Cult of Android - page 18

Google now a subsidiary of a new company: Alphabet

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Larry Page announced a whole new company, Alphabet, and it now owns Google.
Photo: Alphabet
alphabet
Larry Page announced a whole new company, Alphabet, and it now owns Google. Photo: Alphabet

Google just dropped a bombshell announcement that the operating structure of the company is getting seriously shaken up. To start, co-founder Larry Page broke the news of Alphabet: a new holding company which Google will operate under moving forward. Page will operate as the CEO with Sergey Brin as President effective immediately.

Apple fanboys fooled into thinking Android on iPhone is iOS 9

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Android where you least expect it.
Photo: Dit Is Normaal
Android where you'd least expect it. Photo: Dit Is Normaal
Android where you’d least expect it. Photo: Dit Is Normaal

Loyal iPhone fans will argue iOS is much better than Android, but many have never even used Google’s platform. That’s proven in the hilarious video below, in which Apple fanboys are fooled into thinking Lollipop running on an iPhone is the iOS 9 update that’s coming this fall.

T-Mobile sprints into U.S. top 3 carrier spot

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Sprint added new customers, but not enough to keep its bronze model from T-Mobile.
Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr CC

T-Mobile is doing pretty hot lately, but it’s unfortunately at Sprint’s expense. While the latter carrier has been declining in market share for the past couple of years, it’s finally now in last place out of the four major U.S. wireless carriers. T-Mobile snatched the bronze model.

In the quarterly earnings call, Sprint said it had 57.7 million customers with a net gain of 675,000. T-Mobile, however, gained 2.1 million customers last quarter for a grand total of 58.9 million.

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NFL sacks Tom Brady for switching to iPhone 6

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced that he is upholding the four game suspension the league gave Tom Brady for his role in Deflategate earlier this year, all because the four-time Super Bowl champion refused to hand over his cellphone.

The New England Patriot quarterback told fans this morning that he’s disappointed with the league’s decision, but he’s got a perfectly good explanation as to why he couldn’t give investigators his phone to access to his text messages – he had just switched to the iPhone 6.

Google Maps loses its cool when asked, ‘Are we there yet?’

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If you have young children, the last question you want to hear on any long journey is, “Are we there yet?” It’s never asked just once; it’s asked again and again and again until you angrily threaten to turn around and go home, or you plow into a tree.

The question is so infuriating that even Google Maps can’t take it. Ask the maddening question a few times while navigating and you’ll get the angry response you deserve.

Tony Fadell: I volunteered to save Google Glass

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When Tony Fadell was put in charge of Google Glass earlier this year, we wrote that the father of the iPod had been “tasked with saving Google Glass from extinction.”

According to a new interview with the Nest co-founder, that’s not entirely accurate, though. Fadell says that rather than being saddled with the project by Google, he actively asked for it.

“It wasn’t handed to me and said, ‘Tony clean it up,'” he explained. “I offered. I remember what it was like when we did the iPod and the iPhone [at Apple]. I think this can be that important, but it’s going to take time to get it right.”

Pac-Man hits mobile with a-maze-ing Championship Edition

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Get ready to spend your time chomping dots and eating ghosts with this amazing version of arcade classic Pac-Man, one of the most recognizable games of the past 35 years.

Designed by the original Pac-Man creator Tōru Iwatani, Championship Edition (CE) came out for the Xbox 360 in 2007, and it was the best ever remake of the arcade original.

Now Pac-Man CE DX, an improved version of the game that released onto Xbox 360 in 2010, is here for your iPhone or Android smartphone, and I’m betting you’ll spend some serious time playing it.

Invisible ads could be crippling your smartphone

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Some of the apps available on Apple Watch.
Thousands of apps on iOS and Android run invisible ads you didn't know about.
Photo: Apple

“What you don’t know won’t hurt you” is a common phrase that unfortunately does not apply to the apps on your phone. It turns out that thousands of apps on Android and iOS secretly have ads in them that you can’t see, and they very well might be what’s causing a number of problems that plague smartphones today.

Samsung cruises past Apple in white-hot smartphone market

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Looks like Samsung and Apple pretty much own the smartphone market, though there are some scrappy contenders starting to make headway.

According to International Data Corporation (IDC), handset makers shipped a total of 337.2 million smartphones worldwide in the last quarter of 2015 (Q2). This is up 11.6 percent from last year, an amazing bit of growth considering how many smartphones are already on the loose.

Samsung begins testing its Apple Pay rival in South Korea

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Apple finally turned on Apple Pay in the U.K. this week as part of its push to make 2015 ‘the year of Apple Pay’, but it may soon face competition from its biggest rival, Samsung.

In preparation for a full roll out later this year, Samsung has begun testing its contactless payment service, Samsung Pay, at select locations in South Korea starting on July 15th.

Twitter working to repair relationships with devs

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Twitter managed to create a swarm of disgruntled developers over the past few years. It worked tirelessly to break down many of the third-party apps that made the social network successful. Now, as Twitter discovers what it really is as a service, it’s working to repair relationships with developers and elevate the platform. This ought to be a win-win for everyone.

T-Mobile outdoes Verizon with new family deal

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T-Mobile introduced a new family plan that’s directly targeting Verizon Wireless and isn’t shying away from it. The new plan, which offers 10GB of 4G LTE data to each family member plus unlimited talk and text starting at $100 per month, bests Verizon’s shared 10GB of data for four members at $140.

T-Mobile’s CEO John Legere hasn’t been nice to competitors since taking the reigns and doesn’t seem interested in starting now. While Verizon claims its family plan is actually $80 per month, Legere argues that you’ll get charged at least $140 per month when all the additional fees add up.