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As noticed by TNW, Google appears to be testing a new flight search service that differs from its Google Flights offering launched in September of last year. In our tests, the service, dubbed “Flight Explorer”, is fully accessible through www.google.com/flights/explorer, indicating this might be an upcoming refresh of the Google Flights service. Upon navigating to the Flight Explorer page, Google automatically detects your location for the “From” category and selects what appears to be the next closest country in the “To” section.

The service also provides some improvements over Google’s old flights search, allowing users to select the trip length with a slider under their destination, as well as a number of filters along the top, including: Stops, Airline, Duration, Outbound time, and Return Time. While the service appears to be ready to go, clicking links for any flights that show up in the results takes you to a familiar Google Flights page currently. We expect to hear more about Google’s new Flight Explorer service soon.

Google just announced Google I/O 2013 would kick off in 162 days from May 15 to May 17 at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco. Google is not accepting registrations yet, but it will announce more details in February.

It might only be December, but Google I/O 2013 is set and is just 162 days away! We’ll be returning to Moscone Center West in San Francisco on May 15-17, 2013, and sharing the experience beyond via Google Developers Live and I/O Extended viewing parties. We’ll announce registration details in February 2013.
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Google announced today on Google+ that version 4.2.1 of the Gmail app for Android is now available to users running Android 4.0 and up. The update focuses on making it easier to view and read messages, including auto-fit messages and zooming features:

No longer will your favorite email newsletters get cut off at the edges; with this latest version, you can now choose to have the emails resized to fit neatly on your screen and pinch to zoom for a closer look.  You can turn on auto-fit underSettings > General Settings.

Other features in the update now available on Google Play include swipe to archive or delete, larger photo previews, and more:
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Google is getting rid of anonymous reviews in its Google Play store and informing users that from now on store reviews “will be posted publicly using your Google+ name and picture.” There doesn’t appear to be an option at this point to not use your Google+ identity, which means we might get a bit of backlash from users. However, it also means more accountability and potentially better reviews. The update was first spotted on the web version of the Google Play store, as pictured above, but it is apparently making its way out to mobile users too.

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According to AndroidCentral, Google confirmed that it would resume selling its new Nexus 4 smartphone today after weeks of unavailability following the Nov. 13 launch. Both the $299 8 GB and $348 16GB models were listed as sold out just shortly after going up for sale in the United States on the Google Play store. Since then, some shipments have reached customers. However, Google earlier this month notified some pre-orders customers that their device would ship in three weeks due to “overwhelming demand.” We’ll keep you posted if the device actually hits Google Play later today.

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Those that updated to Android 4.2 might have noticed a bug that prevents users from selecting December for events like birthdays inside of the People app. Google has now officially addressed the issue in a post on the Android Google+ page by confirming that it plans to fix the bug before December:

We discovered a bug in the Android 4.2 update, which makes it impossible to enter December events in optional fields of the People app (this bug did not affect Calendar). Rest assured, this will be fixed soon so that those of you with December birthdays and anniversaries won’t be forgotten by your friends and family.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXblqVPvSpM&feature=youtu.be]

ReutersTV posted this video of Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt speaking at the RAND Corp.’s “Politics Aside” conference in Culver City on Nov. 19. During the 32-minute-long interview, Schmidt discussed Google’s position on free speech, privacy, and described the process of removing potentially inappropriate user-generated content on YouTube.

9to5Google previously detailed a leaked version of Google Wallet that plans to soon introduce a physical Google Wallet card, but a new leak today adds another layer of credibility to the piling speculation.

As noted by TechCrunch, Google let the cat out of the bag again today on its “Eligible Devices” page under the Help section of the Google Wallet website. The page listed all of the Android devices “eligible to download the Google Wallet app for use with the Google Wallet card.”

Last week’s leaked screenshots of the Google Wallet app also called the physical cards “Google Wallet card.” With that said, Google’s Eligible Device page no longer mentions them. It seems Google has promptly corrected its mistake. Hmm.

Check out the updated webpage below. 

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Google Wallet launched with free $10 prepaid cards to welcome users to the mobile payments system, but the company later revealed that it would discontinue the complimentary gifts and issue refunds for remaining balances in October.

Well, the time has now come… and Google is keeping its promise. Folks need to complete Google’s refund form online to get their money. It asks for their Google Wallet device ID, name, phone number, and other sensitive details.

Refunds come via check or prepaid MasterCard. Google will not process the requests until after Oct. 30, however, so do not expect to receive the prepaid card for another 7 to 10 business days. Those who choose the alternative option will receive a check within eight weeks.

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Google announced a few updates for YouTube Analytics today on the YouTube Creators blog. The new tools for content creators include enhanced “time watched” data, a beta version of “Annotations report,” and a few UI improvements.

For time-watched data, which Google originally rolled out earlier this year, channel owners can now see an enhanced Views report that includes “estimated minutes watched”. It also features other metrics from a “Compare metric” drop down menu, such as: “Monetizable views”, “Unique viewers”, “Estimated minutes watched”, and “Total estimated earnings”. You will also now find “Annotations (Beta)” in the YouTube Analytics sidebar, allowing you to “view data on the performance of your video annotations, with insights on viewer click and close rates.

As for design changes, there is now a Date Slider to easily adjust the time period you are viewing data for, a metadata section with data for video duration and lifetime views, and video hover cards to quickly view a thumbnail and info for your videos.

Google’s Market cap passed Microsoft this morning for the first time, as first noted by a Bloomberg news tweet.

[tweet https://twitter.com/BloombergNews/statuses/252764243567464450]

Google trailed Microsoft by $19 billion earlier this year. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company closed the Market cap gap in just 10 months, however, forcing the once-goliath Microsoft to now walk in the footpaths of Google and Apple as the world’s most valuable tech companies.

Check out the fight in realtime: 

• Google Market cap
• Microsoft Market cap

Microsoft currently boasts a $3 billion lead over Google, according to Business Insider, which cited Yahoo Finance, but their points are bound to sway if Google continues to swell.

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In partnership with CIT, Google announced on its Official Enterprise Blog today that it would roll out a new Chromebook rental program as a trial. The month-to-month rentals, starting at $30 for a Chromebook and $25 for a Chromebox, will be available to organizations and come with full 24/7 support and a three-year limited warranty. Google noted there is no commitment required and the costs decrease each year depending on the terms of the rental. The company also announced it would make volume purchases for up to 10 ChromeBooks available to Google Apps customers:

Imagine you’re setting up shop for a local political campaign and will have an influx of new, temporary workers. You can rent a Chromebook for each worker for the next few months, and return them when the campaign is over. Chromebooks meet the needs of most workers, making this rental program a great option for companies with seasonal workers, larger organizations who want to pilot Chromebooks, fast-growing startups and any company looking to preserve cash.

The full details on the rental solutions being offered through CIT are below. 
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SageTV’s founder just revealed in a Google+ comment that Fiber TV is powered by his former company’s technology.

SageTV essentially provided a television interface for DVR, music, and photographs, with the ability for users to create and control the media center from multiple devices. In June 2011, SageTV CTO and founder Jeffrey Kardatzke announced that Google acquired his company, and SageTV products have no longer been available for purchase since.

Google launched its Gigabit Google Fiber Internet and TV service in Kansas City this afternoon. The Mountain View, Calif.-based Company spent a lot of time demoing its “100 times faster” Internet service, but the majority of the demo was for Fiber TV. The service will give access to YouTube, DVR, on-demand libraries, and Netflix.

While Fiber TV is only available to “Fiberhoods” in Kansas City at the moment, Kardatzke told Google+ folks to “stay tuned” (below).

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