Google

Apr

Google Cloud Music? - Rumors Of Partnership Talks Between Spotify and Google

Posted by Zak Stinson in Android OS, News, Rumors

The word on the web today is that Google is in negotiations with Spotify, the European answer to Grooveshark, to partner up on Google's upcoming music streaming project. CNET's source claims that during talks with major record labels, Google did a bit of name dropping and announced that they were hoping to work with the popular European music streaming service, although nobody from either Google or Spotify was available to comment on that rumor.

This isn't the only cloud music company that Google has shown an interest in. Back in May 2010, Google bought Simplify Media, a company that allows users to stream music and photos from their desktop machines to their mobile phones, which was no doubt involved in the interesting preview of the Android music syncing service we were privy to earlier this year.

Apr

[Review] Taskos Is A Simple Way To Suck Less At Doing Things

Posted by Brad Ganley in App Reviews, Applications, Apps/Games, News, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

As a person, I'm generally less reliable than a software update schedule from Samsung. That's why I must rely on my phone to tell me to do things. My current weapon of choice for this responsibility-shifting device dependency is Taskos because it's simple and, if I'm going through the trouble of not remembering things for myself, I sure don't want to waste time while (not?) doing it. Yeah...

Taskos is, in my humble opinion, the best to-do list app yet. While it isn't perfect quite yet, it's got a whole lot going for it. I'm adding "Take a closer look at Taskos" to my list right now.

Apr

HTC Sensation To Launch June 8th?

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in HTC, News, Sensation / Sensation 4G (Pyramid), T-Mobile

Excited for the HTC Sensation? So are we - and while we can't make its release date come any sooner, we can tell you when the phone might well end up being launched.

According to a Google AdWords ad put up by HTC itself, the dual-core beast of a smartphone will be released on June 8th. Of course, HTC removed the ad promptly after it made the news, but screenshots like the one below live on.

The 6/8 theory is corroborated by a product shot of the Sensation which contains a weather widget citing the date as "Wed, Jun 8." Coincidence?

Apr

Surprise, Surprise - Gingerbread Update For Galaxy S "Temporarily Suspended"

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy S, Gingerbread 2.3, Samsung, Vodafone

Don't tell us you didn't see this one coming: Samsung's Gingerbread update for the Galaxy S has been "temporarily suspended." Great.

This time, the abeyance was actually brought about by Google - apparently, the update includes "an issue," though Vodafone claims that their variant of the device is not affected. Nonetheless, the 2.3 software is no longer available from KIES, and won't be until it is "reinstated" (which will happen "as soon as possible").

In the meantime, well, you can look forward to hearing your Galaxy S-wielding friends bemoan Sammy's unreliable updates... again.

Source: Vodafone Forums via Engadget

Apr

Grooveshark Stands Up For Its Service - Makes Android App Available Online And Sends Out Open Letter To The Music Industry

Posted by Zak Stinson in Applications, News

Companies like YouTube and Grooveshark are at the center of the ongoing controversies around online distribution of copyrighted materials. This controversy reared its ugly head earlier this month when the Grooveshark app was removed from the Android Market. While this disappointed many of the users who stream all their favourite tunes without having to posses an actual digital copy, Google was justified in kicking these pseudo-pirates out of the Market, right? Not so, says Grooveshark.

In protest to Google's decision to drop the app, Grooveshark has re-released it to the public. Although the app is still absent from the Market, it has been made available on Grooveshark's mobile website.

Apr

Editorial: Google's Music Talks Aren't Going Well - Will Music Be Too Little, Too Late?

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Apps/Games, Editorials, News

To answer the question, briefly: nobody really knows at this point. But I do think Google is going to have to make some sacrifices in the short term if the Music service is going to get off the ground. And that's because the record labels won't play ball - at least not by Google's rules according to All Things D, quoting two apparently well-connected sources.

Of course, the words of a couple anonymous music industry insiders aren't definitively representative of the feelings of all the (presumably numerous) parties involved in Google's Music negotiations. For all we know, those persons could be part of some of the industry's historically more stubborn labels.

Apr

[Editorial] Will Amazon Create A New Walled Garden Out Of Android?

Posted by Jared Spurbeck in Android OS, Editorials

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: A major national bookseller decides that they want to make "The Reader’s Tablet." So they grab the Android source code, and they don’t bother to get their device approved by Google so that it can run their apps. Instead, they charge full speed ahead, with not just a custom UI layer but a complete reimagining of what an “Android” device should look like.

The app drawer? Gone. Pull-down notification area? Canned. Hardware keys have gone the way of the dustbin, except for a single iPad-style button. Even the concept of the home screen has been done away with, to be replaced with a bookshelf and a store.

Apr

Android Market Carrier Billing Now On Sprint, Do You Have It Yet?

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Apps/Games, News, Sprint

Well, seems like Google wasn't lying when they said they would continue to work on providing carrier billing as a payment option in the Android Market, announcing the addition of the feature to Sprint handsets, alongside T-Mobile and AT&T. With three out of four major US carriers down, will carrier billing be coming to Verizon any time soon?

The feature has long been the request of many customers across all carriers, particularly internationally. This is largely due to the fact that Google Checkout remains unavailable as a payment option in a number of major international markets in South America and Asia, where Android's popularity is rapidly growing.

Apr

Race To The Top - Google Maps Is The First Android App To Ever Pass 50 Million Downloads

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

While Google Maps already made headlines today for omitting the changelog in the latest update, causing hundreds of 1-star comments, it does have a reason to celebrate, which overshadows this snafu by a long shot. The 50,000,000 installation mark, never before achieved by any app in the Market, has been reached, and by none other than Google Maps, making it the most downloaded Android application ever.

It's no surprise - the absolute brilliance of the Maps team helped create a product which wows first-time users, single-handedly lures them over to Android, and keeps innovating time and time again. Who needs a standalone GPS device when you've got Google Maps?

Apr

Larry Page Shifts Google Executives, Bumps Andy Rubin Up To SVP In The Process

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, News

It didn't take long for Google CEO Larry Page to start making drastic changes to the way the company does business once he got in the saddle earlier this week. As of today, he reportedly promoted seven of the top executives in the company, including Android's own Andy Rubin. It has been suggested that Page is making these changes in order to streamline the company's decision making process, something that he feels has slowed dramatically over the years.

In an effort to return the company to a startup mindset, Rubin, along with the other six newly promoted execs, will now report directly to Page.