Rumor has it that HTC is working on a Nexus tablet for Google and it looks a set of legal documents may have confirmed such claims. In a filing from an ongoing patent lawsuit against Qualcomm and Samsung, NVIDIA may have inadvertently revealed Google’s next purebred tablet. In a claim form discussing its Tegra K1 processor, the company stated that an “HTC Nexus 9” is expected sometime within the third quarter of 2014.
HTC just blessed our inbox with an invite for a media event referred to as “Double Exposure.” Set to take place on October 8th in New York City, the invitation’s tagline sounds like something to do with photography and looking at HTC’s track record, we’re thinking it’s related to the company’s recent inclusion of dual-cameras on its top-shelf smartphones. Whatever the case, we’ll be there to find out what the Taiwanese phone maker is up to. So be sure to save the date.
Last month, we found out that Google was extending the return period for some of Google Play’s games from 15 minutes to two hours. A new update to the company’s support page has confirmed the change, making the two hour refund policy official for paid applications and games. An extra hour and 45 minutes sounds great, but it should be noted that way back in the days of the Android Market, Google used to give customers a full day to return undesirable software.
Google has agreed to invest $145 million in a 82MW solar power plant project in Kern County, California. Set on top of a former gas and oil field, the 737-acre facility will be loaded with over 248,000 SunEdison mono-crystalline solar PV modules. Once up and running, the Regulus power plant will crank out enough energy to power more than 10,000 homes.
Google has acquired Lift Labs, a San Francisco company that has developed eating utensils that provide “proactive care” for people with essential tremor and Parkinson’s Disease. A Google spokesperson confirmed the deal with The New York Times, saying that the company will be rolled into the search giant’s Life Sciences unit, which is part of its super secret Google X lab.
It looks like HTC wasn’t the only one to take a jab at Apple’s new king size iPhone 6 Plus. The Cupertino-based software giant’s longtime rival Samsung took to social media to taunt the company’s latest effort. The South Korean electronics manufacturer recently posted a tweet with a message saying “Big improvements and innovation come with change – even they thought so.” The social media post ended with an embedded image citing a now famous 2010 quote from late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, saying “No one is going to buy a big phone.”
Steve took the opportunity to rip on bigger rivals, saying that making a phone so big “you can’t get your hand around it” helps, but that “no one’s going to buy that.” We’re assuming he’s likely talking about the latest crop of 4-, 4.3- and 5-inch phones that include the Galaxy S series, the EVO 4G, Droid X, and Dell Streak, even going so far as to call them “Hummers”
Street View is much more than a tool for taking an early look at the local scenery of an upcoming road trip, it’s now an easy and affordable way to see parts of the world that were once limited to a privileged group of jetsetters. Today Google announced the addition of a grand new virtual tour that lets you visit some of the biggest monuments of Ancient Egypt from the comfort of your computer.
Today, Google announced a new product search tool for its AdSense for Shopping platform that helps retailers monetize their websites. Walmart.com is among the early participants in the fairly new program, which displays sponsored ads across the discount mega-chain’s site that are relevant to a visitor’s product search results.
Mountain View’s wearable platform officially received some competition from the folks in Cupertino today and in what appears a coincidence, one of the most popular Android Wear-powered smartwatches on the market has received a temporary price cut. Google Play has shaved $50 off the LG G Watch’s asking price, bringing the high-tech wristwatch down to $180.
Better late than never, Canadian wireless carrier Rogers’ version of the original Moto X is finally getting its dose of Android 4.4.4. If you haven’t received an over-the-air notification, the update can be initiated through the phone’s settings by tapping: Settings, About phone, System updates, and then selecting the install option.
Today, Netflix announced that it has added Post-Play support to Google’s Chromecast for people streaming content from their compatible smartphone or tablet. If you’re unfamiliar with Post-Play, it’s a queueing feature that automatically starts playing the next episode of whatever show you’re watching around 15 after the program ends.
Google announced a new feature for Hangouts on Air today called Applause, which lets viewers give a thumbs up or down to the content they’re viewing during a live video broadcast. In addition to sharing cheers and jeers, this new features lets the search giant generate a real-time chart documenting the audience’s feedback as it happens. Despite looking like a game of Guitar Hero, the colorful graph gives broadcasters an easy way to monitor viewers’ feelings about their efforts. Think of it as a modern-day version of The Gong Show.
Today, LG launched a promo that gives new G3 customers an extra battery and a battery-charging cradle with the purchase of the company’s latest flagship smartphone. People who pick up a G3 in the US between now and September 22nd can register at a special website to receive these accessories by submitting their phone’s IEMI number, along with proof of purchase.
Casual Chrome users rejoice! You can now install free apps without having to sign into the Chrome Web Store. Revealed by platform evangelist François Beaufort, this new option lets people pick up software without the need of a Google account. This type of setup could be useful to people who haven’t fully committed to using Mountain View’s web browser on a full-time basis.
Google has been battling allegations of burying rival companies in its web search results while promoting its own services, such as Maps and YouTube. The search giant was close to avoiding costly fines from the European Commission, but following negative feedback from its competitors, Google will now have to take additional measures to settle this multi-year investigation.
The latest build of the beta version of Google’s Cast Chrome extension is now serving up 1080p tab casting. Not a finished product, you’re likely to encounter a few bugs while using it, however it should help give an idea of what’s coming to it’s more refined counterpart. The recent update introduces more robust control options under a section marked “Custom mirroring settings.”
Starting today, a small group of US Twitter users will start seeing tweets from the shorthand social network’s partners loaded with products and a sales pitches, along with a new “Buy” button option for quick purchases. In a blog post today, the company announced that this is one of its first efforts to introduce shopping to your timeline.
T-Mobile announced a new promotion today that vows to offer consumers the best trade-in value for their old mobile devices. Just in time for a new wave of smartphones and tablets, the magenta-colored carrier’s new marketing ploy guarantees the best trade-in values for your used wireless equipment compared to offerings from Sprint, Verizon and AT&T.
Today Verizon announced that it’s now accepting pre-orders for the stainless steel band version of the Moto 360. Available in black or white for $300, Big Red says the metal version of Motorola’s round smartwatch will ship on November 11th. The leather strap variant of the Moto 360 launched last week and had a strong initial showing, with the timepiece selling out across several vendors.
Chromecast users rejoice! Earlier today, YouTube started rolling out a new feature for Google’s media stick that lets you use its website to queue videos in a single tab. The idea behind this update is to keep people from drowning in the video hub’s endless sea of content during a casual casting session. Also, YouTube announced that its watch page is in the process of getting a makeover, so don’t freak out when things start looking different.
A new Chrome OS board named “Auron” based on Intel’s Broadwell chip line recently showed up in the Chromium code repository. Spotted by Googler François Beaufort, this appears to be one of the first devices to use Chipzilla’s 14 nanometer system-on-a-chip. Not a lot is known about this mystery board, but it manages to follow the trend of being named after a popular video game character. Beaufort recently outed a Chrome OS board referred to as “Ryu” from Capcom’s Street Fighter franchise and Auron is a character from the world famous Final Fantasy series.
Two weeks ago, Sprint quietly published a promotional video for the HTC One E8 on its official YouTube channel. Today, the carrier officially announced that it’s now selling HTC’s plastic powerhouse for $100 on a two year service agreement, $500 outright, or 24 monthly payments of $20.84 through the carrier’s Easy Pay program. Available in Polar White or Misty Gray, some of the E8’s highlights include a 5-inch 1080p display, a 2.3GHz quad-core processor, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 5-megapixel front-facing shooter, a 2,600mAh battery and Android 4.4.2 KitKat skinned with HTC’s Sense 6.
A lot changed at Sprint over the past few weeks, a new CEO, new service plans and phones from new hardware partners. It looks like that last item might continue being a trend going forward, as Reuters reports that the SoftBank-owned US wireless carrier is preparing to carry its first smartphone from Sony. The device in question is a “soon-to-be launched Xperia flagship,” which immediately makes us think of the rumored Z3.
After months of bad marketing gimmicks and tiresome invitation only purchase options, the OnePlus One may finally be having an official launch in October. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer recently shared its plans during a Reddit Ask Me Anything, revealing that it was working on a pre-order system for September, but it had ran into some delays and now October is its target release month.
