Today, a German regulator said that it will not pursue complaints brought against Google from a group of publishers that are displeased with the company’s search engine providing full access to their online news articles. A troop of media outlets including Axel Springer SE and Burda joined forces to form a group called VG Media to request that Google compensate them for making their web content viewable to the public.
Google is acquiring Gecko Design, a firm that helps develop products for companies like Hewlett-Packard, Slingmedia, Dell, Fitbit and furniture maker Herman Miller. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed but the Los Gatos, California company will be rolled into Google’s X lab, which is responsible for items like Glass and the search giant’s driverless car.
Samsung is expected to unveil its highly anticipated Galaxy Note 4 on September 3rd during its Unpacked event at IFA in Berlin and today the company planted a small seed hinting at the arrival of its big device. In a new teaser video focusing on the importance of handwriting, Samsung shows examples of children defacing furniture with markers, engineers drafting blueprints with pencils and composers inking music notes with quills.
Samsung recently announced the Galaxy Alpha and today the company shared some details about how its new metal wrapped smartphone is made. At the beginning of construction the phone’s chassis is carved from metallic materials to form its frame, this includes making room for a battery and other components.
A new over-the-air update is now available for the OnePlus One that aims to resolve a handful of issues for the elusive handset. Software version XNPH3RR reportedly brings some security enhancements, fixes laggy input and straightens out a troubled battery.
Slowly but surely, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is becoming the worst kept secret in the world of wireless. Recently the South Korean electronics maker’s next flagship smartphone made an early appearance on a retailer’s website, outing much of the device’s specs and today new information about the phone’s camera have hit the web.
Between smartphones, smartwatches and tablets, Samsung has plenty of mobile products that it wants you to buy. Of course, each of the aforementioned gizmos come with its own unique chargers, but keeping up with cables for multiple devices while out and about can be a bit of a pain. Aware of your plight, Samsung has created a specialized cable equipped with three micro-USB plugs.
After spending a lot of his time keeping Google’s servers running smoothly, Mikey Dickerson is officially a government employee. After resolving launch issues with HealthCare.gov last year, the White House asked the former Googler to be its deputy chief information officer of the federal government and administrator of the United States Digital Services Team.
Breaking up is hard to do. Even if you were never officially together in the first place. Earlier today, T-Mobile announced a new promotion specifically targeting Sprint customers and in turn the Kansas-based carrier has announced a new plan for individual accounts and guess who it’s being directed towards? Starting tomorrow, August 22nd, new and existing Sprint customers can sign up for unlimited talk, text and data for just $60 per month.
After an unsuccessful union with Sprint, T-Mobile is going after its former suitor’s customers, as well as its other competitors’ subcribers in the wireless world. Today, the magenta-colored carrier announced an aggressive promotional campaign that offers a free year of LTE data to castaways from AT&T, Verizon and of course Sprint.
LG Announced today that it will showcase a pair of new smartphones next month at IFA in Berlin. Like some of the company’s other recently announced handsets, the L Fino and L Bello are entry-level devices that will borrow design elements from high-end gadgets like the LG G3. Targeting emerging markets and first-time smartphone buyers, both handsets are equipped with modest hardware.
The internet is crawling with piracy. So much in fact that Google’s is now receiving over 1 million takedown requests per day for links related to pirated content. A recent transparency report from the company revealed that the search juggernaut was asked to clear around 8 million results from its search engine last week alone.
A new Humble Bundle is now available and it’s loaded with games from Sega. Pay whatever you want and pick up Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I, ChuChu Rocket! and Virtua Tennis Challenge. However, if you manage to pay more than the offer’s average asking price ($3.69 as of writing this), you’ll be rewarded with Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, Sonic 4 Episode II, Crazy Taxi and other unannounced games from Sega.
If you frequently use Google’s Chrome Remote Desktop application to play tech support for your friends and you’re in need of some reference material, Mountain View’s got you covered. The search giant’s Chromium team is currently in the process of developing a record button for Chrome’s remote access app.
Today, ZTE announced release plans for its nubia 5S mini, an unlocked LTE-capable budget-friendly smartphone that offers a little bang for your buck. Available on August 27th for just $280, the Chinese phone maker’s new smartphone sounds pretty decent on paper. The nubia 5S mini sports a 4.7-inch 720 x 1,280 display, a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 16GB of storage space, a 2,000mAh battery, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing shooter for selfies and Hangouts.
If your kids keep borrowing your tablet to play video games and you’re thinking about buying them something of their own, Nabi is making an interesting pitch. The company recently announced launch plans for its Big Tab HD, a massive Android-powered slate that ships in 20-inch and 24-inch variants. Nabi has a history of releasing more traditional kiddie-friendly tablets, however the outfit says it’s looking to promote social interaction, which is why its new slab has enough screen real estate for two simultaneous users.
What a difference a decade makes. Google’s head of search Amit Singhal recently reflected on the search giant’s last ten years, starting with its IPO, where Larry Page and Sergey Brin shared their vision with the rest of the world. In an open letter, Page and Brin boldly informed would-be shareholders that Google was not a conventional company and that their intentions were for it to never become one.
Sony has a knack for producing waterproof devices, so much in fact, the outfit recently released a set of aquatic-friendly applications. Today, the company announced release plans for a water resistant version of its Xperia M2, aptly named the M2 Aqua. Set to launch sometime this fall, this IP65/68 rated waterproof smartphone is ready to battle the elements.
Have you been wondering what makes Google’s 3D mapping Project Tango tablet tick? The tinkerers at iFixit have managed to get their hands on the device and performed a little exploratory surgery on the device in the name of science. According to the DIY repair site, some of Project Tango’s entrails resemble Microsoft’s Kinect motion tracker, which kind of makes sense.
After several rumors, HTC has finally announced the release of a Windows Phone version of its highly successful HTC One M8. With the exception of its Microsoft-made operating system, this revamped handset’s hardware is a complete carbon copy of its Android-powered predecessor.
Today, Sprint announced that it will exclusively carry the Sharp AQUOS Crystal across its prepaid and postpaid wireless services. This news comes after much speculation that the carrier’s SoftBank connection would sway the Japanese electronics maker, with the device also coming to Sprint’s parent company in Japan as well. This marks the release of Sharp’s first AQUOS smartphone in the US.
If you recently picked up an LG G3 and are looking for an easy way to root your shiny new smartphone, then look no further than Stump Root. Created by a talented group of XDA members this app works with just about every version of LG’s new flagship phone and is a cinch to use.
AllCast users will soon be able to easily mirror their Android device’s screen on a desktop thanks to an update from the app’s lead developer Koushik “Koush” Dutta. The media streaming software already features Chrome integration, letting users broadcast media to desktops and this appears to be the next step of its evolution.
Google launched a new AdWords portal today called Website Call Conversions. This new tool lets advertisers identify and measure calls from their website that occur following an ad click. Here’s how it works: whenever someone spots your search ads and click on them, they’ll be directed to your website and will receive a special phone number to call that is connected to the ad they’re viewing.
