Custom Google Music App Coming To All Devices By Cyanogen Mod Team

If you though the Cyanogen Mod launcher — Trebuchet — was the only thing CM9 had going for it you’d be wrong. Turns out those wild boys are also working on a modified version of the Google Music player app. Andrew Neal, one of the team’s devs, broke it down for everyone mentioning there will more tweaks and enhancements than you can shake a phone at. No really. One of the tweaks is the ability to set custom shake actions that will work no matter which app you’re in or if the screen is off/on. Completely customizable notification controls will also be found in the app along with a full theme engine to change up the look of the app as desired. Pretty fun stuff. My only complaint with Google Music is that it’s not very smooth (unless you...

Read more »

Google's own Android tablet coming in next six months: Eric Schmidt

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has given an interview to an Italian newspaper that covered a bunch of different topics reports Fox News. The most interesting to us is that Schmidt has promised that Google is at work on a new Android tablet that will be of “the highest quality.” This would presumably be something along the lines of the Nexus smartphones. The Nexus smartphones are the ultimate blend of hardware and software to show off what a fully integrated device can do with Android. Schmidt offered no hard details on the Google tablet in the interview. All he said was that the tablet was in the works, and that it would be coming in the next six months. I think we could assume it will have Android 4.0 and the best hardware available at...

Read more »

Google’s Eric Schmidt: The Internet and mobile can “change the world”

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has spoken about how he believes technology can change the world by bringing greater information, transparency and values to Internet users across the planet. Speaking at The Economic Club event in Washington, broadcast by C-Span, Schmidt opened by stating that technology, and the Internet in particular, is an enabler that can help people push themselves forward: All of us would agree that people can search for their dreams, they should be able to archive what they really want.Government and citizensSchmidt spoke of the emergence of two rival systems which are being brought together by the Internet: offline institutions — such as government, politics and law — and cyberspace. They are getting...

Read more »

HTC and Google comment on US Apple patent loss – Andy Rubin “optimistic” about the future

HTC’s boss Peter Chou and Android top man Andy Rubin have both gone on the record regarding the recent high-profile patent loss to Apple, which had some excitable people claiming HTC’s phones could be banned from sale in the US. That won’t happen. Chou says the infringing feature has already been removed, while Rubin is pleased that the ruling only covers user interface touches rather than anything deep within Android itself. Rubin said: “The majority of these patents [in Apple's complaint against HTC] were claimed in the operating system itself, but actually in this case what was allowed… is some user interface feature of an application, not the operating system itself, so that’s why I’m very optimistic in basically my desire to achieve...

Read more »

Google Said to be Suspending Nexus S ICS Update Due to High CPU Usage and Battery Life Bug

Google began rolling out the Nexus S ICS update in several regions a short time ago but it seems they’ve already had to suspend the upgrade for an issue that is affecting battery life. Alongside abnormal battery drain users are seeing high spikes of CPU usage, two things that could be directly related. If you’ve gotten a notification that the upgrade was available but you have since been unable to apply it, don’t worry – you’re not crazy. Now is as good a time as any to mention that Galaxy Nexus users have also been experiencing less-than-normal battery drainage for quite some time. Many believe it to be a kernel driver issue and is causing the OS to keep the device awake (this doesn’t necessarily mean the screen has to be on) which...

Read more »

Google’s X team working on Terminator-style HUD glasses

“Wearable technology.” These days, the phrase conjures up images of laughably impractical watch-phone hybrids, single function devices like the FitBit and gigantic head-mounted displays that are useless for anything but watching movies for about 20 minutes at a time. But information leaking out of the shadowy inner test labs known as Google X indicates that the company is working on nothing less than a personal Heads-Up Display (HUD), a staple of science fiction for decades, and the goal of many converging technologies like transparent screens and microscopic transistors. According to an anonymous source speaking to 9to5Google, Google’s take on HUD glasses is nearing the end of its prototype stage. The idea is that a pair of glasses...

Read more »

Galaxy Nexus Ninja Unboxing turns into 8-bit video game

I have one word for this and that is: Awesome! If you remember, Google released similar videos for both the Google Nexus One and the Samsung Nexus S (both linked to below) and my personal favorite was the Nexus S. This new Ninja Unboxing part 3 might just take the cake — until part 4 of course. In the past they used stop motion animation for these awesome videos but this brings things to an entirely new level. Play the Galaxy Nexus video game today! Yesterday Google teased everyone that something was coming for Android fans today and while many were starting to speculate on an update for the Nexus One to Ice Cream Sandwich (dreaming) or maybe some sort of Nexus Tablet instead we have this video/game. While it’s nothing major I’m...

Read more »

Nexus Tablet? Eric Schmidt teases official Google-branded slate

The Nexus line of smartphones has been coveted by Android fans for its “pure Google” experience, eschewing carrier and manufacturer customization in favor of the latest clean build on Android. But if you want a pure version of Android in the tablet form factor, you’re largely limited to the original Motorola XOOM. Speaking with an Italian newspaper, Google chairman Eric Schmidt said that the company is planning to release a tablet within the next six months to directly compete against the iPad. Schmidt’s precise words were, “In the next six months we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality.” Note, dear reader, that this is not a confirmation on a Nexus Tablet, but Google has specifically promoted devices which stayed within...

Read more »

Google gives out customised Galaxy Nexus handsets to employees for Christmas

It appears that Google employees are going to enjoy the latest and greatest Android smartphone that the search giant and Samsung have to offer after it emerged the company is giving its staff customised handsets as a Christmas thank you. The handset itself isn’t an ordinary Galaxy Nexus either; the device has been outfitted with a customised back cover, one that sports various Google+ and Android icons (which are one and the same) — a nice touch considering they are being specifically given to Google employees. The rear of the device: We have confirmed that both Google’s London and Zurich offices are giving out free devices to Google employees, requiring staff to line up and claim their free handset, as shown in the photo below (posted...

Read more »

British Telecom sues Google for Android, other services

British Telecom, also known as BT, has sued Google for alleged infringement of six patents in United States District Court for the District of Delaware. The lawsuit was filed on Thursday and BT is seeking triple damages for willful and deliberate infringement as well as an injunction. BT is alleging that Google services like Maps, Places, Books, Search, Offers, Navigation, Android, Music, Google+, and Location based advertising infringe its six patents. U.S. Patent No. 6,151,309 on a “service provision system for communications networks”U.S. Patent No. 6,169,515 on a “navigation information system”U.S. Patent No. 6,397,040 on a “telecommunications apparatus and method”U.S. Patent No. 6,578,079 on a “communications node for providing...

Read more »

Google Translate updates with handwriting recognition

Google’s translation engine has impressed me ever since the first time I used it on the web, and its continual evolution only impresses me more. The latest in a string of updates to Google’s Translate app for Android adds handwriting recognition, allowing users to write out phrases instead of typing them. At the moment, only seven languages use this feature: English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. While most westerners can probably type out words and phrases a lot faster than they can write them (on a phone screen, anyway) the complex characters of Chinese and Japanese don’t cooperate well with keyboards formatted for languages based on Arabic characters. Obviously Android phones sold in Asia don’t have this...

Read more »

10 Billion Apps promo, day 9: EzPDF, Guns’n'Glory and Zenonia for 10¢

The penultimate day of Google’s 10 Billion Apps promotion is upon us, and thankfully there’s a fresh batch of apps and games to pick up on the cheap. Google is celebrating more than 10 billion (with a b) app downloads with apps discounted to just ten cents / pence, a discount of more than 90% in most cases. Today’s batch of new apps includes EzPDF, Guns’n'Glory and Zenonia. Here’s the list of new apps so far: Collapse!, Deer Hunter 3D, EzPDF, Guns’n'Glory, MX Moto, Sleepy Jack, Tank Riders, Toddler Tapping Zoo, and Zenonia. If you didn’t pick up SwiftKey X already, you’ve got another chance today. Google’s focus on games remains, but it’s nice to see them throw in another utility, in the form of the very solid ExPDF. If you often...

Read more »

Clever Sense nabbed by Google to provide local recommendations

Whether or not you like Apple or the iPhone; the Siri search assistant in the latest versions of the iPhone is a very cool feature. Google is gearing up to fight Siri and some of the cool local recommendation and other features that the AI assistant touts on the iPhone 4S. To help beef up the Google arsenal in local recommendations Google has plunked down the cash needed to buy up Clever Sense. Clever Sense is a recommendation service that will undoubtedly find its way into Majel, the rumored Siri competitor for Android. Clever Sense is the firm behind the Alfred apps for Android and iOS devices that are able to keep track of restaurants close to the user and then make recommendations based on what the app determines are the tastes...

Read more »

Google’s official Siri fighter codenamed Majel, Trekkies switch to Android at Warp 9

Majel Barret as Nurse Chapel, opposite DeForest “Bones” KelleyRemember when that Google executive compared iOS’ Siri voice control implementation to the bumbling droids of Star Wars, and Android’s voice input to the Enterprise’s computer on Star Trek? Someone in Mountain View took that analogy quite literally. Android and Me quotes insiders that say Google is preparing a natural language update to Android’s Voice Actions feature, and they’ve codenamed it Majel, after the late great Majel Barrett-Roddenberry. The actress is best known as the voice of the Enterprise’s computer from Star Trek: The Next Generation onward, and has had small parts in almost every Star Trek series all the way back to the original pilot. In 1969 she married...

Read more »

Google’s 10p apps for today – Train Conductor 2: USA, HD Widgets, Flight Track and more

Christmas has literally come early once again, with Google adding another collection of Android apps to its 10p discount listings. Today sees another game and repeats-heavy collection of apps, with a shameful FIVE duplicates from earlier promotional days. Here’s today’s list of 10p discount apps: Flick GolfSlide IT KeyboardSketchbook MobileWhere’s My WaterChristmas HDHD WidgetsInstant Heart Rate PROFlight TrackTrain Conductor 2Shazam EncoreIt looks like this one… …is the best of the bunch on offer today. There’d better be some BIG GUNS lined up for the last couple of days, else this promotion’s going to end with an almighty whimper. ...

Read more »

Eric Schmidt: Google Does not Work with or Support Carrier IQ

If the name itself wasn’t enough to suggest that the carriers are the one behind the installation of Carrier IQ onto mobile devices, perhaps the word of Google’s Eric Schmidt can clear things up. “We certainly don’t work with them and we certainly don’t support them,” Schmidt said of the tracking software. Despite the claims of the analytics company to the contrary, Schmidt said of the service, “it’s a key-logger, and it actually does keep your keystrokes.” Though even if Google does not support Carrier IQ at the OS level, as mentioned earlier network providers still have the option to install the suite of data gathering software. Android is, after all, an open platform. “It’s possible for people to build software that’s actually not...

Read more »

Facebook tops Nielsen’s list of most popular Android apps

I know, I know, stop the presses: Facebook is the most popular app on Android. The statistical wizards at Nielsen reached this conclusion based on active usage, not total downloads, noting that the recently-updated Facebook app has the most penetration across all of Android’s user groups after the Android Market itself. The fact is at least a little surprising, since Facebook beat out Google’s entrenched apps like Search, Gmail and Google Maps, which all had slightly lower user groups in every category. Nielsen breaks down the distribution of most-used apps by how many users opened the app in the last 30 days. So while nearly 4/5th of the Android population uses Facebook on a regular basis, only about three quarters actually use Google...

Read more »

European Union slams the breaks on Google-Motorola antitrust review

Excited at the prospect of Google having its own in-house hardware branch? Prepare to curb your enthusiasm: Bloomberg reports that antitrust proceedings for Google’s acquisition of Motorola in the European Union will take even longer than normal, after the European Commission has halted its investigation to allow for more discovery. The Commission is requesting “certain documents that are essential to its evaluation of the transaction”, with no ETA on the continuing process. This sort of thing isn’t entirely unexpected from the European Commission, but it does serve as a considerable roadblock for Google’s high-profile purchase of Motorola’s hardware division. While the EU couldn’t actually stop the two American companies from merging,...

Read more »

10 Billion Apps promo, day 5: The Sims, Age of Zombies, and SlideIt Keyboard for 10¢

Google’s celebration of 10 Billion Android Market downloads marches on, and just like the last four days. there’s plenty of vastly reduced premium apps on offer. Google’s chosen some of the most loved apps on the Market and droped them to a ridiculous 10 cents/pence price. Today’s highlights, spotted early by the keen-eyed folks over at Reddit, include The Sims 3, quirky shooter Age of Zombies and SlideIt Keyboard, AKA “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Swype.” The full list is as follows: Apparatus, The Sims 3, SlideIt Keyboard, Snowfall Live Wallpaper, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD, Season Zen HD (live wallpaper), Pano (panoramic camera), Drop7, Age of Zombies and Kids Connect the Dots. As usual the banner on the Android Market home screen...

Read more »

Google vulnerability reward program could really tighten up security for Android

I’ve known about Chrome’s vulnerability reward program for quite some time, but never considered moving the design over to Android. Reddit user CunningLogic suggests it would give developers a monetary reward for their handwork while making Android more secure in the long run. Sounds good to me. Just like development within Chrome, the developers hard at work within Android have been extremely good at pointing out OS security flaws; with a form of payment, devs will get that extra incentive/motivation to tighten up loose ends and help make Android OS better. It is known that compared to other mobile operating systems, Android is by far one of the most vulnerable. Carriers have even gone as far as offering protection applications...

Read more »