Category: Google

Google to Take on Apple’s AirDrop with ‘Copresence’

Recent reports have hinted that Google has been working on a new service that would allow Android users to share media with other nearby devices, even with the iOS devices like iPhones and iPads instead of gadgets running Google’s mobile OS only.

That means, this feature will allow us to exchange photos, music, contacts, directions, messages and other data between cross-platform devices easily. It is said that Google is planning to optimize this service with location information, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which is rumored to be based around the same kind of technology on which Chromecast works.

A tipster leaked the information saying that the service is codenamed as “Copresence”. Code buried in the Google Play Services’ latest version, an app on Android responsible for keeping much of Google’s core functionality working, reportedly revealed the upcoming feature, along with a few images that go with the service.

The illustrations that you see below are possibly for the Google Play Services. These are presumably designed to inform users about the service, and they suggest that “Copresence” will work with both Android and iOS devices.

Along with this, GigaOM has pointed out a number of references to the feature in bug reports for a developer version of Google Chrome, suggesting that the service could work with the popular browsers and computers as well. The new service sounds a lot like Apple’s AirDrop on iOS, which allows for sharing between iOS devices that are close to one another, across networks and with the option of sharing beyond your address book.

The fact that the new data sharing service by Google will be cross-platform has already created a stir. If Copresence is a real deal, we might see it first with a limited number of Google’s products, most notably Google Drive.

November 3, 2014
With Moto-Power Lenovo Becomes the Third Largest Smartphone Company in India

The acquisition of one of the most adored brands, Motorola by Lenovo was met with a wide negative response in India. But this acquisition did more for Lenovo than just being the owner of an awesome brand. It took an enormous leap in the Indian smartphone market. The Chinese electronics company now is the third biggest smartphone company in India.

Lenovo acquired Motorola from Google for a sum of $2.9-billion. The deal was finalized this Thursday, the 30th of October, and it will give Lenovo the boost in the Indian market that it was looking for. The deal got Lenovo in the third spot in India and many other markets globally.

This may also mean a bit of a pull back for Xiaomi. According to data research by IDC, the company will move down to the fourth spot after just recently hitting the podium stand. Seems like celebrations didn’t last long for the company. This will be a neck and neck competition because both Motorola and Xiaomi are stars of the low-cost markets. This is a market where the maximum amount of sales takes place. Lenovo has a good market stand in the offline channels and combined with the high online demand for Motorola product it can easily set a flag post at the third spot.

The top spot in India is still in the hands of Samsung, that has come up to become an alternative recognizable brand after the demise of Nokia. It holds 23.8% of the mobile phone market and is distantly followed by Apple with a market share of 12%.

Lenovo says that it considers India as an important market, and it will continue its original market plan. It will definitely benefit from the brand recognition of Motorola, especially in the youth market. Since its return to Indian shores, the company has sold over 2 million products from its catalog.

The Lenovo-Motorola partnership plans to sell about 100 million smartphones and tablets globally by march of next year which is an audacious task. The part of this acquisition that will be appreciated by most folks casting doubts on the future of Motorola products is that Lenovo and Motorola will continue on as separate entities. So you can expect your next Moto buy to still hold the Moto experience that you have come to love and appreciate.

November 1, 2014
Google Hangouts Now Allows Free One-Minute International Calls

Google has already created a user base niche for its international calling service through Google Hangouts that uses your data connection for calling. Now, stepping ahead in the game, the company recently announced that it is extending its international call support for Hangouts, i.e. the users, from now on, can make ‘the first one minute phone call in twenty-five different countries absolutely free of cost’.

Though, this one free minute might not sound like very much, but Google has listed some of its uses on its official blog post. The company states, “You can say a lot in just 60 seconds. In honor of time-hackers everywhere, Hangouts wants to help you say it for free. We’re making the first minute free for calls to phone numbers in twenty-five different countries around the world.”

The blogpost further reads that this new feature is somewhat like leaving a live voicemail to someone who’s overseas. And of course, if you want more time to talk with someone in another country on Hangouts, Google will let you do so for a price.

“Don’t worry, if you need a bit more than a minute, we’ve got you covered there too. As always, phone calls with Hangouts are free for most numbers in the US and Canada, and our international rates are super low. You can make phone calls from every device where you use Hangouts, and also with Hangouts Dialer on Android. So, what are you waiting for? Pick up your phone (or grab your tablet or computer) and show us what can you get done with sixty free seconds.” Google writes.

October 31, 2014
It’s Done! Lenovo Now Officially Owns Motorola

Today, Motorola officially announced that Lenovo has completed the acquisition of Motorola Mobility and the company is now a part of the Lenovo family.

Lenovo Group Ltd has finally closed its $2.91 billion acquisition of the Motorola handset unit from Google Inc and is preparing itself for a fresh attack on the U.S smartphone market. The purchase comes as Lenovo, the world’s leading PC maker, is trying to integrate its business into various segments and establish itself as a smartphone maker with global appeal.

Back in 2012, Google acquired Motorola Mobility and its patent for $12.5 billion but was unable to revive the company to its old glory.

“The iconic Motorola brand will continue, as will the Moto and DROID franchises that have propelled our growth over the past year,” explains Rick Osterloh, Motorola President, “We will continue to focus on pure Android and fast upgrades, and remain committed to developing technology to solve real consumer problems.”

“Google will maintain ownership of a majority of the Motorola Mobility patent portfolio, while Motorola will receive a license to this rich portfolio of patents and other intellectual property,” says Lenovo. Google’s CEO Larry Page said, “Motorola is in great hands with Lenovo, a company that’s all-in on making great devices.”

October 30, 2014
Here’s the First Look at the Working Prototype of Google’s Project Ara

Remember Phonebloks, the folks who came up with a revolutionary concept of a phone that can be easily updated and save the environment with the massive e-waste generated each year? The project was taken up by Motorola and named project Ara. The project got passed on to Google after Motorola’s departure from the company, and it seems that they have been working hard to get the concept to reality.

Dave Hakkens, the Dutch designer who was the brains behind Phonebloks paid a visit to one of the contractors working on Project Ara. NK Labs is one of the dozen contract partners who are assisting Google in bringing out this new generation product.

In the video, the engineer assembled various modules onto the device, and it worked. The device is operational and is running an Android operating system. The modules included the LED, battery, application processor, loudspeaker and USB charging bits. The camera and other complex features may be added later, but this is a great start for the project.

Google had announced last week that it will be establishing independent stores where users can go and buy their choice of swappable modules. Paul Eremenko from Google had said that they will be creating a free and open platform on the lines of the Android project. The devices are expected to run Android Lollipop, and the “Spiral 2? prototype will be introduced on January 14th, 2015 at the next developers conference. Now this is one technology we can’t wait to get our hands on, not only is it economically viable, it has an environmentally conscious approach towards technology.

October 30, 2014
Google Challenges Apple’s HealthKit with New Google Fit

After overcoming a few hurdles along the way, Apple’s HealthKit is making its way into mainstream slowly. However, Apple is not the only one to tap on potential market of health related applications and hardware. Yesterday, Google released Google Fit, a standalone app and fitness platform designed to compete with Apple’s HealthKit, in the Google Play store.

The app, which connects to your existing Google account, functions as a central dashboard for tracking fitness and health goals. Like HealthKit, Google Fit taps into the sensors in your smartphone to keep tabs on daily activities like steps and active minutes. Users can also manually add exercise and other activities like biking and walking.

According to Google, the newly launched app includes your run-of-the-mill activity tracking features, supports third-party integrations and Android wear devices, and enables users to “set goals based on either duration or steps.”

To help enable third-party app integration, the company also rolled out full versions of its Google Fit APIs for developers. Google released a preview version of its software development kit for Google Fit earlier this year, and announced a series of early partners, including Nike, Runtastic, RunKeeper, who will be among the first developers to make their apps Google Fit-compatible.

Google Fit also has a web-based destination at Google.com/fit which doesn’t appear to be live just yet, and it’s likely we’ll see more features introduced to the app as developers begin to explore and work with the platform.

Although this fitness app follows Google’s new Material Design guidelines and was announced alongside Android L (now known as Lollipop), Google Fit is available to all users running Android 4.0 and newer. This is also another reminder that Android 5.0 Lollipop’s release is just around the corner, with the first consumer devices sporting the OS coming next week.

October 29, 2014
Sundar Pichai to Now Oversee Crucial Strategic Operations at Google

A few days ago we reported about Satya Nadella becoming one of the highest paid tech execs, now it seems like another Indian is speedily climbing the ladder of success. Google’s Sundar Pichai, who already heads some of the company’s most strategic businesses, has been given more responsibility. CEO Larry Page wants to focus more on overall business strategy, off loading some of his responsibilities to Pichai.

Pichai, who already heads the most widely used OS in the world – Android, along with that he’s incharge of Google Chrome, and oversees the company’s suite of apps including Gmail and Docs. Under the organization reshuffle, he will be heading research, search, maps, Google+ social network, ads and infrastructure.

With Google coming under pressure from investors as their profits and revenue did not meet their targets in the third quarter, Page decided to off load some of his reponsibilities to focus more on the overall business growth. Some financial analysts fear that Google’s business is slowing down, despite its search and advertising business still generating a revenue of $50 billion a year. Page can now have direct supervision over a number of divisions including YouTube, along with business and operations.

Chennai-born Pichai, has become a well known figure inside the company after he took over Android. He has been working for the company since 2004 and has a master’s degree in engineering from Stanford University. His early works included being a part of the team that developed Google’s search toolbar.

October 25, 2014
Google’s Reinvented ‘Inbox’ App to Ease the On-The-Go E-mail Experience

E-mails have been one of the greatest tools of the last decade. The speed of communication they introduced has helped significantly to help economies grow. Though their place in personal interactions has been taken over by social media, emails have managed to stay relevant by offering features such as video chat. Gmail, world’s most used email service now brings an app that can make using e-mail in the mobility era a breeze.

“Inbox” is an email meant for folks who regularly use their mobile devices to check their emails. It is almost like a personal assistant neatly organizing your inbox so that you can just concentrate on the things you do. The app offers multiple features to make your life easy.

First of all is the ‘Bundles’. Google introduced an exciting feature on Gmail where emails were sorted into Primary, Social and Promotions which did the heavy sorting for you. Now with Inbox Google takes it a step further. Using technology that it had for Google Now, the app can read through your content and sort travel related mails into one bundle, and your purchase info into another. You can also create new bundles and customize your inbox according to your needs.

The Snooze feature will help you get that well needed rest from your inbox.

Second feature it flaunts is ‘highlights’. Using this, you can see order updates, flight status, reservation details, and pictures without having to open the message.

One important feature of the new inbox is ‘reminders’. You can easily set up reminders at the top of your inbox. This way they stay where you can always spot them. You can also use Google Keep for this but having reminders at one place does make sense.

A feature that will be appreciated by most working professionals is snooze. Using this feature, you can choose to ignore the mountains of work emails during your rest time. Just set the snooze period you desire, and you won’t get any message or reminders during that period. If you snooze a message for office, the app will recognize when you’ve reached the office and it will show up again.

The interface of the app is clean and lets you give quick access to all you need. Hope Google keeps this app to the basics and not try to add clutter like video chat. There are already too many video chat apps out there. The simplicity of this app is really inviting.

Now all this sounds enticing enough to hit the Play store to score yourself an Inbox but, unfortunately, all good things ask for patience. Currently, the app is only available through invitation. You can send an email to [email protected] to request your invitation. We will give you a more in-depth review once we get our hands on the app. So stay tuned.

October 24, 2014
Gmail’s Redesigned App to Support Yahoo and Outlook Accounts

After the release of the long awaited Android L and its associated Material Design, it seems Google wants to take its feature a step further. Android Police has accessed Gmail 5.0 app for Android and discovered support for Yahoo and Outlook accounts. This will be a big blow to the independent apps of these mail clients; people might find it more convenient to access all their accounts from one place.

The new Android OS was appreciated for its ease of use and simplified view with updated iconography and tweaked buttons. A companion video shows how the new update keeps the interface similar to what we have gotten used to, but adds more functionalities to the app.

This will be a great new feature for folks who use multiple accounts for different purposes. It will work out for business and personal users and by using a single app to access all the mails will save a lot of precious time. Ok Google, we are waiting for our updates!

October 20, 2014
According to Survey, India Has Second Highest Number of Google Glass Owners Globally

According to a recently conducted research, India has the second highest number of Google Glass owners at six percent, South Korea being the number one with eight per cent. Google Glass is a type of wearable technology with an optical head-mounted display (OHMD). It displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format.

That’s not all. India is also said to have emerged as one of the most tech-savvy nation with 95 per cent of Indians find smartphones critically important, while 75 percent use their smartphone or tablet for online bookings, according to a survey by Expedia.

“The findings clearly suggest an increasing dependency on the mobile platform. Ninety five per cent Indian respondents feel that their smartphone is very or of critical importance to their daily life,” said Vikram Malhi, MD, Asia, Expedia . Further adding that Indians lead in app booking and data roaming plans globally.

And that’s not it, the survey also revealed that India has the highest number of smartwatch owners globally, with 18 per cent owning and using the device. It was also reported that 85 percent of Indians own a laptop, ranking fourth in the world after Denmark (89 per cent), Austria (86 per cent) and Norway (86 per cent).

October 20, 2014
Google Adds New Layer of Security Features with Android 5.0 Lollipop

Android 5.0 Lollipop is Google’s most significant release of Android yet with a whole lot of features debuting with it. Everyone seems to be super excited about the newly upgraded features like support for 64-bit processors, Material Design, the improvements to power management and the switch from the Dalvik RunTime to the Android RunTime, ART, which are touted to make our devices smoother and faster.

But this time around, Google has added some great new security features as well. The first way is the built-in kill switch, also known as Factory Reset Protection. It essentially prevents anyone from wiping and resetting your device if it’s stolen. If thieves can’t factory reset your device, then they won’t be able to successfully resell it.The feature requires a Google ID and password before a phone can be reset, and only works when a phone passcode is enabled.

The second is linked to the first and uses a feature that has been present in Android since 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which is device encryption. Until now, encryption has been an optional security feature that most people only activate if their corporate email account tells them to do so. From Android 5.0, encryption is going to be enabled by default. This gives users another PIN or password to remember but keeps the data on the device much safer from the notorious hackers’ eyes. Without device encryption, a thief could access the information on the device.

October 18, 2014
Nexus 9 Listed on Google Play Store in India for Rs. 28,900

Google on Wednesday announced three new devices, all attempting to enter a space which competitior Apple has enjoyed monopoly over the past years. Now, Google’s Nexus 9, the HTC-made tablet is “coming soon” to India.

The tablet has been listed on Google India’s Play store. It is not yet available but once it does, it will cost Rs.28,900 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and Rs. 44,900 for the 3G version with 32GB memory. Three official origami-inspired leather covers for the tablet have also been listed. They will be available in three color variants, Black, Mint Intiqo and Lime stone.

Google describes Nexus 9 as a tablet that “is for work and play, with its just-right 8.9-inch screen and front-facing stereo speakers”. Now according to insider sources, the company will be bringing the Nexus 9 to India by the 2nd week of December, which come in line with this listing.

Nexus 9 is a slim, sleek and sexy looking tablet. Its processing might is taken care by a 64-bit NVIDIA Tegra K1 Dual Denver processor clocked at 2.3GHz. It comes with 2GB RAM and is available in 16GB and 32GB storage variants. The device has an 8.9 inch IPS LCD display with 4:3 aspect ratio. It has a resolution of 2048×1536 and is covered in Gorrila Glass 3.

The camera at the rear will not do 4K video because it is just an 8 MP snapper, but its a wide lens and a great module. The aperture is f 2.4 and the sensor is a BSI sensor. For power you get a 6700 mAh battery, that should last you through the day and then some.

It weighs only 425 gm for the Wifi only and 436gm for the LTE variant, keeping it light and extremely portable. The tablet is easily held with one hand and the back panel feels great as well. The device is one of the first devices to run the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop OS along with the Nexus 6.

October 18, 2014

Nexus 9 vs iPad Mini 3: Which One Got it Right?

Apple has finally unveiled the new generation iPads and iMacs. The company had earlier “accidentally” released some information about the new generation products from its stable. Seems like Apple has put some real challenge for Nexus. Both the iPad Mini 3 and the Nexus 9 are priced close to Rs. 24,000 ($400).

Now that we have the knowledge of the juicy bits of these devices that make them tick, we’d like to take them for a spec comparison.

Specs	Nexus 9	iPad Mini Retina
Display	8.9-inch QXGA	7.9?inch Retina display
Processor	2.3GHz, 64-bit NVIDIA Tegra K1 Dual Denver	A7 Chip
RAM	2 GB	1 GB
Storage	16/32GB	16/64/128 GB
Expandable Upto	–	–
Main Camera	8 MP	5 MP
Front Camera	1.6 MP	1.2 MP
Battery	6700 mAh	–
Operating System	Android 5.0	iOS 8.0.1

Overall, on the spec sheet, it looks like the Nexus 9 is beating Apple’s latest offering quite easily; Google and HTC together have formed a good device. Apple’s Handoff features though will be truly appreciated by the fans, and thus the device will find many takers. The features can still be up for debate, and we’ll get you the full story once these devices are available.

October 17, 2014

Tablet Spec Battle: Nexus 9 vs Galaxy Tab S vs iPad Mini vs Z3 Tablet

Tablets have in recent past gone from an aspirational device to a second fiddle to the desktop and smartphone. With more and more phones going big screen, it seems like the tablet market is being pushed back. But that hasn’t stopped the makers from introducing new generation tablets with evolved features. Tablets are also great portable multimedia devices, and the tablet market has become more interesting this year.

Google has unveiled its latest tablet offering, the Nexus 9, made in collaboration with HTC. The tablet flaunts some impressive features at a comparatively low price and is touted to give the other giants a run for their money. So we put it to test and see where the tablet stands out amongst the current players in the market.

Specs	Nexus 9	Galaxy Tab S	iPad Mini Retina	Z3 Tablet Compact
Display	8.9″ QXGA	8.4 inches WQXGA	7.9 inches	8.0 inches Full HD
Processor	2.3GHz, 64-bit NVIDIA Tegra K1 Dual Denver	2.3 GHz, Quad-core Snapdragon 800	1.3 GHz, Dual-core Apple A7	2.5 GHz, Quad-core Snapdragon 801
RAM	2 GB	3 GB RAM	1 GB	3 GB
Storage	16GB & 32GB	16/32 GB	16/32/64/128 GB	16 GB
Expandable Upto	–	128 GB	–	128 GB
Main Camera	8 MP	8 MP	5 MP	8.1 MP
Front Camera	1.6 MP	2.1 MP	1.2 MP	2.2 MP
Battery	6700 mAh	4900 mAh	6470 mAh	4500 mAh
Operating System	Android 5.0	Android 4.4.2	iOS 7, upgradable to iOS 8.0.2	Android 4.4.2

Nexus 9 surely flexes its muscle on paper as its specs are impressive. Though what really lacks is the absence of expandable storage. With a good display and a strong processor such as this one, expandable storage would have made it more appealing. Now that Apple is ready to launch the 3rd-gen iPad Mini tonight, we’ll get to see how Apple manages to take on Google’s native tablet. The game is still on.

October 16, 2014

Exclusive: Google Nexus 9 to Launch in India by December for Rs. 24,999

After the release of all the big ticket devices from the big brands, Google has unveiled its home grown beasts. The company unveiled the long awaited and tremendously speced Nexus 6. With the launch of this phone, the Nexus brand has moved to the top of the food chain. Along with Nexus 6 came Google’s new tablet, the Nexus 9, which was developed by Google in collaboration with HTC. Now according to insider sources, the company will be bringing the Nexus 9 to India by the 2nd week of December.

Nexus 9 is a slim, sleek and sexy looking tablet. Its processing might is taken care by a 64-bit NVIDIA Tegra K1 Dual Denver processor clocked at 2.3GHz. It comes with 2GB RAM and is available in 16GB and 32GB storage variants. The device has an 8.9 inch IPS LCD display with 4:3 aspect ratio. It has a resolution of 2048×1536 and is covered in Gorrila Glass 3.

The specs on the camera of the device are also great. It comes with an 8MP rear camera with an aperture of f/2.4. For the selfie enthusiasts, the device offers a 1.6MP front camera but with an iris of f/2.4 you can expect some good selfies even in low light scenarios.

Nexus 9 is also a great device for the multimedia enthusiasts. While its big portable screen will be great for watching video content, the front facing HTC Boomsound will enhance the multimedia experience.

The device is one of the first devices to run the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop OS along with the Nexus 6. According to insider sources, it will arrive in India for a price of Rs.24,999 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi only model. This is one tablet we’d love to take for a spin.

Update: Newer details and full information here.

October 16, 2014

Category: Google

Specs

Nexus 9

iPad Mini Retina

Specs

Nexus 9

Galaxy Tab S

iPad Mini Retina

Z3 Tablet Compact