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Come look inside Google's first Pixel store with us before it opens tomorrow
Spoiler: They sell lots of Google stuff
Google has been in the hardware game for some time now, but it has yet to establish a physical presence in retail to compete with Apple outside of a handful of pop-up stores. That changes tomorrow, as the company is finally opening its first storefront in New York City. If you've been looking to pick up a brand-new Pixel phone — or just a Google-branded basketball — all you'll need to do is head to Chelsea.
Google will finally try out its own retail store this summer
We'll see if they can last longer than Microsoft
Google's range of physical hardware products is expanding more and more every year. Isn't it time that the company expanded beyond a few Best Buy shelf displays and started making its own stores? Someone at Google thinks so, because the first branded store is opening this summer. The Google Store (catchy) will be located in Chelsea, New York City, in the Port Authority Commerce Building at 111 Eighth Avenue.
Google wants to turn YouTube into a shopping site
The company is testing the ability to buy items from videos
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YouTube already makes money through advertisements, YouTube Premium (to get rid of said advertisements), and memberships to specific channels. It looks like the company might be preparing to add general shopping functionality to the list, according to an announcement in YouTube's test features and experiments hub.
US carriers announce store closures as coronavirus lockdowns commence
Locations that remain open will run on shorter hours
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The United States is in lockdown for the foreseeable future as officials and health experts hope to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus as much as possible. Landline and wireless service providers have pledged to keep service on for all customers over the next 2 months as employment becomes a tenuous proposition for many in this period of isolation. But for those who drop off their payments at a store or for anyone with an immediate need to purchase a phone at this time, you should know that Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon either have or are going to temporarily close a number of their stores.
Stadia launched in what what most would consider a very unfinished state, missing many plenty of the announced features like family sharing and broadcasting, or with very rushed and incomplete features like screenshots or a game store. Shopping for games initially required the smartphone app, but the store launched on the web last week, opening the door to a more convenient shopping experience. It also reveals a bit more about some of the marketing and categorization we'll see as the Stadia catalog fills out.
According to a recent blog post by the Google Retail Team, two new pop-up retail shops will be opened in New York City and Chicago, starting October 18th. The shops will last through December 31st, giving you a bit over two months minimum to check out Google's hardware in a "fully Google-made experiential space."
Google's most frequent corporate comparison is Apple, but one significant difference between the two tech titans is their differing retail presence. Although Google has occasionally had pop-up stores and some limited existence inside other retailers like Best Buy and Curry's, it's never had its own dedicated retail stores—though it was previously rumored to be working on a set in India. But, according to a report by the Chicago Tribune, Google may be close to finalizing a lease alleged to be used for a new retail flagship in Chicago's Fulton Market district.
Amazon's getting ready to open up its checkout-free Amazon Go convenience store in Seattle tomorrow on January 22nd, and the corresponding app has just hit Google Play. Advertising "Just Walk Out Shopping," the new Amazon Go store uses sensors and cameras to keep track of which items you take, charging your Amazon account for whatever you bring out of the store. Basically, it's shopping, but without the tedious process of a manual checkout.[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrmMk1Myrxc[/EMBED_YT]Most of us probably won't get a chance to play with Amazon Go in action just yet—right now the only store announced is in Seattle, and the company doesn't have any plans to expand the tech to its other retail locations like Whole Foods. But even if we can't check it out for ourselves, the machine learning-powered tracking technology behind it is still impressive.Although I obviously can't use the app in its intended setting, I couldn't resist the urge to fire it up, just to see what it looks like. On first launch, the app gives you a quick walkthrough of the Amazon Go process. Though it's pretty much like the video above describes, it goes into a bit more detail. For example, Amazon Go will also work with friends and family. If you head in as a group, you can scan people in one at a time with the same code/phone, and the system in the store will follow their actions as well as yours while tying you all together in one account for checkout purposes. So keep an eye on what the kiddos grab.
Google's hardware has always been difficult to purchase, if you happen to live outside of a handful of countries. The original Pixels were only sold by Google in six regions - Australia, Canada, Germany, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, and the United States. The Pixel 2 and 2 XL were originally limited to those regions as well, but now the XL is expanding to Italy and Spain.
Puerto Rico, despite being a territory of the United States, is often treated as a separate country by businesses. Puerto Rican residents could order from the US Google Store, but now Google has created a separate Store just for the island itself.
Historically, iOS has always topped Android in terms of app revenue. There are several reasons for this - the vast majority of Android devices are cheap phones (owners of low-end phones aren't as likely to pay a premium for apps), piracy is much easier, etc. But according to a report from App Annie, that could finally change this year.
Motorola, the last American phone company that wasn't Apple (at least before they got bought by Google and then shuffled over to Lenovo), now has an American store front. Well, technically at least: it has exactly one retail store, which Motorola's PR team is calling an "experimental boutique." If you're in the Chicago area, where Motorola's US headquarters is located, you can check it out on Saturday. The store will open for full business a week later at 108 North State Street.
[Copy All The Things!] You Can Now Copy Changelogs And App Descriptions Using Android Play Store App
Earlier today, Kirill Grouchnikov, the face behind the Play Store Android app, detailed a set of relatively substantial design tweaks and RTL language support destined for an upcoming update. Unfortunately, the APK uploaded to APK Mirror shortly after did not seem to have the majority of these changes live just yet, but Kirill, who also announced his departure from the Google Play team, managed to sneak in one last parting gift.
A couple of hours ago Google officially announced the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P, which are now both live on the Google Store. If you were able to pre-order one of these phones, you're probably wondering what accessories are going to be available. Well you don't have to wait at all to find out, because Google already has quite a few cases and cables on the Google Store for both devices. I'm going to cut right to the chase and dump all the information.
A couple of months ago, we published a story about the scam problem in Google Play Books, and we haven't been alone in criticism of the store's issues.
Have you ever wished that Google would just open its equivalent of an Apple Store, so you could have a one-stop-shop for your favorite phones, tablets, and Chromebooks? The company has dabbled with the idea before, and Americans can kinda-sorta experience this in the corner of a local Best Buy, but now the Big G is taking things to the next level by opening its first branded shop. It just happens to be at Currys PC World in London.
Developers can be found all over the world, toiling away for hours on a computer as they build cool apps and games for our gadgets. Most of them would like to earn a few duckets for their work, but that's not always possible with certain types of apps and games. Today, the doors are open for developers from 12 additional countries to register for merchant accounts and begin selling paid apps to the world.
In an interesting bit of news this evening, it looks like Google has opened up merchant support to China, allowing developers to distribute free or paid apps, in-app purchases, and subscriptions in over 130 countries.
A couple of months ago, we shared an early look at an impending Play Store update that saw more "materialized" content listings, but the rest of the interface remained largely unchanged. The new, more image-focused interface made thoughtful use of increased white space and introduced some really fun tablet layouts for content listings from movies to books, music, and apps.
Google Preparing Expansion Of App Discoverability With Listings On Official Chromecast Site [Update]
Since the Chromecast debuted, Google has had partnered apps featured at chromecast.com/apps. According to a tip we received this evening, and a post by Leon Nicholls to the Google Cast Developers community, it looks like Google might be ready to show off third-party apps at the same URL.