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Google may be publicly denouncing some of the NSA’s recent tactics, but the search giant might be closer to the agency than it has led people to believe. A chain of emails between Google execs and former NSA director Keith Alexander suggests that the company may have downplayed how closely the two have worked together in the past.

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According to a new report out of TechCrunch, Google is working to add Google Wallet functionality to Glass. Citing a “source close to the company”, the report claims that Google is currently testing the feature internally, but that it hopes to make it public in the near future. Currently, Glass users have to be signed in to a computer on Google’s corporate network in order to install the app on their Glass.

Like many features on Glass, Google Wallet will work almost exclusively with voice commands. Users will be able to simply ask Glass to “Send money”, then have the ability to swipe through the interface a view times and your done. One of the most common uses for this would be the ability to send your share of a dinner bill to a friend, much like with the Google Wallet integration in Gmail.

The fees for using Wallet with Glass will be the same as other services, with Google taking a 2.9 percent fee for all transactions. Google is certainly looking to add more practical use cases to Google Glass, and the ability to pay with Wallet will certainly come in handy for users.

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Following various leaks and rumors, BGR has obtained a photo of Amazon’s upcoming smartphone. While the device itself is still a month or more away from being officially unveiled, the above image is the first to show off the device without a protective case obscuring the design.

The device itself is similar in appearance to the Nexus 4, which received praise for its understated design. As Amazon’s phone will likely compete on price, it isn’t a surprise that its materials will shy away from the flashy metallic materials of devices like the iPhone or the HTC One M8.
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Update: It turns out Google Search/Now on Android is also getting a ton of other new features in addition to the ability to find a parked vehicle (via SearchEngineLand):

• Offline support: Google Now cards will remain loaded when users lose their internet or mobile connections
• Indoor maps: in “some malls” Google Now will offer a searchable directory of stores (US + Japan) and then take users to an indoor map of that mall. We don’t know which particular malls but probably the ones available on the US and Japan lists here. In addition Google has individual store maps (probably coming later) for some retailers such as Best Buy, Home Depot, Ikea and others. It doesn’t have everyone store in those chains however.
• Product search reminders: If you’ve done a previous search for a product online or on a mobile device and you happen to be near a store that carries that product, Google will show you a Now card (kind of like a reminder/notification) about the product.

Google this afternoon has updated its Search app on Android with several new features. The update bumps the app to version 3.4 and has some pretty useful features within it. First off, it adds a Google Now card that offers the ability to automatically detect where you’ve parked and help you find that spot later, a feature that was rumored earlier this month.

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Google just blessed our inbox with an invitation to an Intel- co-sponsored media event in San Francisco where the topic will be Chrome OS. Set to take place on May 6th, the mega-chip maker will have a panel of speakers, which include Google’s VP of product management Caesar Sengupta and Intel’s own VP and general manager of the mobile computing group, Navin Shenoy.

The timing couldn’t be better for the Education-heavy Chromebook market – educators tend to make big buying decisions over the summer so vendors will want to strut their best stuff.

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Over the past few weeks we’ve seen rumor after rumor regarding new features for Android, as well as interface tweaks. And with Google I/O 2014 right around the corner, we don’t expect them to slow down at all. Android Police this evening published a new report detailing some more design changes coming to Android, as well as a new big feature.

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Earlier today longtime Senior Vice President of Engineering and head of Google+ Vic Gundotra made a surprise announcement that he was leaving the company. While there was no hint that anything at Google would be changing other than a possible promotion within the Google+ team to replace Gundotra, TechCrunch is out with a report claiming the executive shift will come alongside big changes for the Google+ service Gundotra helped create.

The report doesn’t offer much in the way of specific changes you can expect, but it does say that Google will be shifting the Google+ team under the Android team and “building “widgets, which take advantage of Google+ as a platform, rather than a focus on G+ as its own integral product.” It also says that Google will no longer require all products have Google+ integration:
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It looks like Google is allowing anyone to purchase Glass. Normally you’d need to receive an invite to happily spend $1,500 on this futuristic device, but according to a recent post on Reddit (via Engadget), Mount View’s popular wearable is available to anyone willing to pony up the dough.

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According to a report from mobile ad network provider Opera Mediaworks (via ComputerWorld), Android devices received more ad traffic than iPhones and iPads for the first time ever in the first quarter of 2014. The data shows that Android devices, including both phones and tablets, accounted for 42.8 percent of mobile ad impressions, while iOS devices accounted for slightly lies at 38.2 percent.

iOS devices still led in terms of revenue, however, receiving 52 percent of ad revenue. Android devices climbed to 33.5 percent of revenue, up from 27 percent a year ago. In terms of location, the United States still drives the most mobile ad traffic with 50.6 percent. Asia-Pacific countries were second with 23 percent, and European countries came in with 13 percent.

The sheer volume of Android devices obviously helped Google’s operating system take the crown for the most ad traffic. The IDC reported that Android smartphones made up 78% of all smartphones shipped, compared to 17.6% for iPhones. The fact that iOS led in revenue, however, still shows that iOS is still the more enticing operating system for developers and advertisers. For now.

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Back on Cyber Monday, Motorola cut the price of its flagship Moto X to just $350, causing a frenzy all across the web and even prompting the company to offer it again just a month later and several times since. As noticed by Android Police, Motorola has dropped the price of the RepublicWireless Moto X to just $349, yet again.

Motorola hasn’t made any official announcements regarding the price drop, but if you head over to the company’s website you can see that the price has dropped with no indication of it being a temporary sale.

On Amazon, the device is also priced the same, but it applies to the unlocked GSM model that will work with AT&T and T-Mobile, not RepublicWireless. That’s even a better deal: $350 for 16GB and $400 for 32GB. The developer edition of the device is still set at its normal $449.99 and it’s unclear if it will receive a price cut.

Nevertheless, if you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to snag Motorola’s darn-good Moto X flagship, now’s your chance.

• Moto X from Motorola
• Moto X from Amazon

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Google Glass hasn’t always enjoyed the best of public images. There can’t be too many products that have found themselves banned  in everywhere from bars to workplaces to cars (that one later reversed), with governments raising privacy concerns and even noted fans wondering whether the product may be doomed.

Forbes staff writer Jeff Bercovici wondered whether early Glass advocate Robert Scoble was right in accusing Google of having botched the PR. Marketing head Ed Sanders, perhaps predictably, says no.

The backlash is a result of the way Google decided to roll out Glass, he says — but it was a deliberate decision to do it that way, with a limited public beta surrounded by a nimbus of hype and curiosity. “Yes, it was an unusual step of doing it so exposed, and risks come with that,” he says. “We knew there would be downsides, but we also knew and know there would be tremendous upside” …

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While testifying in the Samsung vs Apple case on Tuesday, it was revealed that Google has agreed to help Samsung defend itself against Apple in its current patent-infringement case. According to a report from Re/Code, citing deposition testimony from Google lawyer James Maccoun, Google has also agreed to partially or fully indemnify Samsung for any loses it may suffer on its claims.

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History has taught us that manufacturers typically don’t discuss hardware sales and shipments publicly, but some firms will occasionally issue press releases sharing statistics when boasting about success. However, the folks at Motorola Mobility have taken a much more casual approach to outlining its figures. Today, the soon to be Lenovo-owned company tweeted that it shipped 6.5 million devices globally during Q1 of 2014.

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LG is sharing photos of its upcoming Android Wear-powered smartwatch in champagne gold, proving that the gold device fad extends beyond smartphones. Shown in photos published to both LG’s official website and their Facebook page, the images depict a device that hasn’t gone overboard with the color. The band is a tasteful white, while the gold acts more as a highlighting accent on the smartwatch itself.

Android Wear is expected to be a major part of Google I/O 2014. The OS already available to to developers, so it’s a good bet that we’ll see release dates for various devices announced. Besides the LG G Watch, Motorola has already announced the Moto360. Rumors also continue to swirl about a “Nexus” smartwatch, which would likely be the developer device given to attendees of the Google I/O conference and sold on the Google Play Store.
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While handling some customer support, the Google Nexus Twitter account has apparently tweeted out a screenshot of a redesigned Dialer app by accident. The interface does not look all that different. The most noticeable change is that the action bar at the top of the interface blue in the leaked screenshot, whereas it is gray in the most recent build of KitKat.

Changing the action bar from gray to blue fits with Google’s recent trend of beautifying all of its apps with more color. We’ve seen more colorful Android app icons leak in recent weeks, in addition to a redesigned Gmail app and Calendar app.

Google is putting its focus back on design with the latest version of Android and at this year’s Google I/O. It would certainly make sense to introduce app redesigns at the event, too. And it looks like we can expect a new Dialer app to be one.

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Earlier this year, Google acquired smart thermostat maker Nest for the huge sum of $3.2 billion. This led to speculation that the two companies would work together, with Google using its online retail outlet to boost sales of product. Since the acquisition, however, nothing has come to fruition between the companies, with both continuing business as normal. It looks like, however, that Google may soon start to sell the Nest thermostat via the online Play Store.

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An iMessage sent to Glass

Google announced today that it’s about to bring SMS for iPhone and a new Calendar Glassware to Google Glass users following an update to KitKat and the introduction of new features earlier this month. First up, iPhone users will now be able to receive text messages on Glass but, as Google points out, they “won’t be able to reply from Glass due to some limitations with iOS.” The support for SMS is a feature that Glass users have long had access to when paired to an Android device.

SMS for iPhone – iOS fans, by popular demand you can now get texts from your friends on Glass. Get started by going to your iPhone’s Bluetooth settings and turning on “Show Notifications” for your paired Glass. When you receive a new text message, it will appear as a notification on Glass. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to reply from Glass due to some limitations with iOS. (Android fans, don’t feel left out – you’ve got SMS on Glass already.

You’ll begin receiving notifications as long as the “Show Notifications” option for your paired Glass is selected from Bluetooth settings. Google also announced today that it will release Calendar Glassware available in the MyGlass tab:
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It would be surprising if Google didn’t unveil a new Nexus device before the end of the year. Currently, the Nexus 10 is still out of stock and Google’s Nexus 5 is beginning to show its age. If anything, we hope to see a Nexus 6 in the near future, but Google might be working on a frugal Nexus smartphone as well.

According to Chinese site MTKSJ.com (via GforGames), Google may be working with chip maker MediaTek on a budget Nexus device that could be priced as low as $100. This could really shake things up in the mobile market and would be a direct competitor to ex-Google company Motorola and its Moto G smartphone. The Nexus line is already known for its low-priced devices with high-end specifications, but a $100 Nexus device could definitely broaden Google’s mobile market share.

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