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Find the trending YouTube videos with YouTube Trends

Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Corporate News, Google, Videos,

YouTube is the most well known name for videos online, but one thing that's been lacking is an easy way to see trending videos, and to discover what the latest memes are. This week Google introduced YouTube Trends with a fairly interesting video (see above), a service which will attempt to do just that. A new page has been created which now lists the trending videos, the ones that are making their ways across the web and which see numbers going up fast. Featured videos also display a chart that show how fast they have been gaining popularity. On top of that continously updated list, the page has a feature called "4 @ 4 PM" which are 4 videos selected at that time each day, focusing on what trended that day. Now this is not a perfect system, and as of this writing, out of the top 7 trending videos on the page, 5 of them are variations of the same one, the Metrodome Roof Collapse, but it certainly is a good place to start.

Google Chrome now has over 8,500 extensions

Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Google, Internet, Software,

Last week, Google put up a blog post with some statistics on their Chrome browser. Of note, the browser now has over 8,500 extensions and 1,500 themes, which have been installed over 70 million times. They also describe some of the latest updates the browser has had such as the sync feature, better HTML5 support and new APIs for developers. Google also promises that they will not be slowing down the amount of new features. On the roadmap they say new APIs will be added for things like the omnibox and pinned tabs, as well as download management and network interception. With the release of the Chrome Web Store this week, Google is clearly positioning themselves as one of the top players in the browser market.

Android Market gets a facelift

Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Smartphones, Google, Software,

One common source of complaints from Android users is how the Market app can be somewhat tricky to use. I've always found the user experience to be not that great compared with the Apple App Store, for example. Thankfully, Android developers have been hard at work, and have launched a new version of the Market app. They are adding a new 'carousel' in the home screen which will make discoverability of apps easier. They are also adding some categories for Widgets and Live Wallpapers, and promising to add more in the weeks ahead for popular apps and games. The way information is shown about each app is also changed, with everything being shown on a single page. Finally, the refund window will drop from 24h to 15 minutes, since apparently people typically uninstall applications they don't like only minutes after installing them. The update will be rolled out over the next two weeks to devices running Android 1.6 or above.

European networks want Google, Yahoo! and others to pay them

Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Internet,

france telecom google

Following some of the network neutrality buzz from the US, now it's the turn of some European mobile networks who are coming out complaining about the increased use of video and other heavy data over their networks. Unlike previous comments made by US carriers however, Stephane Richards, CEO of France Telecom, was pretty direct as to what he thinks should happen at the Le Web conference yesterday: “Service providers are flooding networks with no incentive.” He then added “It’s necessary to put in place a system of payments by service providers as a function of their use.”

From the view of the mobile network operators, large companies like Google, Yahoo!, Netflix and so on, use a large amount of data, which goes over their networks, and these service providers should pay the networks, so that they can double dip from both their own customers, and the online companies. Richards also said that these measures would go along with other changes he can see coming, such as the end of unlimited access, and slower speeds at peak hours.

Chrome Web Store now open

Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Google, Internet, Software,

Today Google had a presentation event all about Chrome and Chrome OS. After going through a history lesson of their web browser where they talked about how their update model and sandboxing gives them great security, all the new features they've introduced lately (like Google Instant,) as well as their speed improvements, they went to the meat of the day, and showed off the Chrome Web Store. This is essentially their app store for the web. Bringing executives from well known companies like Electronics Art, the New York Times, and Amazon, they went over several web apps that are now available, or will be available soon. Overall, these are all purely web apps, including several using Adobe Flash, so nothing that couldn't have been done on simple web sites in the first place. The selection will include everything from news apps, games, and everything that one could expect to find in another app store. Many of the apps will also include some offline features, such as being able to read a magazine online or offline, since it caches the information on your system, very similar to what Google Gears offered. Google is now rolling their new store out, starting today in the US, and spreading worldwide in the coming months.

Google eBooks now live

Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Google, Internet,

Today the rumored Google Editions, the new ebooks service from the search giant, was revealed as Google eBooks, along with their eBookstore. The basic idea is to provide everyone books they can purchase that are available in a format that allows them to be read on the web, on devices, anywhere they are, as a simple web page. As of now they have around 4,000 publishing partners and are offering the service in the US only, although they also offer their free ebooks worldwide as part of the greater Google Books project. They are said to be working on around 35,000 publishing partners worldwide for their launch in other markets. Major publishers will get 70% of the list price, while others will keep 52%. Many of the bought books use DRM, or copy protection, and can be viewed on devices supporting ACS4, which includes the Nook but not the Amazon Kindle. If you use their online web reader platform, all your ebooks will be stored on the cloud, and remember your current page wherever you go, as explained in the colorful video above.

Samsung Nexus S: Next Google phone to launch Dec. 16 with Gingerbread

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds,

Google Nexus S

The Google Nexus S is officially the next Google phone, as Google confirmed it this morning, throwing up a product page for the upcoming smartphone. What's so special about it? Well, for starters, it's the first phone to ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and Google says that owners of the Nexus S will be the first to receive future software and app updates. It's got a 4-inch WVGA display, tri-band HSPA (but no HSPA+ to take advantage of those faster T-Mobile speeds,) a 5 megapizel camera, front-facing VGA camera, and near-field communication built-in. It has 16GB of storage built-in, and 512MB RAM with a 1GHz Hummingbird processor. Other interesting tidbits include the contour display, which kind of shapes to your face, integrated VoIP support, and gyroscope.

You'll be able to purchase the Nexus S on December 16th at Best Buy locations for $199 with a two-year T-Mobile contract, or $529 unlocked. On December 20th, it'll be available in the UK at Best Buy UK and Carphone Warehouse.

Google set to announce Cloud Picker storage service

Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Google, Rumors,

google cloud picker

According to some reports around the web, it would appear Google has a new cloud storage service called Google Cloud Picker in the works. The service would allow people to store images and documents on the web, and would tie into Google services like Docs, Apps and Sites. The service was found by some bloggers who saw the login screen, and Techcrunch has reached out to Google and heard that this was some code pushed prematurely, hence a yet to be released system. It makes sense too, since with the company's focus on cloud-only computing, with ChromeOS coming soon, people would need an easy way to keep their data on the web as well as their applications. The details such as how much storage will be offered and whether it will be free or not are still unknown, but we'll keep an eye on this one.

Google Editions ebook service set to launch this year

Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Google, Internet,

google ebook store

Google Editions is an initiative Google has been working on for a while now, their own e-book venture that aims to compete with Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and others. Word is now making the rounds that t's set to launch by the end of the year in the US. As Google describes it, one of the main features that sets it apart from competitors is the fact that the books sold through this service will be open, available through a web browser, and thus readable on any device that can connect to the Internet. They also plan to have native applications so people can access the e-books offline. Finally, referrals will be available, in order to create an ecosystem between Google and publishers of all types. The company will obviously need to create deals with those various publishers, but that is said to be well on its way. Prices are not known yet, but they should be equivalent to other stores.

Google to buy Groupon for $2.5 billion?

Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Acquisitions, Rumors, Startups,

Google buys Groupon

Following a week of rumors about a Groupon buyout, it seems now that Google could be buying the small company for $2.5 billion, according to internal sources. While neither company will comment on rumors, VatorNews quotes an internal source that confirmed the news to them. This would be a big deal for the small company since it could then use Google's intensive data on maps, locations and userbase, which could allow them to expand past the current select list of cities that they cover. Also, the acquisition makes sense for Google as they've been trying to grow Google Places, and compete with the likes of Facebook.

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