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Google Now, according to several users and first noticed by Droid-Life, has today started to remind Pennsylvania residents to register to vote. The voter registration card appears to be showing up for anyone in Pennsylvania, and does not depend on whether you’ve recently searched for political news or information about the state.

Google+ for Android gets a Material Design makeover

Mark Hearn Oct 3 2014 - 2:21 pm PT

Google recently made some behind the scenes changes to Google+ and today the company gave its social media platform’s Android app a cosmetic overhaul, aligning it with its new Material Design gospel. The revamped software features a flat layout with bright almost Kool-Aid red accents that really pop.

Look how massive Google’s upcoming Nexus 6 is compared to other flagship smartphones (Video)

Jordan Kahn Oct 3 2014 - 8:17 am PT

[youtube=http://youtu.be/-qzLDwLWqqs]

After our report late last month revealing details on specs and design for the upcoming Motorola made Nexus 6, today we get a look at just how much bigger the device is compared to the previous generation and other devices. As a reminder, the video above uses the specs leaked in our report including a massive 5.92-inch display, which is a big step up from last year’s 5-inch display. The video above from Canoopsy takes a mock up of the device based on our previously leaked specs and compares to not only the previous generation Nexus but also other flagship devices from Samsung, LG and others.

Some users weren’t too happy about the larger display planned for Google’s upcoming next-gen Nexus, and rumors of a possible second 5.2-inch model have persisted following a device with similar specs appearing in benchmark results.

You can read all of the details about the upcoming Nexus 6 in our original report here.

Google unveils The Physical Web project, ‘an open web spec to walk up and use anything’

Jordan Kahn Oct 2 2014 - 11:22 am PT

Google today unveiled The Physical Web, a project that will allow anyone to walk up to a smart device and use it without downloading an app. Google UX designer Scott Jenson published details on what he described as “an open web spec to “Walk up and use anything.” Jenson says “The Physical web isn’t about replacing native apps, it’s about allowing interaction for the times when native apps just aren’t practical.”
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Google continues push for a kid-friendly internet, introduces location and age restrictive features to Google+

Mark Hearn Oct 1 2014 - 10:03 am PT

Google recently announced a new audience editing tool for Google+ that lets members of its social network set viewing filters based on age and location. Ideal for businesses with questionable content, this feature helps companies using Mountain View’s social network stay in compliance with foreign laws. In addition to helping companies keep their nose clean, this optional account setting helps Google make a case for a kid-friendly internet.

Google offering new Chromecast buyers 2 free months of Hulu Plus

Chance Miller Sep 29 2014 - 3:11 pm PT

When the Chromecast originally launched more than a year ago, early buyers were offered three free months of Netflix as a bonus. That offer quickly ran out, but various other deals have popped up since. Now, Google is giving anyone who buys a Chromecast from October 1st through the end of the year two free months of Hulu Plus.

Hulu Plus currently runs $7.99, meaning that you’re getting a $16 value with your Chromecast purchase. While Hulu may not have quite the selection of Netflix, that’s still a great offer when the Chromecast only costs $35 to begin with.

The offer will be redeemable through chromecast.com/offers during the set-up process for new Hulu Plus and Chromecast users beginning October 1st. Keep an eye on 9to5toys.com for the latest Chromecast deals, as well.

Moto X 2014: Hands-on and first impressions (Video)

Dom Esposito Sep 29 2014 - 2:54 pm PT

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I’d like to introduce you to what some people are calling the best Android smartphone in 2014. Motorola’s 2014 Moto X is a great looking smartphone that also packs a punch in specifications when compared to its predecessor. Though I can’t call it “the best” at the moment, I’ll let you know how it performs overall in our full review coming up in the future.

Until then, we’re getting hands-on with Motorola’s new flagship and giving you a taste of what it’s all about. There’s no doubt that the second generation Moto X will be a step up over the previous version, but there is one big difference that might keep you away from it…

Yelp, TripAdvisor, others team up against Google in new “Focus on the User” campaign

Chance Miller Sep 29 2014 - 1:51 pm PT

Google has long been the subject of antitrust complains and investigations in Europe, but now, some of the company’s competitors are starting to take note of its actions and step forward with their own issues. Yelp, TripAdvisor, and several other companies on Monday teamed up to launch a new website, Focus on the User, on which they express concerns regarding Google’s tendency to promote its own services at the expensive of its rivals. Which in turn, the companies argue, make it harder for customers to find Google’s competitors in results.

Waze app now automatically remembers where you park

Jordan Kahn Sep 29 2014 - 8:35 am PT

Waze, the maps and navigation app acquired by Google last year, today gets an update that introduces a few new features to help improve navigation through user feedback.

First up, the app will now automatically remember and save where you park when using it to navigate to your destination: ”Your parking location will be saved automatically. Plus, you’ll help Waze learn where to find parking & how much time to account.”

Other new features included in today’s version 3.9 update: the ability to “easily add or edit places, business or residential” as well options for adding arrival photos and driving info for specific destinations. In addition, the update adds search autocomplete worldwide for all users.

The Waze app is available now on Google Play for Android devices.

What’s New

Version 3.9 introduces Waze Places! Help make information on local places fresh & accurate for everyone.

– Easily add or edit places, business or residential

– Add driving related info like if a place has a parking lot or drive-thru

– Add arrival photos to help others find a place at any time

– Drive with Waze until you park: your parking location will be saved automatically. Plus, Waze will learn where to find parking and how much time to account

– Search autocomplete now worldwide

– Bug fixes

Google apparently aiming for tight control of Android Wear as crowdfunding campaign closed down

Ben Lovejoy Sep 29 2014 - 7:05 am PT

Google appears to be aiming for tight control over its Android Wear smartwatch platform as it asked crowdfunding site IndieGoGo to take down a campaign for a budget smartwatch, Com1, reports Android Police.

Com1 used stock images of Android Wear and the Android Wear trademark in its campaign page, which was taken down by IGG under the premise of an intellectual property infringement complaint by Google shortly after the campaign launched.

Since Google is known to have a relaxed attitude to use of its imagery, the motivation here appears to be control which companies are able to launch Android Wear devices …
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Google shows off locked-down user-interface for Android Auto

Ben Lovejoy Sep 29 2014 - 6:34 am PT

We knew back in June that Google’s in-car operating system Android Auto would run with a user-interface designed by Google itself. All developers are able to do is choose a particular template, then send the text and data from the phone app to the interface, so that everything appearing on the car display will have a consistent look & feel. It’s the same approach Google has taken with Android Wear and Android TV.

Arstechnica today pointed us to a developer overview for Android Auto providing a good sense of the visual appearance of the interface. What is shown above is the generic interface, on the left, and an example of how developers are able to customize it on the right …
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Latest Street View imagery spans Mason & Grand Ledge, Michigan, to Argentina & Malaysia

Ben Lovejoy Sep 26 2014 - 7:17 am PT

Google Street View cars have been busy, adding Mason and Grand Ledge in the U.S., expanding coverage of Malaysia and adding in Argentina, reports the Google Earth Blog – the Grand Ledge Opera House shown above. This follows Google adding Cambodia and Indonesia last month.

Google has already added historical Street View links to a few locations in Argentina, the dates indicating that Google has been collecting the imagery for around a year.

Google’s Street View cars are doing more than taking photos these days, the company using some of them to detect methane leaks from corroded pipes, landfill sites and other sources. The company’s more notorious form of data-collection – wifi sniffing – resulted in a $7M settlement, the U.S. Supreme Court rejecting its attempt to appeal the lawsuit.

European Union tells Google combining user data across services without opt-out is illegal

Ben Lovejoy Sep 26 2014 - 4:07 am PT

Google has come under fire from European Union officials on a number of fronts already. It’s been accused of unfair search results, been criticized for the way it has implemented the controversial ‘right to be forgotten‘ ruling and asked to stop describing apps which offer in-app purchases as ‘free.’

Reuters now reports that the EU believes Google is breaking the law in combining user data across unrelated services like Gmail, YouTube and Google Maps without offering users an opt-out, and the way in which it has consolidated 60 separate privacy policies into one …
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Google updates Play Store DDA with changes to customer support requirements, Google-handled VAT

Stephen Hall Sep 25 2014 - 12:52 pm PT

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Google has updated the Play Store Developer Distribution Agreement (DDA) with a few notable changes that developers will likely want to pay attention to (via Android Police). First on the list, developers are now required to respond to customer service requests for paid apps and in-app purchases within 3 days.

For paid Products or in-app transactions, you must respond to customer support inquiries within three (3) business days, and within 24 hours to any support or Product concerns stated to be urgent by Google. Failure to provide adequate information or support for your Products may result in low Product ratings, less prominent product exposure, low sales, billing disputes, or removal from the Store.

Secondly, a huge change to how European VAT is handled is definitely going to make developers’ lives much easier. While developers have long been expected to handle the VAT tax for EU sales, Google is going to take over this task as of January 1st, 2015. Determining, charging, and remitting this tax is going to all be up to the fine folks in Mountain View.

Where Google, the Payment Processor or the Authorized Carrier is required by applicable (local) legislation to determine, apply and pay the applicable tax rate, Google, the Payment Processor or the Authorized Carrier (and not Developer) will be responsible for applying and collecting and remitting the taxes to the appropriate taxing authority. If Google collects and remits value added taxes on customer payments (where required of Google by applicable local law) and this remittance fulfils the applicable requirements for value added taxes on those customer payments, such taxes will not be passed on to Developer by Google. Where Google is required to collect and remit taxes as described in this section, Developer and Google will recognise a supply from Developer to Google for tax purposes, and developer will comply with the relevant tax obligations arising from this additional supply.

Exclusive: This is ‘Shamu,’ Motorola’s upcoming Nexus 6/X

Stephen Hall Sep 24 2014 - 4:56 pm PT

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Google’s upcoming “Nexus 6” (some claim it will be called “Nexus X” because of Blade Runner) has long been rumored, and there have been many leaked specifications and details rolling out for quite some time now. But there hasn’t been much solid information about the device quite yet, leaving many who have passed on the iPhone 6 and OnePlus One hopelessly waiting to know if the wait will be worth it. For those of you who fall into this category, you’re in luck.

We can now corroborate previous rumors that its screen size nudges it out of smartphone territory, and closer to the likes of the recent push for phablet devices. If any smartphone is really a phablet, this is it—shipping with a behemoth screen that’s a massive 5.92-inches diagonally, with the device’s body being just a bit larger than that. 9to5Google has also learned that, as for the overall appearance of the device, it’s basically going to be a scaled up 2nd generation Moto X with some minor tweaks to make the larger size easier to use.

Moto 360 update rolling out with Bluetooth improvements, other bug fixes

Chance Miller Sep 24 2014 - 1:51 pm PT

Motorola this afternoon started rolling out a minor update to the Moto 360, bumping to build number KGW42R. The update, in the grand scheme of things is relatively minor, but does fix several bugs that have plagued Motorola’s Android Wear smartwatch since launch.

Google’s Currents iOS app redesigned & renamed ‘Google Play Newsstand’

Jordan Kahn Sep 23 2014 - 12:16 pm PT

Following the renaming of its Google Currents news reader app to “Google Play Newsstand” on Android back in February, Google has now given a similar treatment to the iOS app. The app, like the Android version earlier this year, also receives a makeover in the process with a streamlined design and new features:

What’s new
• New navigation helping you easily access the articles and editions you love including:
– Read Now – Easily access articles you subscribe to and discover new articles and editions all in one place
– Topics – Subscribe and get news from topics you are most interested in
– My Library – All of your subscriptions will be found here
• A brand new design giving you a streamlined news reading experience

The Google Play Newsstand app is available for free for iPhone and iPad on the App Store now.

Google expands local inventory ads to UK, France, Germany, Japan, Australia & desktop users

Jordan Kahn Sep 23 2014 - 10:31 am PT

Google just announced that it’s expanding its local inventory ads first launched for users in the US last fall to more countries starting today. The ads, which promote items from local nearby retailers to shoppers on Google, are now available in the UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, and France.

Google said today that it will also start showing the ads to desktop users:

We have also expanded support for store-only products and campaigns to desktop devices, enabling retailers to promote stores to the right customers at the right time. For example, you can prioritize showing local products to get shoppers in your doors during the weeks and days leading up to the holidays. As items go out of stock online and last-minute shipping costs increase, retailers who can provide cost-effective, quick in-store purchase options stand out in the crowd

Retailers can get an overview on the program here and users will in the countries above should start to see the local “in store” ads appear in search results.

YouTube once again looking to help fund original content

Chance Miller Sep 18 2014 - 5:10 pm PT

YouTube announced this evening in a blog post that, once again, it plans to start funding original content. Two years ago, YouTube announced plans to spend more than $100 million to get content creators to create YouTube channels on which to share videos. With that plan, they focused on bringing in outside entertainers. With this new push, however, YouTube says it will focus on helping the self-funded and self-published stars on the site grow.

Google X old hat, thinks Larry Page – proposes Google Y for even bigger challenges

Ben Lovejoy Sep 18 2014 - 6:23 am PT

You might think Google’s ‘moonshot’ lab, Google X, is pretty out there, with autonomous cars, smart contact lenses and balloon-served Internet. But co-founder Larry Page seemingly thinks the company needs to look even further ahead: The Information (paywall) reports that he has proposed a second lab, Google Y, to look at even bigger issues.

The idea came out out of an initiative Page created called Google 2.0, designed to create a new set of goals for the company, an approach similar to that taken by the late Steve Jobs at Apple in 2010, where he created an off-site strategy-planning meeting for the top 100 people in the company.

A little over a year ago, Google CEO Larry Page convened his direct reports, the company’s dozen or so senior vice presidents, for a project that would take up two days a week for a couple of months. About 100 other employees below the SVP rank also participated in the effort, dubbed Google 2.0 …

Google Glass companion app MyGlass for iOS updated w/ photo syncing, bug fixes

Chance Miller Sep 17 2014 - 2:25 pm PT

Google’s companion app for Google Glass was updated this afternoon on iOS with a few minor changes. The update to MyGlass bumps the app to version 0.8.0 and brings it closer to the generally more capable and more powerful MyGlass Android app.

Motorola VP of Product Management Punit Soni leaving the company

Chance Miller Sep 17 2014 - 2:06 pm PT

When Motorola was originally acquired by Google back in 2011, Punit Soni left his post at the Mountain View company and joined Motorola as the Vice President of Product Development. Today, however, in a post on Google+, Soni announced that he is departing position at Motorola Mobility.

Qualcomm exec named new head of Google Fiber

Zac Hall Sep 17 2014 - 7:47 am PT

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google’s ultrafast Internet service Fiber has a new leader running the show, and not just any new leader. Dennis Kish, a former executive at semiconductor company Qualcomm, is replacing Milo Medin to head Google Fiber going forward. The Journal reports that Medlin will remain “an adviser to the Google Fiber team,” but the Google vice president will begin work on other unspecified projects.

Kish was brought in for his operational expertise and will lead Google Fiber as the high-speed Internet and television service expands to new cities.

New Chrome for Android search feature answers questions as you type

Mark Hearn Sep 15 2014 - 9:36 am PT

You’ve got questions. Chrome for Android has answers. A new experimental feature lurking inside of Mountain View’s mobile browser will attempt to address your queries as you key them into your smartphone or tablet. Similar to the answers displayed at the top of Google’s search results , this new functionality will produce a card in response to your question.