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Google launches Cloud Datalab, Cloud Shell for Cloud Platform customers

Google has today launched a couple of new products for Google Cloud Platform customers: Google Cloud Datalab, and Google Cloud Shell. Both of them are available via the web today in beta form…

Here’s the scoop on Cloud Datalab:

Google Cloud Datalab, available today in Beta is a web-based interactive developer tool that allows you to get insights from your raw data and explore, share, and publish reports in a fast, simple and cost-effective way. Cloud Datalab combines the power of Google BigQuery and Google Cloud Storage with familiar data science ecosystems built around IPython, removing the need for complex integration between products.

And here’s the gist on Cloud Shell:

Our customers want to be able to easily manage their infrastructure and applications when running on Google Cloud Platform no matter where they are.  Building on the ability to SSH from the browser we released for Google Compute Engine VM instances last year, today we’re launching Google Cloud Shell Beta, which extends from just VMs to all aspects of the platform.

These announcements are certainly irrelevant for the vast majority of regular users, but for those of you out there that are running apps on Google’s Cloud Platform, you have a couple of new tools. On a somewhat related note, an Amazon Web Services VP accidentally showed a picture of Google’s data centers at re:Invent last week.

 

Google Cardboard expands to 39 languages in 100 countries as SDKs get updates

Google is going global with its affordable Virtual Reality platform. The Mountain View company has announced today that its Google Cardboard app is now available in 39 languages across 100 countries, and that the Cardboard developer documentation is also now published in 10 languages to help even more developers build Cardboard experiences…
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Verizon & Sony officially cancel the Xperia Z4v

Verizon took the veil off of the Sony Xperia Z4v just about 4 months ago, saying that it would be coming in the summer. That quite obviously didn’t happen even after Sony’s website proudly proclaimed that the phone would be coming on August 13th, leading most to believe that it has just been straight-up cancelled. As of today, Verizon has confirmed that to be the case: The Xperia Z4v will never see the light of day…
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LG’s Nexus 5X is coming in three colors: white, black, and mint-ish green

We just saw the Huawei Nexus 6P colors earlier today, and now the same source has shared stock imagery showing the upcoming Nexus 5X from LG. While the white variant was all but confirmed (and a black version easily assumable), this image shows that Google is preparing to launch a green-ish blue color as well — lining up pretty well with previous rumors of a “mint” color.

According to an earlier report out of Android Police citing a “reliable source,” LG’s upcoming “Nexus 5” (which we’ve recently learned is actually called the Nexus 5X), will sport a Snapdragon 808 processor, a 5.2-inch 1080p display, 3 GB of RAM, a 2700 mAh battery, support for USB-C, a 12.3-megapixel main camera sensor, and a 5-megapixel front camera.

As is the case with the Huawei Nexus 6P (and the Chromecast 2nd gen. & Chromecast Audio, which we exclusively leaked last week), we’ll know more about Google’s announcements on September 29th.

 

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

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!]

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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Rumor claims LG Nexus 5 (2015) will be called Nexus 5X, pricing starts at $400

As we near the September 29 announcement of Google’s new Nexus handsets, the rumors, reports, and speculation just keep building. According to a new report out of Android Authority this morning, the upcoming LG Nexus 5 is going to sport the name “Nexus 5X,” although a “decision on the final name has not been taken yet at Google HQ.” Additionally, the phone is said to start at $400, which is $50 more than the previous Nexus 5 launched in 2013…
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Nextbit’s ‘Robin’ is an attractive & well-rounded Android handset made ‘cloud-first’

At this point, it seems like smartphones are coming to market just about as fast as apps. Today, Nextbit, a team made up of former engineers from Google, Apple, and other well-known names in the tech space, has announced their own smartphone entry. It’s called the Robin, and it packs a beautiful and simple design, great-but-sub-flagship specifications, and a cloud-first user experience…
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YU announces the Yureka Plus w/ full HD 5.5-inch display, Snapdragon 615 for $157

Almost all phone manufacturers seem to be launching “Plus” handset variants this year, and Micromax subsidiary YU isn’t an exception. The company first launched its YU Yureka handset late last year, and now, you can buy a “Plus” version of the device that packs a higher-resolution screen and some very minor spec improvements across the board…
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HBO NOW comes to Android and Fire tablets, Fire TV and Fire TV Stick soon

Update: The app is now available on the Play Store. Link below.

At long last, HBO is bringing HBO NOW, which first launched first on the Apple TV, to Android.

Additionally, Amazon has today announced that the online-only service is now available on the company’s line of Fire tablets, and that NOW will be making its way to the Amazon Fire TV and the Fire TV Stick very soon.


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ZTE officially unveils the Axon Phone, its high-powered flagship competitor

ZTE isn’t exactly known for premium smartphones, but now the Chinese company is taking a stab at delivering something that’s a bit on the higher-end. It doesn’t exactly set any records, but it’s definitely a decent piece of hardware — and its internals are about on par with that of this year’s Samsung, LG, and HTC headliners…
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Google planning to distribute Glass ‘Enterprise Edition’ exclusively through Glass for Work partners

We told you earlier this month that Google is internally referring to the next iteration of its Glass hardware as “Enterprise Edition,” and rightfully so — the Explorer Edition is long gone, and people close to Google have said that the company is planning to go full-force with its wearable computer in the workplace. But how are they going to do that? People familiar with the company’s plans have told 9to5Google that Google is currently planning to distribute the device exclusively through its certified set of Glass for Work partners…
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OnePlus to launch OnePlus 2 via virtual reality, announces its own Google Cardboard viewer

The company’s OnePlus One

OnePlus has today announced that they plan to launch their upcoming OnePlus 2 handset by way of virtual reality, something that has never been done before. Tired of traditional keynote-and-an-audience tech announcements, OnePlus decided to do something new — and, perhaps more importantly, way cheaper:

In our industry, product launches tend to be the same. An auditorium, a keynote, and a seated audience. For the OnePlus 2 launch, we didn’t want that barrier between us and you; we want to invite you into our world, because you’re a major part of it. That is why we will be unveiling the OnePlus 2 to the world completely in VR.

OnePlus has a reputation of being as loud and disruptive as they can in their marketing, and this is yet another step in that direction as the company slowly announces the specifications of the OnePlus 2 one by one…
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Huawei’s $250 P8 Lite comes to the US, sports a 5-inch display, Snapdragon 615

As expected, the Huawei P8 Lite has now landed in the United States. The phone isn’t exactly the first of its kind—the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 and the ZenFone 2 fall into the same category—but it’s a notable addition to the available mid-range offerings in the US. It’s a stripped down version of the company’s P8, as you might expect…
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LG says that the G4 will begin rolling out ‘this week’ to certain markets

In a pretty ambiguous press release, LG has come out this afternoon (or this morning for those in Seoul) to announce that its recently-announced G4 flagship will begin shipping this week to consumers in “key markets around the world.” The rollout will supposedly begin in Hong Kong, followed by introductions in Turkey, Russia, and Singapore…
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Xiaomi’s Mi Store ‘beta’ to open in US, UK, France and Germany on May 19th

Xiaomi is going to very slowly start its entry into Europe and the United States next week, according to a post from the company’s Facebook page. Starting on the 19th of May, the company will offer a small selection of accessories—including power banks and headphones—to buyers in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany…
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Google’s ‘Designed for Families’ Play Store program likely to launch at Google I/O

Google has begun sending out an email to developers, asking them to opt-in their family-friendly apps and games to the Designed for Families program. The Mountain View company first started inviting developers to take part in the initiative about a month ago, aiming to increase discoverability of family- and kid-friendly apps on the Play Store…
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LG gives us another (unnecessary) peek at its upcoming G4 flagship

There isn’t much new to see of the G4’s externals, as we’ve pretty much seen the device from every angle possible at this point. But what we can gleam once again from the above image, posted by LG itself on the company’s Google+ page, is that the previous leaks were indeed legitimate renders of the upcoming handset.
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Watch the Huawei P8 announcement here (Livestream)

Huawei is about to announce its next flagship, the Huawei P8, and you can watch the livestream of the global announcement right here. There’s not much known about the P8 besides the fact that Huawei is doing away with the “Ascend” part of its name, but the company is teasing a “Revamp the possibilities of light” motto for today’s event—meaning we might be seeing some kind of new screen or camera technology.
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Nexus Player shows up on Amazon UK for March 26 launch

The Nexus Player has been available in the US for quite some time, but now we have a bit of an idea of when the device will be launching in the UK. As spotted by Engadget, the Nexus Player has shown up on the UK Amazon website with a launch date of March 26th and a price of £80. Sadly, that page seems to have been taken down already and the only listing for the device is currently via a third-party reseller (at a pretty decent markup).

In January, Google revealed that the Nexus Player would be coming to Japan by the end of February, its first market outside the US. More recently, Google posted the Android 5.1 factory image for the Nexus Player. If you’d like to, you can head over to read our full review that we published all the way back in November. We found it to be a useful new platform for Android, but a lot of its features can feel a bit half-baked.

LG reportedly working on a higher-end ‘G Note’ phablet

<a href="http://9to5google.com/2015/03/10/lg-g4-leak-lg-g-flex-2/">Purported rendering</a> of the LG G4

LG has already said that it is working on a phone that is a bit higher-end than its upcoming LG G4 handset, and it looks like the company might go with the familiar “Note” moniker to set this device apart from its siblings. A high-end large screen smartphone specifically called the “G Note” is reportedly in the works (via Korea Herald), and it looks like LG even applied for a trademark for the phablet earlier this month…


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Everything points to a March 12th launch date for the Verizon Nexus 6

It’s been a long time coming for the Verizon Nexus 6, but several new pieces of information that popped up this morning and over the weekend (including a quote straight from a Verizon customer service representative) suggest that the device should be seeing a public launch—at least via Internet sales channels—on March 12th. We now have some information on pricing as well, and it looks like the device might just be shipping with Android 5.1 on the Big Red…
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