Hot on the heels of BlackBerry's announcement that BBM would soon become a cross-platform experience, Google has showcased its new Hangouts messaging system, unifying iOS, Android and Chrome users all in one convenient place. This revelation makes for an exciting face-off between the major instant messaging services, and it's fair to say, this kind of feature from Google as been a long time coming.
In amongst all of the other announcements at today's I/O developers conference, Google has taken the wraps off its new ‘All Access’ Music service, and judging by the business model and pricing, it looks a sure-fire shot at the popular alternatives Spotify, Pandora and Rdio. More details after the break.
It has only been a couple of weeks since Microsoft brought Skype integration to the Outlook.com inbox and already, the Redmond company is back to bring Google's Talk instant messaging service to its webmail service. It's certainly an eyebrow raiser, no less since it looks as though the Big G looks all set to integrate GTalk and Hangouts into one unified - and rumored - "Babel" service, and it does also perhaps show a side to Microsoft we simply do not see often enough.
Google's I/O developer conference kicks off from Wednesday, and although precise details on what will be revealed remain under lock and key, 9to5Google has come through with some shots of the Moscone West venue as the Big G prepares for what is easily one of the biggest dates in the tech calendar. Check out the images after the leap.
Of all the tech products to release last year, Google's Nexus 7 was one of the most eagerly anticipated and well received. Nobody could believe how much solid hardware Google had managed to pack into such a reasonably priced tablet, and one analyst is under the impression that the Big G is about to make consumers another offer they'd be hard pushed to refuse. According to resident Apple whistleblower Ming chi Kuo of KGI securities, the search giant will be adding a 5-megapixel rear camera to the Nexus 7, which will also include such features as an improved 1,920 × 1,200 display, a Qualcomm APQ 8064 processor and wireless charging. Kuo also notes that the price will stay at the very agreeable price of $199, and the design will also be notably thinner and lighter than the current generation Nexus 7.
It's been rumored to be on the way for quite some time, but Google flicked the switch that sees YouTube's new paid channels go live. More details can be found right after the jump.
Google Glass is the hot property on the internet right now, especially amongst those of us that live and breathe technology. But it's not just those of us that happen to spend our time inside the tech bubble that are interested in Google's bold push for computer equipped spectacles - even the mainstream media are getting in on the action.
Android 4.2 is the most advanced version of Google's mobile OS to date, and despite its "buttery" smooth billing rendering it more than decent right off the bat, it stands to reason that many of you will probably want to mod / hack it as much as possible. Scarcely is this achievable without USB Debugging enabled, which in turn relies upon Developer Mode being activated. Since Google has rather kindly made it trickier for developers and wannabe developers to find Developer Options as time has gone on, we're going to quickly show you how to bring about Developer Options on Android 4.2.
Google certainly made waves in the tech world when it chose to spend a whopping $12.5 billion to acquire Motorola Mobility, but it's fair to say that the Big G has yet to really utilize this most sizable of purchases. Much speculation has pertained to a so-called "X Phone," perhaps accompanied by an "X Tablet" to match, but as yet, these reports have remained decidedly inconsequential. Shots of the X Phone enveloped in a squared-off case were leaked by evleaks a couple of days ago, and as it transpires, high-res images had already been leaked earlier this year depicting the device in all its glory.
Google Glass, though exciting, is not yet available to everybody, and aside from developers, creatives, journalists and competition winners, few have actually had the chance to test out the most exciting technological advance in recent times. One individual who is certainly on the outside looking in is Australian hacker Ash_Williams, but undeterred by his inability to get hold of Glass to try out for himself, he's sought to create his own version from various odds and sods.
