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171 'United States' stories June 2011 - May 2012

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Google introduces the new Chromebook and Chromebox, available today in US and UK [Video]

Élyse Betters May 29 2012 - 12:34 pm PT

Google took to the official Google Blog today to introduce its new Chromebook and Chromebox, two devices we spied earlier this year at CES—complete with an enticing new reel (below).

The Mountain View, Calif.-based Company’s Vice President of Engineering and Director of Product Management Linus Upson reminded the world about the launch of Google’s Chromebooks last year, and then he unveiled the new Chromebook and the industry’s first Chromebox.

“Like its predecessor, the newest Chromebook is a fast and portable laptop for everyday users. The Chromebox is a compact, powerful and versatile desktop perfect for the home or office,” explained Upson in the blog post.

Google partnered with Samsung to produce the Series 5 550 Chromebook starting at $449. It boasts a 12.1-inch 1,280-by-800 display, six hours of battery life, 4 GB RAM, built-in dual band Wi-Fi 802.11, an optional 3G modem, an HD camera, two USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 memory card slot, and a DisplayPort compatible with HDMI, DVI, VGA.

Samsung manufactures the $329 Chromebox with similar specs as the Series 5 550, but it carries six USB 2.0 ports, a 2x DisplayPort, a DVI single link output, and Bluetooth 3.0 and Kensington key lock compatibly. However, it lacks the 3G modem option and HD camera.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oLUPlTA9gsY]

A gallery is available below.

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Motorola announces Q2 ICS updates for Droid Razr, Razr Maxx

Élyse Betters May 18 2012 - 1:02 pm PT

Motorola just tweaked its Android Software Upgrade timetable for Ice Cream Sandwich updates, and it looks like both the United States-based Droid Razr and Razr Maxx are getting Android 4.0 in the second quarter.

The Xoom 3G model is also eyeing an ICS rollout in the same quarter, while the 8.2-inch and 10.1-inch Xyboard, Droid Bionic, and the Droid 4 are upgrading to the latest and current Android OS in Q3 2012. These devices were once listed under “Evaluation & Planning” when Motorola last altered the timetable in February.

It is worth noting the rollout dates could change once Google’s buyout of Motorola completes. Check out the manufacturer’s Motorola Android Software Upgrade News website for a full chart of slated ICS promotions.

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And the official 2012 Google Doodle winner is….

Élyse Betters May 17 2012 - 10:49 am PT

Dylan Hoffman of Caledonia, Wisc., is the 2012 United States Doodle 4 Google National Winner.

According to Google’s Vice President of Project Management Marissa Mayer, the second-grader’s “Pirate Times” doodle, featured above, will go live on the U.S. Google homepage May 18. Hoffman entered his illustrated response to this year’s “If I could travel in time I’d visit…”, and then he landed the No. 1 spot and won a treasure chest of prizes, such as: a $30,000 college scholarship; a Chromebook computer; and, a $50,000 technology grant for Prairie School. His doodle will also appear on the Crayola 64-crayon special edition box this fall.

The annual contest received a record 114,000 submissions, while millions of public votes helped determine the winner. The full list of runner-ups is available on the official Google blog, and each winner will receive a $5,000 college scholarship.

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Google reinvents search—again—with Knowledge Graph (Video)

Élyse Betters May 16 2012 - 11:34 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mmQl6VGvX-c]

Google just made searching the Internet much more tailored—again—by announcing its new Knowledge Graph that identifies the relationship between words in a query.

In a massive blog post on the official Google Blog, Google’s Senior Vice President of Engineering Amit Singhal announced the new feature, while explaining search has historically been about matching keywords to queries, but that is not the ideal approach in the modern era of search.

According to the Singal:

“Take a query like [taj mahal]. For more than four decades, search has essentially been about matching keywords to queries. To a search engine the words [taj mahal] have been just that—two words.

But we all know that [taj mahal] has a much richer meaning. You might think of one of the world’s most beautiful monuments, or a Grammy Award-winning musician, or possibly even a casino in Atlantic City, NJ. Or, depending on when you last ate, the nearest Indian restaurant. It’s why we’ve been working on an intelligent model—in geek-speak, a “graph”—that understands real-world entities and their relationships to one another: things, not strings.

The SVP further described how the Knowledge Graph helps Google decipher ambiguous language. The feature’s methodology determines whether a user meant Taj Mahal the monument or Taj Mahal the musician when searching “Taj Mahal,” and then it displays a more narrowed list of search results.

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Samsung loses $10B market value due to Apple order rumor

Élyse Betters May 16 2012 - 8:22 am PT

Samsung’s shares dipped more than 6 percent yesterday, erasing $10 billion from the manufacturer’s market value, due to a rumor that claimed Apple ordered large amounts of chips with rebounding Japanese chipmaker Elpida.

According to Reuters, Taiwan tech website DigiTimes reported that the Cupertino, Calif.-based Company requested huge orders for dynamic random access memory chips with Elpida’s Hiroshima, Japan plant. Unnamed industry sources said the order fastened about 50 percent of the factory’s total chip production.

Samsung is the world’s foremost DRAM manufacturer, but its shares subsequently fell 6.2-percent to around $1,100 USD after the piping hot rumor circulated the blogosphere. The abrupt plunge is the stock’s 9-week low and sharpest daily fall in almost four years. SK Hynix is the second-largest memory chipmaker after Samsung, and its shares closed at 9 percent, which is a 20-week low and steepest slump in nine months.

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Verizon to launch LTE in horde of US cities May 17

Élyse Betters May 11 2012 - 6:43 am PT

Verizon is expanding its LTE rollout by giving the green light on May 17 for many northeast cities in the United States.

PC World tested 3G and 4G wireless data transfer speeds last month for the top four carriers —both indoors and outside with multiple devices across 13 major cities in 130 testing locations— and discovered some surprising results: AT&T won the 4G crown. It clocked the fastest speeds in all but four cities when compared to other 4G network providers. With that said, AT&T may soon lose its place as Verizon vastly continues to increase LTE presence in the country.

Check out Verizon’s full rollout list with each presser linked below:

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LG to release Google TV-enabled set in US in late May

Élyse Betters May 7 2012 - 7:10 am PT

LG Electronics announced it will release its anticipated Google TV-enabled television set in the United States during late May.

“Production of Google TVs will start from May 17 from our factory in Mexico and U.S. consumers will be able to buy the product from the week of May 21,” said Executive Vice President of LG’s TV business unit Ro Seogho to a group of reporters.

According to Reuters, Seogho further revealed that a launch in Europe and Asia would follow as long as the product performs well stateside.

Earlier this month, 9to5Google also reported LG’s 3D Google TV-enable sets would launch in early May.

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Google Docs amps offering with 450 new fonts, 60 templates

Élyse Betters May 2 2012 - 12:34 pm PT

Google launched a new “Go Google” campaign today to flaunt its array of cloud-based services, and now the Google Docs team is doing the same by rounding up a host of improvements it made to Google Docs in April with the announcement of 450 new fonts and 60 new templates.

“Today, we added over 450 new fonts to Google documents to make it easier for you to add a little something extra to whatever you create,” explained Software Engineer Isabella Ip on the Official Google Docs Blog.

To select the new fonts, click on the font menu, and then select “Add fonts” at the bottom. This will open a menu to all the Google Web Fonts available. Users can narrow their search for the perfect font by alphabetical order, date added, and “trending.” Once a font is selected, users are free to implement them in Google Docs, especially in one of the service’s 60 new templates that were unveiled today.

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Doodle 4 Google’s National Finalists public voting opens today

Élyse Betters May 2 2012 - 8:01 am PT

The Doodle 4 Google State Finalists were just named, and now it is up to the public to vote for their favorite to become a National Finalist.

The annual Google Doodle competition is open to K-12 students of United States schools. This year’s theme for the doodles is “If I could travel in time, I’d visit…” and the panel of guest judges features a slew of celebrities like Katy Perry and Jordin Sparks.

Google encourages people to take a moment and vote for their favorites to help decide who goes on to become the National Winner. There is only one vote per person per age group during the May 2 to May 10 voting period. A list of the State Finalists with options for voting is available on the Doodle 4 Google website.

“At the final event, one of the five National Finalists will be named the ‘National Winner of Doodle 4 Google’ and the national winner’s doodle will be featured on the Google homepage on May 18, 2012 for 24 hours,” Google explained.

Judging criteria and a description of prizes are also available online.

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Google Business Photos goes to Canada, Ireland and Netherlands

Élyse Betters May 1 2012 - 10:13 am PT

Google’s Business Photos program, which was previously only available in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and France, is now being expanded to Canada, Ireland, and the Netherlands due to the service’s positive feedback.

According to the Official Google Lat Long Blog:

Since April 2010, we’ve been testing and developing the Business Photos program, which gives users a virtual peek inside businesses through interactive 360-degree imagery. After hearing your positive feedback about how showing off panoramic views of your business interiors helps you attract potential customers, we’re excited to announce further expansion of this program. Starting today, in addition to the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and France, this service is now available in Canada, Ireland and the Netherlands.

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Samsung remains top OEM in March, as Android and iOS capture 80 percent of US market

Jordan Kahn May 1 2012 - 9:56 am PT

Following IDC’s report this morning that highlighted Apple’s continued growth among mobile phone marketshare worldwide, while coming second to Samsung in global smartphone marketshare, research firm comScore just released its numbers for United States mobile subscribers for the three-month period ending March 2012.

According to comScore, Apple posted impressive growth during the quarter with 30.7-percent marketshare among smartphone platforms in the U.S (up from 29.6-percent). Increasing from 47.3-percent in December 2011 to 51 percent in March 2012, Android was able to grab the top position for platforms during the quarter. Growth for Android and iOS continues to come at the expense of RIM. The company grabbed just 12.3-percent of the platform market in March, which is down from 16 percent in December 2011. Microsoft also lost marketshare with 3.9-percent, which is down from 4.7-percent…

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Google ranks No. 1 in comScore’s Top 50 US Web Properties

Élyse Betters Apr 25 2012 - 9:30 am PT

Digital world measurer comScore released its monthly analysis of United States-based web activity for March 2012 today, and Google debuted at No. 1 in two of the survey’s categories.

Google websites came out on top in the Top 50 Properties category with 189.7 million visitors in March. Meanwhile, Microsoft sites landed the No. 2 spot with 178.9 million visitors, followed by Yahoo! sites at 175.4 million visitors. The Mountain View, Calif.-based Company’s Ad Network also grabbed the crown in the Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking category last month with a reach of 91.7 percent of Americans online. AOL Advertising netted 83.1 percent, and Google itself closed out the top three at 81.7 percent.

Check out the full report for more information (PDF), including details on comScore’s measuring metrix.

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Samsung hands out $200,000 to devs in Galaxy Note S Pen App Challenge

Jordan Kahn Apr 23 2012 - 1:34 pm PT

As part of the Samsung Galaxy Note S Pen App Challenge, the company handed out $200,000 in cash prizes to mobile developers in the United States. The awards went to apps that made particular good use of the Galaxy Note’s S Pen stylus. The best overall app and grand prize of $100,000 went to “Monkey Write * Learn Chinese” by Chiu-ki Chan (Square Island LLC).

Other winners include second place best overall app “Maze Racer” with developer SmartyPantsGaming taking home $50,000, and third place best overall app “Drawing Pad” grabbing $25,000.

Popular Choice app went to SignDoc Mobile. It received $2,000 along with the rest of the honorable mention winners below:

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Google spent $5M lobbying last quarter for open Web

Élyse Betters Apr 23 2012 - 9:52 am PT

(<a href='http://images.fastcompany.com/upload/googwash.jpg' target='_blank'>via</a> FastCompany)

Google spent $5.03 million lobbying in Washington last quarter.

According to the company’s lobbying report (PDF), the search engine’s lobbying efforts focused on the regulation of Web-based privacy, advertising, and competition, including International tax reform.

CNET’s Lance Whitney explained that Google only spent $3.76 million lobbying in Q4 2011 and $1.48 million Q1 2011, but attributed the recent surge in expenses mainly to one Congressional bill:

The search giant devoted lobby dollars to H.R. 1389 – Global Online Freedom Act of 2011, a Congressional bill designed to prevent U.S. companies from cooperating with repressive foreign governments in using the Internet for censorship and surveillance. Google has of course squared off in the past with China over the censorship of its search results.

The company lobbied for H.Con.Res. 114, a bill ‘expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should preserve, enhance, and increase access to an open, global Internet.’

It is worth noting that Apple only spent $500,000 lobbying last quarter.

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YouTube Live now offers monetization for live events, Wirecast, publishing flow, and instant analytics

Élyse Betters Apr 10 2012 - 1:02 pm PT

YouTube Live Publishing Flow + Analytics

YouTube Live added new features to its live-streaming video platform today to celebrate its first birthday, but the most notable update it the ability to monetize live events.

“You can now monetize your live events with advertising or paid options. A live event can be claimed in the new video manager like any other video and monetized with instream ads or paid options where you can set price by country,” explained YouTube Partner Product Manager Varun Talwar on the official YouTube Creator Blog.

Other improvements to the service include Wirecast for YouTube Live and a new publishing flow with real-time analytics.

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Google Books cutting off independent eBooksellers starting 2013

Jordan Kahn Apr 5 2012 - 11:09 am PT

Google announced today in a post on the Inside Google Books blog that it would be discontinuing its reseller program that allowed independent booksellers to sell through Google’s eBook services. The American Booksellers Association sent letters to its members informing them that about 350 independent bookstores selling eBooks through Google’s reseller program would end as of Jan. 31, 2013. The full letter (via Paid Content) is below.

Google’s explanation comes from Director of Product Management for Digital Publishing Scott Dougall:

Looking at the results to-date, it’s clear that the reseller program has not met the needs of many readers or booksellers. While our role as an ebooks wholesaler to booksellers will be coming to a close next year, we remain as committed as ever to making the eBooks experience from Google the best it can be for readers around the world.

For books that customers have already purchased, Google confirmed they would continue to “be able to access and read their eBooks on the web, phones, tablets and compatible eReaders.” Google will also help its 16 reseller partners “as they transition in the coming months” by continuing to give access to free Books APIs and highlighting them in the “Buy this book” section of Google Book search.

The full letter from the ABA to its members is below:

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YouTube and Google Play sign Paramount Pictures licensing agreement to add 500 new movie titles

Élyse Betters Apr 4 2012 - 7:14 am PT

YouTube announced a new licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures today that will bring 500 new rentable movie titles to its video-sharing platform and Google Play.

“With the addition of Paramount, we now have five of the six major studios and over ten independent movie studios offering nearly 9,000 movies for rent to millions of people around the world,” announced Director of Content Partnerships at YouTube Malik Ducard on the official YouTube blog.

The United States and Canada will have access to the new catalog over the next few weeks. A sampling of Paramount Pictures’ featured movies through Google include “Hugo” for $3.99, “Transformers” for $2.99, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” for $2.99, and “The Godfather” for $2.99.

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Google Art Project expands to 30,000 high-resolution images

Seth Weintraub Apr 3 2012 - 7:27 am PT

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZdCByYeNRU&feature=player_embedded]

“New content, new partners, new countries, new features”

Google’s Art Project is expanding to 30,000 high-resolution images at 151 museums in 40 countries from an initial 1,000 images at 17 museums in nine countries. The project’s goal is to give people access to the world’s great works.

The expanded Art Project embraces all sizes of institutions, specializing in art or in other types of culture. For example, you can take a look at the White House in Washington, D.C., explore the collection of the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar, and continue the journey to the Santiniketan Triptych in the halls of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi. In the United States alone, some 29 partners in 16 cities are participating, ranging from excellent regional museums like the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, South Carolina to top notch university galleries such as the SCAD museum of art in Savannah, Georgia.

Even The White House got “Streetviewed”:

Here are a few other new things from the expanded Art Project that you might enjoy:
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AmazonWireless exits beta with best price guarantee, free premium apps, and free two-day shipping

Élyse Betters Apr 3 2012 - 7:22 am PT

Amazon finally nixed AmazonWireless.com‘s beta mode by officially launching the website with two new advantages for the online retailer’s customers.

AmazonWireless first launch in July 2009 as a beta to ease the process of buying cell phones while allotting the best value for top devices. A new benefit for the website is “AmazonWireless Best Price Guarantee.” As the name indicates, Amazon now promises the best cell phones prices with service from the main carriers.

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Samsung goes the other way with micro smartphone, coming soon to AT&T

Jordan Kahn Apr 2 2012 - 11:59 am PT

We knew Samsung’s 2.8-inch Galaxy Pocket at just 12mm thin and weighing 97 grams was coming when the company officially announced the handset last month. At the time, we did not have word on an official United States launch date, but today the device has made its way through the Federal Communications Commission (via Engadget). We do not get many new details on the device that packs an 832MHz processor, 3GB of onboard memory, and built-in FM radio, Wi-Fi, and 3G, but we do learn it will operate on GSM 850 / 1900 and UMTS Band frequencies, which means it might come to AT&T. We will keep you posted when we hear more about an official U.S. launch date.

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Report: Sony to sell Google TV-based set-top boxes in Europe this fall

Élyse Betters Apr 2 2012 - 8:38 am PT

Sony plans to expand Google TV-based set-top-boxes to Europe starting this September.

According to GigaOM (via machine-translated Les Echos), Sony France Marketing Director Stephane Labrousse said a set-top box will sell in France for €200 ($266 USD) and another box with a built-in Blu-ray player will go for €300 ($399 USD).

Aside from a France launch, Les Echos indicated a simultaneous release in Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Google TV is currently only available in the United States, but Sony announced at Las Vegas’ 2012 Consumer Electronics Show that two Google TV-compatible set-top boxes would go international within the year.

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DOJ to share $500M Google settlement with law enforcement

Élyse Betters Apr 2 2012 - 7:24 am PT

The Department of Justice plans to share settlement money with law enforcement agencies that participated in an investigation about Google distributing online advertisements from Canadian pharmacies illegally selling prescription drugs to Americans.

According to the Associated Press (via Boston.com), the agencies that participated in the investigation include Rhode Island state police, National Guard, attorney general’s office, North Providence police, and East Providence police.

Google ponied up $500 million last year to settle the investigation. The DOJ detailed the settlement’s particulars on its website. Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha scheduled a news conference for this afternoon to discuss the money’s distribution between agencies.

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Samsung has incredible March, tallies 3 million Galaxy Notes sold in 4 weeks

Seth Weintraub Mar 28 2012 - 7:10 am PT

In a land where SUVs rule the landscape in the face of growing fuel costs, it is little surprise that a well-made, huge Android Phablet would sell well in the U.S. Indeed, Samsung’s Galaxy Note got a supers-shot of sales adrenaline when it reached the United States shores.

The Note passed 2 million in sales earlier this month, but add its recent U.S. launch, and the smartphone maker now claims it has sold 5 million devices. Detractors will of course claim that 5 million sold “into inventory and not necessarily sales.” Samsung clarifies that these are sales. It is pretty clear that there are not a million devices in inventory—these are selling well either way.

Samsung passed 1 million Notes at the end of last year. My Galaxy Note review.

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Samsung USA teases a very Stock-ish ICS Galaxy Note on its Facebook page

Seth Weintraub Mar 27 2012 - 6:57 am PT

Just in case you had not heard that Samsung pushed its Galaxy Note Ice Cream Sandwich update from Q1 2012 to Q2 2012, here is a reminder on Samsung’s Mobile USA Facebook page. Perhaps as a bonus, this build of ICS appears to be extremely light on TouchWiz. Is there any chance Samsung is dumping its overlay?

Thanks Allegrotechie!

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