Google

Apple trims Android’s U.S. smartphone lead as Verizon sells most iPhones

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 29, 2013

Apple is making a slight dent in Android's lead among U.S. smartphone owners, picking up more than three percentage points of market share at the end of the June 2013 quarter. By comparison, Google's mobile software slipped a bit, giving up almost one percent, according to new research.

By the end of the June quarter, Apple's iOS had 42.5 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, up from 39.2 percent a year earlier. By contrast, Android fell to 51.5 percent from 52.6 percent during the same period, according to research firm Kantar Monday...

Apple TV vs. Roku vs. Chromecast content options

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

On Wednesday this week, Google unveiled a handful of new products. There's the second generation Nexus 7 tablet, Android 4.3, and the Chromecast TV dongle. The latter has proved rather popular, selling out in most online stores within the first 72 hours.

The accessory is very similar to the Apple TV, or the Roku box, as it lets you stream Internet content to your television. That content varies, however, depending on which product you go with. So we thought this breakdown of their differences was worth a look...

New Nexus 7 vs iPad mini comparison [Video]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 12, 2018

The new Nexus 7 has touched down in stores, and it's a pretty compelling little device at $229 for the base 16GB Wi-Fi unit. It's much improved over its predecessor in nearly every facet, and will likely become a thorn in Apple's side as time goes on without a significant iPad mini (Retina) refresh.

With that all said, the iPad mini still has a few distinct advantages over Google's latest offering. Its main advantage is readily apparent, as its screen size completely dwarfs the smaller screen of the Nexus 7. Interestingly enough, the bezel on the older iPad mini is still smaller on all four sides when compared to the Nexus 7. Lastly, the iPad mini is still thinner than the Nexus 7. By themselves, all of these advantages may not amount to much in the eyes of consumers, but when compared side by side, they all add up for a pretty intense debate regarding which is superior.

Make no mistake though, in terms of sheer power and screen prowess, this is no competition. After comparing the two, running benchmarks, playing games, etc, it's evident that Apple has a legitimate competitor on its hands when it comes to the low end of the tablet market. Check inside as I compare both the new Nexus 7 and the iPad mini in our hands-on video walkthrough.

Apple says Motorola asked for more than 12 times going rate to license its patents

Cody Lee ∙ July 26, 2013

As Apple continues to hold unfruitful settlement talks with Samsung, it seems to have reached an impasse with Motorola as well. The iPad-maker has submitted a new court filing, accusing the Google-owned company of overcharging for its standards essential patents.

The complaint lodged against Motorola was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today, as part of Apple's opening brief in an appeal effort. Apple wants the court to force Motorola—which is Google at this point—to license its technology at a fair price...

Apple may be working to supplant Siri’s Nuance speech recognition with in-house tech

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 26, 2013

Although Apple's Siri uses Nuance's speech recognition technology, the digital assistant may be getting a new voice soon. Although Nuance continues to power Siri's speech recognition, a number of former Nuance employees reportedly are now part of Apple's in-house efforts to develop a new speech recognition technology to power Siri, reducing its technological dependency on third-parties.

For instance, a number of former employees of VoiceSignal Technologies, a speech software firmed acquired by Nuance, now appear in leading roles developing Siri as an in-house application for Apple, according to a Friday report...

WSJ: Google working on own set-top box with Kinect-like motion gestures

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 26, 2013

The Google TV project has seen modest success (and that's putting it nicely), but nowhere near the level of interest of Apple's set-top box which holds more than half the world's market for streaming boxes.

People who are serious about software make their own hardware, Alan Kay once famously said. In this regard, Google is just as eager to become a hardware maker as Apple is adamant to double-down on online services.

That being said, it's no surprise Google is rethinking its approach to the living room. Earlier this week we were offered a glimpse of Google's renewed living room effort as the search giant announced a $35 TV dongle called the Chromecast, alongside the second-gen Nexus 7 tablet.

That's just the beginning, though. The Wall Street Journal now reports that Google is working on its own set-top box hardware with built-in motion recognition technology akin to Microsoft's Kinect...

Google+ Local app shutting down next month following Google Maps integration

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Google+ Local for iOS, the reincarnation of Google Places, will be pulled from the App Store on August 7th, according to an email from the Mountain View company. The move comes just over one year after the app first launched for iPhones and iPads.

For those who aren't familiar with the software, it allows users to voice search for nearby restaurants and businesses, as well as read and post reviews. But now that it's been fully integrated into Google Maps, Google says the standalone app needs to go...

Popular gadget reseller says new Nexus 7 isn’t attracting iPad owners

Cody Lee ∙ July 26, 2013

On Wednesday, Google unveiled a new version of its Nexus 7 tablet. And on paper, it looks great. It's both thinner and lighter than its predecessor, and features a number of upgrades, like a hi-res 1,920 x 1,200 display. But so far, iPad users aren't impressed.

That's at least according to electronics buyback site Gazelle. The company says it hasn't seen any kind of spike in iPad trade-ins since the new Nexus 7 was introduced, or in the rumor-filled weeks leading up to it. But first-gen Nexus 7 trade-ins on the other hand...

iPhoto beware: native Google+ Photos app heading to Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

Despite its pedestrian and overly geeky interface, I still find myself using Google's Picasa Mac app to geotag my photos, find duplicates and organize image files in folders prior to importing the images into iPhoto. Picasa may not win any beauty contest, but it sure is lightning fast and gets the job done.

Now, once Google retired Picasa Web Albums and doubled-down on Google+ Photos, I could tell the desktop Picasa software was heading to the technology graveyard. But some good will come out of this: according to a Google-focused blog, the Internet giant may be replacing Picasa soon with an upcoming desktop Google+ Photos app for Mac, Windows and Linux...

Google launches Google Cast SDK For iOS, Android and Chrome developers

Cody Lee ∙ July 24, 2013

Alongside a new Nexus 7 tablet, and a new version of Android, Google launched a new TV accessory today called the Chromecast. Not to be confused with the short-lived Nexus Q, it's a tiny HDMI dongle that offers wireless device-to-TV streaming for just $35.

The device uses Google Cast, which like Apple's AirPlay feature, allows users to stream videos and other content from their smartphones and tablets to their television sets. Unlike Apple's offering, though, Google is opening up its Cast tech to multiple platforms...

Textbooks are coming to Google’s Play Books in early August

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Taking a page from Apple's book (pun intended), Google's Play Books service will start carrying textbooks in August, giving students the choice of renting (for six months) or buying electronic textbooks, available on iOS or Android devices.

And in drawing from its Internet roots, the search monster also said electronic textbooks will be available for reading on the web, using any standard desktop web browser. The Internet giant promises a "comprehensive selection of titles" from five major publishing partners: Pearson, Wiley, Macmillian Higher Education, McGraw-Hill and Cengage Learning.

Jump past the fold for the full reveal...

Google unveils new Nexus 7, Google Play Games and Chromecast TV dongle

Cody Lee ∙ July 24, 2013

As expected, Google unveiled a new version of its 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet this morning at a press conference in San Francisco. The tablet is both thinner and lighter than its predecessor, and has a gorgeous new display with an impressive resolution of 1,920 x 1,200.

But the new slate wasn't the only thing on the docket for this morning's event. Google also showed off its Android 4.3 update, which features a new Google Play Games app (similar to Apple's Game Center), as well as a new device for your TV called Chromecast...