23
May
courtroom

Jury Finally Decides: Google Did Not Infringe Oracle's Patents With Its Use Of Android

Posted by in Google, News

Google and Oracle have been going at it for weeks now over both patent and copyright infringement claims made by the latter company. At least one issue is settled, though, as the jury on the case has decided that Google did not infringe any of Oracle's patents with Android. This is only a small part of Oracle's assault on Google. The larger issue is on the matter of copyright infringement, but at least on the patent issue, Google seems to be in the clear.

It's been a long road to get here, as the jury has been debating the matter for at least a week.

22
May
motorola_droid_x1

Google And Motorola's Shotgun Wedding Is Final - And It's Definitely Going To Change Things For Android

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, Google, Legal, Motorola, News

Today, Google announced that its acquisition of Motorola Mobility had officially closed. Make no mistake, this merger is something of a shotgun arrangement - and the offspring conceived out of wedlock is Android. So, how did we get here, two and a half years after the first DROID?

A Brief History Of Motorola And Android

Motorola was once Google's model manufacturer partner. At least in the US, it produced what was the most popular "first generation" Android smartphone, the original Motorola DROID. The OG DROID was responsible for "hooking" many people on the operating system, whether through endlessly modifying and tweaking the device, or simply for its stellar build quality and reliability (those things were little tanks), it was truly the work-horse that first brought Android into the hands of a large number of people here in the US.

19
May
motorola-logo_thumb

China Approves Google's Acquisition Of Motorola, Deal Expected To Be Finalized Next Week

Posted by in Google, News

When we last heard about Google's deal to buy Motorola, the EU  and the US had approved the deal. The one major market we were left waiting on is China and now, according to the Associated Press (known around here as "the other AP"), the country's regulators have given Google the green light. The deal is now expected to close next week.

The biggest asset of the deal is, of course, Motorola's 17,000+ patents. Google has already promised that it will not interfere with Motorola's dealings and continue to operate the company entirely independently. The approach would make sense in the context of rumors that Google would be expanding it Nexus line.

17
May
googleiotiny

Google I/O Schedule Is Now Live, Get A First Look At All The Cool Android (And Other Google) Session Topics

Posted by in Google, News

In case the parade of trade shows and device announcements in the first half of the year aren't enough to keep you excited, Google I/O stands as the centerpiece of Android and Google hype. If you're just too eager to see what's going to happen late this June, then here's something to whet your appetite: The Google I/O schedule is now live at Google's developer site.

2012-05-17_12h27_26

The schedule includes information for all tracks, including Android, Chrome, Google TV, YouTube, and all your other favorite Google products. As always, we can expect some great announcements at the keynote sessions, which will likely be the highlight of the event for most of us.

16
May
googlemusictiny

[Update] Google Appears To Have Backpedaled On Music Deauthorizations, Now Allowing More Than Four Devices To Be Removed

Posted by in Google, News

Well, that didn't take long. Earlier today, we reported that Google was limiting the number of devices that can be deauthorized from your Google Music account. The official limit on Google Music devices was 10 active devices, with the proviso that up to 4 devices could be removed from your account every year. As of this moment, the Google Music help page still echoes this, but Google might be back pedaling. We're hearing reports that some users are able to deauthorize devices after being told just this morning that they'd reached their limit. Cameron, who had already reached his limit this morning, tried it out and lookie here:

sorrrrrydeauth camdevicespost

Earlier this morning (left), and around 3:30 EST (right)

While it's unclear how Google's stance on this has changed (we've reached out to Google for comment), it does seem very clear that some customers are now able to deauthorize devices that, just hours ago, they could not.

16
May
googlemusictiny

Google Music Now Only Allows You To Deauthorize Four Devices Per Year

Posted by in Google, News

The problem with any account-based music streaming service, from a corporate standpoint, is that end users are a shared password away from getting access to free media. Really, who hasn't shared their Netflix account once or twice? In an effort to prevent this kind of abuse, Google Music (likely at the request of the music labels) has instituted a cap on the number of devices you are allowed to deauthorize: Four. Per year. It gets worse, though.

sorrrrrydeauth

For the uninitiated, here's how it works: you are allowed a maximum of ten devices that can be associated with a single Google Music account.

15
May
galaxy_nexus_banner_005

Google Is Reportedly Planning A Renewed And Expanded Nexus Device Assault This Fall, And This Is Why I Love It

Posted by in Android OS, Carriers, Editorials, Google, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Rumors

This is the sort of quasi-rumor (it's fairly detailed and comes from the Wall Street Journal, so we're inclined to trust it) that makes me happy to be an Android fan.

According to the WSJ, Google is in cahoots with up to five device manufacturers to provide early access to the next iteration of the Android OS (Jelly Bean, we assume) so it can have an entire "portfolio" of Nexus devices ready by Thanksgiving - that's late November for those without turkey day. It will then sell said devices, phones and tablets, unlocked through (again, presumably) the Play Store, much as it has done with the unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus.

11
May
google_play

Download: Latest Google Play Store v3.5.19

Posted by in Applications, Apps/Games, Google, News
Last Updated: January 6th, 2013

A new version of the Android Play Store (formerly Android Market) with version 3.5.19 is now rolling out, replacing 3.5.16. We haven't seen a new Play Store for over a month, but what changes it contains compared to its predecessor is not clear at the moment. I've examined all the menus I could think of and didn't find anything new, so improvements are either under-the-hood or so subtle it'll take a whole AP community to find them.

If you haven't gotten 3.5.19 pushed to your device yet, we have some download mirrors below. The apk has been verified as official and signed by Google, so it's safe to proceed.

10
May
2012-05-10 13h26_02

Google Working On Its Own Version Of Game Center, Says Business Insider

Posted by in Google, News

In a continued attempt to make Android more viable as an entertainment platform, Google is working on a social gaming app in the same vein as Apple's Game Center, if Business Insider's sources are to be believed. The app would be a huge boon for social gaming on Android. As the platform grows, and gaming along with it, Google risks losing a golden opportunity to be even more deeply embedded within one of the biggest growth markets in mobile.

The usual features are expected: social achievements, awards/trophies, and player leaderboards. What's unclear is whether or not Google will try to integrate Plus into the mix.

09
May
2012-05-09 16h40_32

Sony And Google Show Off New GoogleTV Box With A Remote That Resembles A Space Shuttle Control Panel

Posted by in Google TV, News

You guys remember Google TV, right? It's the project that every CEO and their mothers stood on a stage with to declare war on Apple's AppleTV hobby? Yeah, those guys have been pretty quiet since about that platform for a while now. Sony, however, got up the nerve to announce a new Google TV box at a special event in Palo Alto. Where "announce" means "say some words near, without actually talking about."

gtvsony2 gtvsony3 gtvsony4

Details one the device are scarce. In photos we can see that it comes with standard fare in the port department. A couple of HDMI ports, optical audio out, ethernet, a couple USB slots, and even an (optional?) space for an IR blaster.

Page 28 of 42«First...1020...2627282930...40...Last»