Posts Tagged by Google
The Lowdown on Google+ Circles
| July 15, 2011 | Posted by Tony Viteritto under Facebook, Google, Google Android, Social Networking, Tech News |
One of the biggest features that separates Google+ from Facebook is Circles. With this feature, users can group the people they’re following by any category they come up with. Unlike Facebook, where everything the user posts goes on a single monolithic feed page that all their friends have access to, user-generated content is split among the different Circles. If the user wants to post something that is only relevant to their work contacts, they can post it without their friends and family having to see it. If they want to post a joke that might offend Aunt Louise and their boss, they can let only their Friends circle see it. Contacts on Google+ are more like Twitter than Facebook, in that you can follow a connection without necessarily being followed back, and vice versa.
Conveniently, you can add people into different circles visually, by dragging a photo of them onto a literal circle representing a category. You can remove them by dragging their photo out of the circle. When you add new content to your Stream, Google+ asks you which Circles you want to see it.
Facebook is not taking the Google+ idea of Circles sitting down. Shortly after the Google+ closed beta began, a group of Facebook engineers coded a Facebook add-on called Circle Hack in one night. However, its functionality was a bit rough, as it was indeed a hack built around Facebook’s Lists feature. Facebook has yet to directly offer a competitor to Circles.
Apple Stands Up To Google!
| June 11, 2010 | Posted by Jessica Moreno under Accessories, Apple, AT&T, Electronics, Gadgets, Google, Google Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Mac, tablet, Tech News |
If you’re an avid Apple’s iPhone, iPod, or iPad user you’ll probably be very pleased to hear that Apple has denied Google from blasting your devices with their mobile advertising. This is a breaking news story from June 9, 2010.
As you can imagine, Google is quite upset about this, especially since in late May Google acquired the mobile ad company named AdMob, from Apple Devices for a reported $750 Million. This decision also seems to have AdMob’s founder Omar Hamoui a bit miffed as well. This is also quite easy to understand, since as reported by AdMob, almost 32% of the ads served by that company in April went out to iPhone and iPod devices. That can translate into some serious future advertising revenue losses. Were your devices being bombarded with ads during the month of April?
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Yahoo! to be on all Nokia Phones
| May 26, 2010 | Posted by Alyssa Duval under Apple, AT&T, Gadgets, Google, Google Android, iPhone, Nokia, Tech News |
Yahoo and Nokia have announced a partnership this Monday that will “leverage each others’ strengths in e-mail, instant messaging and maps and navigation services,” among other things. Mainly, this means Nokia will be granted exclusive access to Yahoo’s map service, while Yahoo will get to be the only provider for chat and mail services on Nokia’s Ovi platform.
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Wal-mart to sell Google’s Nexus One Phones
| January 26, 2010 | Posted by Jessica Moreno under Electronics, Gadgets, Google, Google Android, Nexus One, Sprint, Tech News, Verizon |
It seems Google’s decision to exclusively sell the Nexus One may be short-lived. Wal-Mart Stores has already created a page on its wireless mobile phone Web site that featuring the Nexus One. It says the device is “coming soon,” but does not include pricing or time frame information.
Google did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
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Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 1.3GHz and 1.5GHz Processors at CES
| January 8, 2010 | Posted by Abren Michaels under Electronics, Google Android, Nexus One, Qualcomm |
Qualcomm’s awesome Snapdragon, the most powerful mobile processor, powers many new smartphones like the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 and the Google Nexus will soon see an update in the form of faster versions. We would be seeing faster, more powerful updates of the Snapdragon processors running at 1.3GHz and 1.5GHz. The current Snapdragon processor has a clocking speed of 1GHz.
Qualcomm’s SVP of product management has confirmed that these should be out there before we celebrate the 2011 New Year.
The 1.3GHZ variant will be called the Snapdragon 8X50A. This is a 45nm version, of the current 1GHZ processor. Manufacturers will get to see the chips by the end of January and the first devices run on it should be here by early next year or even in later 2010.
Next in line, the 8X72, the biggie! This will be a dual core chip with TWO 1.5GHZ cores inside! The 8X72 will be capable of processing full high definition content and the first products based on it should be seen during the time of the CES 2011.
Google unveils its Nexus One phone
| January 6, 2010 | Posted by Jessica Moreno under Electronics, Google, Google Android, iPhone, Nexus One |
In it’s greatest effort to compete with the iPhone, the search giant has begun selling its own branded and designed smart phone, the Nexus One. Initially available on T-Mobile’s network or unlocked, Google said their phone will also be available from Verizon as well as Vodafone in Europe. The phone details have been published in multiple media reports.
According to Network World, customers can buy the Nexus One phone now on a new Google web page, Google.com/phone. It’s a pricey phone selling for $530 unlocked, or $179 with a T-Mobile contract. The Vodafone and Verizon options are expected to be available sometime in the first quarter of 2010. Buyers must use Google Checkout to buy the phone and must have a Google log-in account.
iPhone Vs Nexus One, Will the iPhone be Defeated?
| December 17, 2009 | Posted by Alyssa Duval under Apple, Google, iPhone, iPod |
Like all new smartphones released to date, they will sooner or later go through the traditional ‘which is better’ comparison against the god of the smartphone world, the iPhone. The Apple iPhone has dominated the smartphone/mobile world for years and hasn’t slowed down for any of it’s competition. Although there are many who dislike the iPhone you’ve got to give it to Apple. They changed the game in the smartphone world.
Now, Google is getting into the smartphone business with their Nexus One, a smartphone that has been tipped may be a game changer if Google goes the unlocked route and sells the unit themselves. Can Nexus One take down the iPhone giant and capture the smartphone market for itself? There have been many who have tried and haven’t come close. We shall see in the coming months, though I seriously doubt it.
Google Chrome OS: Ditch Your Hard Drives, The Web is the Future
| November 23, 2009 | Posted by Jessica Moreno under Electronics, Gadgets, Google Android, Tech News |
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California — Google today unveiled more details of Chrome OS, a lightweight, browser-based operating system for netbooks.
With a strong focus on speed, the Chrome OS promises nearly instant boot times of about 7 seconds for users to login to their computers.
“We want Google Chrome OS to be blazingly fast … to boot up like a TV,” said Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management for Google.
The first Chrome OS netbooks will be available in late 2010, Pichai said. It will not be available as a download to run and install. Instead, Chrome OS is only shipping on specific hardware from manufacturers Google has partnered with. That means if you want Chrome OS, you’ll have to purchase a Chrome OS device.
Google is currently working with unnamed computer manufacturers to define specifications for these computers, which Pichai said will include larger netbook-style computers with full-size keyboards, large trackpads and large displays.
Chrome OS netbooks will not have traditional hard disk drives — they will rely on non-volatile flash memory and internet-based storage for saving all of your data.
All the applications will be web-based, meaning users won’t have to install apps, manage updates or even backup their data. All data will be stored in the cloud, and users won’t even have to bother with anti-virus software: Google claims it will monitor code to prevent malicious activity in Chrome OS web apps.
“Chrome OS is a totally rethought computer that will let you focus on the internet, so you can stop worrying about your computer,” according to a Google promotional video shown at the event, held at the Google campus in Mountain View, California.
As part of its announcement today, Pichai said that Google would be releasing all of the operating system’s code and design documents to the public.
Introduced in July, Chrome OS is a Linux-based, open-source operating system centered on Google’s Chrome browser. Applications will run exclusively inside the browser, Google said Thursday.
“As of today, the code will be fully open, which means Google developers will be working on the same tree as open developers,” said Pichai.
The OS’s focus on design is consistent with the company’s stance that the future is in the web. In July, Vic Gundotra, Google’s engineering vice president and developer evangelist, spoke on a panel about app stores, in which he said native apps (such as those available for the iPhone) would be obsolete in the future, and that the web will “become the platform that matters.”
“Every capability you want today, in the future it will be written as a web application,” Pichai said Thursday.
Netbooks — lightweight, low-powered subnotebooks — were the surprise hit of 2008 and 2009. However, with the growth of netbook sales slowing — and the prices of some full-powered notebooks dropping below $400 — the continued viability of the netbook sector is an open question.
Though netbook shipments are falling below manufacturers’ expectations, the inexpensive, low-powered devices appear to still be selling well. Pichai cited research figures from ABI research indicating that 35 million netbooks shipped in 2009, more than twice the number sold in 2008.
Manufacturers have yet to announce pricing on netbooks shipping with Chrome OS, but Google expects the cost to be about the same as current netbooks. On average, netbooks cost between $300 and $500.
Videos demonstrating Chrome OS’s user interface, security, fast boot and other features are below the jump.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California — Google today unveiled more details of Chrome OS, a lightweight, browser-based operating system for netbooks.
With a strong focus on speed, the Chrome OS promises nearly instant boot times of about 7 seconds for users to login to their computers.
“We want Google Chrome OS to be blazingly fast … to boot up like a TV,” said Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management for Google.
The first Chrome OS netbooks will be available in late 2010, Pichai said. It will not be available as a download to run and install. Instead, Chrome OS is only shipping on specific hardware from manufacturers Google has partnered with. That means if you want Chrome OS, you’ll have to purchase a Chrome OS device.
Google is currently working with unnamed computer manufacturers to define specifications for these computers, which Pichai said will include larger netbook-style computers with full-size keyboards, large trackpads and large displays.
Chrome OS netbooks will not have traditional hard disk drives — they will rely on non-volatile flash memory and internet-based storage for saving all of your data.
All the applications will be web-based, meaning users won’t have to install apps, manage updates or even backup their data. All data will be stored in the cloud, and users won’t even have to bother with anti-virus software: Google claims it will monitor code to prevent malicious activity in Chrome OS web apps.
“Chrome OS is a totally rethought computer that will let you focus on the internet, so you can stop worrying about your computer,” according to a Google promotional video shown at the event, held at the Google campus in Mountain View, California.
As part of its announcement today, Pichai said that Google would be releasing all of the operating system’s code and design documents to the public.
Introduced in July, Chrome OS is a Linux-based, open-source operating system centered on Google’s Chrome browser. Applications will run exclusively inside the browser, Google said Thursday.
“As of today, the code will be fully open, which means Google developers will be working on the same tree as open developers,” said Pichai.
The OS’s focus on design is consistent with the company’s stance that the future is in the web. In July, Vic Gundotra, Google’s engineering vice president and developer evangelist, spoke on a panel about app stores, in which he said native apps (such as those available for the iPhone) would be obsolete in the future, and that the web will “become the platform that matters.”
“Every capability you want today, in the future it will be written as a web application,” Pichai said Thursday.
Netbooks — lightweight, low-powered subnotebooks — were the surprise hit of 2008 and 2009. However, with the growth of netbook sales slowing — and the prices of some full-powered notebooks dropping below $400 — the continued viability of the netbook sector is an open question.
Though netbook shipments are falling below manufacturers’ expectations, the inexpensive, low-powered devices appear to still be selling well. Pichai cited research figures from ABI research indicating that 35 million netbooks shipped in 2009, more than twice the number sold in 2008.
Manufacturers have yet to announce pricing on netbooks shipping with Chrome OS, but Google expects the cost to be about the same as current netbooks. On average, netbooks cost between $300 and $500.
Videos demonstrating Chrome OS’s user interface, security, fast boot and other features are below the jump.
