Google

A Gmail bug affecting the iOS app, mobile browsers and the offline version of Gmail may have resulted in users deleting or spam-marking the wrong emails, says Google.

The bug may have affected emails received between 15th and 22nd January. Google is encouraging users to check their spam and trash folders for email that does not belong there.

Via The Verge

Apple rumored to be planning €2B ($2.7B) European data center in Netherlands

Ben Lovejoy Jan 22 2014 - 7:40 am PT

11 Comments

Google data centre at Eemshaven (photo: computable.nl)

iPhoneclub (translation) says that Apple’s rumored plan to build a new data center in Netherlands are now focusing on the town of Eemshaven.

Eemshaven is an ideal location due to the high-speed transatlantic fiber optic cable link to the USA. Google already has a 10,000 square meter data center in the town, and it is believed that Apple has already been granted outline planning permission for its own center …
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Is the Nest Protect fire alarm giving users false alarms?

Zac Hall Jan 20 2014 - 9:21 am PT

75 Comments

Late last September it was rumored that a smart smoke/carbon monoxide detector would join the now Google-owned Nest line of smart thermostats and was later announced in early October to a great response.

The Nest Protect, which retails for $129 in both a wired and battery powered variant, intelligently interacts with an iPhone app called Nest Home with warnings about low batteries (if applicable) and when alarms are active or about to be active. It also features a handy dismissal gesture for silencing a screaming alarm.

Some users, however, are reporting a number of unprompted false alarms unrelated to cooking or other reasonable instances. One user even reported the alarm stubbornly going off for 30 minutes in the middle of the night with no sign of smoke and ignoring prompts to dismiss the alarm after an apparent glitch in the device…
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VLC for iOS redesigned for iOS 7, now features Google Drive & Dropbox streaming, more

Zac Hall Jan 20 2014 - 7:33 am PT

VLC released an update to its iOS app today introducing an iOS 7-friendly user interface as well as several handy features.

Users will welcome support for streaming media from both Dropbox and Google Drive; previously, VLC required content to be downloaded locally in its entirety before it could be viewed. This will greatly speed up media viewing. The update also features a list of other improvements including new gestures and more.

VLC for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

Any data gathered by Google-owned Nest devices will be “transparent and opt-in,” says Tony Fadell

Ben Lovejoy Jan 20 2014 - 6:54 am PT

7 Comments

: Photo: websummit.net

Nest CEO and ‘father of the iPod’ Tony Fadell has responded to data privacy concerns expressed after the company was acquired by Google, stating that there have not yet been any changes to the data collected by the smart thermostat and smoke detector, and that any future changes would be both transparent and opt-in.

At this point, there are no changes. The data that we collect is all about our products and improving them.

If there were ever any changes whatsoever, we would be sure to be transparent about it, number one, and number two for you to opt-in to it …

Fadell gave the assurances during an interview at the Digital-Life-Design conference (via TNW). He also said that he was excited by the conversations he’d had with Larry Page and other Google execs when discussing future plans.

We were finishing each other’s sentences, and the visions that we had were just so large and so great, and they weren’t scared by them. We were both getting exhilarated by what could change and how things could change, and that we could have the ability to change those things together.

Apple senior VP Phil Schiller unfollowed both Fadell and Nest on Twitter following the acquisition.

Apple marketing chief Schiller unfollows Nest & Tony Fadell on Twitter following Google deal

Mark Gurman Jan 17 2014 - 6:20 pm PT

25 Comments

Schiller and Fadell on the left

Only a few days after “father of the iPod” Tony Fadell agreed to sell thermostat and smoke detector maker Nest to Google for north of three billion dollars, Apple senior vice president (and former Fadell colleague) Phil Schiller has unfollowed the Nest CEO and the Nest company on Twitter.

Here’s Schiller’s following list from a recent cache:

Apple continues hiring raid on medical sensor field as it develops eye scanning technology

Mark Gurman Jan 17 2014 - 3:00 pm PT

20 Comments

<a href="http://componentstoday.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-medical-devices-sensor-tattoos.html">Example</a> of biomedical industry’s work on blood sensors

Apple is moving to expand its personnel working on wearable computers and medical-sensor-laden devices by hiring more scientists and specialists in the medical sensor field. Apple began work in earnest on a watch-like device late last decade, and it has worked with increasing efficiency and more dedicated resources on the project over the past couple of years. Last year, we published an extensive profile that indicated Apple has hired several scientists, engineers, and managers in the field of biomedical technologies, glucose sensors, and general fitness devices…

Smartphone sales expected to fall for the first time in two years

Ben Lovejoy Jan 17 2014 - 5:12 am PT

TrendForce is predicting that total worldwide smartphone sales will fall by around five percent in the first quarter of this year. If so, this will be the first fall in two years.

It doesn’t mean demand for smartphones is actually dropping, but rather than the upward trend has slowed to the point that the seasonal effect – people buying smartphones as holiday gifts – is now bigger than the overall growth rate.

Apple and Samsung of course maintain their lead, though Sony saw significant growth in its home territory of Japan, and LG’s share grew 57 percent year-on-year to a 4.2 percent market share thanks largely to sales of the Nexus handsets it makes for Google.

Via re/code

Google developing “Chromoting” remote desktop management app for iOS

Mike Beasley Jan 16 2014 - 8:27 pm PT

Google has been working on a remote desktop management app for Android devices called “Chromoting” since last year, but today an entry in the Chromium issue tracker has revealed that an iOS version is also under developement. The issue, which was opened on Wednesday, indicates that the iOS version is still very much in the design stage, while its counterpart on Android is much further along in its development.

According to the post, the iOS version is is expected to be released much later than the Android client. The features of the app have mostly been kept under wraps, but it looks like a fairly straightforward piece of software that allows you to access and manipulate remote machines using Chrome as a condiut for the connection. The biggest advantage Chromoting would have over similiar solutions would be the low, low price of $0.00.

Google Now comes to the Mac in the latest Chrome Canary release

Benjamin Mayo Jan 16 2014 - 5:50 am PT

There have been indications for a long time that Google Now was eventually coming to the Chrome browser. Via the Google Operating System Blog, the service has finally surfaced in the most recent release of Chrome Canary (Google’s name for the app’s ‘alpha’ channel builds).

As expected, Google Now in Chrome closely mirrors Google Now on Android. The contextually-relevant cards (which show information such as weather, news or upcoming flights) appear in Chrome’s Notification Center on the desktop. The notification area can be accessed in the menubar, represented by a bell icon.

CyanogenMod Installer released for OS X, makes it even easier to install the custom Android ROM

Chance Miller Jan 15 2014 - 2:57 pm PT

2 Comments

Back in November, the CyanogenMod team announced an interesting new project that allowed users to flash the team’s custom Android ROM in just a few clicks. The app came with a catch, though. It was only available on Windows machines, leaving Mac users in the dark. Today, however, the CyanogenMod team has released its Installer application on Mac OS X.

CyanogenMod installer supports a long-list of devices, ranging from the HTC One and Galaxy S4 to the Nexus S and Galaxy S II. The process is very simple. First, simply join the CyanogenMod Installer for Mac beta group, download the actual app from Google+, connect a compatible Android device, and the Installer will handle most everything else. It’s important to note that the Installer will wipe all the data from your device, so be sure to back it up before beginning the process.

Google Play app arrives on iOS to stream movies and shows over WiFi

Mark Gurman Jan 15 2014 - 1:58 pm PT

3 Comments

Today, Google has released a new application for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to allow Google Play users to stream purchased movies and TV shows. You cannot rent or purchase content via this application: you must download it from Google Play on Android or the web and then the purchased titles will be available to stream via this app. The application is only supported in the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. WiFi is currently required for streaming. The app also allows streaming to the ChromeCast.

Google acquires smart thermostat maker Nest for $3.2 billion in cash, Father of iPod now Google employee

Jordan Kahn Jan 13 2014 - 1:12 pm PT

56 Comments

Nest-Thermostat-Auto-Away

Google has confirmed in a press release that it is acquiring Nest Labs, the company behind Nest smart thermostats and fire alarms started by Father of the iPod Tony Fadell. Earlier reports were quickly confirmed along with the transaction price of $3.2 billion in cash in an official announcement posted on the company’s Investor website. In the statement, Google said that Fadell will be staying on board as a Google employee and continuing to run Nest:

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Apple did not violate Motorola patent, appeals court rules

Zac Hall Jan 10 2014 - 9:13 am PT

Apple did not violate a push notifications patent held by the Google-owned Motorola Mobility according to a ruling posted today by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The International Trade Commission previously determined that Apple’s iPhone design did not violate a patent held by Motorola prompting the Google-owned company to appeal the decision, but today Apple was once again ruled clear of any patent violations.

The ruling can be read in full here.

Opinion: Five years from now, will we have given up all control of our technology?

Ben Lovejoy Jan 9 2014 - 7:20 am PT

61 Comments

I know, it seems an odd question. But a few different things over the last couple of days got me thinking …

Years ago, before either Google or Apple ecosystems were really deserving of the term, I managed all my device synchronisation manually: I decided what content got synced on what devices. My music too: iTunes was allowed to play it, but not to manage it – I took care of the folder structures and meta-data myself. And the miscellaneous notes I kept were in a folder full of text files, the format deliberately chosen to be compatible with anything, not sitting inside Apple’s Notes app.

My view was that it should be me, not some piece of software or online service, that made the decisions about how things got done. Fast-forward to today, however, and things are quite different around here …
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Google updates YouTube for iOS 7 with improved search results and captions

Mike Beasley Jan 7 2014 - 5:23 pm PT

The YouTube app for iOS has been updated with a new design for iOS 7, including the new keyboard and status bar, and a blurred sidebar design like that found in other apps.

The update also includes improved search results that include videos, playlists, and channels all on one screen. Finally, the new version introduces new settings for closed captioning and subtitles.

You can grab the free YouTube app on the iOS App Store.

Wall Street vs AAPL in nine bar-charts

Ben Lovejoy Jan 6 2014 - 7:22 am PT

20 Comments

The disconnect between Apple’s corporate performance and its stock value is something we’ve often commented on in the past. But rarely has the gap between the two been made more visually obvious than in a set of nine bar-charts published by Fortune, comparing Apple with Amazon and Google.

Judging from Merckel’s bar charts, what the market seems to be saying is that it believes Google and Amazon will keep growing indefinitely.

For Apple, it will believe it when it sees the next hit product.

The three ones above give the starkest illustration, while the complete set below give a fuller picture …
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Google-owned Bump and Flock announce January 31st shutdown, app store removal

David Beren Jan 1 2014 - 7:01 am PT

3 Comments

From 9to5Google:

With the acquisition of the company in September, Bump and Flock CEO and co-founder David Lieb quietly announced last night that both apps were shutting down effective January 31st. According to a brief blog post on the Bump site, Lieb says his team is “deeply focused on our new projects within Google” and given that the acquisition appears to be talent-driven, the shutdown comes as little surprise.

Google launches new Google+ auto-backup utility for Mac with latest Picasa update

Mike Beasley Dec 29 2013 - 10:33 am PT

3 Comments

The latest version of Picasa includes an additional bit of software called Google+ Auto Backup, as reported by Google Operating System. The new software can be used to automatically backup photos and videos from user-selected directories to your Google+ account. Interestingly, the app has nothing to do with the Picasa service, even though it ships exclusively with the Picasa app.

The app can save unlimited 2048px photos to your account, or upload full-quality versions at the expense of Google Drive space. It can also intelligently copy media from storage cards and other devices that are attached to the system. Furthermore, the app can be configured to backup all media to a designated location on the local hard drive, putting all of your backed-up media in one convenient place.

You can get the Google+ Auto Backup app by downloading the latest version of Picasa.

Apple acquired mapping firm BroadMap’s talent, location-infused Evernote competitor Catch

Mark Gurman Dec 23 2013 - 9:53 am PT

2 Comments

<a href="http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2012/11/google-vs-apple/">Apple HQ in Cupertino</a>

Apple has been on a roll this year in terms of acquisitions. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the Cupertino firm acquired 15 companies this year, but only ten have been revealed. That list includes mapping companies such as Embark, chip makers like Passif, search specialists such as Cue and Topsy, and hardware companies such as PrimeSense. Because only 10 of the 15 Apple acquisitions of 2013 have been revealed, we have been digging and asking around to find the few remaining Apple pickups. Based on evidence and chatter from sources, Apple seemingly acquired mapping firm BroadMap in the first half of this year and Evernote-competitor Catch within the last few months…

Google’s Zagat app makes its way to the iPad, complete with ratings for shops and hotels

Mark Gurman Dec 19 2013 - 10:31 am PT

Earlier this year, Google launched Zagat for iPhone and iPod touch. The application is Google’s form of allowing users to discover new places, such as restaurants, across many cities in the United States. Today, Google has updated the application with support for the iPad’s larger display. Also in the mix is support for ratings and reviews for shops and restaurants. Support for Charleston, South Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee has also been added. The 2.0 update is free on the App Store.

Google search for iOS update adds iOS 7 styling and full-screen browsing

David Beren Dec 19 2013 - 9:04 am PT

Chalk up another Google app for iOS update as the app goes all iOS 7-fied as the official app finally receives the treatment. It takes a few seconds to notice the changes as I almost missed the full screen front page that now omits the signal, battery and carrier label. Overall, the update introduces:

Google releases One Today charity app on iOS

Chance Miller Dec 18 2013 - 7:00 pm PT