Google

Registration for Google I/O is officially open. The registration window will be available through April 18th, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. PDT. The event is scheduled to take place June 25th – 26th at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.

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Google has agreed to back a new initiative along with a host of Android manufacturers and all of the major U.S. cellular carriers that would require all smartphones manufactured after July 2015 to come with specific anti-theft features. The program is the latest attempt to prevent theft of smartphones, which some have blamed for increasing crime rates.

To this end, Google introduced the Android Device Manager application last year, allowing users to locate or wipe lost or stolen devices. Today’s agreement between the carriers and handset manufacturers essentially states that all parties will ship this type of system on new phones.

Specifically, the required anti-theft measures are broken into four kinds:

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[vimeo 91688685 w=700 h=365]

Matias Duarte — the man behind the design of every version of Android since Ice Cream Sandwich — recently took the stage with Joshua Topolsky of The Verge at the Accel Design Conference in San Francisco to participate in a fireside chat on topics ranging from Android, the future of mobile, design methodology, and wearables.

The video is available on Vimeo (via AndroidPolice), and includes 37 minutes of talk between the two. The beginning covers Duarte’s thoughts on design methodology, and he stresses that good design is always a middle ground between appearance, emotional appeal, and usability — perhaps a shot at iOS 7’s stark interface.
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This slim-bezel smartphone we have here, is said to be the LG isai FL headed to Japan at some point in the future. The press shots surfaced on Twitter via @evleaks and may hint at LG’s design philosophy for 2014.

This could indicate a possible design format for the Nexus 6 or LG G3. The isai FL features the same backside volume rocker design that was first introduced on the LG G2, but has a body style similar to the Nexus 5. Either way, there’s no way to ignore those beautiful slim bezels.

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According to a new patent application filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (via Galaxy Club), it looks like Samsung may be planning to take Google Glass head-on. While this isn’t the first time Samsung has filed a Glass-like patent, the application reveals what appears to be a cross between Google Glass and a Bluetooth headset. As odd as that may sound, there could be some practicality behind this idea.

As mentioned in the patent application, Samsung calls this device “Earphone,” but other rumors have suggested that this device could be called Gear Glass or Galaxy Glass. The patent doesn’t describe exactly what this device would be used for, but it looks like Google Glass may have some tough competition in the future.

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Update: Registration for Google I/O 2014 is officially open!

Google I/O 2014 registration was originally slated to begin last week, but in a post on Google+, the company announced that it was pushing the registration window back a week in order to further perfect the registration process. Registration for Google I/O 2014 will officially open tomorrow, April 15th at 4:00 PM PDT and will run through April 18th at 2:00 PM PDT.

While in past years Google has run I/O registration on a first come, first serve basis, it will be adopting a new strategy this time around. This year, people interested in attending can sign up during the 4 day window and once the window closes, Google will randomly select who will get the opportunity to purchase an actual ticket. This is very similar to the process Apple used for WWDC signups this year, as well.

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Google has recently updated its terms of service, informing users that incoming and outgoing emails are automatically being scanned to help create targeted ads. What better way to show you relevant ads, than reading your email?

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Google has officially announced via Google+ that Glass will be receiving KitKat later this week. Google is promising improved battery life and enhanced reliability, which will be welcome news to Explorers. Additionally, this update supposedly makes Glass easier to update in the future, which should help the device keep up-to-date with Android releases. Besides these under-the-hood enhancements, Google is adding various new features to the platform in this XE16 KitKat update.
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Since its release back in December, AllCast has become one of the most useful apps for owners of Google’s $35 Chromecast. This afternoon, the app, developed by Koushik Dutta, was updated with support for yet another source to beaming content from your Android device to your Chromecast. With this update, you can now stream content from your Google Drive account to your Chromecast, via the AllCast app.

The feature is still in an early beta, but it actually works quite well. The interface within the app still needs work, though, For instance, you simply see a list of all your videos and images, which can be rather cluttered for people with a lot of files stored in Drive. Folder support is in the works for the next update, however, according to Dutta.

In addition to Google Drive support, the update also includes various bug fixes, including a fix for those whose Chromecast and Android device were disconnecting after 30 minutes. The full changelog is below:

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A new rumor originating from AndroidPolice that seems to have some pretty solid evidence backing it up shows that Google might be working a slick new redesign for Android’s stock icons. The site posted the image above showing what appears to be redesigned icons for most of the core preloaded Android apps including Play Music, Books, Movies, and Games, alongside Google+, Calendar, People, Chrome, YouTube, Maps, Gmail, Hangouts, Camera, and the Play Store. As noted in the report, the icons to seem to more closely resemble the icons Google uses on the web for these services, which would make sense if Google aims to have a familiar look and feel across devices.
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Not enough space?

Google owns the biggest building by square footage in New York City, the 111 Eighth Avenue building previously owned by the Port Authority and one of the most wired buildings in the world. Google finalized the $1.9B purchase at the end of 2010 and has continued to also occupy office space in the Chelsea Market building across the street.

The WSJ reports (paywall) Google now…

wants to expand further in the city, launching a search for enough space to hold more than 3,000 employees, according to several real-estate executives familiar with the hunt.

The Internet firm has been in discussions with several landlords about leasing at much as 600,000 square feet in Manhattan—about half the size of the Chrysler Building. A space that large would represent a roughly 80% expansion for the company, which first established a small outpost in New York in 2000.

What’s interesting about this expansion plan is that Google hasn’t even filled out its Chelsea offices, still leasing many offices out to other companies and data centers that signed leases before the 2010 purchase.

Just a couple of weeks ago we reported that Google Now would soon add the ability to remind you when to pay your bills. Now, Android Police has discovered hints at yet another new feature potentially on its way to Google Now. According to the report, Google Now will soon be able to remember where you parked your car and help you locate it. The feature will recognize when you stop your car and get out, save the location, and present you with a Card showing you exactly where your car is.

The Card will be able to navigate you back to the location of your car, and should Google give you an incorrect location, there is a button below the map that offers the ability to correct Google. Based on the information available Android Police created the above mock-up, which shows how far away your car is, when you parked it, and of course, where you parked. In addition to information obtained from other sources, there are several hints that corroborate this report in the code of the most recent Google Search.

The report gives this rumor an 8/10 as a confidence rating, with it losing points due to “the unpredictable nature of pre-release features, and the fact that while there is teardown-based evidence for this, it is rather scant.” Nevertheless, it does seem likely that this feature is currently being developed by Google and does exist.

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After screenshots landed on Geek.com of a redesigned Gmail app that was reportedly in testing, we felt confident enough to report on additional details we received from sources about a “Google 2.0” redesign in the works. We also noted that Google was planning similar redesigns for some of its other apps that would make them more scalable for wearables and introduce additional gesture and voice features. Backing up our report, today,Geek posted another set of screenshots showing what is is apparently a similar redesign for Google’s Calendar app. 
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The Chromecast homescreen could in future emulate the MyCastScreen app

Reddit user asjmcguire has spotted code in a recent Chromecast update suggesting that the standby screen which currently displays only a clock and images chosen by Google could in future be rather more useful.

The code appears to allow for future support of weather and a slideshow of user-defined photos. If Google does indeed implement this, we can see the possibility of expanding it into a complete personalized dashboard, with information pulled from your Google Calendar and Google Now feed, and perhaps user-selected news sources. Come down in the morning, switch on your TV and see at-a-glance all the info you might want to start your day … 
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We’ve seen Google Glass be adopted in places such as operating rooms, football fields, basketball courts, and by the New York City Police Department. But this latest use case pushes the boundaries of Glass to an entirely new level. According to a new report out of VentureBeat, the U.S. Air Force’s “BATMAN” research team is currently beta-testing the use of Glass on the battle field at its Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. 

According to the report, one of the things the research team likes the most is the ability for the device to “access information very quickly.” Other things the team is fond of “are its low power, its low footprint, it sits totally above the eyes, and doesn’t block images or hinder vision,”

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