Google Photo Spheres widget now available for any web site

by Jeff Causey on
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Slowly but surely Google’s Photo Spheres continue the march toward general availability and usability throughout the web with Google’s release of a widget enabling them to be embedded on any web site. Up to now, Photo Spheres could only load on Google+ and Google Maps along with a couple third-party services that had figured out how to make them viewable. The new widget is not the easiest thing to deploy as web site owners will have to add a call to the Google+ API and then add some extensive code on their site where the Photo Sphere should appear. The Photo Spheres themselves have to be hosted on either Google+ or PicasaWeb. No doubt it will not be long before other developers streamline this process to make it easier for site owners to both deploy the widget and quickly grab the proper URL and parameters for a Photo Sphere.

In the meantime, Android users continue to wait for progress on making Photo Sphere capable camera apps as widely available so they can start to contribute to the library of Photo Spheres.

source: +Google+

Google Fiber continues expansion, coming to Shawnee, Kansas

by Harrison Kaminsky on
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Google announced an additional location to its growing Fiber network, and this time it is Shawnee, Kansas.  This makes sense because of it’s proximity to Kansas City, which has already been selected to receive Google Fiber service.

Google says that they selected Shawnee as a Fiber candidate due to the city’s vision of keeping their citizens informed and involved using the internet.  This is awesome news for the people of Shawnee, whose city council announced the news after voting on bringing Fiber to town.  There is no expected date for Fiber’s arrival in Shawnee, but engineers will be working hard to get the service up and running as soon as possible.

Source: Google Fiber Blog

Motorola XFON leaks, shows AT&T apps installed

by Jared Peters on
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Motorola’s fabled X Phone is easily one of the most speculated about devices today. It seems like every week, a new rumor pops up, and it usually conflicts with the rumor we heard the week before. Google and Motorola have effectively kept this phone a secret by leaking out tons of mismatched information.

Today, though, we have more concrete X Phone information. As in, evleaks has kindly released some pictures of a phone, running Android on AT&T’s network with the model XFON on the back. Normally, these rumors are pretty hazy, but that’s pretty clear. The phone itself doesn’t really get too friendly with the camera, as it’s boxed in some kind of case, but the picture below shows a carbon fiber backplate with a model of XFON ATT, which suggests that it definitely won’t be a Verizon exclusive. The phone shows the AT&T SIM name in the status bar, as well as AT&T’s LTE icon, and a My AT&T app in the app drawer. Aside from that, the software seems pretty bone stock, which we would naturally expect from a phone co-developed by Google.

It’s also worth mentioning that this does appear to be three different devices, as noted by the differing Motorola logos on the top of the phone. If the phone is showing up in leaks like this, hopefully we won’t have to wait too much longer for an official announcement from Motorola or Google. » Read the rest

Google+ Hangouts for desktop now allows remote control of other computers

by Harrison Kaminsky on
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If you’re constantly heading over to the homes of friends and family to supply some tech support, Google+ now provides a much more simple solution, via Hangouts Remote Desktop.  Powered by the same technology behind Chrome Remote Desktop, this new feature will provide a much more efficient way of getting things done.

Of course this application requires permission, so you don’t have to worry about hackers being able to swiftly commandeer your desktop without your approval.

Instructions to use the application are after the break. » Read the rest

Patent filed for Google smartwatch with touchpad functions similar to Glass

by James Gray on
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As if Google Glass wasn’t enough, Google decided they want to take over your wrist too, filing patents for a new smartwatch with some features similar to Glass. This is definitely not the first Android-powered watch, or even the first watch design from Google, but it does seem to be at least very different from its competitors. Combining what appears to be two touchpads on either side of the watch’s face will allow for gesture-based control such as “pinch, stretch and scroll on a platform with limited space available for user input” not unlike Glass. However, with any luck the watch will not be voice-controlled.

Speculation aside, 2013 is looking to be a good year for Android-powered watches with Samsung also working on a watch of their own. Check back with us for more information on these projects as we get it.

Source: USPTO
Via: Engadget

 

 

LG CEO meets with Larry Page to improve partnership, confirms another Nexus phone is in the works

by Robert Nazarian on
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Larry Page met with LG Electronics CEO Koo Bon-joon in Seoul last week to discuss ways to improve their partnership and how to form an alliance in futuristic projects. When it comes to mobile market share, it’s dominated by Samsung and Apple, but LG wants a bigger piece of the pie. Word is that LG is already working on the next Nexus phone, but it appears that LG wants to extend their partnership in TVs and Google Glass as well. As to TVs, LG is looking to implement Google TV in their OLED TVs. Nothing was mentioned regarding Glass, but it has me intrigued.

LG is definitely in the upswing as their sales have been strong for both smartphones and TVs, and they are now in the third position behind Samsung and Apple for mobile market share. I will say that LG seems to be doing it right with building the Optimus brand as well as investing heavily in proprietary features such as the Value Pack for the Optimus G Pro. If LG plays its cards right, they just might be able to steal more market share from both Apple and Samsung. Could we be looking at a three way race this time next year?

source: Korea Times

Ingress players level 2 and up begin receiving extra invitation codes

by Jared Peters on
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If you’ve been enjoying Google’s augmented reality game, Ingress, you’ll soon have the chance to invite some buddies to join the fun. The Ingress profile on Google+ has announced that all players over level 2 will be getting some invites to hand out to friends, which is great news for everyone. So if you’re already playing, get some friends on board. If you haven’t gotten an invite yet, now’s your chance to start bugging your buddies for one.

source: Google Plus

Google I/O 2013 full schedule released

by Harrison Kaminsky on
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It’s almost that time of year again- the equivalent of Christmas morning for Android developers and fanatics alike: Google I/O 2013.

On Tuesday night, Google released its session schedule for the conference, which will last three days (May 15-17) and will deal with not only Android, but Chrome & Apps, Google+, Google Cloud Platform, Google Maps, YouTube, and many other Google products as well. Google makes it pretty easy for you to know exactly what’s going on at what time, where it’s going on, and who the speakers will be.  When you click on any specific session, a summary page about it opens and gives more details than you’ll ever need.

Of course if you’re not going to Google I/O, the schedule will give you a good idea when the latest products/updates may be coming out, so you’ll know when to be watching for I/O coverage from us. As usual, the main keynote will be streamed live via YouTube, so definitely tune in to get a firsthand look at the newest releases.

Who else is excited? We know we are!

source: Google Developers

 

 

Matias Duarte on Facebook Home: “Shows an incredible amount of polish”

by Jack Holt on
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Facebook Home was released only a short time ago and it hasn’t received much appreciation from users. While yes it was created for a niche market, that hasn’t stopped most people who’ve tried it from giving it a one to two star rating in the Play Store. In fact as I type this it sits at an average rating of 2.2 out of five. While it may not be a hit with the public it sure made an impression on Matias Duarte. If you’ve been living under a rock, he’s a key part of the Android design team and has been instrumental in creating the Android we see today. He praised Facebook’s software engineers by saying:

» Read the rest

Google Glass easter egg aleady exposed

by Robert Nazarian on
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Google and easter eggs go hand in hand so it’s no surprise that one was uncovered within Google Glass. If you’re lucky enough to have one of the Explorer Editions of Glass, you can go to Settings and Device Info, View Licences, and tap the touchpad nine times. When completed, you will see a bunch of images of the entire Project Glass team. Apparently team member, Mike LeBeau snuck it in as a tribute to his colleagues.

source: +JayLee
via: Engadget