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Latest Gear Live Videos
How Google can learn from the iPad 2
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Editorial, Features, Google, Handhelds, Software,
Apple's March 2 event is all but guaranteed to bring us the iPad 2, most likely with dual cameras and a revamped OS. It arrives two months after CES 2011, to a landscape littered with tablets from scores of manufacturers, most of them with one thing in common: they are running Google's Android OS. But only a handful of them run Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), the first Android tablet OS. Can tablets like the Motorola Xoom—the first Honeycomb device—take on the iPad?
If the past is any indicator, it doesn't look good. This has less to do with quality of product, however, and more to do with the manner in which the product is brought to the public.
The clear advantage Apple has over just about every competitor—except perhaps for RIM—is that it relies on no external manufacturers for its products. To clarify: of course Apple needs to farm out production of the components that make up its devices to OEMs, but when you see a new iPad, it is from Apple, running an Apple OS, for sale at the Apple store. The closest Apple comes to working with other companies is its partnerships with Verizon and AT&T for the iPhone and iPad. For the most part, however, Apple is its own, self-controlling entity. With no company—other than the carriers and OEMs— with which to coordinate, Apple can create a realistic product release timeline and stick to it.
Click to continue reading How Google can learn from the iPad 2
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App Store coming to Google TV
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Home Entertainment, Rumors, Software,
A version of the Android Market for the Google TV platform is due "very short term," the general manager overseeing Google TV products for Logitech said Tuesday.
Speaking at the OTTCon here on Tuesday, Ashish Arora, the vice president and general manager for Logitech's Digital Home Group, was asked on a panel discussion whether Google TV owners would be able to take advantage of other Android apps soon.
Arora answered in the affirmative, although his answers didn't quite nail down the timeframe. "It will happen shortly," he said. "It's a given that it will happen this year, 100 percent," he said.
"We're talking about a very short term," he said.
Although Arora does not work for Google, Logitech was one of the key launch partners for the Google TV platform, with Sony. Logitech launched its Logitech Revue in October. At the time, some of the personalization aspects from other Google services were missing, part of Google's practice of launching a product and adding functionality over time.
Click to continue reading App Store coming to Google TV
Gallery: App Store coming to Google TV
Google said Monday that it is expanding the reach of its Street View mapping program beyond the road and into various tourist attractions, thanks to its off-road "trike."
Google has now added Street View access to attractions in France, Ireland, and the United States. That includes France's Château de Chenonceaux in Civray-de-Touraine, the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin, as well as the gardens at the San Diego Art Institute and several spots in San Diego's Balboa Park.
Google normally collects its Street View images by attaching its equipment to the roofs of Google-owned vehicles that drive up and down public streets capturing 360-degree images. In 2009, Google introduced the trike - "a three-wheeled tricycle in a device reminiscent of an ice cream cart [that] lets us reach areas not accessible by car, such as hiking trails, biking trails and college campuses, just to name a few," Google said at the time.
Google said Monday that private property owners can join its partner program if they want to have their location included in Street View.
Click to continue reading Google brings Street View off-road
Gallery: Google brings Street View off-road
Today Google unveiled an appetizing new search option for cooks and wannabe chefs: Recipe View.
The new search option will be a choice in the left rail that appears after entering a Google search. You can search for recipes by entering the name of a dish or food type, an ingredient, or just an occasion, such as Cinco de Mayo. The results can be further filtered by preparation time, ingredients, or calories. Result recipes also sport star ratings and user reviews, so you can see which ones have been hits.
The feature is more than a taste-bud pleaser, though. In order to implement it, Google engineers made use of rich snippet data. Google product mangaer Kavi Goel said in a blog post that the technology was introduced at the Searchology conference in 2009.
Click to continue reading Google brings Recipe View to search results
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Google Chrome extension blocks content farms from search results
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Google, Internet, Software,
Google announced a new extension for their Chrome browser, which allows users to block specific sites from search results. As an example, they show that when looking for a specific query, some content farms may have top spots in the engine, but you may not want to see these results. With the extension, you'll be able to block those results, never seeing that site appear in search results anymore. This extension only works on Chrome right now, and is being called an early test.
Read More 
| Google Blog
Gallery: Google Chrome extension blocks content farms from search results
Sonos Controller for Android brings voice search to Sonos
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Home Entertainment, Music,
Sonos' stable of wireless music offerings allow listeners to have a stereo system that encompasses every room in their home, and to control the whole system simply and wirelessly. Sonos makes a hardware remote control for the system and apps for iOS devices, and today the company announced that Sonos owners can now also use their Android devices to control their music.
The Sonos Controller for Android is a free app that can access and play all the music available through the Sonos universe, which includes everything from computer-based media libraries to services like Spotify, Rhapsody, Rdio, Pandora, and Napster.
Click to continue reading Sonos Controller for Android brings voice search to Sonos
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Google rolls out enhanced 2-step security feature
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Google, Internet,
Back in September, Google introduced the ability to add two-step verification for Google Apps accounts. What this means is that in order to log into your Google account, you not only enter your username and password, but you also enter an ever changing code. The code is sent to you by SMS, or can be found by using an iPhone, Blackberry, or Android app. This security feature makes it so that if someone finds your password by looking over your shoulder, phishing it, guessing it, or sniffing it from whichever network or computer you use, they will be unable to access your account, because they won't have access to this second factor authentication.
Now, Google just announced that they are rolling out the feature for all users. Over the coming days, a new option will appear in the Security tab of your Google Account. The feature is optional, and will allow you to use this option to better protect your account, either by receiving an automated call, SMS, or by using an app on your phone. This only occurs when you need to actually log on, which only happens on a new system or after a few months of use, so you won't need to do this every time you check your email. The process is not completely painless. The sign-up involves registering a backup number and one-time password, and you need to make special cases for apps which may need access to your Google account but do not support this feature, such as a desktop mail app. Still, it's a very good security measure, which everyone should look into.
Read More | Google Blog
Gallery: Google rolls out enhanced 2-step security feature
Watch Google introduce Android 3.0 Honeycomb
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Google, Handhelds, Software, Videos,
We had some screenshots and short videos in the past, but last week Google did the first in-depth presentation of their latest version of the Android system: Honeycomb. This hour long video shows enthusiasts everything that Honeycomb can do. Unlike previous versions of Android that were optimized for smartphones (and were simply stretched to tablet sizes,) Honeycomb was made for tablets. You'll see a better visual interface, and acceleration technologies for 2D and 3D. After the OS itself, they show off some devices in action, including the Motorola Xoom. Check it out if you're thinking of getting an iPad alternative.
Click to continue reading Watch Google introduce Android 3.0 Honeycomb
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Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Android PlayStation phone Super Bowl commercial
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds, Video Games, Videos,
The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY becamse very real last night, as it was highlighted in a very cool Super Bowl XLV commercial that featured the Google Android robot getting a back-alley body modification to add thumbs to his arms so that he could get his game on. This Xperia PLAY is the world's first PlayStation certified smartphone, and we're looking forward to February 13th, when all the details will be revealed. Check out the commercial after the jump.
Click to continue reading Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Android PlayStation phone Super Bowl commercial
Gallery: Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Android PlayStation phone Super Bowl commercial
Microsoft Bing caught stealing search results from Google
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Corporate News, Google, Internet, Microsoft,
In a very controversial yet fascinating study, Google has exposed what looks like blatant copying of search results by Microsoft's own search engine, Bing. As a test, Google invented 100 query terms, words that do not exist, and they made the search engine return a single link to a site that had nothing to do with the search term. Then, a group of engineers used Internet Explorer 8, equipped with the Bing toolbar, to search for those terms on Google. Low and behold, soon after, Bing started returning the exact same search results. Since the terms were deliberate and random, there can be no coincidence. From the apparent evidence, Microsoft clearly used either IE8, Windows itself, or the Bing toolbar to find out what people searched for on Google, what results they get, and then used that to improve their own Bing site. Check out the blog post for all the details on Google's claim. Something tells me this battle is far from over.
Read More | Google Blog
