Google

Breaking: Andy Rubin Is Out at Android

Google has announced that Android chief Andy Rubin is stepping down, and will be replaced by Sundar Pichai. Pichai is currently VP of Chrome and Apps. This is a pretty monumental shakeup. Rubin had been with Google since Android was acquired in 2005. We don’t know what Rubin’s going to be up to, but Google’s…

Eric Schmidt was given a $6 million cash bonus for his work in 2012. Nice work if you can get it! [WSJ]

Does This Mystery Motorola Reveal Google’s Influence?

A mysterious new phone, which purports to be a Motorola-made Android, has surfaced—and it appears to shun the usual Moto design aesthetic in favor of something a little more Google-inspired. The guys at Tinhte got their hands on the phone. It’s worth pointing out that its specs don’t seem to be targeting the very high…

Is Google Now Coming to iOS?

Google Now, the uber useful Android Jelly Bean do it all, may be coming to iOS. Of course it won’t have all the widgets and wizardry that the Android version provides but if this leaked promo ad for Google Now on iOS is to be believed, it will show you all the personalized information you…

Why I Ditched the iPhone: My Very Own Protocol Droid

I’ve been a die-hard “Apple evangelist” for over twenty years – first an avid Mac user, then an early adopter of both iPod and iPhone. In the 90s, when everyone I knew used Windows, I tried to switch them to Mac. In the 2000s, when everyone had Creative-brand MP3 players, I tried to switch them…

Google: We Will Have a Prescription Solution for Glass

So far, we’ve only seen Google Glass in its lensless frame—not incredibly friendly for the hoards of prescription-glass-wearing nerds among us. But Google’s finally quelled their biggest fear with today’s announcement: The Glass design is modular, so you will be able to add frames and lenses that match your prescription. Unfortunately, this version still won’t…

11 Kickass Ways Normal People Will Use Google Glass

Much of the hype around Google Glass to date has focused on skydiving, BMX biking, and being a totally effective stalker. Those far-flung, limited-use applications don’t seem worth the hefty $1500 on. But what about the totally practical ways that us normal people could actually use them? Turns out—especially after Google’s quick Glass demo last…

Samsung Teases the Galaxy S IV with a Picture Showing the Outline of the Phone

Samsung is going to announce its latest and greatest Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy S IV, on March 14th. We may know what it looks like already. Or we may not. Samsung is throwing all of us another bone by teasing the upcoming S IV by showing us the outline of the phone. It might…

Google just redesigned its mobile Gmail web apps for Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, and BlackBerry. Lookin’ fresh.

How Google Hacked Our Imaginations with #IfIHadGlass

In just about every James Bond and Batman film, there is a segment where Q (or Morgan Freeman) introduces us to a few new gadgets. At first, the hero looks over the objects quizzically, but then the handler demonstrates how to use them, unlocking their mystery and inviting both the hero and the audience to…

Google’s Got a Talking Shoe Because Wearable Computing, Or Something

Wearable computing! Yeah! Woo! Glasses! More (probably non-existent) glasses! Watches! Shoes? Shoes! https://gizmodo.com/would-apple-iglass-be-better-than-googles-glasses-5923321 Yeah, Google’s got a talking shoe, and it’s showing it off at the company’s SXSW Interactive headquarters. It’s not actually for anything, really. Instead, it’s part of Google’s new Art, Copy, Code project which is primarily—you guessed it—art. Or something like it.…

What Every Fanboy Argument About Google Glass and the Apple iWatch Will Be Like

Even though we’re going to be whoa’d and inspired by the future that Google Glass and the Apple iWatch will bring, let’s not kid ourselves. The most realistic future is going to be the silly arguments we all get into about Google Glass and the Apple iWatch… which will only get more ridiculous after Apple…

Remember when Google ‘accidentally‘ mined Wi-Fi network data? Well, $7M is supposedly what’s going to make it go away.

DirecTV just released an Android Tablet app—two whole years after it released an iPad app. Better late than never?

How to Get the Best Exclusive Features on Any Android Smartphone

A Samsung Galaxy phone won’t go to sleep as long as you’re staring at the screen. An LG Optimus handset lets you run apps in tiny windows on top of the desktop, while Motorola RAZR devices can perform key tasks according to a schedule. Some call the proliferation of custom features Android fragmentation, but I…

Is This Google’s First Third Party App for Glass?

Yesterday the NewScientist put out a report that Google was funding the development of an app called InSight for Glass, which would recognize people based on their clothing and not their actual faces. After some head-scratching about why anyone would need such an app—and I scratched a lot of people’s heads about this—it turns out…

All the Google I/O Easter Eggs (And How I Found Them)

If you go to the Google I/O 2013 homepage and punch in IIIOOIII on your keyboard, the I/O logo changes into an new logo formed by cats. There are 12 of these easter eggs in all, and Zak El Fassi figured them all out. Here they are, plus an explanation of how he solved a…

German Court “Inclined” to Ban Google Maps

A German trial, which is seeing Google and Motorola battle Microsoft, appears to be going badly for the search giant. So badly, in fact, that a German judge has stated that he’s “inclined” to ban Google Maps in the country. The judge believes that he ought hold Google responsible for the infringement of a European…

Google to Axe 10 Percent More of Motorola’s Staff

Ever since Google acquired Motorola Mobility it’s been making cuts—but sadly it’s still having to lay people off. The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is getting rid of a further 10 percent of Moto’s staff. https://gizmodo.com/googles-acquisition-of-motorola-is-still-a-bust-and-wil-5978162 According to an email seen by a WSJ reporter, the company believes that “costs are too high, we’re…

Wonderful Footage of an 11-Year-Old Touring the Google Office of 1999

Once upon a 1999, two young boys document a visit to their father at the Google offices in its early stages. The result: a cinematic masterpiece of a time capsule. Granted, the whole video is a bit long and tends to drag near the end (unless you have a passion for watching tweens eating fritos),…