Tag: Google

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Android Wear Smartwatches Now Work With iPhones

AndroidWearforiOSIt’s a good day for iOS users who like choices.

Sure Apple has their own watch, but if you’ve been eyeing the diversity of hardware in the Google ecosystem with envy, now you can use Android Wear without giving up your precious iPhone.

Starting today, any iPhone running iOS 8.2 or higher can install the Wear companion app through iTunes. Compatible with all current Wear watches, and you’ll have access to features like your notifications, fitness tracking, and “OK Google” voice search.

I know you’ve been checking out those round watch faces like the LG G Watch R… Don’t lie… You can catch the full press release below.
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Cortana BETA for Android Available to All on Google Play – No Google+ Required

cortana vs google now on android somegadgetguyWe’ve been seeing leaked versions of Microsoft’s digital assistant popping up on Android forums, but Cortana for Android is now available as a public BETA for everyone, no special login or credentials required.

One of the more popular features found on Windows Phones, Cortana can replace Google Now as the search and assistant on Android devices. Known for having more personality, she often does a better job of responding to casually delivered commands. We showcased some of her capabilities here in this older review of Windows Phone.

You can grab the BETA for yourself by going to this preview page, and happily you wont need to sign up for any Google Plus community or developer access. Enjoy!

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Google’s Project Sunroof Looks to Make Solar Panel Shopping Easier

Screenshot (3)It can sometimes be a bit difficult finding good information on installing solar panels. Google’s Project Sunroof hopes to make the process a bit easier.

Utilizing their mapping data, and monitoring trends from homes with panels already installed, Google will be creating a database for home owners to search. Answering questions like how much sun a roof might receive, what options they have for installation in their area, and what the costs versus savings might look like.

The project is only currently supporting three cities, Boston, San Francisco, and Fresno, but knowing Google’s ability to traffic this kind of data, I would imagine the project will grow quickly. How do you not easily add a city like Phoenix or Albuquerque right?

Hit the Project Sunroof site for more info.

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The Next Version of Android Will be Called Marshmallow!

android marshmallowWe’ve been playing with the preview builds of Android M, but of course one of the most important points of speculation is what dessert name that “M” will stand for.

Google HQ took the wraps off a new lawn statue, and now we have our answer. Android M will be Marshmallow.

Hopefully the update will be more solid than the treat it’s named after 😉

Courtesy Dave Burke Twitter Account

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Samsung Unveils the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+

Samsung-Galaxy-Note-5-and-S6-edge+Here we go folks! Samsung is pushing up the timetable on their large screen phones, and we’re getting our phablet fix a little earlier than last year.

We now have proper confirmation on specs for these two handsets, and it looks like the rumor train was pretty spot on.

The Galaxy Note 5 is following in the footsteps of the Galaxy S6. We’ll be continuing the more iPhone inspired lines wrapping around the edges of the phone. This means no removable back plate, no swappable battery, and to support Samsung’s internal storage file system, there will not be any MicroSD card expansion. Focusing on “THIN” means we do have a subtle bulge coming from the camera module on the back of the phone.

The battery will also shrink down to 3,000mAh from the Note 4’s 3,220 cell. Samsung is betting on fast charging, and wireless “fast” charging, over including a larger battery capacity. Full charge over USB cable in 90 minutes. Full charge wirelessly over two hours.

We stay with a 5.7″ Quad HD AMOLED screen (resolution of 2560×1440) and these phones will be powered by an Exynos Octa-Core processor and 4GB of RAM. Built in storage options are limited to 32GB and 64GB, which might be a bit lean for a phone with such a monster camera on board. The 16MP, half inch sensor, shooter with OIS returns. Now including an f/1.9 aperture for better low light performance and depth of field. We imagine it will perform very similarly to the camera on the Galaxy S6 (full camera review, KumbaCam samples). Continue reading “Samsung Unveils the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+”

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See What Your Phone is REALLY Capable of with Google’s Android Experiments

ink space android experimentGoogle is celebrating some of the more experimental apps found in the Android ecosystem with their new Android Experiments site. Taking some of these projects, making them open source, and encouraging developers to continue pushing the boundaries on smartphone apps and services.

None of these seem to be fully featured programs, but pieces of design which could lead to some interesting apps. I’m already really impressed with InkSpace, which bends drawings around your phone’s orientation and then creates a gif based on your art. Check out Google’s teaser video below.

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Google Announces Massive Reorganization, Becomes Alphabet

google alphabetGoogle is a pretty diverse company. It’s easy to forget how many pies they have their fingers in. Off the top of my head, you’ve got search, Youtube, Social, Photos, medical research, Fiber, self driving cars, Glass, Nest, Calico, Android, and I’m sure I’m missing a good dozen other divisions.

Announced today, Alphabet will now represent the full umbrella of companies and services, while Google will become the name of a much more streamlined part of the greater whole. Co-Founder Larry Page will become the CEO of Alphabet, Sergey Page will become President of Alphabet, and Sundar Pichai (formerly in charge of Chrome OS and Android) will become the CEO of the leaner Google.

Google will now be comprised of the most successful business ventures of the whole organization. Search, Ads, Maps, Android, and Youtube are now “Google”. Alphabet includes Google, and every other division, program, and experiment.

This move makes each department a bit more accountable to the whole of the organization, and it should be easier to see which teams and companies are performing well.

Investors seemed bullish on the news, with around a 7% stock bumping following the announcement, though that has calmed back down in after hours trading.

Still, it’ll be curious to see future ventures from Larry and Sergei under the Alphabet banner, instead of seeing future Google “BETA” products.

Larry Page’s full announcement is below.

Continue reading “Google Announces Massive Reorganization, Becomes Alphabet”

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Motorola Announces Trio of Phones: Moto X Style, Moto X Play, New Moto G

motorola moto x style pure play moto gIt’s NEW Motorola time!

Rumors have been swirling about what the company will reveal now that they’re owned by Lenovo, and it’s not a single phone, but a trio of new gadgets.

The New Moto G

Gaining a water resistant build, Gorilla Glass, more color options in Moto Maker, this is the phone that bolstered Moto’s market share. It was an inexpensive, entry-level handset which brought a higher quality of performance to the budget crowd, one of the first Android’s to fight Nokia at “cheap” price points.

This Moto G will come in two flavors, 1GB RAM and 8GB of storage for $179, or 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage for $219. Both come with a 13MP camera, a 5″ 720p Screen, and an “all day” battery powered by a Qualcomm 410 series processor. Recently we’ve seen more companies like Asus and Alcatel’s Idol 3 delivering inexpensive options near this price, and Moto’s offering looks to be pushing the boundaries even further.

Moto X Style

This is our new flagship! Taking some of the lessons learned from building the Nexus 6, you can now get a similar phablet build with some of Motorola’s fun customizations.

Moto X Style has a 5.7″ QHD display. Happily they opted for the Qualcomm 808, the same processor powering the LG G4, instead of the more powerful, but hotter and slower Qualcomm 810. X Style will have 3GB of RAM, and if its build of Android 5.1 is anything like last year’s Moto X, it should smoke the Galaxy S6 in multi-tasking performance.  Plus we’ll see the addition of a Micro SD card slot for storage expansion. The whole affair will be powered by a 3000mAh battery, which based on these specs, should be good for all day run time.

Continue reading “Motorola Announces Trio of Phones: Moto X Style, Moto X Play, New Moto G”

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