Category: Google

Google May Introduce Android One in India on 15th September

During Google I/O this year, Google announced an initiative that will help bring better user experience in the lower end price bracket. It was called Android One. Now it seems Google is ready to kickstart the initiative and might launch it in India soon.

Google has sent out the invites for an event on Monday, September 15th which only talks about “an exciting announcement” from the company but doesn’t give out more details. It is speculated that it most probably will be the Android One announcement.

The Android One initiative was taken by Google to boost the smartphone adoption rate in emerging markets. This will also be helpful for Google to expand the user base of Android in India. It will also give a better user experience, close to what Android had hoped for and which got lost in a whole array of sub-standard hardware.

Through this initiative, Google will send out a standardized list for affordable phones to the mobile companies. The idea is to prevent heavy expenses for creating a new phone to smaller companies. Currently, Google is working with Micromax, Karbonn and Spice in India for these phones. The company intends to keep the cost of phones under this banner, under $100.

With Android One Google wants to bring a Standard User experience throughout Android Ecosystem

During his presentation at Google I/O, senior Vice President of Android, Sundar Pichai said, “I’ve been using this phone for a while, and it is really good,” Pichai said on stage. “When I go back home to India and other countries like that, it is exciting to see the impact phones have on people’s lives, but it’s disappointing that only less than 10 percent of the population has access to smartphones. We want to change that.”

This is a good initiative from Google especially at a time when companies like Intex and Spice are bringing in with the Firefox OS, which intends to bring the smartphone experience to the lowest mobile segment. Also, the Android market is extremely segmented, lot of phones running older versions of Android can be found in the market. With Android One, Google will be able to make devices that would be easily updatable. Even though, the initiative is inspired by business motives it will directly help a lot of folks to get connected to the information age. This is an appreciable step from Google.

September 2, 2014
New Leak Confirms Nexus X Specs and Reveals an Important Detail about Android L

We’ve already established the fact that Google’s upcoming Nexus device will not be called Nexus 6. Also, at this point we’re pretty certain that the device will be brought to us by Motorola. Now, popular tech blog TKTechNews has leaked some interesting information about the upcoming Nexus X. The leaked images show several AnTuTu benchmark screenshots for the handset, which also seem to reveal an important new detail about Android L.

The screenshot reveals the hardware details about the device. The leaked information is in line with the previous reports, which includes a 2K display, 2.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and 13-megapixel camera. As mentioned earlier, the AnTuTu app refers the device as Nexus X and the device scored 35,430 in the test.

What’s interesting is that the leaked images of the benchmark lists Android version as ‘5.0’. However, in contrast, other recent leaks had suggested that the new updated version of Android will be called LMP or Lemon Meringue Pie.

The company is yet to confirm what will be the name of the new version of Android once it will be officially launched. Considering that these images are true, this Nexus X benchmark seems to confirm what every Android fan has been waiting for Google to reveal. Android will upgrade itself from Android 4.x (used since Ice Cream Sandwich) to Android 5.x.

Another rumor surrounding the Google’s Nexus X had surfaced recently. According to the leaked Best Buy listing, the Nexus X will be available on Sprint networks for $500 with a two-year contract. The listing for the Nexus X claims that the device has a 5.9-inch Quad-HD display that has a resolution of 1440×2560, a 2.7GHz quad-core processor and the Android L operating system. Google Nexus devices were expected to get an Andoird L update sometime in October followed by Motorola handsets.

August 27, 2014
7 Reasons Why Android is The Undefeated King in India

If you ever raise the question, ‘Which is the best OS for smartphones?’, it is inevitable that you will end up in an endless argument that is likely to turn into name-calling. While there are other mobile platforms, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android have been dominant contenders in the game.

Both companies enjoy the support of loyal fans who religiously follow every minute update and change made to the mobile platforms. But, we are the country of budget phones and a ‘value for money’ market. Android makes a perfect companion of these ideals.

Here we are listing 7 reasons why Android is the undefeated king in the Indian smartphone market.

7. Google Now works better than Siri in India

Even Apple acknowledges this. Google Now is much better and functional in our country. It is not only faster than Siri at answering your questions but it also does a much better job at recognizing Indian accents. Furthermore, you also have an option of downloading the speech recognition files to the device for offline use in Android devices.

6. App publishing in Android is a lot easier

Publishing an Android app is as easy as child’s play. Once you are done making the app, you just have to sign up via a handy Eclipse wizard, and you have an APK file that can run on any device. You can email it, put it up on a web site, or upload it to Google Play and make it available worldwide within the hour. Even better, you can check install statistics and crash reports, including stack traces which identify the exclusive line of code that went wrong, and you can upload a bug-fix version immediately. On the other hand, it is a nightmare to publish an Apple app.

5. Wide range of sharing options

Android powered devices gives option of sharing media files through any installed app with sharing capabilities. That means if you want to share media file through Blogger, Tumblr, Instagram or Pinterest or any other social media app you can do it easy on Android OS devices. However, iOS restrict you to the pre-installed apps such as Message, Mail, Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr for media sharing.

4. No mandatory Multimedia apps for Android

Apple needs iTunes to sync your music and iPhoto for pictures to your iOS smartphones which is a huge drawback especially for people who use Windows on their PCs and Laptops. On the other hand, Android isn’t as bothered about where your music or pictures comes from. You can just plug in your device to your laptops or PC using a USB cable and transfer music and other multimedia files with an ease.

3. Its customizability

If the stock Android look doesn’t suit your taste you can customise your Android smartphones. Sky is the limit with various launchers, themes and what not, available on the Play Store. You can even download an iOS 7 theme, if that is what you are into. And yes, on most Android phones, you can unlock your device to any app you want, which comes handy when you use certain apps regularly.

2. Free Apps vs Premium Apps

It’s true Apple App store offer you many premium quality apps but most of them are paid. On the other hand, Google’s Play Store offers far more options than the App Store. Play Store has an array of genres and categories which offers amazing app (including third party apps) mostly for free or for minimal charges.

1. Android comes in Budget Friendly phones

Android is an open source OS and is available for any manufacturer to use, while iOS is available exclusively on the devices that Apple manufactures. This makes a huge difference as Apple’s iPhones are high-end expensive phones. For an Indian, value for money matters. You can find Android OS in the extensive price range from Rs. 3,000 to 70,000. Hence, we conclude, Android is the true king of smartphones in India.

August 26, 2014
Leaked Documents Reveal Android L May Be Called ‘Lemon Meringue Pie’

Google introduced us to the next big update of Android at Google I/O 2014. Though, the company has already released the developers preview called ‘L Release’, the search engine giant has been tight lipped about what the name of the update would be, once it’s fully operational.

However, recent leak hint that the new version of Android which was referred to as Android L till now, will be called ‘Lemon Meringue Pie’ once Google releases it officially.

Documents leaked by popular website, Android Police, appears to refer the new version of Android as LMP or Lemon Meringue Pie. One of the documents is an extract from the Android SDK which mentions the current preview build of Android L available for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 as the “lmp-preview-release.”

Also, the website posted a Wi-Fi certification for a yet-to-be announced HTC tablet which has the internal name of the latest Android version ID, LMP. The device is said to be HTC Volantis or Flounder which is expected to be the Nexus 8 or 9. The report also added if you search LMP on the Android Open Source Project repository you get nine hits, one of which refers directly to “LMP” in the subject heading.

However, this news should be taken in with a pinch of salt as last year Android KitKat 4.4 was referred KLP or Key Lime Pie prior to the release of Nexus 5 and 7. It is possible that Google may go ahead with an entirely different name, tying up with some company to promote a product just like KitKat. Anyway, it is still unclear what the new version of Android L will be called. Meanwhile, Lollipop, Lemonhead and Licorice are the favorites among Android fans.

Google is also aiming for a better battery life in Android smartphones. The introduced Project Volta improves the “instrumentation” of battery data through a tool called “Battery Historian.” Google has also added a “Battery Saver” mode in “L” which can be triggered manually or configured to be enabled automatically when battery is low.

August 26, 2014
Nexus 6 May Be Called ‘Nexus X’, Possible Launch Date Revealed

With many interesting devices in the market, the smartphone space looks bustling with energy of an overcrowded market. But a lot of people still waiting for that time of the year when the makers of Android, bring out their own device, the Nexus series. Google’s Nexus phones are one of the most looked forward devices as they bring a native Android experience as intended by Google.

This time around Motorola has been roped in to make the next Nexus device. TKTechNews and Phone Arena say they have received information about this device; the Nexus 6 may be called the ‘Nexus X’ as that is the codename being used internally by Motorola. The model number of the device is XT1100.

There is a bit of conflict between the sites regarding the screen size. While TKTechNews claims that the device has a massive 6.3 inch screen, PhoneArena reports on a slightly conservative screen size of 5.9 inch. Previous leaks have also reported on a 5.9 inch 2K screen. Anyway, the phone will still take on the Note 4’s screen so it will be interesting to see who brings out a better 2K screen, Motorola or Samsung.

The 5.9 inch phone is expected to tun Android L

The Nexus X is expected to be based on the upcoming Moto S. It will be powered by the 2.7 GHz Snapdragon 805 processor. The camera on the device is a 13 megapixel shooter with optical image stabilization, and on the front it sports a 2.1-megapixel camera. It will also come with the Google’s next mobile OS, the Android LMP (Lemon Meringue Pie) as it’s expected to be called.

One of the main reasons cited for the change of name is trade mark issues. Nexus 6 was the name of the Androids (robots) in Philip K Dick’s novel Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep? The novel was later produced as the famous Blade Runner films.

The Nexus device will come with the carrier Sprint and it will be priced at $499 with a 2 year contract. In Europe, the phone will cost 419 Euros. The device is expected to arrive by Halloween as a pleasant ‘treat’. As Google did last year, the phone will be released without an announcement. Now we know what we want Christmas, hope Google brings it to a major market like India as soon as possible.

August 26, 2014
Microsoft is Working on Chromecast-Like Dongle Called Miracast

Google’s Chromecast was a surprise hit when it was launched. And now it appears Microsoft is working on something similar for Windows Phone and probably Windows PCs.

A document filed with the FCC (Federal Communication Commission) by Microsoft has been spotted for a “Miracast Dongle” media adapter. The filing reveals that the device comes with a HDMI port, Wi-Fi and a USB connection for power supply. Miracast is a screencasting standard for connected devices over Wi-Fi Direct. Microsoft recently added Miracast support to Windows Phone via the Lumia Cyan firmware for Windows Phone 8.1.

However, Miracast doesn’t seem like a direct Chromecast competitor. It is said that the two devices work a bit differently with Chromecast pulling streaming data from the cloud while Miracast, as its name suggest, just mirrors the display. The big advantage of mirroring a display on your TV is that you don’t have to wait for developers to add Miracast support to their apps, because it’s a system-wide feature.

It is said that the new dongle would take advantage of Windows Phone 8.1’s Miracast-based Project My Screen feature to broadcast your screen to a TV. This could be used for putting anything from videos and games to presentations and photos on your living room’s big screen. Adding a dongle to support Miracast on TVs is key, because the technology has yet to see wide adoption despite being supported in the latest build of Windows.

With Microsoft expected to launch a couple of Lumia mobile devices at its upcoming IFA press event in Berlin on September 4th, we will not be surprised if Miracast also get officially unveiled at the same event. Also, we expect that device will support Windows PCs as well.

Microsoft is also planning to dispatch a Windows 8.1 PC for $199 to contend with the Chromebook. As per reports the laptop will be made by HP and will be known as the HP Stream 14. It will have a 14 inch show with 1366 x 768 pixels determination. It will be accessible in 32 GB and 64 GB variations and will weigh only 1.75 kgs.

Microsoft has recently lagged behind in offering a universally appreciated user experience. It has a lot of catching up to do. The company is still in its restructuring phase and it will be interesting to see if those massive job cuts would get Microsoft back to tech glory. Also the evolved interconnected ecosystems offered by Chrome and Android on Google’s side and OSX and iOS provided by Apple stand as a formidable opponent in the path of Microsoft. Miracast shows promise but nothing can be said until we lay our hands on the device, so keep checking out this spot.

August 25, 2014
Researchers Hack Android and Expose Security Flaws

Android has become one giant monster of a success with over 50 per cent of market share. It has been integrated across multiple devices and is gaining new grounds each day. Its evolution has been appreciated and its next operating system, the Android L will come out soon. But it seems like researchers at the Riverside, University of California, are about to throw a wrench in the works of the Android.

The research team hacked into the Android operating system by disguising malicious software in the form of an app. What was a surprising find was that Gmail was one of the easiest app to hack, and the researchers had a success rate of 92% in hacking the app. So its probably not a good idea to leave your compromising information in your Gmail account.

The researchers say that there is a misconception in people’s minds that mobile apps cannot interact with each other; this hack will show that it’s a myth. They also made clear that they tried the hack on Android, but it might work on iOS and Windows OS too, as they too allow apps to access shared memory on the device.

Gmail was one of the easiest apps to hack.

The researchers brought forward some serious security flaws in the system. They were able to track all that the user was doing on their phone.

They were able to hack into apps like H&R Block, Amazon, Newegg, WebMD and Chase Bank. The Chase bank app’s hack revealed some stomach-churning revelation. The bank allows users to pay in checks by just taking the image of the checks. The researchers were able to hack the app and steal the image thereby gaining access to the user’s bank details and signature, which is really scary.

Google, on the other hand, said that it appreciated the efforts of the researchers. They say that this kind of research teaches them some important lessons that will help to make their system stronger and more efficient.

At a time when major enterprises are shifting to the mobile solutions for their businesses, this hack might create some hurdles for the device and operating system companies. Hopefully, now that the hackability of the system has been established, the companies will seriously consider the issue and resolve it as soon as possible. And the researchers should keep going on doing their good work.

August 23, 2014
Google Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary of its IPO Debut

Google has come a long way in a short period of time. From a simple search engine to a global multinational conglomerate, it is now a brand that the entire world recognizes. Google’s IPO marks its ten year anniversary today.

The company’s humble beginnings and meteoric rise has been written about in countless media spaces. Their initial product was the internet service which archived the webpages and made their discovery super easy. It helped Google to become the cornerstone of the internet. It wouldn’t be wrong, neither would it be an exaggeration, to say that Google is now the gateway to the internet. But surprisingly this tech giant’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) back in 2004 saw pretty much the same response from the financial market that the Facebook IPO would face a few years later.

Folks at Google and investors must be pleased with their career graph

The folks at Google had originally estimated price range of $108-$135 per share but ultimately ended up with $85 per share price for their 19.6 million shares offering. Many industry watchers believed that Google was a fad and just the way Google replaced Yahoo, someone else would come replace Google too. Google apparently had better ideas for its future prospects than the market experts.

Since that time, Google’s graph has gone nowhere but up apart from, of course, the financial meltdown of 2008. Its stock has grown by 1293% in the ten years of its existence. Though it is a huge leap for the company, its courtroom and market adversary Apple has grown 4274% in the same period, thanks to the little devices called iPod and iPhone along with its other products.

Google now has its arms in almost all fields of technology. From Email services, to Operating systems and of course being the industry leaders in the smartphone business. Along with these, the company also is actively interested in and invests in real world infrastructural innovation. From robots to self-driving cars, Google intends to create the technology-aided future of tomorrow.

The company now has an audacious plan of bringing in High speed internet connectivity to the burgeoning markets of Asia. This will further create a bigger market that consumes Google products, thereby a sure-shot profitable investment. So if you are buying a Google IPO now, that is if you can afford one, you can be sure that your money is efficiently working for you.

August 21, 2014
Leaked Screen Protector Hints ‘Moto S’ May Arrive Soon

A leaked screen protector for an unreleased ‘Moto S’ has started speculations that Motorola is building Google’s next Nexus smartphone. The proposed Nexus 6 has the working name Motorola “Shamu,” and is supposedly slated for a November 2014 release.

The screen protector sheet has Motorola’s logo printed on it, alongside the handset’s ‘Moto S’ name — and there are also some identification numbers that were covered to protect the source. This is the first hard evidence we’ve seen so far for the long-rumored ‘Shamu’.

As for now, Google’s Nexus have been manufactured by top smartphone manufacturers, including Samsung and LG. However, different online news reports and leaks stated that Google won’t be naming the Nexus series as they did before (Nexus 1 to Nexus 5). Leaks stated that Google is thinking of renaming the Nexus series as Android Silver.

TK claimed in a video that the device will have a Quad HD or 2K display that’s 5+ inches in size, a 13-megapixel camera, and a “ridiculous amount of RAM.” The screen protector also suggests that like other Motorola handsets, the Moto S will have dual front-facing speakers.

It’s unclear at this point when the Moto S will make its debut. We’re not expecting to see it at the Motorola event on September 4 — the Moto X+1, the Moto G2 and much awaited Moto 360 smartwatch are likely to be the stars of that show — but we could see an announcement from Google or Verizon in October.

August 18, 2014
Google Acquires Jetpac, an Intelligent Photo-Analysis App Maker

Adding to the long list of artificial-intelligence hiring, Google Inc is buying Jetpac Inc, the startup that designs social travel applications.

In an official tweet, Jetpac Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Pete Warden directed people to a new company homepage that announced the news:

We look forward to working on exciting projects with our colleagues at Google. We’ll be removing Jetpac’s apps from the App Store in the coming days, and ending support for them on 9/15.

That may have been a disappointment for the existing users, but for people who use Google services there is some good news. As company managed to simplify a complex branch of artificial intelligence known as computer vision and make it easy for lots of people to use.

More recently, Jetpac developed a mechanism for spotting smiles in pictures to discern how happy people are in a city.

The Jetpac team is highly skilled in this particular field which is an area Google has done plenty of work on, but it certainly could use more talent and ideas for ways to implement image-recognition technologies as plenty other companies, including Microsoft and Baidu, beef up their own deep-learning operations.

Jetpac announced a $2.4 million funding round in 2012. The startup’s investors include Khosla Ventures, Morado Venture Partners, and Jerry Yang. Earlier in its life, the Jetpac app let people explore travel pictures from their Facebook friends and decide where they wanted to visit.

Last January, Google also bought DEEPMIND, an artificial intelligence startup, which was founded in 2011 by Demis Hassabis, Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman. The team is based in London and combine the techniques from machine learning and systems neuroscience to build powerful general-purpose learning algorithms. Also, earlier this year, Google bought Nest Labs Inc, which makes smart thermostat and smoke alarms, for $3.2 billion, making the deal one of the largest in Google’s history.

Check this amazing video where the company explains how their app works.

August 16, 2014
Techies at Work: Making India Proud

“The U.S. is looking to India as more than just a marketplace for our defense products, but as a technology, aerospace and strategic partner for our future endeavors”, said Kit Bond, a former US Senator. The current global technology scenario, clearly, highlights the rise of Indians in the worldwide market and as Indians, we take pride in it. After all, what is a country without its countrymen? And what do we toil for, if not our own country?

As India celebrates its 68^th Independence Day, we bring to you the top Indian techies from all over the world that have done all they can and more to make India proud.

1. Satya Nadella

CEO, Microsoft

Born in a Telugu family in Hyderabad, Satya Nadella replaced Steve Ballmer as the CEO of Microsoft. He joined Microsoft in 1992 and since then, has worked at various projects including the company’s transformation from client services to cloud infrastructure and computing.

Before being announced the CEO of the company on 4 February 2014, Nadella was working as the President of the Server and Tools Division. His desi reason for success, he mentions, is the leadership and teamwork skills he learns from cricket!

2. Padmasree Warrior

CTO, Cisco Systems

Padmasree Warrior is the current CTO (Chief Technology & Strategy Officer) of Cisco Systems and the former of Motorola Inc. Born and raised in the city of Vijayawada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, she has worked for 23 years at Motorola and 7 years (and still counting) for Cisco Systems.

At Cisco, she is responsible for strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, integration of new business models, incubation of new technologies and talent. Earlier this year, she was listed as the 71st most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.

3. Amit Singhal

Senior Vice President, Google Inc.

Amit Singhal, also called a “Google Fellow”, is the current Senior Vice President of Google Inc. A product of IIT Roorkee, Mr. Singhal is also the head of Google’s core ranking team. He joined Google in 2000 and has worked sincerely towards its development ever since.

According to New York Times, he is the master of what Google calls its “ranking algorithm” — the formulae that choose which Web page provides the most suitable answer to a user’s question. Prior to joining Google, he worked in AT&T Labs.

4. Shantanu Narayen

President and CEO, Adobe

He started his career at Apple and is currently, the President and CEO of Adobe. His journey includes various other landmarks such as Silicon Graphics and Pictra Inc. Born in Mumbai, raised in Hyderabad, Mr. Narayen is currently the Board Member of Dell Inc., Adobe Systems and University of California at Berkeley.

He was one of the most hard working and inspirational forces behind Adobe’s $3.4bn attainment of multi-media company Macromedia in 2005. His 16 year career at Adobe reflects the Indian technology talent that currently resides in the creative technology tool industry.

5. Vinod Dham

Managing Director and Founder, Indo US Venture Partners

This list will not be complete without the ‘Father of Pentium’. An inventor, entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Mr. Dham is a celebrated Indian among all techies from the world for his contribution to the development of highly successful Pentium processors from Intel.

A respected alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering, he specialized in solid state electronics – the technology which forms the basis for the storage that is found in every smartphone and tablet as well as many laptops. He led the development of the Pentium processor, and also co-invented Intel’s first flash memory technology.

August 15, 2014
HP and Google had Planned for an Enterprise Nexus Device

Just when we got to know that Motorola might bring out the next Nexus smartphone, it is now being reported that HP and Google were to partner together for an enterprise Nexus device.

The Information reports that the two tech giants have been having talks to bring enterprise specific devices and were planning to expand Google Now for enterprise needs.

Google and Apple had previously made the decision to quell all the lawsuits they had been hurling at each other in the past. The companies had decided to compete in the market instead of the courthouse, and this seems to be the beginning of the market wars. Just a few weeks back Apple had partnered with IBM to bring enterprise solutions through its iOS ecosystem.

The proposition that was being examined between the two companies was the prospect of bringing Google Now to the corporate environment. Google would try to simplify data gathering and access through Google’s personal assistant.

Being an enterprise device, the hardware had high-end encryption. It is said that Google wasn’t appreciative of the hardware that HP brought into the deal, and hence, the talks have apparently failed.

This surely doesn’t seem like the end of Google’s pursuit to bring convenience in enterprise mobility. The mobile environment in the corporate arena is up for grabs, and the monetary rewards will be massive. There is a massive opportunity here, and the company that gives the perfect enterprise mobility solution will be rewarded the way Microsoft was rewarded with its desktop computer business. This war will sure be fun to watch and follow.

August 14, 2014
Specs of Motorola Made Nexus 6 ‘Shamu’ Leaked

Amidst all the confusion about the future of the Nexus line of products, comes a fresh new rumor about the next Nexus smartphone. This time it seems that Motorola is going to be taking the responsibility of crafting the next Nexus, after successful attempts from HTC, Samsung, and LG. A mysterious Motorola device, codenamed ‘Shamu’ (the killer whale), is believed to be at the head of the pack when it comes to potential candidates for the next Nexus. And thanks to benchmarking application AnTuTu, we now have a preliminary spec sheet for Shamu. Prior warning, it’s pretty darn impressive.

So, starting off with the display, the Shamu will indeed go the Quad HD way, boasting of a 2560×1440 pixel display that should provide amazing detail and sharpness.

The Motorola Shamu sure has some impressive specs.

Moving on to the internals, the device will be powered by the next big thing cooked by Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 805, with a quad-core Krait 450 processor clocked at 2.65GHz. This will be coupled with the Adreno 420 GPU and 3GB of RAM.In the camera department, it will have a 13MP lens on the rear, along with a modest 2.1MP selfie camera on the front.

Lastly, the Shamu will be running the latest Android L, adding more credibility to the rumors pointing towards it being the next Nexus. Specs like these surpass even the greatest of flagships currently offered by HTC, Samsung, Sony, and LG. All of this at the Nexus price point? It sure sounds too good to be true.

One final thing, the AnTuTu database lists this smartphone as the ‘Google Shamu’, which all but confirms that this is going to be the search giant’s next flagship, the Nexus 6.

Hopefully, we’ll see an announcement in the near future. Early rumors also suggest that the Nexus 6 will be announced along the with the long-rumored HTC Nexus 8 tablet at an event in September itself.

The next iPhone, the next Galaxy Note, and now the next Nexus too? With all this excitement waiting for us in the coming month, we are very close to taking a recluse till September comes.

By Pranav Arora

August 14, 2014
Google to Bring 60 Tbps Internet to Asia Through Undersea Route

Google along with some major Asian telecom companies is planning to bring high-speed internet connectivity to Asia using undersea cables that will connect the two sides of the pacific in a technological alliance. The cables will connect western USA to Japan. The data transmission speed of this cable is an astounding 60 Terabits per second (Tbps.)

For this mega venture, Google will partner with some of the major telecom names in Asia such as China Mobile International and China Telecom Global. From Malaysia, there is the Global transit, from Japan KDDI and Singapore’s Singtel will also be a part of this venture.

The cables, aptly named ‘Faster’ will aid in quenching the thirst of massive internet traffic in these growing markets. Google’s senior vice president of technical infrastructure, Urs Hölzle describes the project on his Google+ page as a backbone infrastructure development for its Android system and Google Cloud computing Platform.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Urs Hölzle” link=”https://plus.google.com/u/0/+UrsH%C3%B6lzle/posts/haJzDXnp9Z4″]

“At Google we want our products to be fast and reliable, and that requires a great network infrastructure, whether it’s for more than a billion Android users or developers building products on Google Cloud Platform. And sometimes the fastest path requires going through the ocean. That’s why we’re investing in FASTER, a new undersea cable that will connect major West Coast cities in the US to two coastal locations in Japan with a design capacity of 60 Tbps (that’s about ten million times faster than your cable modem).”

[/quote]

NEC Corporation will act as a system supplier for the FASTER cable system. NEC has more than 30 years of experience in constructing over 200,000 kilometers of cables (that’s like five times the circumference of Earth.) NEC is one of the world’s top vendors of submarine cable systems.

Google has previously invested in other undersea initiatives too like UNITY in 2008 and SJC (South-East Asia Japan Cable) in 2011. The company’s initiative to speed up the internet will help boost innovation in the countries connected through this network. It will aid in facilitating home grown products that will have an equal opportunity to stand in the world and find consumers in a different part of the world. These forms of infrastructural development have the potential to evolve the human race into one interdependent and functional species which can aim for the stars together. Though the thought is a Utopian one but Google deserves the kudos for investing in real world technological infrastructure which will be beneficial to it, as well as the people.

August 12, 2014
More Details About the Android L Powered Nexus 8 Revealed

Google is rumored to be working with HTC for the Nexus 8 project. The release date of this device is most likely approaching with newly leaked out information suggesting that the powerful Android L tablet was recently certified.

Since last month, numerous reports cited that the new Google Nexus device, which is believed to be HTC Volantis, will be released around October or November time. The release date may help the company to hit the sales periods when more people are going to look for tech gadgets.

The device certification took place in South Korea, according to G4Games, which added on its report that HTC is building the stock Android tablet and it goes by the internal name ‘Volantis’ or ‘Flounder’. Also in the latest information, the device model number 0P8210000 emerged, which G4Games noted first came into tech consciousness back in June and courtesy of well-known gadget leaker @evleaks.

Though, the supposed South Korean certification lacked most the important specifications and other features. Another leaker by the name of @UpLeaks claimed that the Nexus 8 is a beastly rival for Apple’s iPad Air and Mini.

HTC T1(a.k.a Flounder/Volantis) 64Bit Tegra processor, MDM9x25 modem(for cellular model), 4GB RAM(Elpida 2GB*2), NFC, GPS, Android L

— @upleaks (@upleaks) August 8, 2014

The new Android L tablet is said to slate NVIDIA’s latest 64-bit Tegra processing chip that is paired with 4GB of RAM. This combo will fire up the Nexus 8’s very able 8MP rear cam shooter that will work with a 1.6MP front facing camera. Also, according to PhoneArena, there will be a metal chassis surrounding the 8.9-inch screen that many users are opting for to add more protection to the devices.

Despite there being no confirmation, many reports claim that HTC will unveil the new Google Nexus device this month. It is mainly due to the fact that the Nexus 7 has reduced in price on the Google Play Store. It is common for companies to reduce the price of devices when a newer one is about to be released in an attempt to get rid of old stock before the newer one comes

August 12, 2014