Google

Google today has announced a new donation-matching campaign that it hopes will help it raise more than $11 million to aid the thousands of refugees currently living in European nations. In a blog post, Google employee Rita Masoud announced the new donation-matching program. Masoud is not a Google executive, but rather wrote the blog post due to her own experience fleeing Kabul with her family when she was seven-years-old.

Google has no intentions on becoming a car manufacturer, European executive says

Stephen Hall Sep 15 2015 - 3:26 pm PT

A report yesterday confirmed that Google has hired John Krafcik, former Hyundai CEO and a car industry veteran, to head up the company’s self-driving car program. It’s still unclear exactly what the implications of this move will be, however. While it seems clear that this effectively confirms Google’s intentions of more broadly rolling out the self-driving car at some point in the future, a Google executive has come out to clarify some things on Tuesday at the Frankfurt auto show…
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HTC throws some hot deals our way: One M9+$100 Google Play Cred: $486, $239 Nexus 9, Re: Cam $100, more

Seth Weintraub Sep 15 2015 - 7:38 am PT

From 9to5Toys:

HTC is hosting a pretty good set of markdowns this morning at the company store.

Re: Camera is $99.50, tied for an all time low.
The Nexus 9 $239 for 16GB.$287 for 32GB. Grab 50% off on the Keyboard Folio $64/Magic Case $20.
The HTC One M9 is 25% off and you get $100 Google Play cred.
Lots of Accessories are 50% off

If you are looking to get into HTC at a discount or add some kit to your current HTC setup, this might be a good time.

Hate the Facebook app? You can now get push notifications thru Chrome on Android

Ben Lovejoy Sep 15 2015 - 5:37 am PT

If you’re someone who loves Facebook but hates the Android app, using a browser just got better – at least, if you’re using Chrome. Chrome users on Android can now opt-in to push notifications from Facebook, reports TechCrunch. So now you can see when someone likes your cat video without having to run the app.

Google expects browser-based push notifications to be most popular in developing markets, as Chrome uses less data than the Facebook app.

Facebook is also working on its own Google Now competitor, built into the Messenger app.

Google Maps is testing climate change sea rise maps in some coastal areas [Update: Maybe not]

Stephen Hall Sep 14 2015 - 1:33 pm PT

Update: Maybe not. A Google spokesperson just sent over the following information, suggesting that this might have been a glitch in the system after all.

The various types of data found in Google Maps come from a wide range of sources. Our basemap data – things like ocean, road networks, and place names comes from a combination of third-party providers, public sources, and user contributions. Overall, this provides a very comprehensive and up-to-date map, but there are occasional inaccuracies that arise from any of those sources.

Before the weekend I just happened to look up Santa Monica on Google Maps and saw that the ocean was somehow extending onto the land. Dismissing it as an old — albeit uncommon — glitch in Google’s mapping app, I went about my day. Apparently, there’s a little more to this than just programming error, and it has to do with global warming.

Sea level rise as a result of climate change could have devastating effects for low-lying coastal areas (and pretty much everyone, really), and as Mic.com pointed out on Friday, Google was showing users the potential damage of climate change by way of Google Maps — in far more areas than just Santa Monica. Other areas around LA were showing up with underwater houses and streets…
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Google celebrates the birthday of Super Mario Bros. w/ new Easter egg [Video]

Stephen Hall Sep 14 2015 - 8:58 am PT

It was the birthday of Super Mario Bros. yesterday, and Google is celebrating with a new Easter egg in search. It’s not as extravagant as some other permanent jokes (like the infamous “Do a barrel roll”), but it’s pretty cute nonetheless.

Head over to Google and search for “Super Mario Bros” and then check out the right hand side of the page. Right below the box art and screenshots, you’ll find a familiar question mark box. Of course, clicking it will get you 200 points.

Check out the video below:

Google AdSense for iOS hits 3.0 w/ iPhone 6 & 6 Plus support, Material Design, more

Stephen Hall Sep 14 2015 - 8:17 am PT

Google has this morning pushed an update to AdSense for iOS, bringing many features that other apps in the Mountain View company’s catalog received months ago. While it may not be the most popular app outside of publishing and creative circles, the AdSense app has today been updated with support for Native iPhone 6 and 6 Plus resolution, Material Design, and more.

Rounding out the update is support for Hindi and Malay, a new icon for the Home Screen, more metrics, and a today center widget. The last of these, in case you aren’t aware, is a new widget for the Today section of Notification Center. On it, you’ll find four metrics for quick access: Today so far, Page views, Clicks, and Page RPM. It also tells you when the widget was last updated.

While Google’s apps for iOS have always been known for being well-polished (and sometimes just generally better than their Android counterparts), they usually come at a much slower pace. AdSense 3.0 for Android with many of the same new features was released on Android four weeks ago, and you can read more about that update here.

Here’s the full change log:

What’s New in Version 3.0

This time we’re bringing you:
– Support for Hindi and Malay;
– Native iPhone 6 and 6+ resolution;
– A today center widget;
– Our lovely new AdSense logo;
– More metrics!
– A little something we like to call Material Design.

Head over to the App Store to grab the latest version for free.

Google hire of ex-Hyundai CEO effectively confirms plans for full-scale launch of self-driving car

Ben Lovejoy Sep 14 2015 - 5:26 am PT

If there were any remaining question about whether Google plans to actually proceed to a full-scale commercial launch of its self-driving car at some point, a hire reported late last night by Automotive News seems to remove any doubt. It reports that Google has hired John Krafcik, former Hyundai CEO and a car industry veteran, to head up the program.

Krafcick refers in an email to the cars being used by “millions” of people.

“This is a great opportunity to help Google develop the enormous potential of self-driving cars,” Krafcik wrote in an email to Automotive News. “This technology can save thousands of lives, give millions of people greater mobility, and free us from a lot of the things we find frustrating about driving today. I can’t wait to get started.”

Talking Schmidt: Makes thinly-veiled attack on Apple Music as elitist and out of date, scores own goal

Ben Lovejoy Sep 14 2015 - 4:15 am PT

Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google parent company Alphabet, has made a thinly-veiled attack on Apple Music in a BBC op-ed on artificial intelligence. He described human-curated music selections as a decade out of data and an elitist approach.

A decade ago, to launch a digital music service, you probably would have enlisted a handful of elite tastemakers to pick the hottest new music.

Today, you’re much better off building a smart system that can learn from the real world – what actual listeners are most likely to like next – and help you predict who and where the next Adele might be …

BlackBerry ‘Venice’ running Android’s stock Messenger app spotted in the flesh

Stephen Hall Sep 13 2015 - 4:36 pm PT

Evleaks’ <a href="http://9to5google.com/2015/08/19/android-blackberry-venice-leak-keyboard/">renders</a> of the BlackBerry Venice slider

More evidence that an Android slider from BlackBerry in on the way — probably the “Venice” device that we’ve been telling you about for quite a while — has now surfaced . As seen in a new spy shot originally shared by BerryFlow, BlackBerry looks to be pushing the “Venice” slider running some build of Lollipop out into the field for testing. This time, we’ve caught the phone running what looks to be the stock Messenger app…

The above blurry cam picture taken at the Toronto Film Festival, which assumably was snapped very quickly as to not make its photographer seem too stalk-ish, shows the Venice phone we’ve seen before, but with what looks to be case attached. Along the right side of the device, you can see two buttons aligned just like the ones of the Venice images that just surfaced two weeks ago.

And while the most recent imagery has shown the device running a full-fledged Android OS (meaning there’s not any real reason to doubt that this is the real deal), this is the first image we’ve seen of the phone in public. It’s not perfectly clear, but the app that’s running on-screen looks just like Android Lollipop’s stock Messenger app — with its blue navigation bar and all.

With the leaks continuing to stream in, it’s probably not going to be long before we see the announcement of what might be BlackBerry’s last ditch effort to catch at least a tiny part of the consumer smartphone market.

References to ‘Nexus Protect’ appear on the Google Store

Stephen Hall Sep 13 2015 - 4:14 pm PT

While Google is set to announce a new set of Nexus devices at the end of the month, some new references to something called “Nexus Protect” have started appearing on the online Google Store’s web page source code (via Android Police)…

It’s not clear quite yet what Nexus Protect might be, but it’s possible that Google could be preparing to launch an Apple Care or HTC “Uh Oh!”-like program for protecting accidental damage to your Nexus device. That would be interesting, especially considering that Google has been known to sometimes absorb the cost of accidental damage replacements for the Nexus 5 and other devices.

Clearly, Google is implementing some kind of limitation on the phones you’re ordering when purchasing Nexus Protect. As can be seen in the above image — which shows a pop up surfaced thanks to some page source tinkering — you can’t add a phone to your cart unless it has the same “Nexus Protect choice” as other phones currently in your Google Store cart.

While details are definitely a little light at the moment, we’ll probably be hearing more about Nexus Protect at Google’s Nexus event — which is reportedly scheduled for September 29th.

Google moving towards wider production of its electric self-driving cars, making a ‘few hundred’

Stephen Hall Sep 12 2015 - 9:29 am PT

When Google originally showcased the newer low-speed “cute-mobile” self-driving car, it mentioned a goal of having about 100 of them on the road for testing within a couple years. Now, as the company is bringing its low-speed electric prototypes to Austin a year later, Sarah Hunter, head of policy for Google [X], has revealed that the company is expanding production of the cars (via The Guardian). Hunter says that Google is now producing at least a “few hundred” and hints at a potential future of mass-production…
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Cyanogen is bringing OS-level Microsoft Cortana integration to Android

Stephen Hall Sep 11 2015 - 3:01 pm PT

Cortana is currently a lackluster excuse for a voice assistant in the form of a recently-released beta app, but that might change soon. According to a report from the IB Times, Cyanogen — thanks to a partnership that was announced earlier this year — is working with the Redmond company to deeply integrate its voice assistant into the next distribution of its Cyanogen OS…
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9to5Toys Lunch Break: ASUS Chromebox $200, Samsung 64GB MicroSDXC card $19, more

Stephen Hall Sep 11 2015 - 1:08 pm PT

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:

ASUS Chromebox 1.7GHz/4GB/16GB Desktop PC: $200 shipped (Reg. $230)

Samsung Storage: 64GB MicroSDXC $19 (Reg. $23+), 850 Pro 1TB SSD $420 (Reg. $450), more

Google Play offers free downloads of Sia’s 1000 Forms Of Fear album ($10 value)

Asus ZenWatch Android Wear Waterproof Smartwatch: $130 (Reg. $200)

Refurbished Samsung Gear Fit Watch: $54 shipped w/ code NEXTIME5 (Reg. $100) | A4C

Daily Deals: Toshiba Canvio Basics 1TB Portable Hard Drive $45, Photive Water Resistant Bluetooth Speaker $40, more

Blue Microphones: Yeti USB (silver or platinum) $85 shipped (Reg. $130), more

More new gear from today:

Brother Wireless Monochrome Laser Printer/Scanner/Copier/Fax with AirPrint: $150 shipped (Reg. $200)

Games/Apps: Kingdom Rush Origins $1 (Reg. up to $5), WWE 2K15 from $20, more
KMASHI 15,000mAh Dual USB Power bank $14 Prime shipped (Reg. $20)
Aukey Magnetic Air Vent Mount for iPhone and Android devices: $4 Prime shipped (Reg. $8)

More deals still alive:

Brand new FitBit Flex: $60 shipped (Reg. $100)

Bluetooth Headphones: Beats Studio Over-Ear $264 (Reg. $300+), In-Ear $16 (Reg. $24), more
Disney is giving out copies of Monsters Inc. to users of its free digital movie locker service
M-Audio BX8 D2 8-inch Active Studio Monitors (pair) $349 shipped (Reg. $499)
Lumsing 8000mAh Power Bank $11, wall charger w/ Lightning cable $9 Prime shipped
Anker iPhone 6 3100mAh MFi Apple-Certified Battery Case: $27 Prime shipped (Reg. $70)
DJI Phantom 3 Standard Quadcopter Drone w/ 2.7K Video Camera: $699 shipped (Reg. $799)
Radiation Island for iOS goes free for the first time as IGN’s Game of the Month ($3 value)
Kingdom Rush goes free for iPhone and iPad (Reg. up to $3)
Charge a 12″ MacBook w/ this RAVPower 26800mAh Battery: $53 shipped (Reg. $80), more
Canon Pixma MG6620 AirPrint Wireless All-in-One InkJet: $55 shipped (Reg. $65+)
OontZ Bluetooth Speakers: Angle3 $30 (Reg. $50), Angle Plus $25 (Reg. $35)
Two months of Audiobooks Free from Audible for new subscribers
Scrivener, The Award-Winning Writing App: $20 (Orig. $40)
Download The Very Best of Britney Spears 14-track compilation album for Free ($18 value)
49-inch 4K Smart Ultra HDTVs: Vizio 120Hz $600, LG 60Hz $550, more
PlayStation 20th anniversary sale up to 80% off: Final Fantasy Realm Reborn from $10, more
2K iOS Strategy Bundle: Civ Rev 2, XCOM Enemy Within & Sid Meier’s Starships for $20 ($35 value)

[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/642057385071255552 align=’center’]

New products & more:

A new Star Wars merchandise subscription service launches while Amazon discounts Force Awaken toys

The new Gamevice MFi game controllers will fit your iPad Air and iPhone 6s just right

Camera+ launches its first free version w/ in-app upgrades for advanced shooting features
Pokémon Go brings the game to real life on iOS and Android with new wearable device
Jawbone reformulates its UP2 fitness tracker with a new fashion-forward design
Review: JBL’s new Flip 3 Bluetooth speaker slims down for an ultra-portable form factor
The Raspberry Pi touchscreen display we’ve been waiting for is now available
V-MODA goes wireless with its premium-grade leather and steel headphones
Minecraft: Story Mode gets a release date as pre-orders ramp up
Amazon now offers money back to Prime members after their first Dash button purchase
Parrot’s new Zik 3 Wireless Headphones look like a crocodile with inductive charging
JBL and Sennheiser show off their latest generation headphone line-ups at IFA 2015
Kitchen Tech: Does the Homping Grill deliver on its promise of healthy, smokeless + portable BBQ?

Elephone’s rumored Android Wear smartwatch could be part of Google’s China plan

Stephen Hall Sep 11 2015 - 9:47 am PT

China-based Elephone isn’t known for making any high-end hardware, and besides being yet another maker of really cheap Chinese phones, they aren’t known for much of anything at all. But that might change soon, as the company is purportedly preparing to launch a smartwatch running Google’s Android Wear. And while that alone might not be all too exciting (other Chinese OEMs like Huawei have beaten them to the punch), this could — knowing Elephone’s target market — be part of Google’s bigger plan to make a move back into mainland China…
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9to5Toys Lunch Break: Refurb Samsung Gear Fit $54, Beats Studio Wireless $264, more

Stephen Hall Sep 10 2015 - 1:02 pm PT

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:

Refurbished Samsung Gear Fit Watch: $54 shipped w/ code NEXTIME5 (Reg. $100) | A4C

Bluetooth Headphones: Beats Studio Over-Ear $264 (Reg. $300+), Sport In-Ear $16 (Reg. $24), more

Brand new FitBit Flex: $60 shipped (Reg. $100)

DJI Phantom 3 Standard Quadcopter Drone w/ 2.7K Video Camera: $699 shipped (Reg. $799)

More new gear from today:

Lumsing 8000mAh Power Bank $11 (Reg. $15), Dual-port wall charger and MFi Lightning cable $9 Prime shipped

Games/Apps: Madden NFL 16 (all platforms) $40, Star Walk HD $1, iOS freebies, more

Increase your productivity with the Logitech Performance MX Wireless Mouse for $45 shipped (Reg. $60+)
Daily Deals: Ninja 3-in-1 Kitchen System Pro $99, Westinghouse 48-inch 1080p HDTV $300, more
Disney is giving out copies of Monsters Inc. to users of its free digital movie locker service
M-Audio BX8 D2 8-inch Active Studio Monitors (pair) $349 shipped (Reg. $499)

More deals still alive:

Motorola Nexus 6 Unlocked 32GB in Cloud White/Midnight Blue: $350 shipped (Orig. $650)

Radiation Island for iOS goes free for the first time as IGN’s Game of the Month ($3 value)
Kingdom Rush goes free for iPhone and iPad (Reg. up to $3)
Charge a 12″ MacBook w/ this RAVPower 26800mAh Battery: $53 shipped (Reg. $80), more
Canon Pixma MG6620 AirPrint Wireless All-in-One InkJet: $55 shipped (Reg. $65+)
Garmin Vívofit Fitness Band (refurb) w/ one-year warranty: $40 shipped (Orig. $130)
OontZ Bluetooth Speakers: Angle3 $30 (Reg. $50), Angle Plus $25 (Reg. $35)
Two months of Audiobooks Free from Audible for new subscribers
Scrivener, The Award-Winning Writing App: $20 (Orig. $40)
Download The Very Best of Britney Spears 14-track compilation album for Free ($18 value)
49-inch 4K Smart Ultra HDTVs: Vizio 120Hz $600, LG 60Hz $550, more
Cambond 10-ft MFi Apple-Certified Lightning Cable: $11 Prime shipped (Reg. $14)
App Store Free App of the Week: Flick Kick Football ($2 value)
Apple Productivity App Sale: PDF Expert 5 $5, Fantastical 2, Printer Pro & Workflow $3 ea, more
PlayStation 20th anniversary sale up to 80% off: Final Fantasy Realm Reborn from $10, more
2K iOS Strategy Bundle: Civ Rev 2, XCOM Enemy Within & Sid Meier’s Starships for $20 ($35 value)
1Password secure password manager for Mac: $35 or $28 w/ .edu (Reg. $50)
TwelveSouth BassJump 2 for MacBook w/ El Capitan software update: $50 shipped (Orig. $70)
Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ mic & CAD Acousti-Shield $149 shipped ($244 value)
You can score Nest’s 2nd generation Learning Thermostat for $199 if you move quickly

[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/641698383128850432 align=’center’]

New products & more:

Jawbone reformulates its UP2 fitness tracker with a new fashion-forward design

Review: JBL’s new Flip 3 Bluetooth speaker slims down for an ultra-portable form factor

The Raspberry Pi touchscreen display we’ve been waiting for is now available
V-MODA goes wireless with its premium-grade leather and steel headphones
Minecraft: Story Mode gets a release date as pre-orders ramp up
Amazon now offers money back to Prime members after their first Dash button purchase
Parrot’s new Zik 3 Wireless Headphones look like a crocodile with inductive charging
JBL and Sennheiser show off their latest generation headphone line-ups at IFA 2015
Kitchen Tech: Does the Homping Grill deliver on its promise of healthy, smokeless + portable BBQ?
Philips’ latest Hue lightstrips put out white light and are extendable
Review: Tucker and Bloom’s East to West XL Messenger Bag goes big to handle all your gear
Sphero brought the BB-8 Droid from Star Wars to life and we all want it
Bang & Olufsen’s new wool covered AirPlay speaker stuns with its look and price
Philips undercuts the market on price with its new whole home audio system
Polaroid’s latest pocket-sized Snap cam instantly prints photos with no ink
Hulu puts pressure on Netflix with new commercial-free subscription plan
Sony’s new high-resolution headphones have a cringe-worthy name

‘Project Lucky’ Samsung handset, likely the Galaxy S7, appears in benchmarks

Stephen Hall Sep 10 2015 - 12:12 pm PT

2 Comments

A Galaxy S7 render that’s not real at all

Samsung brought the Galaxy Note5 (sic) and Galaxy S6 Edge+ to market faster than expected (maybe to beat the Apple hype train?), and it looks like they’re pushing the next flagship Galaxy S handset — assumably the Galaxy S7 — through production just as fast. A Samsung device simply labeled as “Lucky-LTE” made its way through Geekbench yesterday, and now a report from the usually-reliable SamMobile claims that the device is indeed an early prototype of the Samsung Galaxy S7…
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Google ‘exploring’ bringing Fiber to San Diego, Irvine, and Louisville

Chance Miller Sep 10 2015 - 10:34 am PT

Google today has announced that it will begin “exploring” the expansion of Google Fiber to three new cities. The company announced in a blog post that it will begin working with city officials in Louisville, KY, Irvine, CA, and San Diego, CA to plan the launch of Fiber. The announcement of Fiber coming to San Diego makes it the largest city for the service to date. Previously, San Antonio was the largest city with plans for Fiber.

One Googler’s 20% project got elephant ivory ads removed from AdWords [Video]

Stephen Hall Sep 10 2015 - 9:56 am PT

We told you a couple months ago about Nat & Lo, a couple of Googlers who are using their 20% time — unofficial allotted time for personal projects — to tell stories about the people at Google. Today, in their latest video, Nat & Lo explore the story of one Googler named Winnie who used her 20% time to spread her love for animals — specifically elephants, in this case…

Marshmallow’s ‘Dark mode’ confirmed to be ditched, but it might make a comeback

Stephen Hall Sep 10 2015 - 9:27 am PT

One of the most exciting new features that popped up in the first Developer Preview of Android Marshmallow was a “Dark” system theme option. While it didn’t do much besides change the background colors of the Settings app, it seemed to be the beginnings of what could have been a system-wide dark theme. Then, the feature disappeared in Developer Preview 2, and its fate was left unclear — until now. For now, the dark mode in Android M is dead, but it might just make a comeback…
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Google’s long-awaited Android Pay is reportedly launching today [Update: It’s out!]

Stephen Hall Sep 10 2015 - 8:28 am PT

Update: Yep, it’s official.

Update 2: The update to Google Wallet is rolling out now, but you can grab the Android Pay APK over at APKMirror right now. Keep an eye out for our hands-on.

According to the well-connected Artem Russakovskii as well as a Re/code report, Android Pay is set to be launched today. This little tidbit comes despite previous rumors — thanks to leaked Verizon documentation — that the service would be launching on September 16th…
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Bazel, Google’s software build tool, now available in public beta

Cam Bunton Sep 10 2015 - 1:54 am PT

Google has just released Bazel as a public beta, and the company claims it can help engineers build software quickly, and correctly. It can be used to build client and server software for Android and iOS and is available for Linux and OS X. Despite it being labelled as a public beta, Google’s engineers have been using it for a very long time. As betas go, it’s a very thoroughly tried and tested one.

Google releases new Wallet app with refreshed interface ahead of Android Pay launch

Chance Miller Sep 9 2015 - 5:35 pm PT

2 Comments

Update: Google has officially announced the new app.

Today, we’re announcing a new Google Wallet app — now focused exclusively on sending and receiving money. You can use Google Wallet with your Android or iOS device to send money to anyone in the US with an email address, even if they are not a Wallet user. And now, when you receive money through Google Wallet, you can quickly cash out to a debit card or linked bank account.

Google today unexpectedly released a new Google Wallet app on the Play Store. Instead of updating the original Wallet app, the company released an entirely new app with an entirely new interface. At this point, it appears that the original Wallet app will be converted to Android Pay when it launches, while Wallet itself will live on in the form of today’s new app.

9to5Toys Last Call: Google Nexus Player by ASUS $50, Aukey Quick Charger $8, more

Stephen Hall Sep 9 2015 - 4:23 pm PT