Facebook and Twitter in the countdown #tracksanta.

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Our friends at 9to5Toys are busy excavating the Internet to find the latest Cyber Monday deals for any and everything and to help make things easier for you guys we’ve singled out some of the best Google deals that you’ll find on the web. Here’s a look at some of our favorite items currently on sale during this web-based holiday.

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Google is starting out Cyber Monday with up to 50% off “top titles” including apps, games, music, movies, books, and more on the Play Store. Deals include a wide range of content like movies including The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in HD for $9.99 down from the regular $17.99 price and Fight Club for $4.99 down from $9.99.
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The WSJ reports that Google will be launching a new model of Glass next year, with a new low-energy Intel chip designed to increase battery-life. The processor in the current model model is a Texas Instruments one, the headset battery lasting around one day of typical use.

Intel currently makes its own wearable device, the fashion-oriented MICA bracelet aimed at women, its low-energy chip offering a claimed two days of battery-life …

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According to the latest data from IDC, Google, for the first time ever, has overtaken Apple in United States schools. The research firm claims that Google shipped 715,000 Chromebooks to schools in the third quarter, while Apple shipped 702,000 iPads to schools. Chromebooks as a whole now account for a quarter of the educational market (via FT).

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