10
Aug
googlelogo

[Whoa!] Google Will Start Down-Ranking Search Results That Receive Too Many Takedown Requests

Posted by in Google, News

This may not be strictly Android-related news, but it's safe to say that what Google does to search results is relevant to our readers' interests, no? Today, Google announced via its Inside Search blog that the company will start including the volume of valid copyright removal notices as a factor in determining how high or low a site ranks in its search results. Translation: pirate sites won't be removed entirely, but they'll start ranking lower than legitimate sites.

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Pretty soon, sites like the Pirate Bay won't be the #1 search result anymore.

The net effect of this change will likely be very minimal to the more hardcore pirates.

30
Jun
Zoidberg on Google TV

[Editorial] Google TV Is Bad, And Google Should Feel Bad

Posted by in Editorials, Google TV
Last Updated: July 2nd, 2012

Last night, I finally sold my Logitech Revue.

Why? Google's absolute silence on Google TV (GTV) during I/O keynotes represented, as I saw it, the last straw for the platform (at least in its current state). Of course, Google TV hasn't really seen much action since last fall, but after former Google CEO Eric Schmidt promised big, magical things for this summer, it seemed Mountain View might still have some GTV tricks up its sleeves. As it turns out, those sleeves were empty, and the company now seems to view its attempt to save us from cable boxes as a dead horse.

27
Jun
playstore

Google Play Store Source Code Reveals The Company May Start Selling TV Shows And Magazines Soon

Posted by in Google, News

An enterprising young reddit user has discovered some interesting new bits in the Play Store source code today. New lines of code, as well as some new strings that indicate users will now be able to watch television shows and read magazines on their devices. So far, the Play Store's video offerings have been limited to movies, and Google Currents has specialized in blogs only.

Here are the full strings found in the source code:

 

  • "This magazine issue is now available on your device."

  • "You have subscribed to this magazine. It is now available on your device."

  • "Your TV episode is now ready to watch."

  • "Your TV season is now ready to watch."

It's unclear whether this means users will be able to purchase or merely rent television episodes, however given the availability of "Your TV season", I'm inclined to believe it's the former.

21
Jun
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Flipboard Finally Lands In The Play Store, Promises "You'll Be Amazed By What You See"

Posted by in Applications, News

Well folks, it's finally (officially) here. Since it was yanked from the S3 (and put through a beta period), Android users have been anticipating the "Social Magazine" which has already seen great success on iOS. The app, which is billed as "the one thing to simplify your daily life," hit the Play Store tonight, bringing a social news reader with an innovative user interface to Android users everywhere.

For those unfamiliar with Flipboard, the app allows users to not only read news related to their favorite topics, but to share what they're reading and "be amazed by what [they] see when everything people are sharing, collecting, and publishing in every moment comes together in a single place." Users can connect Flipboard to 12 social networks ranging from Twitter and Facebook to Instagram, Google+, YouTube, Google Reader, and more.

01
Jun
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AT&T Users Could See "Toll-Free" Data Plans In The Next 12 Months, Says CEO Randall Stephenson

Posted by in AT&T, News

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, speaking at the Sanford Bernstein Strategic Decisions conference, teased a possible solution for customers who feel beleaguered by tiered data, and who have been avoiding data-heavy services due to plan limitations.

Stephenson suggested that, as part of new "toll free" data plans, certain data-hungry services' traffic would be excluded from users' monthly data allotment, meaning that services like, for example, Netflix, could be used without eating up your entire data plan.

According to FierceWireless, Stephenson indicated that content providers have been suggesting this approach prior to today's talk:

"I think you'd be stunned if we weren't getting those phone calls.

04
Apr
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Marvel's Augmented Reality App Hits The Play Store – Grab Exclusive Marvel Content From The World Around You

Posted by in Applications, News

Announced last month at SXSW, Marvel's Augmented Reality app has finally hit Google's play store, promising to "bring the Marvel Universe to life like never before utilizing your Android powered device."

Essentially the app allows users to scan select Marvel products (which feature the AR logo) to unlock and view exclusive Marvel content. The app unlocks a surprisingly wide array of content, from 3D shorts to script excerpts, exclusive art and commentaries, and "key features on select comics."

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The app's augmented reality functionality is powered by Aurasma, the self-proclaimed first visual browser, "bringing the physical and virtual worlds together." For fans of the Marvel Universe, this app seems like an awesome way to get an extra dose of Marvel content.

04
Apr
2012-04-04 13h54_45

Google Signs Deal With Paramount, Adds 500 Movies To The Play Store, Many Of Them Actually Good

Posted by in Google, News

In case you were wondering if a rebrand was the only thing Google was doing to set itself up as a content provider, rest easy. Google's still working at signing those content deals. Today's deal is with Paramount. You may remember Paramount as the company that likes to throw stars at you while you're flying over a mountain. This new content deal brings 500 movies to the Play Store, and surprise! They don't all suck!

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While today's Staff Picks may be a little biased towards today's deal, you can tell right from the main page that this is big for the Play Store's movie selection.

12
Mar
2012-03-07 18h41_43

[Update: Now Available] Readability Is Coming To Android March 12th, Brings A(nother) Beautiful Article Aggregator To Your Phone And Tablet

Posted by in Apps/Games, News

If you've been waiting around for Readability to hit the Play Store, you've probably noticed that it's, well, not there. There's actually no word when it will land in the Store, but it's already available in the Amazon Appstore if you'd rather not wait.

Update: Now it's available in the store here. Widget added below.

While the desktop world races to create the world's most powerful browser, and even browser-based OSes, the mobile world moves towards simplicity. Stripped down article readers offer content-focused readers, stripped of page bloat, ads, and distracting sidebars. Readability, a gorgeous and until recently iOS-only content aggregator app is headed to Android on Monday, March 12th.

06
Mar
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The Android Market Is Now Google Play - Integrating Apps, Games, Books, Music, And Movies

Posted by in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

Goodbye, Android Market, hello, Google Play. Just moments ago, Google let loose the re-branded Android content hub. What's new? Actually, not all that much (yet).

The change in name is largely an exercise in product consolidation. Google Books, Google Music, Google Movies, and the Android Market are all now under the "Google Play" banner, in an attempt to bring all of Google's content services to one place.

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Aside from the UI refresh, there's really nothing new going on so far as we can tell. Google plans to roll out an updated version of the Market (Play) to Android 2.2+ devices in the coming days, as well as to discontinue the Market branding.

08
Jun
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Adobe Quietly Releases Content Viewer For Android, Wants To Become The Cross-Platform Magazine Distributor Of Choice

Posted by in Applications, News

While snooping around the Market this afternoon, I ran into Adobe's newly released product called simply Adobe® Content Viewer. With almost no description and usage instructions, I spent about an hour familiarizing myself with Adobe's Digital Publishing Suite which apparently creates content this Content Viewer is supposed to consume (read: display).

So, what does it mean in layman's terms? Content creators, such as magazine and newspaper publishers, use the Digital Publishing Suite to create distributable versions of their products, and the cross-platform (iOS, Android, Blackberry, etc) Content Viewer lets users sign into their Adobe accounts and view digital subscriptions on their mobile platforms of choice.

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