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Ever since Google Keyboard was renamed to Gboard with several new features in tow, the keyboard has continued to receive new functionality. The Play Store beta program for Gboard was just made public, and the first beta version (6.1) has a few major changes.
While Google Assistant is rolling out to more devices, Microsoft is continuing to improve its own virtual helper. Microsoft's Cortana assistant made the jump to Android in 2015, and has continued to improve since with regular updates. The latest update, version 2.5, allows users to add Cortana to the lockscreen.
If you've ever tried to search the meaning of specific operations and characters in programming languages, you know how frustrating it can be. You'll often have to append the name of the language to the search, or try surrounding it in quotes to only show exact matches.
The Moto G lineup includes some of the best phones you can buy on a budget. But Motorola places a higher priority on the G4 in India than the US, considering devices over there received Android 7.0 Nougat almost three months ago. Now the company has finally started rolling out Nougat to the G4 and G4 Plus in the United States.
Nintendo's long-awaited successor to the Wii U, the Nintendo Switch, is due to be released tomorrow. In preparation, Nintendo has already released the console's Parental Controls application for iOS and Android.
Earlier this week, Google's SVP for hardware Rick Osterloh had a meeting at MWC with journalists. There he said that Google had, "no plans for Google-branded laptops." Now he has said on Twitter that there are just "no plans to share at this time."
The ZTE Spro 2 was initially announced two years ago, and later available for sale through AT&T for $500 without a contract ($400 with an agreement). It's definitely an odd device - it's running Android with access to the Google Play Store, so you can project your favorite media apps without a connected device. Now you can get it for $399, $100 off the starting price.Now you're probably wondering, "Why has it only dropped $100 over two years?" Well, projectors are generally expensive, and the Spro 2 has a decent 200 lumens of brightness. The resolution is only 1280x720, but ZTE says it can project up to a 120-inch image.[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT7hBtsHcz4[/EMBED_YT]As mentioned above, it's running Android 4.4.4 KitKat (as far as I can tell, it was never updated) on top of a Snapdragon 800 CPU. You can also use it as a standard projector with the HDMI input or Miracast functionality. It has a microSD card slot, a 6,300mAh battery, and works as a hotspot.The eBay listing says the device is new, but in an open box. Considering the Wi-Fi model is being sold by Best Buy for 9 and Amazon for 7, this isn't a bad deal at all.Source: eBay
After the iPhone and Android devices entered the smartphone scene, they changed the entire industry. The formerly-dominant companies in this space - RIM, Nokia, and Palm to name a few - couldn't catch up fast enough. Nokia, which was the giant to beat at the time, quickly found itself bleeding and struggling to maintain its once dominant market share before Microsoft bought its mobile devices division.
After the launch of Duo and Allo, Google began re-positioning Hangouts as a business tool. It's also part of G Suite, Google's collection of services for enterprise use. But overall, we really haven't seen any major changes since the switch to business use - until now.
Do you happen to use Google+? Do you also use Gboard? Then you might be happy to know that version 9.6 of the Google+ app for Android adds support for inserting GIFs through Gboard.
YouTube or Google offering traditional TV networks has been rumored for ages, and now it is finally official. Today Google unveiled 'YouTube TV,' a new subscription service offering dozens of TV networks, cloud DVR, and YouTube Red originals for just $35 a month.
RCS is designed as the (eventual) successor to SMS and MMS, but it's a bit of a mess right now. Several carriers have their own implementations of the standard, often incompatible with each other. Google's Jibe RCS Cloud is quickly gaining ground, but there's still only one US carrier supporting it - Sprint. Now Samsung has announced its own RCS cloud.
Google Home has supported playing radio through TuneIn since launch. Simply ask it to play a local AM/FM or internet station, and it will start streaming in seconds. Now it looks like Google is in the early stages of rolling out support for iHeartRadio.
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The Chromebook Pixel 2013 was the first product to bear the Pixel brand, showcasing the potential of Chrome OS on high-end hardware. Two years later, the Pixel 2 was released as one of the first consumer products with USB Type-C ports. But it looks like there won't be a third Chromebook Pixel, or any future Google laptop for that matter.
Xiaomi already introduced the Surge S1, the company's first SoC (system-on-a-chip) developed completely in-house. In addition to that announcement, Xiaomi unveiled the Mi 5c, its first phone with the new processor.
Nearly all phone manufacturers use SoCs (system-on-a-chip) from other companies, like Qualcomm or MediaTek. Exceptions to that rule include Apple's A series, Samsung's Exynos processors, and Huawei's Kirin platform. Xiaomi is now joining in with the Surge S1, the company's first SoC developed completely in-house.
The BlackBerry Priv was not just BlackBerry's first Android phone, but it's also the company's last device developed in-house. It has been a little over a year since the phone's introduction, and minus the initial price tag, it was mostly received as a good device. Now you can get the Priv on eBay, new and factory unlocked, for a penny short of $280.
YouTube has grown into one of the most popular sites on the internet, far surpassing all other video sharing sites in amount of videos and users. Now the site reports that over one billion hours of YouTube content are watched every single day.
If you've never used it, Pocket is a popular app that allows you to save links from several browsers and other applications in an easily-accessible list. Mozilla and Pocket have been working together for a while now, most notably to bring native Pocket integration to Firefox. Now Read it Later, Inc., owners of Pocket, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Mozilla.
This Mobile World Congress is full of budget phones - from Motorola with the Moto G5 to Nokia with its first Android devices. Now ZTE is sharing two new devices at the event - the Blade V8 Mini and Blade V8 Lite.