Google

Chitika: iPad rules ‘biggest ever’ holiday

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

How did holiday sales of tablets shake out? Although sales numbers aren't yet available, we can get some idea of which devices were in most demand. For instance, Amazon's Kindle Fire, followed by Samsung's Galaxy tablets and Google Nexus devices were the top three non-iPad products serving ad impressions in December, according to an ad firm.

Although the iPad (both the full-size versions and the iPad mini) accounts for 87 percent of U.S. and Canadian tablet-based ad impressions, the Kindle Fire was next best with 4.25 percent of tablet traffic. The Samsung Galaxy tablets had 2.65 percent, while the Google Nexus family of tablets garnered 1.06 percent of tablet traffic, according to ad network Chitika...

Google invites iOS devs to ‘do cool things that matter’

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 28, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG2Wn2dm5-4

Google is determined to become the top iOS developer in terms of quality and presence. Already the company's Gmail, YouTube, Google+, Maps, Search and other products are found on many people's home screens. In fact, YouTube and Maps topped the list of most downloaded apps on Christmas Day. And now, the Mountain View, California-headquartered Internet giant has launched a web ad campaign to promote its presence on the Apple platform and invite developers to 'do cool things that matter' on iOS. It's a nice vote of confidence and a sign that Google in no way intends to leave iOS users behind and lose a a treasure trove of data it collects on use through its iOS apps...

How to track Santa’s progress tonight on your iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Put on the cheesy music and pour the egg nog, it's finally Christmas Eve! And for millions of kids around the world, that means that it won't be long now until Santa Claus shows up.

In this day and age of GPS technology, it's never been easier to track Santa on his 20,000+ mile route around the planet. In fact, you can actually do it right from your iPhone...

Samsung sues Apple over Notification Center in Korea

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Samsung has reportedly filed a new lawsuit in its home country against Apple regarding its iOS Notification Center. It says that the feature, which Apple introduced last year in iOS 5, infringes on one of its active patents.

Of course, patent lawsuits have become commonplace between the two tech giants in recent years. Typically, however, Samsung has used its standards-essential, hardware-related IP to go after Apple. But this time it's software-related...

Google reportedly building ‘X Phone’ to rival Apple and Samsung

Cody Lee ∙ December 21, 2012

Android may be winning the smartphone war right now against Apple due to the sheer number of mobile devices available using the open-sourced OS, but Google's not content with that. It wants to take the Cupertino company and its popular iPhone head-on.

A new report is out today claiming that engineers from Google's recently purchased Motorola Mobility arm have begun work on what is being called the 'X Phone,' a sophisticated handset due next year whose sole purpose is to annihilate the competition...

Apple is doomed: iPhone’s US share hits record 53%, Android down to 42%

Ed Sutherland ∙ December 21, 2012

If you skimmed recent headlines, you could think Google's Android was clearly in charge of the smartphone arms race. Yet, there are these pesky indicators that Apple's impending collapse ranks right up there with the Mayan Calendar crazy talk.

However, a new report by a smartphone tracking firm shows Apple has more than half of the US market.

In other words, one out of each two smartphones sold in the country is the iPhone. According to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Apple now has captured a cool 53 percent of the market for smartphones in the United States, an increase from 37 percent in 2011. Meanwhile, Android fell to 42 percent, down from 53 percent a year ago. Along with grabbing ten percent from Android, Apple also apparently gained six percent of the market from RIM...

10 tips for getting the most out of Google Maps

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Google Maps made its triumphant return to iOS last week, and there's no question that it's a massive hit. It saw 10 million downloads in its first 48 hours, and it's still the #1 free app in the App Store.

For those of you who haven't tried Google Maps yet, or haven't figured what all of the commotion is about, Google today published a list of 10 tips that will help you get the most out of the software...

Apple named as potential buyer of home automation startup R2 Studios

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

This is pretty interesting. The Wall Street Journal is reporting this afternoon that id8 Group R2 Studios, a home automation startup founded by Slingbox's Blake Krikorian, is in talks to be acquired. Not much is known about the company outside of its Crestron remote control app, but there are reportedly some big names participating in the buyout talks, including Apple...

Google Play grows, App Store still cash king

Ed Sutherland ∙ December 20, 2012

What's better: to be taller or wealthier? Carry that debate to Apple versus Google and you have the latest on the battle between Apple's App Store and Google Play. While Google's revenue is growing, Apple's application store for iOS devices simply overwhelms the Mountain View, California firm in terms of cash, even if there's another, much darker side to app economy.

During the last four months, Google Play's combined daily revenue grew at 43 percent compared to the App Store's 21 percent, according to research firm Distimo. However, over the entire year, App Store revenue rose by 51 percent.

But wait, there's more. In November, the App Store rang up $15 million in average daily revenue. That compares to $3.5 million for Google Play during the same time...

Siri’s reliance on Google cut in half since iOS 6

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Siri, what happened to Google? The voice-activated personal assistant (which debuted alongside the iPhone 4S last October) and the Internet giant aren't as close as before. Apple's digital secretary is fast becoming a stranger to Google as one Apple watcher says Siri's reliance on Google has been cut in half since iOS 6.

While 60 percent of Siri queries sent iPhone owners using iOS 5 to Google data, iOS 6 reduced the percentage to 30 percent. Apparently, Google Maps took the heaviest hit as Apple Maps became the destination for 24 percent of Siri's answers, up from zero percent in iOS 5. Siri - now competing with Google's own voice assistant - is also a wee bit more accurate...

Walt Mossberg agrees that Google Maps is better on iPhone than on Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2012

Google's new iOS Maps app is universally accepted as the best experience on any mobile platform. First Google told The New York Times columnist David Pogue that it "admits that it’s even better than Google Maps for Android phones", which Pogue says has accommodated its evolving feature set "mainly by piling on menus". And now, Pogue's peer over at The Wall Street Journal, Walt Mossberg, seems to agree as he calls Google's iPhone mapping software "better in most respects" on the iPhone than it is on Android phones, where "it looks inelegant by comparison"...

Kodak sells its imaging patents to Apple, Google, Microsoft and others

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2012

Wednesday morning, Kodak announced that it has agreed to sell its digital imaging patents to two consortiums, Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation, that are backed by Silicon Valley giants Apple, Google, Microsoft and other companies. The transaction is valued at $525 million.

That's way less than their previously estimated worth of about $2.6 billion. The $525 million will be paid by Intellectual Ventures and the two consortiums twelve licensees, each receiving rights to the digital imaging patent portfolio and certain other Kodak patents. Another portion will be paid by Intellectual Ventures, which is acquiring the digital imaging patent portfolio subject to these new licenses, as well as previously existing licenses...