Android head Hiroshi Lockheimer has revealed in a post on Medium today that the next version of Google’s mobile operating system will be available to OEMs this summer. On a more whimsical note, Lockheimer notes that Google is still deciding on what dessert name to bestow upon the OS. “We’re nut tellin’ you yet,” he says.
Google has today announced several updates to Google Classroom, including the ability to add more than one teacher to a Classroom class, and new automatically-saving drafts for class announcements and assignments…
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Uber, the app-based car service that Google recently sunk $250M into via its Google Ventures investment arm, today announced that its cars in Philadelphia this summer will have free WiFi courtesy of Google. Google also made an announcement on its own blog noting that the initiative is sponsored by Google Apps for Businesses, the online suite of productivity tools that Google hopes users in the back of the new WiFi-equipped Uber vehicles will take advantage of.
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More specs of LG’s upcoming G3 have leaked from Sprint’s device database (via PhoneArena). While a quad-HD display, 2.3 GHz SnapDragon, and 4.4.2 version of Android are all still in the cards, the profile has been updated to reflect that the device will have a 16 megapixel camera.
Until this, rumors have pointed towards the G3 having a 13 megapixel camera — LG has either upgraded the glass, or the camera will change depending upon the region the device is sold in. Either way, LG’s devices have had excellent cameras for the past year, and the G3 isn’t likely to break that trend.
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnerqDWwVgg]
Verizon has officially confirmed that the HTC One will finally be available to customers on its 4G LTE network starting later this summer. The initial announcement comes from Verizon’s Twitter account and didn’t provide any other information on pricing or exact availability. We’re thinking Verizon will be releasing a full press release shortly and we’ll update with details when it does.
https://twitter.com/VZWnews/status/341592724161560578
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Although BlackBerry has been rumored to bring its BBM messaging platform to iOS and other devices before, today the company has made things official announcing at its event that support for both iOS and Android will be arriving in the coming months. The service, which BlackBerry says currently has about 60 million monthly active users, will come to devices running iOS 6 and Android 4.0 or above when it’s launched as a free app sometime this summer in the App Store and Google Play.
The company said that it would be bringing messaging and groups functionality to new platforms first but also has plans to introduce voice features, screen sharing, and its just announced “social engagement platform” dubbed ‘Channels’ in future releases. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said the company is “committed to making the BBM experience on other platforms as fully featured” as possible:
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When we heard late last month that Samsung planned to open Apple-style ‘store-in-store’ locations within Best Buy retail stores it was still only rumor. Today Samsung and Best Buy have made things official for its plans to roll out 1,400 “Samsung Experience Shops” in Best Buy retail stores across the United States. Best Buy plans to have the store within a store Samsung shops up and running by the summer with 900 scheduled to open by May:
Select Best Buy stores will have Samsung Smart Service™, which includes dedicated Samsung Experience Consultants™ and Best Buy blue shirt sales associates to assist customers with purchasing and activating mobile products on the carrier of their choice, understanding their device and supporting them throughout the lifecycle of their product. The specially trained Samsung Experience Consultants will assist with product demonstrations, basic product services, Samsung account set up, warranty registration and post purchase support.
The shops vary in size, with the largest being approximately 460 square feet. Within the larger shops, the Samsung Connected Solutions™ area creates a place for customers to see how easily Samsung devices connect and share content across multiple screens.
It’s not exactly a first for Samsung, having experimented with a number of similar store-within-store locations at other retailers around the globe, but it could very well act as a test ahead of bigger retail expansion plans in the U.S. It’s also something that Google has experimented with in Best Buy and PCWorld in the United Kingdom, which we’re hearing has lead to even much bigger retail plans for the company.
The image above shows what a typical Samsung Experience Shop inside Best Buy will look like. Samsung’s full press release below:
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