The Google Earth team announced today on the official Lat Long blog a new feature that makes it easy to share attractive screenshots depicting Google Earth explorations with Google+ circles. Run the recently released Google Earth 6.2 program, find a place you like, zoom in on the best possible scene and hit the “Share” button. This sends a snapshot of the 3D view to your Google+ stream. Note that you must sign into your Google Account in the Google Earth application to share screenshots with Google+ circles.
If you ever happen to have no messages in your Gmail inbox, you might notice Google’s subtle way of promoting Google Reader with the small ad for Google Reader (below). Now, Google has removed the “Try Google Reader” link and replaced it with a new message promoting Google+ (via Google Operating Systemblog). The message now reads, “No new mail! See what people are talking about on Google+” (pictured above). Within the new message is a link to the “What’s Hot” stream of Google+.
With the launch Google+, and its incredible growth (about 750,000 new users a day), many warned the growth was attributable to Google’s ability to pull in Google+ users. So, what happens when it runs out of Gmail users to bring in? Google may have already thought that through with a recent update to the Google account creation process requiring users to both create a Gmail account and automatically create a profile and Google+ account. In other words, not only is the company pulling in Gmail users, but also anyone that wants or needs a Google account for other services.
Google Drive has been rumored to launch for quite awhile as a competitor to the popular Dropbox. Google Drive will be a file locker for users to store files accessible from anywhere. Think Google Docs, but for files. Tonight, Wall Street Journalsaid Google would be launching Google Drive in the coming weeks or months, citing people familiar with the matter.
Google will most likely also release a Google Drive Android app. Users will be able to quickly grab the files they upload through the web and grab them for use on their phones.
WSJsaid Google Drive will run for free, but it will cost more money as more data is used like Google Docs. We will keep you updated as the launch draws closer.
If your Android device is rooted, and you use Google Wallet, beware. zVeloreported this evening that Google Wallet’s PIN verification system was cracked through brute force. If someone were to obtain your device and deploy this hack, the stranger would be able to access all of your financial information to make purchases. Yes, this crack was distributed online so it can get in the hands of hackers.
It is simple: If you use Google Wallet, do not root your device. Check it out in action in the video above.
Update: As noted by The Next Web, Google is already working on a fix for the bug.
In a new report from the Wall Street Journal this evening, the publication said the Justice Department is set to approve Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility as early as next week. This approval will give Google a good size push in to completing the acquisition.
The U.S. Justice Department is poised to clear Google Inc.’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. as early as next week, according to people familiar with the matter, giving Google a powerful armory of technology patents to deploy in the smartphone wars.
However, antitrust enforcers in the U.S. and Europe remain concerned about Google’s commitment to license Motorola patents to competitors on fair terms, those people said, and will closely monitor Google’s use of the patents. The European Commission has set a Monday deadline to decide whether to approve the acquisition.
Google is set to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, and it is doing so to primarily add Motorola’s large array of patents to its arsenal. Google is currently working to get approvals in Europe, too. A new report surfaced yesterday claiming that Google was going to send letters to European groups in order to smooth over the approval process. We will keep you updated.
Google released its latest update for Google+ for Android, bringing an array of new improvements. The update brings an overall speed increase that will make for a much more enjoyable experience, and the Google+ team added a ‘What’s Hot’ section to the app to see the latest buzz from friends. In the app, users can also see who +1’d posts and more. The full changelog is below.
Massive performance improvements across the app
What’s Hot!
View who +1′d a post or comment
Stream posts shortened to fit more per scroll
Infinite photos feed in ‘From your circles’
Stream no longer jumps to the top for an automatic refresh
You can download the update on the Android Market.
Google released a new version of Chrome today to the Stable channel. Chrome 17 [release notes] is an evolution bringing a couple nice enhancements, including new Extensions APIs, updated Omnibox pre-rendering, download scanning protection and some minor under-the-hood tweaks. Chrome’s download manager now checks executable files upon downloading by pinging Google’s servers for information on the originating site, which results in safer downloading. Omnibox, the browser’s address bar that doubles as the search box, has also been tweaked.
“When you start typing in the Omnibox and the URL autocompletes to a site you’re very likely to visit, Chrome will prerender the page, so it will appear faster–sometimes, even instantly–as soon as you hit Enter,” wrote Google in a blog post (this feature appeared in Chrome betas a month ago).
Do you want to be paid to surf the web using the Google Chrome browser? A new Google program called “Screenwise panel” (first reported bySearchEngineLand) is apparently providing users with that exact opportunity. In exchange, Google requests that you give up your privacy and provide your personal browsing data to Google. There has not been an official announcement, but there is already a signup page available here.
A few requirements for users of the service are listed on the signup page. You have to be 13 years of age or older to sign up (for Chrome and a Google account anyway), and —as mentioned before—you will have to give up your browsing data. Participants will get a $5 Amazon gift code after installing a special browser extension, and another $5 Amazon code for every three month period they spend in the program. The signup page noted a maximum payout of $25; however, Google noted in fine print that it would consider giving out additional gifts to users who participate for longer than a year.
Amazon is not actually a partner in the program. Instead, Google has enlisted Knowledge Networks as its “panel management partner.” A Google spokesperson reached out with a brief description and clarification of the program:
Hoping to continue gaining the necessary approvals it needs to acquire Motorola Mobility, Google is reportedly planning to assure wireless standards companies that it will license Motorola’s patents fairly. Bloomberg reported that Google will send the letters within the next day, and it will be signed by a Google lawyer to different groups.
The letter, to be signed by a senior Google lawyer, is likely to be sent within the next 24 hours, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the decision isn’t yet public. The move would come after a deadline passed for Google to submit remedies to the European Commission, which is evaluating the plan to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.
Bloomberg said that one of the groups Google plans to send a letter to include the European Telecommunications Standards Institute. Google will make such moves to help smooth over the acquisition.
One of the reasons Google is thought to buy Motorola Mobility is mainly for its large array of patents, which it will most likely license out if the deal goes through to gain more revenue. Google hopes that the acquisition continues for obvious reasons.
As our hearts prepare for Valentine’s Day, T-Mobile announced today a new sale happening this Saturday, Feb. 11. T-Mobile will offer its entire 4G selection free on a two-year contract. T-Mobile’s Android offerings include the popular Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Amaze 4G, HTC Wildfire 4G, Springboard tablet, HTC Sensation 4G, and more. (via TmoNews)
Will you be skipping down to the T-Mobile store—with the spirit of love in your heart– to purchase a device? You can read T-Mobile’s press release after the break.
The impressive Google Chrome for Android launched today in beta for Ice Cream Sandwich devices, and people began noticing quickly that the browser did not include Flash. It is a very interesting move by the Android team, considering Android’s default browser includes Flash. Moreover, it is something that some Android users have prided themselves on, especially since Apple’s iOS Safari does not include Flash. It is evident that the Android team hopes to move Chrome for Android to replace the stock browser and keep Android flash-less. Adobe confirmed that the new beta does not contain Flash in an effort to move to HTML 5 technologies.
As we announced last November, Adobe is no longer developing Flash Player for mobile browsers, and thus Chrome for Android Beta does not support Flash content. Flash Player continues to be supported within the current Android browser.
Do not think Chrome for Android is completely Adobe-less. The new browser features CSS Regions and a few other Adobe products that did make it into the new browser.
You may remember in November when Adobe announced it was official killing Flash on mobile devices and choosing to favor HTML 5 instead. This new beta continues that push.
Just as the Android team launched an official Android Developers page on Google+ last week, the Internet giant today announced a similar page for developers writing add-ons for the Google+ social platform. The Google+ Developers page is now alive and kickin’, ready to spread the message and keep developers in the loop with everything related to the Google+ platform.
Chris Chabol, the lead of the Google+Developer Relations team, noted in a blog post that the team plans to host regular hangouts every Wednesday at 11:30 a.m to 12:15 p.m PDT to talk about the +Platform. This helpful web resource will also allow people to share tips and tricks with the community. The platform team will also share announcements pertaining to Google+ developer events, platform updates, conferences and hackathons, as well as photos and videos of the events.
Americans were busy consuming record amounts of chicken wings and dip during yesterday’s big game, but they were also mobile web browsing more than ever before.
According to an official Google blog post, United States viewers used their tablets and smartphones to Google the Giants and Patriots, halftime acts and the best Super Bowl advertisements.
“In fact, around 41 percent of searches related to [Super Bowl ads] that were made during the game came from mobile devices, up from 25 percent for the same time the day prior,” wrote software engineer Jeffrey Oldham.
The Super Bowl XLVI streamed live for the first time this year, and a soaring spike in related searches came with the flagship circumstance. Predominate searches initially came from desktop devices, but mobile devices leaped forward as the four-hour game launched into full swing.
Read below for more details on Google and the Super Bowl.
Android 4.0.4 was leaked early for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, and —of course— in typical fashion, a user at the XDA-Developers Forums made a guide available to install the update. The update will presumably be rolling out over-the-air to the masses soon, but if you are up to the challenge, you can install it early with some trickery. Obviously, it is not for the feint-of-heart.
Android 4.0.4 brings many necessary updates, according to the unofficial change log posted on XDA. The update brings noticeably faster speeds, battery stats bug fixed, new radios, improved signal strength, a new power menu, faster boot time, increased volume, keyboard fixes, improved quick controls in the browser, updated News and Weather app, and much more. You can read the full unofficial change log after the break.
Update: One of our commenters (“Eddy”) gave us more insight into after the install.
I updated to 4.0.4 last night via CWM. I can confirm that, although root is initially broke after the update, you can use Wug’s GNexus Root Toolkit to re-root and flash CWM again.
Google reportedly poached an Apple employee to hire on its own staff. VentureBeatreported that Google hired Apple’s (now former) Senior Director of Product Integrity Simon Prakash for a secret project, where he would work perhaps alongside Google’s cofounder Sergey Brin. Prakash could even work under Motorola Mobility, whom Google is working to acquire, to head hardware projects.
Prakash worked at Apple for over eight years, and was responsible for the product quality across Apple’s products—from iPhones to Macs. To boost his reputation, you may recall that Apple was voted top among product quality in a recent JD Power and Associates Award for the sixth consecutive last year. It is obvious why Google would go after such an employee.
Prakash could be joining Google to work on Google X’s wearable heads up display glasses we showed you in December. Former Apple employee Richard DeVaul, a PhD. scientist from MIT with a focus on building wearable technologies, also left Apple to join Google X’s team. Is Google building up a huge and talented team for such a large product?
We have more iOS device executive departure news forthcoming, so stay tuned.
A report from GigaOM today noted Google is requesting permission from the Federal Communications Commission to test an unknown “entertainment device.” The trials will take place in the homes of Google employees, and see tests of the mystery device connecting to home electronic equipment over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to test it on home networks in real world situations. Other than that, there is not much we learned from the Google’s filing with the FCC from December (below).
We told you about one yet to be unveiled product we heard Google has in the works with our recent story about the company’s wearable glasses with a heads up display and computer interface. We will have much more on those this coming week…
Google is requesting the trials take place with up to 252 devices from Jan. 17 to July 17 in various locations including Mountain View, New York, Cambridge, Mass., and Los Angeles. Google’s description of the mystery product from the FCC filing is below:
The United States government traditionally prefers BlackBerries for their security features and it is known for barring its employees from sending classified messages using smartphones that do not meet security certifications. That is changing, though, as Uncle Sam is putting forth a test program that will see some U.S. officials, including troops, use smartphones running a modified version of Google’s Android software rather than a commercial one.
This modified Android version will be installed on commercially available phones sporting hardware that meets certain security criteria. According to“people involved in the project” who spoke to CNN, the forked Android version with added security features will let U.S. troops and government workers handle classified government documents over cellular networks. These secure devices will be first deployed to U.S. Army that has been testing touchscreen smartphones and tablets for nearly two years. Later, secure Android phones will arrive to certain federal agencies that will use them to send and receive government cables, the report noted.
European regulators want Google to stop introduction of a new privacy policy that consolidates user information from the search giant’s many services until it investigates possible privacy concerns. The new privacy policy is due to come into effect on March 1. According toReuters, the Article 29 Working Party, an independent body that brings together data protection authorities from each of the European Union’s 27 countries, and the EU’s executive European Commission, wrote in a letter to Google CEO Larry Page:
Given the wide range of services you offer, and the popularity of these services, changes in your privacy policy may affect many citizens in most or all of the EU member states. We wish to check the possible consequences for the protection of the personal data of these citizens in a coordinated way. In light of the above, we call for a pause in the interests of ensuring that there can be no misunderstanding about Google’s commitments to information rights of their users and EU citizens, until we have completed our analysis.
Google’s woes with the European Union also include the planned acquisition of handset maker Motorola Mobility, pending an antitrust review by the European Commission and another probe over an alleged misuse of its market position.
Google updated its Android stats —as they do every two weeks— revealing how much of each version of Android is installed across devices. Yesterday’s update revealed that Android’s most recent offering, Ice Cream Sandwich, is now installed on 1 percent of devices, which is pretty meh if you ask me. Ice Cream Sandwich saw its first debut on the Galaxy Nexus, and over time, it has seen both official and unofficial installs across many other devices.
Not much else has changed from the last stats refresh. Android 2.3 Gingerbread still holds the most installs with almost 60 percent across every device, while Android 2.2 Froyo follows close behind. Let’s hope Google can deploy Android 4.0 to devices very quick, because we would not want any of you to miss out! You can see the graph below for the full breakdown.
The Sprint version of the Galaxy Nexus is the only variant to officially see Google Wallet. However, a new report from Droid-Life said the GSM Galaxy Nexus with an AT&T SIM card can download and access Google Wallet from the Android Market, which is a sigh of relief for many users. As you can see in the screenshot above, courtesy of Droid-Life, there are not any hoops–just a simple download.
Google Wallet gives users the ability to use the built-in NFC chip to pay for goods. Google Wallet was first introduced on the Sprint Galaxy S, and it saw a quick rollout to many retail outlets.
Last year, we broke news that Verizon Wireless was blocking the use of Google Wallet on its version of the Galaxy Nexus to later push its own payment platform. It was not clear if Sprint and AT&T would do the same. We now know that the Sprint version will come with it officially paired, and it can at least be downloaded on the GSM AT&T variant.
Google is continuing its push on Google TV by rolling out Android 3.2 to Sony’s Google TV while the update to the Logitech Revue is on its way, GigaOm pointed out. The 3.2 update is not too major, but it does bring some nice updates, such as: Google TVs now boast hardware acceleration, HTTP live streaming that helps with HTML 5 live video, changes to the way Google TV identifies channels to make it easier for developers, and lastly a few user interface changes to Google Chrome.
That is all fine and dandy, of course, but what we really want is Ice Cream Sandwich to roll out to Google TVs soon. Android 3.2 will be the last major update before Ice Cream Sandwich operating system lands, but smaller updates will obviously ensue. We should be seeing ICS land by the end of the year, hopefully. Perhaps Google will give us a little more info at their Google I/O conference, so stay tuned!
Research firm comScore is out with its latest numbers for the month of December, giving us a glimpse at the current United States mobile market. The report indicates that mobile sales are up-and-rising for the holiday month. comScore found that Google’s Android is leading with a 47.3-percent OS market share (rising 2.5 points), which brings the company close to a notable 50 percent. Perhaps we will see the feat reached in February or March. On the other hand, Apple’s iOS is in second with a 29.6-percent market share (rising 2.2 points).
When it comes to device market share for both smartphones and non-smartphones on the OEM side, Samsung tops the charts with a 25.3-percent market share, which did not change from the previous month. LG and Motorola place second and third, both losing a small amount of market share during December. All three manufacturers play a crucial role in selling Android devices, which gives Android a large lead. Apple comes in fourth in market share, and now boasts 12.4-percent of total mobile subscribers (rising 2.2 points).
The U.S. still ranks in as one of the world’s most important places for smartphones, with 97.9 million people owning smartphones during Q4 2011. When it comes to worldwide sales, Research Firm IDC yesterdayreleased its estimates for December. They found that Apple passed LG to become the third-largest smartphone manufacturer worldwide, with an 8.7-percent market share in Q4 2011, and a 6 percent market share in 2011 as a whole. Nokia remains in the top spot with 26.6-percent, followed by Samsung who has 22.8-percent. You can check out the graphs after the break for the full run-down:
The technology world is abuzz with great minds, great innovators, and great…men?
According to an official Google blog post from this morning, women hold less than one third of the world’s engineering gigs, despite the female sex making up more than half of the global population. Moreover, fewer than 15 percent of United States female students take Advanced Placement computer science tests. The same rule goes for high-tech regions of the world, such as Israel.
The breach between males and females in the technology industry leaves room for controversy, and such dissension reared its head at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The annual event featured scantily clad “booth babes” hired by some companies to promote their —well— booths. The practice led many to wonder if it is an effective marketing strategy or a reflection on gender gaps in technology.
The hot issue further propelled when ZDNet posted a picture of a female developer at CES 2012, but the publication referred to her as “The Saddest Booth Babe In The World” due to her somewhat emotionless face during the moment the photograph was snapped. Critics lambasted the photo caption because the woman looked nothing like a typical show booth babe, but rather a bored developer with no one around for presenting.
A female group of engineers at Google in Israel is determined to resolve this widespread setback in the industry by encouraging women to enter the technology realm. Google initiated the “Mind the Gap!” program in 2008 with the Israeli National Center for Computer Science Teachers to embolden girls with technology, science, and math-centric education. The program establishes monthly school visits to the Google’s Israel office and tech conferences at various universities to help the girls learn technology, computer science, and its applications…
YouTube boss Salar Kamangar sat down yesterday with AllThingsD’s John Paczkowski at the “D: Dive Into Media” conference to talk content, the future of video entertainment and the big picture. He stressed the apps cable companies are building for Google TV let them control the entire experience, from the interface to delivery methods to monetizing mechanism.
As for YouTube, a global video delivery platform used by over 800 million people, it has the eyeballs and the audience. What it lacks is the minutes, as compared to traditional broadcast. The executive confirmed plans to “channelize” YouTube with more interactive and niche content than available on any other platform.
The website is already moving from individual kitten clips to groups of videos (channels), he said. Moreover, in the near future, YouTube wants to become a platform to enable “game-fying” of video content with six dimensions of entertainment…
