Google

Dell’s New 13-Inch Chromebook Is Like a Pixel You Can Actually Afford

When Google introduced Chromebooks in 2011, its “always in the cloud” philosophy made these machines seem like starter kits for the lite laptop user. But Google’s incredible Pixel line upped the game. Now Dell’s followed that top-of-the-line thinking to make a powerful Chromebook you can actually afford. Dell’s Chromebook 13 isn’t meant for the ChromeOS…

To Test Its Drone Fleet, Google Uses a Sneaky Legal Loophole

Google has been working with NASA to test delivery drones in private US airspace, according to documents reviewed by the Guardian. While laws mostly prohibit commercial drones from such activity, NASA offers Google a convenient loophole. The drone experiments in question are part of the Google X delivery drone research program codenamed Project Wing. Operation…

Is This Alphabet Thing All About Google’s Tesla Envy?

As Silicon Valley struggles to understand the news about Google’s new parent company Alphabet, one thing has become clear. Alphabet is all about highlighting Google’s futuristic and downright nutbar projects. It’s as if Larry Page and Sergey Brin wish they were running Tesla. After all, Elon Musk’s company gets to do all the cool things…

Google Hid a Cute Easter Egg in Its Big Alphabet Announcement

You know a brand is your friend when it makes jokes about TV shows you like. In announcing the formation of Alphabet, the Google leaders snuck a little tongue-in-cheek reference to everybody’s favorite show about technology, Silicon Valley. If you scroll down in the announcement and click on the period right after the phrase “drone…

Google Creates Alphabet, a New Company to Rule Them All

So you thought Google was a sprawling Silicon Valley entity with a frightening amount of power… …Meet Alphabet. Larry Page just announced this new parent company for Google and all of its various offspring. Speaking for his fellow Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Page called the creation of Alphabet “a very exciting new chapter in the…

This App Will Tell You If Your Phone Has the ‘Stagefright’ Bug

Worried about the security of your Android? You probably should be. But the guys that discovered the Stagefright vulnerability have now released an app that that will tell you if your phone is at risk. While Google has already created a fix—with some fanfare—currently only Nexus devices have been updated. If you use any other…

Vast swathes of white can make Google Maps a shock to the eyes at night. On iOS it now has a new night mode to help you see your route more easily after dark.

HBO Now Gets Chromecast Streaming Support

HBO Now and Chromecasts are two wonderful things in a world that also contains Donald Trump; it is fitting and right that they should work together. Now, they do. Thanks to an update to the HBO Now iOS and Android apps, you can now cast Game Of Throne to the big screen using only Google’s…

Another Android Bug That Lets Hackers Control Your Phone With One Text

Just when the world was starting to chill out about Stagefright, some Israeli hackers announced more bad news. Just like Stagefright, there’s another Android vulnerability that lets hackers take control of a phone with a single text. What’s worse is that there’s not an easy fix. Announced today at the Black Hat security conference in…

Google’s Fixing the Hangouts Hack With ‘Biggest Software Update Ever’

Security researchers scared the shit out of Android users last week when they revealed a vulnerability that let hackers control your phone with a single text. In a session at Black Hat, Google’s Adrian Ludwig just explained exactly how it’s being fixed, calling it the biggest software update in history. He seems pretty chill about…

You Can Now Pre-Order That Crazy, All Metal, Super-Secure Turing Phone

The Turing Phone is one weird dude. Like some cross between a scifi prop and an actual Android phone, this new device from Turing Robotics is what they call a “cipher” phone—the next evolutionary step for smartphones. Whether that’s the case or not, who knows, but you can pre-order it right now and find out…

Sony’s New Xperia C5 Ultra Is a Selfie-Taker’s Dream

Sony has just announced two new mid-range phones, both with a firm emphasis on photography—and in the case of this the Xperia C5 Ultra, that means selfies. The handset, pictured above, features not one but two 13-megapixel Exmor RS cameras: one onf the back, one on the front. The font-facer in fact provides a 22m…

Google Auto Is the Official Name of Google’s Secretive Car Division

The internet might be all aflame with talk of an Apple Car, but according to documents obtained by the Guardian, Google Auto is really where it’s at. Set up as a distinct company back in 2011, Google Auto has been officially responsible for all of Google’s self-driving car experiments to date. That includes theself-driving Lexus…

The Hotly-Anticipated US Version of the YotaPhone 2 Is Canceled

After raising nearly $300,000 on Indiegogo, the highly-anticipated US version of YotaPhone 2 is cancelled. We’ve confirmed that backers can’t get the US version with Yota Devices. What a bummer! The unique smartphone design features dual LCD/e-ink displays. The global version of the YotaPhone 2 is still available, and backers can opt for that version…

Sony, Please Make This Android Concept a Reality

Sony’s Z3 is a good phone, handicapped with a skinned version of Android that looks dated, and comes with a dump-truck of superfluous crap. Thanks to this quietly-leaked Sony Android Concept, which strips away all the junk and leaves a experience that looks plain fantastic. The Sony ‘Concept for Android’ is a stripped-back beta version…

Just 72 hours after its slightly strange virtual reality launch, the OnePlus 2 has already surpassed a million invite requests. That’s not bad for the self-styled David in the war against Goliath flagships: the Galaxy S6 Edge took nearly two weeks to rack up 5 million pre-orders. But if you haven’t jumped on the invite…

Google’s Distributing a New Clip-On Glass Product for Workplaces

Remember how useless Google Glass seemed when the search giant launched the geeky and invasive product? Turns out, some workplaces actually think they’re useful. And now, Google is now distributing a new version of Glass to select businesses. Several news outlets are reporting that Google’s been quietly distributing new Glass hardware to workplaces. The Wall…

Explore Googlers’ 20% Projects In This New Web Series

Google’s 20% policy — letting employees spend 20% of their time working on a pet project — is a Silicon Valley free-the-mind legend. In a new YouTube series, a pair of Googlers use their 20% time to explore some of the hidden secrets of Google. It definitely seems a little PR-scripted — a candid behind-the-scenes…

LG’s Latest Innovation Is… An Android Flip Phone?

Do you miss T9? Do you dislike productivity? Then the new LG Gentle is for you. In today’s word of overpowered massive handsets, it’s not hard to imagine that there might be some nostalgia for a simpler time, when texting was complicated, email required a computer, and you could still count on receiving a few…

Waiting in Line Sucks, and Google Wants to Help You Avoid It 

Your lunch break burrito bowl awaits, but avoiding the winding, noon-hour queue is an art. But soon, you’ll be able to work around those long lines on your grub-fetching quests—or at least anticipate them—using data from Google. The company posted the news on Google+ today: A new service, rolling out this week, will allow users…