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Apps that you can stream is Google’s newest dream

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Downloading apps to your smartphone could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a software streaming service reportedly being developed by Google.

A new report claims the search giant wants to make apps available on-demand without the need to install them locally first — and Google has already acquired the company that could make it happen.

Paris or Bangkok? Holiday searches reveal a lot about iPhone and Android users

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Would you rather have weekends away in Paris and Dubai or Bangkok and Koala Lumpur? According to U.K.-based hotel search tool Trivago, your answer may have a lot to do with whether you’re an iPhone or Android user.

Looking through its searches, as made from both iOS and Android devices, Trivago concludes that iPhone users opt for popular, pricier destinations averaging £113 ($180) per night, while Android users are more likely to seek out cheaper, offbeat destinations with an average price of just £92 ($146).

Samsung’s shameless attempt to be as popular as Apple laughably backfires

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Another day, another Samsung PR error that tries to knock Apple but winds up just making the South Korean tech company look a bit foolish.

This time, Cleveland baseball player Trevor Bauer tweeted out a list of demands, similar to the joke ransom note Tim Cook showed off at the start of last week’s WWDC. As you would expect, the demands this time were for a variety of Samsung products instead of Apple devices.

The problem? The tweet was sent from an iPhone.

Bring Skynet to your smartphone with the Terminator’s Waze directions

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The Terminator may have struggled to find John Connor, but he’ll know exactly where you’re going the next time you need directions behind the wheel.

To celebrate the launch of Terminator Genisys, Arnold Schwarzenegger has lent his voice to Google-owned navigation app Waze, so you can get voice-guided directions from the Terminator wherever you go. Just don’t let him talk you into murdering anyone.

What it’s like to get a cup of coffee with CarPlay and Android

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CarPlay and Android Auto are Apple and Google’s first attempts to slowly invade the automobile, but finding a car that supports them hasn’t been easy the past year. If you’ve been curious what it’s like to drive around with either system, the folks at Consumer Reports put the two systems head-to-head during a morning drive to get coffee.

Each interface has its promises, but the report also highlights a lot of areas that need to be worked on — like how you can’t change your car’s FM radio while using Apple Maps. Unlike your car system though, CarPlay and Android Auto will probably be upgraded every year, giving you new features each year, just like your smartphone

Here’s what it’s like to ride with CarPlay and Android :

Samsung outranks Apple where it really hurts… in the patent department

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In an effort to prevent rivals from stealing its ideas, Apple patents everything it invents — from the iPhone and the iPad, to app icons and even “magic” tactile gloves. But compared to its biggest competitors, Apple’s patent portfolio from 2015 looks surprisingly bare.

Microsoft, Sony, Google, and LG have all outrank Apple in the patent department this year, while arch rival Samsung has absolutely crushed it.

Root mod brings Apple’s Force Touch gesture to Android

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A new Xposed module for rooted devices brings Apple’s new Force Touch gesture to Android-powered smartphones and tablets.

Dubbed Force Touch Detector, the mod offers 7 different force gestures, and users can customize each one to perform different actions, such as opening up the app launcher, expanding the notifications pane, or navigation back to previous pages.

How Google measures up to Apple in all things software

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At its I/O conference last week, Google laid out the roadmaps for its most important platforms. It has already made its way into your pocket, but over the next few years, the search giant hopes to find a place on your wrist and in your home as well.

Things aren’t so straightforward as that, though.

Apple is fighting Google for territory in a variety of areas, with iOS competing with Android, Apple Watch battling Android Wear, and HomeKit trying to beat out Brillo.

But which one has the edge that will help it reign supreme? Here’s how they stack up against each other.

Samsung is back to bashing iPhone in new Galaxy S6 ad

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Sales of the Galaxy S 6 haven’t been as great as Samsung would have hoped, so the company is going back to what it does best: desperately make fun of the iPhone.

The company released two new ads for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge touting the phones’ wireless charging, wide angle selfies, and curved display that shows texts and emails and other info, while the iPhone 6 just has a boring metal edge with buttons.

You can watch both ads below:

Microsoft crosses ‘buy hot productivity app’ off its Wunderlist

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Microsoft’s devouring of our favorite mobile apps continues today with the acquisition of 6Wunderkinder, makers of popular task management app Wunderlist.

The buyout, which comes just four months after Microsoft acquired Sunrise, will help the software continue its mission to reinvent productivity in a mobile-first world, it says.

Samsung may be forced to slash Galaxy S6 orders by 16%

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For a smartphone that was meant to turn around Samsung’s flagging mobile division, the Galaxy S6 hasn’t exactly been a rousing success.

In fact, according to one new report coming out of Taiwan, sales have been sufficiently disappointing that Samsung has decided to cut orders for its flagship device by 16 percent.

The report doesn’t make clear whether this refers to just the S6 or the S6 Edge also — or possibly a combination of both. Whatever the breakdown, it’s another piece of less-than-stellar news for Samsung at a time when it could really use some positivity.

Nintendo crushes hopes for an Android-powered NX console

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Nintendo has denied claims that its upcoming NX console will run Android.

An earlier report out of Japan, citing sources familiar with Nintendo’s plans, promised that the NX would employ Android software in an effort to attract new users and developers. But unfortunately for those excited by that prospect, it’s not going to happen.

ASUS ZenWatch 2 steals Apple Watch’s digital crown concept

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The Asus ZenWatch 2 smartwatch certainly has something familiar about it, right?

The latest Android Wear device to be shown off at the Computex trade show in Taipei, Asus’ new timepiece sticks by and large to the form factor of its first generation device, aside from the notable addition of a suspiciously-familiar Apple-style digital crown.

Check out a video below:

Nintendo’s next console could run… Android?

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Details about Nintendo’s next-gen NX console won’t officially be shared by the company until 2016, but according to a new report coming out of Japan one thing we might be able to expect is for the NX hardware to run a version of Android.

The decision is said to be rooted in Nintendo’s desire to give developers increased flexibility in making content that can also be used on smartphones and tablets.

Google vs. iCloud: Which wins the pick for your pics?

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One of the best things to come out of Google’s I/O keynote on Thursday was Google Photos, a brand new service for storing, sharing, and organizing your images and videos.

It’s totally free — no matter howFriday-Night-Fights-bug-2 many items you upload — but is it better than the competition?

In this week’s Friday Night Fight with Cult of Android versus Cult of Mac, we pit it against Apple’s iCloud Photo Library service to find out which is the best pick for your pics.

Why Google’s I/O keynote was a massive disappointment

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I had been looking forward to the Google I/O keynote for weeks before it kicked off Thursday. I was rubbing my hands together like a little kid on Christmas morning when Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president, took to the stage to reveal what the company had up its sleeve.

But when the event ended two and a half hours later, I couldn’t have been more disappointed. Santa had visited — but instead of bringing what was on my list, he’d left me with a bunch of cheap gifts I knew I’d be bored with by the time the turkey was cooked.

Hands Free by Google could be way better than Apple Pay

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Yesterday’s Android Pay reveal at Google I/O was a slight disappointment in that, it’s pretty much just like Apple Pay. Google added pretty much zero innovation to Apple’s idea that debuted last year, but what the company didn’t show us, is that it has a way better payments system up its sleeve.

It’s called Hands Free. It’s a complete separate app from Android Pay. And as an Apple fan, I hate to say it, but it looks like it could be way better than Apple Pay.

Check it out:

Top 6 things you need to know from Google I/O

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From smartphones to the Internet of Things, Google wants to be woven into the fabric of our lives.

The company detailed some of its latest hardware and software projects — some truly innovative, some strictly playing catch-up — during the annual Google I/O developer conference Thursday.

From the iterative improvements coming in Android M to the blue-sky thinking of Project Brillo, everything plays into Mountain View’s master plan, which Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president in charge of Android, Chrome and apps described as “putting technology and computer science to work on important problems that users face” — and doing it “at scale for everyone in the world.”

Google’s goals are similar to Apple’s: Both companies are trying to integrate their products (and possibly their worldviews) into every facet of our lives to make tech personal and useful. In many ways, Google’s approach is far more ambitious.

Here are the six things you need to know from the Google I/O 2015 keynote.

Virtual reality is now as cheap as Cardboard on iOS

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I can’t wait for the virtual reality future to finally go mainstream, but with company’s like Oculus talking about charging people over $1,500 for an entire Rift package, VR is virtually out of my price-range. Thankfully, Google is coming up with an easy-to-use VR solution that’s not only as cheap as a piece of cardboard, it works on Android and iOS too.