Stay up to date on news from Google headquarters. Be the first to learn about plans for Android, Google Plus, Google Apps, and more!
Stay up to date on news from Google headquarters. Be the first to learn about plans for Android, Google Plus, Google Apps, and more!
The founders of Google — Larry Page, and Sergey Brin — are offering NASA $33 million to restore their Hangar One. Hangar One was once the building that housed NASA planes, and is currently in really bad shape and needs to be restored to protect the environment. How nice of Google, but there’s a catch. Mercury News reports:
Without a covering, the hangar’s frame and foundation will be exposed to the elements. That’s a problem because there are toxic materials in the soil underneath the hangar that could leach out because of rain exposure, Siegel said. Additionally, the Navy has set up some $12 million worth of scaffolding to remove the hangar’s skin. If supporters are able to put a new covering on the hangar right after that process ends, that scaffolding can be left in place. If not, it will have to be removed and then replaced later at a cost of some $1 million to $2 million more, Siegel said.
The Google founders want to use 2/3 of the NASA hangar to house their 11 jets, one of which is currently being sold. The deal hasn’t yet gone through, and still needs approval from necessary NASA/Navy boards. If approved, the restoration project will begin next summer.
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Coby Electronics, the maker of cheap Android tablets and other electronics, has announced five new Android tablets that will run the new Ice Cream Sandwich. The tablet will come in five different screen variants: 7-inch MID7042 (4:3 aspect ratio), 8-inch MID8042 (4:3 aspect ratio), 9-inch MID9042 (4:3 aspect ratio), 9.7-inch MID9742 (4:3 aspect ratio), and a 10-inch MID1042 (4:3 aspect ratio). The tablets will be landing in the first quarter of 2012, after seeing a debut — presumably with a ton of other Android tablets — at CES 2012.
All five variants will pack a 1 GHz RM Cortex A8 processor and multi-touch capacitive touch screen underneath.Other specs include 1GB of RAM, expandable memory up 32 GB, Wi-Fi, and 1080P HD playback. There’s no word on if this device will actually have the Android Market pre-loaded or what the actual price will be. We’ve posted the full press release after the break. (via AndroidCentral)
Have you ever been curious to find out who spends the most money advertising on Google Search? AdAge has put together a list of Google’s top ad-spot buyers. If you’re a frequent Google Search-er you’re probably familiar with a lot of them, and probably have clicked on their ads before.
The media company IAC has earned the top-spot, spending $174,000 from January 2011 – September 2011. IAC owns popular online media properties like Match.com, Dictionary.com, Excite, and more. Amazon holds the second spot, with $118,000 spent within the same time period. It’s worth noting, pointed out by AdAge, that the fourth quarter is typically the most busiest time for advertising. These numbers will be much higher for 2011 as a whole.
Search still proves to be Google’s number one source of income. You might be thinking Android would, with 500,000 activations a day, but you have to remember Google makes Android open-source for all to use. All Android does for Google is draw traffic to their web products, which in turn could drive revenue through ads — Search being an example. Curious to see who else made the list? Check it out after the break.
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Works now for both Android and iPad.
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Among the important things he talked about was Android and iOS at 41 minutes in.
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Silicon Filter grabbed some pertinent quotes from Marissa Mayer’s interview today at LeWeb on Mobile, Local, Social (SoLoMo). We’ll have the video up when it becomes available. Notables:

Google has just pushed out an update to their Google+ Android app, bringing it up to date with the iOS app that was recently updated with full resolution photo uploads, enhanced search features, and +1s for photos. On top of those features, the Android app also received +1s for comments, typing and online indicators for Messenger convos, video support for Instant Upload, and the ability to start conversations by typing a phone number.
Another new addition is the ability to open links to posts and profiles within the app and there is also the usual “stability improvements and bug fixes”. As always, you can grab it from the Market here. Google also updated the Google Goggles and Google Maps Android apps today.
AllThingsD’s review columnist Walt Mossberg has graced us with his Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime review this evening, giving the device a pretty high score. Mossberg, a renowned reviewer, calls the Prime the best Android tablet he has tested. Mossberg compliments the Prime on its fast quad-core Tegra 3 processor and keyboard dock which can be purchased separately.
Just as Joanna Stern from The Verge said, Mossberg isn’t too happy with the software on the Prime. He calls it sluggish and not as complete as the iPad. For his final words, Mossberg says the iPad is still the best tablet out there, but if you’re interested in Android and a physical keyboard this tablet is for you. Be sure to read his full review.
I still believe the iPad 2 is the best overall tablet available. However, if you’re looking for a model using Google’s Android interface and are yearning for a well-designed, easily integrated keyboard solution, or want to play more power-hungry games, the Transformer Prime is a good choice, as long as you can tolerate its software limitations.
The Prime launches in the United States on December 15th. The 32GB model will be available for $499, and the optional keyboard dock will be available for $149. We look forward to getting our hands on this!

Google has just pushed out an update to the Google+ iOS app compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, bringing it up to version 1.0.7.2940 and introducing a few new features including full resolution photo uploads, search, and photo +1. Also included are the usual bug fixes and performance enhancements. As always, you can grab the update from the App Store now or download the free app if you haven’t already.
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Mark Zuckerberg gives us a look into what he really thinks about Google+ in a small clip from this one-hour special on Facebook’s creator aired by the BBC (via TNW). When asked if Google+ is a threat or if he ‘takes it seriously’, Zuckerberg responded (skip to 54:32):
Yeah Google’s a great company, and I think we want to look at and learn from everything that they do. But at the same time, people have shared a lot on Facebook and have already told a lot of their life story on Facebook. And we think that we have by far better tools for doing that.
Every 14 days, Google publishes an updated pie-chart laying out all of the details about what Android versions are most prominent. Yesterday’s chart reveals that Android 2.3, or Gingerbread, now makes up 50.6% of Android’s user base, followed by Android 2.2, Froyo which has 35.3%. Interestingly, there are still close to 12% of users on lower levels of Android. Where the shocker really comes in to play is the percentage of users that are rocking Honeycomb, the Android version exclusive to tablets.
Figures also updated by Google’s team, was a pie-chart showing different screen sizes that feature Android. The chart showed that 3.1% of all Android devices are tablets with a 7-inch or larger screen. If all 200M Android devices are still active and represented here, that means that 6.2M Android Tablets are in the market.
Confirming our report from last night, Google has told The Verge that they have no affiliation whatsoever with Carrier IQ, but rather the OEMs of Android handsets do.
We do not have an affiliation with CarrierIQ. Android is an open source effort and we do not control how carriers or OEMs customize their devices.
Carrier IQ news has blown up this afternoon, after being found on numerous handsets currently offered on the market. While Verizon has said that Carrier IQ can’t be found on their devices, Apple, RIM, Nokia, Windows Mobile, and most Android devices do have the tracking software. For now, if you’re Android device is affected you can install CyanogenMod or just wait for all of this to blow over after an update, in a few days.
Carrier IQ’s statement:

In a move that should make producers and video enthusiasts jump with joy, Google has finally rolled out an improved analytics feature on YouTube, allowing anyone to retrieve detailed reports and see who is watching their videos. The new capability goes beyond the existing Insight feature, which provides only basic analytics.
According to a post at the official YouTube blog, some of the features include a quick overview of how your videos have been doing in terms of view count, more detailed statistics, audience builders that let you discover which videos are driving the most views and subscriptions and audience retention, basically the ability to see “how far viewers are watching through your video”.
You can filter reports by a number of criteria, see line charts, download reports and analyze key metrics in different ways. The new tools should help anyone, especially YouTube’s content partners that share ad revenue with Google, make the most of their videos. The new Analytics feature will be released to everyone on a modern browser over the course of the day, Google said. More information is available in a support document here.


Two months ago, Adobe unveiled Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 for Android devices. As you know, the company changed its mind and said recently it will halt Flash development on mobile after Ice Cream Sandwich. Even though they pledged to continuously support mobile platforms with critical bugs and security flaws, users have gotten confused as to whether or not Adobe will release Flash Player 11.1 and AIR 3.1 for the Galaxy Nexus devices.
The company took to the official blog to explain that some support is in fact in the cards:
We will provide a minor update to the runtimes to support the Galaxy Nexus in December.
However, Adobe reminded users that it’s always been phone vendors’ and carriers’ responsibility to deploy Flash and AIR updates to their customers:
To be clear, the Galaxy Nexus does not initially support Adobe Flash Player 11.1 and AIR 3.1. As we previously communicated in a blog post, devices and software updates from our partners which introduce new technologies are being developed on varied schedules that are different from our own, which means that the Adobe runtimes may not always be optimized or supported on devices until a subsequent release.

According to a report from Politico earlier this month, Google was considering quitting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce due to their support of the Stop Online Piracy Act. Now, a new project known as GoogleQuitTheChamber.org is urging everyone to petition Google and vote for the best reason they should quit the Chamber. The project’s tagline– “The Chamber’s policies are evil, Google– Don’t be evil”.
Together, we will work to hold the world’s corporations accountable to the public interest and move our global economic system towards social equity, democratic principles, and long-term sustainability. By signing our petition to Google, you’ll join SumOfUs’s email list. We’ll send you opportunities to fight corporate power and build a better, safer, more democratic world about once a week.
When visiting the site’s homepage (which looks suspiciously like a Google site), you’ll be greeted with the petition, and you’ll also be able to +1 the most important reasons Google should quit the chamber. Currently the leading reasons to quit include “The Financial Crisis” with 16.83% of votes, and “Corporate Greed” with 14.85%. Other reasons range from intellectual property to climate change, invasion of privacy, and healthcare reform, but the site allows you to submit your own as well. While highlighting some of Google’s work to protect the environment and advance open internet policies, the “Where Google Stands” page notes Chamber of Commerce’s views are in “direct conflict with Google’s mission”.
The project was started by SumOfUs.org, a “global movement of consumers, investors, and workers” who say they stand for “Governments that answer to citizens – not corporations”. They correctly point out that in 2009 Apple quit the Chamber over environmental concerns, while Nike quit the board of the Chamber shortly after, and Yahoo recently quit over internet censorship legislation. So what’s so bad about the chamber? SumOfUs explains their stance:
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WordPress, a popular open source blogging tool and publishing platform, launched today its own advertising initiative conveniently dubbed WordAds. Just to make sure everyone is on the same page here, the company began a post on its official blog by saying its users “deserve better than AdSense”. Ouch! In another nod at Google’s AdSense, the WordPress team explained why it took them so long to roll out adverts on their platform:
We’ve resisted advertising so far because most of it we had seen wasn’t terribly tasteful, and it seemed like Google’s AdSense was the state-of-the-art, which was sad.
They are teaming up with Federated Media, which connects top blogs and web sites with leading brand marketers. If you run a WordPress blog, feel free to apply here to begin making money from WordAds. Many established media outlets entrust their online publishing operations to the WordPress engine, including the CNN and Fortune blogs and this site. Yes, Google absolutely dominates the online advertising game, but WordPress is no ordinary company either.
In addition to being the world’s most popular CMS, WordPress powers over 14.7 percent of top one million web sites, according to Alexa, and was found on 22 percent of all new websites as of August 2011, up from 8.5 percent. Also important, 22 out of every hundred active new domains in the United States use the WordPress CMS engine and more than 50,000 WordPress-powered blogs come online every day.
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Calling Cluzee a Siri competitor would be inaccurate as any Siri challenger would have to be built right into the bowels of the operating system, as is the case with Apple’s personal digital assistant. With that off our back, Cluzee looks like an interesting addition to Android’s already strong voice and search features. Developed by Tronton, Cluzee is billed as a new type of virtual assistant specialized in finance and information management.
It sports built-in calendar, reminders, filters, advanced search capabilities, voice recognition, voice synthesis and personal analytics, among other features. Tronton partnered with about 50 service providers that help Cluzee provide personalized services.
You can say stuff like “Cluzee, I’m looking to buy this or that in the next few weeks” and it’ll apply your criteria to filter the incoming deals and advertisers. It also does social filtering so you can say “if I get messages from these people, notify me immediately” or “include them in my daily brief”, which is basically your entire summary for any given day.
Just like Siri, Cluzee too employes machine learning, conversational interface and third-party data sources on the web to deliver the results. Cluzee is available on Android Market and will be coming to iPhone soon and just about any platform via an HTML5 web app. More information is available at the Cluzee web site. Go past the break for SocialTechPop’s interview with Cluzee’s Ashish Patwa from TechWeek in Chicago in July of 2011.
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To honor the ongoing Cyber Monday, Google is now offering $1.99 albums for select artists on Google Music for U.S. users. The deal includes albums from top artists like Coldplay, Rihanna, Drake, Justin Bieber, David Guetta, Mary J. Blige, LMFAO, Florence and the Machine, Lady Antebullum, and more. The deal even includes Lady GaGa’s ‘A Very Gaga Holiday’, to start getting you in the Holiday spirit.
Go ahead and take advantage of these deals while you can!
Google Catalogs, an interactive way to browse shopping catalogs on your tablet (currently a U.S.-only thing), is now available for download in Android Market, the company announced in a blog post. Google initially launched this app mid-August on Apple’s iPad and later updated it with more catalogs and six new product categories, including Intimates & Loungewear. The Catalogs app lets you visually browse over 400 digital catalogs sporting your favorite brands such as Nike, Sephora and Nordstrom.
You can flip through the pages in a manner akin to reading electronic books on tablets and find products you’re viewing in nearby stores. Interactive features include pinch zooming images, tapping items to learn more, viewing and creating photo albums, using the unified search box to search across all the catalogs for a specific item and more.
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The search monster’s developer conference dubbed Google I/O has been a runaway success this year, bringing us a series of major product announcements ranging from Chromebooks and the new version of the Chrome browser to Ice Cream Sandwich news and Honeycomb tablet software. Google last month said Google I/O 2012 will be running from April 24-25 at San Francisco’s Moscone West, but they decided to extend the event and push it back two months, citing “an unexpected opportunity to extend Google I/O to three days”.
According to a post over at the official Google Code blog, the company made it known that it is moving the conference to June 27-29, 2012. The event will still take place at Moscone Center West in San Francisco. Surprisingly, the Moscone Center events calendar displayed at press time a two-day rather than a three-day event booked for June 27- 28 and the original ‘corporate meeting’ scheduled for April 24-25 is still up on the site.
Those interested in attending can vote for a Day 3 agenda at this page. The company wrote in the comments of a Google+ post that registration for Google I/O 2011 will open in February.

LG published on their official Facebook page a list of handsets that will get a firmware update with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich software. Initially, high-end LG smartphones will be eligible for upgrade to Google’s latest Android release, including the Optimus 2X, the Optimus Black, the Optimus 3D and the Optimus LTE. The company did not say when Ice Cream Sandwich will arrive for the aforementioned handsets, noting it will update customers via Facebook in December. As for their other devices:
We are also continuing to evaluate the ICS OS to determine whether it is compatible with the functionality, features and performance of other LG smartphones to make the ICS OS available on as many LG smartphones as possible.
Google’s been serious about requiring phone vendors and carrier partners to support high-end handsets with Android software updates for up to 24 months since the purchase date. Phone vendors recently began announcing lists of devices eligible for Ice Cream Sandwich, including Sony Ericsson and HTC.
Google on its part confirmed that the Nexus S will get an Ice Cream Sandwich firmware update “within weeks”, but not owners of the older Nexus One smartphone. Samsung refrained thus far from public comments, but their flagship Galaxy SII is certain to get the new software and we have no doubt in our mind that the South Korean manufacturer will soon detail an ICS upgrade path concerning their Android devices.
Speaking at a conference in Liverpool (via Develop), Google’s Paul Kinlan revealed a few of the company’s plans in regards to making more additions to Chrome in 2012. The changes he outlined include the browser supporting plug-and-play gamepads, a cool feature that would give gamers a better way to game through Google+ games. Kinland also said the browser would be receiving the open source WebRTC platform.
Google is to add plug-and-play gamepad, webcam and microphone support to its Chrome web browser early next year, Google’s Paul Kinlan has revealed.
Speaking at Develop Liverpool, Kinlan also claimed that the search engine giant would be adding open source video and voice chat application WebRTC to its web browser.
Both additions would allow Google to offer more cloud and gaming services. We’re sure these are the first changes of many for the year of 2012.
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Google has posted a nice new promo clip for Google+ to their YouTube channel, just in time for the official start of the holiday shopping season. Surprisingly, it isn’t about discounts or deals as Google opted for a different approach.
It’s entitled “Circles Love Story” and illustrates vividly “new ways of sharing the right things with the right people”. So, a guy meets this girl and puts her in the “Love of my Life” circle on Google+. Ring a bell?. She returns the favor by putting him in the Creepers circle, but soon changes her mind and moves him around a bit until he ends up in…
Just watch the clip above. Google also polished up the original Google+ advert and introduced a new tagline. Both the original and new advert are right after the break. Speaking of holidays, have you seen a Thanksgiving Google Doodle that lets you customize a virtual turkey?

Google last month announced that its software powering the Logitech Revue set-top box and Sony’s networked television sets (and soon Samsung’s) will be updated with Android 3.1 Honeycomb code and new features. Today, the first in a series of several software updates is rolling out to Google TV devices, bringing with it enhanced experience for YouTube and Photos apps.
Per the official blog post, the new YouTube app now lets you watch the videos you’ve subscribed to and access your playlists, favorites and the Watch Later queue. It is also possible to add videos to your own channel from your Google TV.
As for the Photos app, you get the new Discover feature, basically a pretty screen saver that animates a collage of all your photos sourced from your Picasa or Flickr accounts. Like the shuffle feature on the iPod shuffle, Discover is a great way to enjoy your long forgotten photos.
Sony’s Google TVs have already received this update, but it’s still pending for Logitech’s Revue box, which has yet to receive a Honeycomb firmware update.
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