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9to5Toys Lunch Break: 2nd generation Moto G (unlocked) $119, USB power deals, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 26 2015 - 1:57 pm PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Unlocked Motorola Moto G (2nd generation) 8GB white: $119 shipped (Reg. $180) | Amazon

USB Roundup: Aukey 5000mAh Charger + MFi Lightning Cable $15 (Reg. $21), Lumsing 13400mAh Power bank $23, more

Giveaway: Polk Audio’s Omni Whole Home Music System – Soundbar w/ subwoofer and S2 Speaker ($880 value)

Best Buy lands the first major blow in this year’s battle for holiday shoppers

Amazon thinks leaving your house is over-rated, expands Prime free same-day delivery service

Dell Black Friday Ad Leak: Gears of War Xbox One w/ Fallout 4 + controller $300, VIZIO 60-Inch 4K HDTV $800, more

More new gear from today:

Fashion deals at Amazon – extra 20% off fall athletic/outdoor shoes: Caterpillar boots $52, ASICS running shoes $40, more

More deals still alive:

Gift Cards up to 20% off: JCPenney, Sports Authority, more

App Store Free App of the Week: Dr. Panda’s Mailman ($4 value)

New products & more:

Dyson’s pricey 360 Eye robo-vac finally sees the light of day

Use your smartphone as a controller for these AirConsole Mac/PC browser games

 

Facebook bolstering Android Notifications tab with sports scores, birthdays, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 26 2015 - 11:49 am PT
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If you’re a Facebook user, you’re definitely familiar with the Notifications tab in the company’s Android app. Although it has barely evolved from being a simple stream of your notifications since its introduction many years ago, Facebook has today come out to outline some changes on the way to make it more useful and personalized.
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Android Marshmallow stock ROM appears for LG G4 as OTA rollout delayed

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 26 2015 - 7:28 am PT
1 Comment

LG said earlier this month that Android Marshmallow is coming to the G4 soon (possibly quicker than pretty much every other non-Nexus smartphone), but a new post by the Korean company on its Poland Facebook page says that the update have been “temporarily suspended” due to technical issues (via AndroidBeat):

Nicolas, update is temporarily suspended due to technical reasons. We will keep you informed about the changes!


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Google reveals RankBrain, the AI system that it’s been using for ‘a very large fraction’ of searches

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 26 2015 - 5:55 am PT
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It’s no surprise that Google employs artificial intelligence to help parse search queries, but it did surprise me to learn that a full 15% of Google searches are ones its systems have never seen before. It’s these that the company has been decoding with the help of an AI system called RankBrain, reports Bloomberg.

For the past few months, a “very large fraction” of the millions of queries a second that people type into the company’s search engine have been interpreted by an artificial intelligence system, nicknamed RankBrain, said Greg Corrado, a senior research scientist with the company, outlining for the first time the emerging role of AI in search.

As you’d expect, Google uses literally hundreds of different ‘signals’ to make sense of searches, and the vast majority of these are based on discoveries and insights that people in the team have had – but RankBrain is the first system that genuinely learns … 
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Google patents way to tell if you are a car driver or passenger through smartwatch movements

Avatar for Cam Bunton Oct 26 2015 - 4:50 am PT
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Google may have made leaps and bounds already in the development of future automotive technology with its autonomous vehicle program, but that’s not all it’s working on. A patent recently published by the USPTO reveals a concept for an in-car tool which uses your wearable device’s movements to work out if you’re the driver or passenger…


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Yahoo will now show Google search results after signing deal

Avatar for Cam Bunton Oct 26 2015 - 2:23 am PT
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Yahoo announced in its financial earnings results for Q3 that it has signed a partnership deal with Google to show search results and ads in its own search tools. The deal came in to effect on October 1st and will last until the end of 2018. Under the terms of this new deal, Yahoo gets to choose which search queries it sends to Google, while Google provides search ads, algorithmic search and image search services for mobile and desktop…


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9to5Toys Last Call: Galaxy Note 4 (unlocked) $300, HooToo Wireless Travel Router $40, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 23 2015 - 3:39 pm PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 32GB (unlocked): $300 shipped (Reg. $700) | eBay

HooToo Wireless Travel Router and 10400mAh External Charger: $40 shipped (Reg $60)

Get started with Google’s Express delivery service: $35 credit for $10

Acer Chromebook 1.50GHz/4GB/16GB SSD: $249 shipped (Reg. $279)

Best Buy lands the first major blow in this year’s battle for holiday shoppers

Amazon thinks leaving your house is over-rated, expands Prime free same-day delivery service

Dell Black Friday Ad Leak: Gears of War Xbox One w/ Fallout 4 + controller $300, VIZIO 60-Inch 4K HDTV $800, more

More new gear from today:

 

Daily Deals: Logitech Performance Mouse MX $45, SanDisk 64GB Flash Memory Card for MacBook Air $44, more

More deals still alive:

Get a 64GB Wi-Fi iPad Air 2 for less than Apple charges for 16GB: $490 shipped (Reg. $599)

proXPN VPN: Premium Lifetime Subscription for $39 ($375 value)

New products & more:

The MiniBrew launches on Indiegogo as an iPhone-connected way to make your own beer

Bird of Prey’s prone-style bicycle puts the rider facedown while riding

PSA: Several early Nexus 6P orders are now shipping

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 23 2015 - 3:15 pm PT
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If you ordered a Nexus 6P, this one’s for you. According to various reports across Twitter, Google+, and Reddit, many Nexus 6P orders are shipping this afternoon. From the looks of it (and that includes at least two different Reddit threads), those who ordered the 32 GB aluminum model are getting first dibs…

If you’re one of the lucky few who have a phone shipping this afternoon and you ordered with overnight shipping, you’ll probably see your phone at your doorstep on Monday. The rest of of the Nexus 6P variants — assuming you ordered on launch day — will likely begin shipping out sometime next week.

Google assists refugee crisis with lightweight mobile info site & improved Translate offering

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 23 2015 - 6:53 am PT
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Following Google’s donation-matching program, which has so far raised more than $12M to fund humanitarian aid for refugees from Syria and other war zones, the company says that it is now providing technological assistance too.

In a blog post today, Google says that it has developed an open source project called the Crisis Info Hub to provide migrants with access to the immediate information they need on arrival in Greece in a lightweight, battery-saving way. The company says that it is also helping to beef-up mobile data connectivity locally … 
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Google’s market capitalization surpasses the half trillion mark as Alphabet’s stock soars

Avatar for Fred Lambert Oct 23 2015 - 6:32 am PT
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Yesterday, Google’s parent company Alphabet released its earnings report and announced its first stock buyback program. Investors welcomed the news and sent the company’s stock soaring 11.8% in early trading Friday morning, which pushed Alphabet’s (GOOG) market capitalization passed the half a trillion mark.
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Wondering where that weird $5,099,019,513.59 Alphabet buyback number came from? Here’s where …

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 23 2015 - 3:54 am PT
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When we reported yesterday that Alphabet was planning to buy back $5,099,019,513.59 of its own stock, you may have wondered how the company came up with such a strangely specific number.

RBC Capital’s Mark Mahaney actually figured out the answer during the earnings call – appropriately enough, by Googling the number. The alphabet has 26 letters, and the square root of 26 is 5.09901951359. Multiply that by a billion and, yep, you get $5,099,019,513.59.

Alphabet financial chief Ruth Porat reassured analysts that the number wasn’t merely arrived at by whimsy: the company first figured out what made financial sense and later decided to have a little fun by slightly modifying the $5B number it came up with.

The WSJ notes that it’s not the first time Google has had this kind of fun with formulae.

The name Google is a play on googol, which is the number 1 followed by a hundred zeroes. When it first filed to go public, it said it planned to raise $2,718,281,828, a billion times the value of “e,” an important mathematical concept in calculus.

Nearly a year later, it said it was going to sell 14.2 million shares of stock. Well, not exactly 14.2 million, but 14,159,265, the numbers that follow the decimal in pi. And when the company made a move to buy Nortel Network patents, one of its bids was actually “pi” — around $3.14 billion. (Its other bids were plays on numbers, too; Google lost the bid.)

The market appears to approve of Google’s numbers: at the time of writing, the stock is up more than 10% in pre-market trading.

 

 

 

9to5Toys Last Call: LG G Flex 2 (unlocked) $250, LG Optimus Zone 2 for $12, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 22 2015 - 3:37 pm PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Android Deals: LG G Flex 2 for $249, Optimus Zone 2 for $12, Boost ZTE Speed down to $29, more

LG G3 D850 32 GB unlocked new 32 GB: $240 shipped (Reg. $400+) | eBay

proXPN VPN: Premium Lifetime Subscription for $39 ($375 value)

Bluetooth Sport Earbuds w/ Prime shipping: Aukey Around-Neck $17 (Reg. $30), more

Amazon thinks leaving your house is over-rated, expands Prime free same-day delivery service

Dell Black Friday Ad Leak: Gears of War Xbox One w/ Fallout 4 + controller $300, VIZIO 60-Inch 4K HDTV $800, more

Amazon and Toys R Us give a peek at this year’s must-have holiday gifts

More new gear from today:

Get ready for Halloween with Best Buy’s $5 horror Blu-ray sale: The Silence of the Lambs, Mad Max, more

More deals still alive:

Seagate 4TB Portable USB 3 Hard Drive w/ 200GB Cloud: $150 shipped

New products & more:

Garmin drops the bulk and adds color with its new Forerunner wearables

D-Link’s latest surveillance cameras go wide-angle with “less distortion” than the competition

Google’s driverless car could be ready in less than 3 years says a consultant on the project

Avatar for Fred Lambert Oct 22 2015 - 1:50 pm PT
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Google’s driverless car project has been long in the making. The company lead development in the field since 2009 and as of September 30, they have accumulated 1,210,676 miles on autonomous mode through 2 fleets: one in Mountain View, CA and  one Austin, TX. Google’s latest official comments on the timeframe of the project suggested a commercialization of the technology around 2020, but a consultant on Google’s driverless team revealed that the vehicle could be ready in less than 3 years…
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Alphabet stock soars: Q3 2015 Google earnings show $18.7 billion revenue, $5 billion in buybacks planned [Livestream]

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 22 2015 - 1:23 pm PT
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Alphabet has today — for the very first time since the company’s major restructuring earlier this year — posted Google’s earnings for Q2 2015. The company reports revenue of $18.7 billion, which is up 13%. Net income for Q3 2015 was $3.97 billion. More importantly, Google is initiating its first buyback program, planning to buy $5,099,019,513.59 of its Class C capital stock.

Meanwhile, Alphabet stock is soaring.

 
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Follow along as we explore Big Android BBQ 2015 [2-day Liveblog]

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 22 2015 - 7:26 am PT
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We’re on the ground at the Big Android BBQ 2015, one of the largest Android developer events of the year. And while this is largely a developer event without much in terms of press-facing announcements, this is the first year — as we told you this past summer — that Google Developers is partnering with IDEAA to make it bigger and better than ever. We’re here to meet interesting people in the community,

If you’re a developer, or just an Android enthusiast that’s curious about what the BABBQ is like this year, we’ll be keeping this post updated with anything we stumble on that might be interesting…
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Google offering no-strings startup grants for innovative digital journalism projects

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 22 2015 - 7:07 am PT
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It’s not every day that a digital startup gets offered between €50k and €1M ($56k to $1.2M) in funding without having to hand over a single share in return, but that’s exactly what Google has today announced in Europe.

The company is offering grants – not loans or investments – to companies looking to innovate in the field of digital journalism.

The DNI Innovation Fund aims to tackle that problem by providing non-refundable support for projects that demonstrate new thinking in the practice of digital journalism, that promote the development of new business models or maybe even change the way users consume digital news.

The fund, which opens for applications today, is part of a Digital News Initiative first announced back in April. It was promoted by Google finding itself in conflict with a number of news organizations concerned that it was effectively stealing their content. The company has since been working hard to attempt to make friends with publishers.

Photo: AP Photo/Marcio

9to5Toys Lunch Break: HTC One A9 $399 for a limited time, KMASHI 10,000mAh Battery $9, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 21 2015 - 12:33 pm PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

HTC is offering limited time deal on pre-orders of the HTC One A9 at $399 

USB Power Deals: KMASHI 10,000mAh Battery $9 (Reg. $14), 6-Ft. Braided MFi Lightning Cable $8.50, more

Nexus 6P sold out at Google Store, but still available via Huawei for $499 and up

Mpow Extendable Selfie Stick with built-in Bluetooth Remote Shutter: $5 Prime shipped (Reg. $15)

LG G3 D850 32 GB unlocked new 32 GB: $240 shipped (Reg. $400+) | eBay

Save $20 on select Kindle e-Readers, deals start at just $59 with free shipping

Dell Black Friday Ad Leak: Gears of War Xbox One w/ Fallout 4 + controller $300, VIZIO 60-Inch 4K HDTV $800, more

Amazon and Toys R Us give a peek at this year’s must-have holiday gifts

More new gear from today:

GoPro HERO4 Action Cameras: Black 4K $389 (Reg. $500), Silver w/ LCD Display $329 (Reg. $400)

More deals still alive:

Seagate 4TB Portable USB 3 Hard Drive w/ 200GB Cloud: $150 shipped

21:9 Displays: Dell UltraSharp 34″ Curved $650, LG 34″ Curved $720, more

New products & more:

D-Link’s latest surveillance cameras go wide-angle with “less distortion” than the competition

Libratone introduces multi-room audio alongside two new colorful ZIPP speakers

YouTube Red is Google’s new $10/month ad-free subscription video streaming service

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Oct 21 2015 - 10:21 am PT
5 Comments

Not to be confused with (Red) Youtube or RedTube, Google announced a new streaming Netflix competitor today dubbed YouTube Red.  The service will also include YouTube streaming music which is also Google Play Music all access which currently carries a $9.99/month price tag so the effective upgrade is $0 for streaming videos and much more…
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9to5Toys Lunch Break: LG G3 (unlocked) $240, Seagate 4TB Portable HDD $150, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 20 2015 - 1:44 pm PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

LG G3 D850 32 GB unlocked new 32 GB: $240 shipped (Reg. $400+) | eBay

Seagate 4TB Portable USB 3 Hard Drive w/ 200GB Cloud: $150 shipped

Aukey 15,000mAh Quick Charge 2.0 power bank: $22 Prime shipped (Reg. $35)

LG G4 brand new smartphone 32GB (unlocked): $380 shipped (Reg. $800) | eBay

21:9 Displays: Dell UltraSharp 34″ Curved $650, LG 34″ Curved $720, more

Save $20 on select Kindle e-Readers, deals start at just $59 with free shipping

More new gear from today:

Games/Apps: PS4 Nathan Drake bundle w/ Guitar Hero Live $399, The Witcher 3 $32, R.B.I. Baseball 15 $2, freebies, more

More deals still alive:

Free MP3 Downloads: Greatest Hits from TLC, Muddy Waters, more plus Shakira Deluxe Edition

New products & more:

This mini Segway hopes to take-off with its affordable price tag and compact design

You’ll have to hurry to grab one of these limited edition Fallout 4 Xbox One controllers

 

HTC almost announces a GPE One A9 without the name — but does it smell as sweet?

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 20 2015 - 12:53 pm PT
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Google Play Edition (GPE) devices are a thing of the past, but that’s not keeping HTC from tackling that very same segment of the market — the one that GPE devices failed to capture — with the “unlocked edition” of the HTC One A9.

In what feels like last-ditch effort to appeal to Android handset buyers that are usually targeted by Google itself with the Nexus line, the “unlocked edition” HTC One A9 offers updates within 15 days of Google’s Nexus line receiving them, less bloatware and pre-installed apps (no carrier software), and freedom to use the device on the carrier you choose…
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Management material? This 23-year old Google employee sleeps in a 128 sq ft truck in the parking lot

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 20 2015 - 9:50 am PT
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Business Insider profiled 23-year-old Googler Brandon S. who decided to forgo the usual high-priced San Francisco apartment and instead move into the back of a 128 square foot truck in the company’s parking lot.

The idea started to formulate while Brandon — who asked to withhold his last name and photo to maintain his privacy on campus — was interning at Google last summer and living in the cheapest corporate housing offered: two bedrooms and four people for about $65 a night (roughly $2,000 a month), he explains to Business Insider.

He didn’t do much to pimp out the back of the $10,000, 16FT Ford truck with a modest setup consisting mostly of a bed and storage (and no power), but it has enabled Brandon to save around 90% of his income, while Google and security apparently have no issues with the living arrangements:

“I don’t actually own anything that needs to be plugged in,” he explains on his blog. “The truck has a few built-in overhead lights, and I have a motion-sensitive, battery-powered lamp I use at night. I have a small battery pack that I charge up at work every few days, and I use that to charge my headphones and cell phone at night. My work laptop will last the night on a charge, and then I charge it at work.”

Here’s a look at the inside of the truck:

Brandon is blogging about the experience on his site Thoughts from Inside the Box.

Google takes minor stake in Mobvoi, a Chinese artificial intelligence company

Avatar for Cam Bunton Oct 20 2015 - 8:49 am PT
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Google’s focus on building its presence the Chinese market shows no sign of letting up. Mobvoi, a Chinese company which develops advanced, natural voice detection and AI-based technology, announced this morning that Google has taken a minority stake in the company. Although the exact amount Google invested wasn’t disclosed, Mobvoi will retain a controlling stake…
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