One of the quickest ways to get an answer to any question is to ask Google Now, but it doesn’t always provide an appropriate response. For example, it has no idea how many countries there are in the world, and its response to this question is laughable. Check out the video below.
Google has reached a tentative agreement with the European Commission following a three-year antitrust investigation into how it displays search results in Europe. As part of the agreement, the company will display search results from three of its competitors — such as Yahoo! and Bing — alongside results that promote its own services.
By reaching this agreement, Google has escaped a fine of up to $5 billion, or 10 percent of its revenue from 2012.
Microsoft’s search for a new CEO is over. Satya Nadella, who was formerly the executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group, will replace Steve Ballmer immediately, the company said today.
Pebble today announced that its new appstore — announced at CES in Las Vegas last month — is now open on iOS and coming soon to Android. It’s already home to over 1,000 apps and watchfaces for everyone’s favorite wearable, and it’s built right into the Pebble app for smartphones.
Sony hopes to take the hassle out of swapping your iPhone for one of its Xperia smartphones with its new Xperia Transfer Mobile app. The free tool helps you transfer apps, music, movies, photos, contacts, and more from your iOS device — or your old Android — to your new Xperia without the need for a computer.
When I first read this headline, I thought Sony had already obsolete it’s own QX lens cameras with new models, barely a few months after launch:
Sony Upgrades QX10 & QX100 Lens Cams with Higher ISO, Shutter Priority and 1080p
But no: these new features are free, and can be applied to your existing lens-cam with nothing more than a firmware update. That’s pretty neat, right? It’s almost as if Sony has been paying attention to Fujifilm and it’s awesome feature-adding, camera-improving updates.
Apple’s iBeacon is suddenly in the news a lot, and will soon show up at major sporting events, big retail stores and elsewhere.
The beacon revolution is being presented as an Apple thing for Apple users. But as with so many technologies, Apple didn’t invent beacons. It was here before Apple’s version got here. And it’s not just for Apple users — even Apple’s iBeacon supports Android.
Here’s everything you need to know about beacons.
Some gadgets are unique, carving out their own nonpareil niche while eliciting wide-eyed, slack-jawed appreciation. Other gadgets swim in a thick soup of contemporaries, and stand out for their high bang-for-buck score. It’s the latter reason we mention Swann’s new SwannEye HD, a weather-resistant, bell-and-whistle-stuffed outdoor security cam priced at $180.
Tesco Mobile has today announced that it is giving all contract customers in the U.K. 4G LTE services at no extra cost. They will continue to pay the same price they’ve been paying for 3G, but they’ll get significantly faster speeds in 4G areas throughout the country.
For gamers, the question of whether Nintendo will/should develop titles for smartphones has been hotly debated in recent weeks — with reports suggesting either way seemingly being shot down on a daily basis.
In a reversal of a previous denial (got that?), Nintendo has now confirmed that it will use smart devices as a platform for apps and promotions, after all — but that there are currently no plans to port core titles over to Android or iOS.
In Western Europe, one of the biggest chains to sell smartphones is a company known — somewhat hysterically, given that no one has bought a dedicated carphone for fifteen years — as the Carphone Warehouse. But there will now be 60 less Carphone Warehouse stores in Europe… thanks to Samsung, who have snapped them up with the intention of turning them into dedicated Samsung Stores. And as a bonus? The deal will help Samsung challenge Apple’s retail dominance in Europe.
In what will probably end up being the most random buyout of the year, Lenovo has bought Motorola Mobility from Google for $2.91 billion. Google will maintain ownership of Motorola’s patent trove, which Lenovo will license.
Remember Sony’s clip-on smartphone cameras that were announced last year? Well, if you were one of the few who forked out hundreds of dollars to get one, you’ll be pleased to know it’ll soon be compatible with your tablet. Sony is launching a collection of tablet attachments in the coming months in a range of sizes that are expected to cost around $36.
Global smartphone shipments grew 41 percent to reach a record 990 million units in 2013, and Android-powered devices accounted for a whopping 79 percent of them. Despite the lowest growth rate in the platform’s history, Android phones still managed to ship four times the amount of iPhone and Windows Phone devices combined.
AT&T is giving new and existing customers a $100 credit when they activate a new postpaid line for your smartphone, tablet, wireless home phone, or MiFi device. The offer starts today and ends on March 31.
If you’re anything like this writer, one of the main impediments making you think twice about purchasing a Google Glass headset is the fact that you already wear prescription glasses.
To solve this problem, Google has now unveiled its long-awaited (and rumored) Google Glass units for prescription glasses wearers: the so-called Google Glass Titanium Collection, which replaces the headband currently used for Google Glass with more traditional frames (including the option of some nifty sunglasses).
We’ve seen more than enough iPhone cases with slots for credit cards, ID or cash. But the Push wallet phone case is the first one we’ve seen with a secret compartment that hides those valuables completely out of sight.
We’ve seen more than enough iPhone cases with slots for credit cards, ID or cash. But the Push wallet phone case is the first one we’ve seen with a secret compartment that hides those valuables completely out of sight.
Well, that little dream didn’t last long.
Nintendo has denied plans to bring mini games to smartphones and tablets in an effort to promote its latest console titles. Sources had claimed that the Japanese company was set to announce new mobile offerings later this week, but as many will have suspected, that’s not going to happen.
Nintendo is finally ready to swallow its pride and begin developing games and other content for mobile devices, according to a new report from Japan. It’s still unlikely we’ll ever see full Super Mario or Zelda titles, but sources say will will get free mini-games, trailers, and more to promote new Nintendo releases on its own consoles.
I love Google Glass the way it is, and love the camera. But I also want people to understand Google Glass in particular and wearable computing in general. Right now, Glass is widely misunderstood.
The problem is that the existence of Glass’s camera is distracting everyone, and causing the public to completely miss what this technology is all about.
Just look at Glass’s reputation in popular culture.
When you buy a smartphone wallet case, the chances are you’re going to have to make some cutbacks — because the vast majority of them only carry a small number of cards. But that’s not the case with the Finn wallet from WaterField Designs, which has plenty of space for your phone and all the cards and cash you can carry.
Finn’s available in four different sizes: the size 25 model is designed to be a wallet only, but the other three — size 27, size 42, and size 69 — are designed to carry your smartphone as well. Of course, the larger the Finn, the bigger the smartphone you can stash into it (and the more it’ll cost you).
I’ve been reviewing the size 25 and the size 69, which measures 5.5 inches by 3.3 inches, and is designed to carry an HTC One or a Galaxy S4, according to WaterField’s website — but it’s compatible with a whole bunch of other smartphones, too. I’ve mostly been using mine with a Nexus 5, but I’ve used HTC, Samsung, and BlackBerry handsets with it, too.
WaterField calls Finn “the best wallet ever,” so let’s see if it lives up to those claims.
When you buy a 16GB smartphone, you don’t actually get 16GB of space to install apps, music and other media. No matter what smartphone you buy, the operating system needs to be installed into memory, and that takes up valuable gigabytes.
Still, some phones are better than others. As far as staying trim, the iPhone 5c is the best value for the money in its class, allowing users to install media to 12.60GB of the 16GB drive. The Google Nexus 5 comes in second place at 12.28GB.
The worst offender by far, though? The Samsung Galaxy S4. You won’t believe how little internal memory you get.
Think Google’s 1Gbps fiber speeds are impressive? Think again. BT and Alcatel-Lucent have teamed up to achieve lightning-fast speeds of 1.4 terabits per second in the U.K. — that’s over 10,000 faster than the current fastest consumer broadband available in Britain, and it will let you download 44 full-length HD movies in a single second.
What’s more, it was achieved using existing fiber broadband cables.
Google has lost its battle against a patent troll after a Texas court found Android guilty of infringing a push notification patent. SimpleAir — which has also targeted Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, and other technology giants — is now seeking $125 million in damages.
