You can now download Stagefright Android 5.1.1 LMY48I fix for Nexus 6, 5, 4 and Nexus 9, 10 to patch the critical Android vulnerability which can let hackers take over any device by simply sending a text message.
A new chapter in Google's history unfolded earlier today, when co-founder Larry Page announced that the company and all its ventures will henceforth be operating under a new parent company called Alphabet Inc., spearheaded by Page himself as CEO and co-founder Sergey Brin as President.
Security researchers at Zimperium have some bad news for Android users out there who regularly send and receive multimedia messages. According to the researchers, a major security hole exists in the Android platform which could potentially allow malicious individuals to gain access to a device though simply sending a seemingly innocent text message to the targeted number. Android is currently the most popular mobile operating system on the planet, accounting for approximately 80% of smartphones in existence, so it isn't difficult to understand why this is a serious cause for concern.
Google has continued to expand its growing arsenal of native mobile apps by releasing its new Spotlight Stories app for iPhone onto Apple's iOS App Store. If you're a a follower of the Google Motorola saga then you may remember that when the Google sold the smartphone maker to Lenovo, it kept Motorola's ATAP Division which was responsible for the creation of Spotlight stuff that featured on Motorola devices. After initially creating a dedicated app to showcase the content for the Android platform back in May, Google has now launched with the same delightful content on Apple's iOS.
Google is a little bit obsessed with trying to make sure that the experience of using its Android and Chrome OS devices is as enjoyable as possible. To that end, the company has been carrying out tests that it hopes will show the latency endured when a user touches a screen, with the time taken between press and something being drawn on screen being measured. Google may not have been making too much noise about this testing process and you can be assured that other companies are doing the same thing with their platforms, but Google is the first to give us a look behind the curtain.
Apple took on the big names in the music streaming space when it announced Apple Music at WWDC this year. However, that doesn't mean that Apple’s competitors in this space will just sit and not do anything. Today, the Mountain View company announced its free music streaming tier to the already-rich Google Play Music, which will basically serve as a curated, ad-supported radio station selection for non-subscribers (read: free users) of the search giant's music offering. The new free tier of Google Play Music is all set to take on Apple's iTunes Radio service, and the upcoming Beats 1 radio station, which is going to be a part of Apple Music.
Google has historically been chastised for its lack of transparency and ease of configuration as far as it comes to privacy and security of accounts, which is why at this week's Google I/O the company announced My Account, a new Web page that aims to put all of Google's account-based ills right.
Google managed to turn a lot of heads with its Project Tango initiative last year which was coupled with a tablet introduced as the test-bed for the project. The tablet has always been touted as a developer oriented gadget and was only available to buy through an invitation. This has now changed, as the Mountain View-based company releases the mysterious device for anyone willing to pay for it.
The Internet of Things is one of those ideas that has been around for a while but hasn't really come to proper fruition yet. Google seems to think that it can be the one to sort that problem out, even though it already tried back in 2011 and then quietly killed the project off. Maybe the second time is a charm.
With Google I/O 2015 currently underway we can be sure of plenty of big announcements coming out of the developer event, but there will also be one or two smaller ones that while not likely to change the world nevertheless should not be underestimated. One such announcement is the availability of Google Cardboard for iOS.
