Tag: Google

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AT&T to Match Google Fiber Speeds and Pricing in Kansas City

ATT logoI’ve said it before. I’ll say it again.

The fastest way to improve an industry’s service or pricing is to introduce more competition. For the broadband industry, we’ve been watching traditional cable and DSL providers scramble to improve their offerings in areas where Google or publicly funded efforts are rolling out fiber to home internet.

AT&T has announced plans to match Google’s price and performance in areas around Kansas City. Gigabit broadband will cost $70, and combined with a basic TV package will increase that rate to $120.

It’s interesting to note that AT&T will also be courting businesses as Google currently only offers their fiber solution to residential areas. AT&T is already operating their “Gigapower” version of U-Verse in Austin, and there has been talk of expanding to more areas around the country this year. Moving to Kansas City is a clear shot at the area Google started their fiber roll out.

With Google announcing more cities on their list for gigabit internet, it would seem the broadband market might be heating up a bit, especially as cable providers like Time Warner and Comcast seem ill-equipped to offer competitive speeds and pricing compared to fiber providers.

You can read AT&T’s full press release below.

Continue reading “AT&T to Match Google Fiber Speeds and Pricing in Kansas City”

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Google Quietly and Oddly Pushes Lollipop 5.1 Update to Android One Devices

android oneThe 5.1 update isn’t a typo. It’s real and it’s already available on entry level Android One devices designed for emerging markets.

In the nomenclature of updates, it’s a fairly large jump from 5.0.2 to a full 5.1, though we don’t have an official changelog on whats included. AndroidPit published a list in December on what was coming in 5.1. They expect we’ll see the Silent Mode return alongside improvements to performance, RAM utilization, and radio management.

It’s just somewhat odd that Google would launch a decimal point update like this with virtually zero fanfare, though it’s interesting to see what phones Google selected first to receive the new software. Android One is one of the few areas that Google can almost completely control the software experience on a smartphone. It’s an area where even the Nexus experiment can falter when carriers get involved in support. Continue reading “Google Quietly and Oddly Pushes Lollipop 5.1 Update to Android One Devices”

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Microsoft FINALLY brings Tablet Optimized Office Apps to Android!

After we saw a demo of an iPad running Office apps, Android fans wondered, rather vocally, when we would also get to take part in the business grade festivities.

Oh sure we had an Office Phone app for basic viewing, editing, and formatting, but it lacked proper tablet support.

Microsoft office word document for android tablet app somegadgetguyAll that changed yesterday when Microsoft’s Word, Excel, and Powerpoint tablet apps were finally approved on Google Play. Each service is an individual app, and downloading the apps is totally free. When not linked with an Office 365 subscription, the apps function as viewers, and wont allow you to edit docs or spreadsheet. Though with unlimited cloud storage coming to OneDrive with an Office 365 subscription, it’s not a bad value when compared to other cloud storage solution.

Linking to Office 365 opens up a full world of document and presentation creation and editing, very similar to what we saw on the iPad version. The full toolsets of Office are included, with advanced formating and formula support, and are well optimized for touch screen use. Tied directly into Office Online, OneDrive, and can be linked to DropBox, it’s a fairly robust ecosystem for sharing and collaborating.

Microsoft office excel for android tablet app somegadgetguy

As they’re beefy services, the download sizes are pretty large. Expect all three apps together to clock in at around 370MB. There’s also an issue with compatibility. Most of the tablets I ave lying around are not yet approved to install the apps. No Asus Transformer, no NVIDIA Shield, even the newer Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 was a no go, so my first impressions were performed on a Nexus 7.

Still it’s a great collection for Android, and now Windows Tablet and Phone fans can start the waiting game as we should see touch optimized Office apps arrive with Windows 10.

Microsoft Word on Google Play
Microsoft Excel on Google Play
Microsoft Powerpoint on Google Play

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Breaking: Google to End Glass Explorer Program January 19

I found it curious that we heard nothing about a follow up to Google’s Glass program. It was moved to open BETA last year, so anyone willing to part with $1500 was able to secure a face computer of their very own, but the rumored announcement of a consumer edition never materialized in 2014.

The plot thickens however as this was posted publicly on the Glass Explorer Google Plus page today:

We’re graduating from Google[x] labs
It’s hard to believe that Glass started as little more than a scuba mask attached to a laptop. We kept on it, and when it started to come together, we began the Glass Explorer Program as a kind of “open beta” to hear what people had to say.

Explorers, we asked you to be pioneers, and you took what we started and went further than we ever could have dreamed: from the large hadron collider at CERN, to the hospital operating table; the grass of your backyard to the courts of Wimbledon; in fire stations, recording studios, kitchens, mountain tops and more. Continue reading “Breaking: Google to End Glass Explorer Program January 19”

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Google Play Store App Brings Back Purchase History

It’s been a frustrating omission in the Google Play Store app for some time now.

You’ve always been able to see every app you’ve ever had on any phone you’ve used, but for some reason Google removed the ability to track your purchases. An update coming soon to the Play Store will bring back the ability to track purchase history.

Screenshot_2014-12-04-21-24-40Once you get the update head over to “My Apps” then into “My Account”. From there you can see your payment methods, if you have any store credit, and below that HUZZAH! Order History!

Kind of a fun game to scroll back through everything to see my first app purchases. Apparently I started using Android during some kind of freak holiday app sale…

The updated store should be rolling out to phones over the next couple weeks!

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Google Accuses Microsoft of Copying Search Results on Bing

Ok. I’m a fan of Microsoft’s recent moves, but this is hilarious.

Engineers at Google started to suspect that Bing was copying their search results, so they set up a sting, tying nonsensical strings of letters to dummy web pages. Quickly after indexing each page and fake word search, Google Engineers found they could search for the same nonsense and get the dummy page on Bing.

google-hiybbprqag-cropped-1

Microsoft has yet to comment on the matter, but it would appear that not just consumers, but even Bing prefers Google…

Read up on the whole experiment and sting on Google’s blog.

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Google Publishes List of Top Android Apps for 2014

Google best apps of 2014Score a new Android over Black Friday? Looking to pick up a tablet this holiday season? Wondering what apps you should install first?

Google published their top Android app list for 2014, and it’s jammed pack with some winners. I’m happy to say that I’ve already snagged about half of these. Probably because I have excellent taste.

Did your favorite apps make the cut? Check out the list by hitting the link below!

Best (Android) Apps of 2014

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First Minute Free on International Calls Through Google Hangouts for the Rest of 2014

google hangouts dialer on LG G3 free minute calling 2014A nice little touch for the holidays, Google is cutting Hangouts users a break on international calling for the rest of 2014.

If you have voice calling activated through the Hangouts dialer, the first minute of your call will be free to twenty five participating countries.

Don’t worry, you wont have to memorize which countries are free, as a little pop up will notify you of your first free minute. You can say a lot in a minute, but really, anything that can the edge off of the costs of international phone calls is always going to be appreciated.

Hit the Google Support page for the full scoop!

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