Google

Google brings ‘Instant Buy’ feature to iOS devs

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Google is bringing the Instant Buy feature to iOS in the form of a public API, allowing app makers to write iPhone and iPad software that incorporates this handy Google Wallet checkout feature.

The Instant Buy API is available across iOS, Android and web platforms and can be integrated into mobile and web apps easily, the Internet giant said.

It works with existing payment processors, enables secure payments with 24/7 fraud monitoring and requires no fees so it's a win-win for developers who want to sell goods through iOS apps and need a stable and secure platform to handle purchases...

Google Shopping Express expands to new places, adds recommendations, new items and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 11, 2014

Google's Shopping Express for iOS has received a nice update bringing the free iPhone and iPad application to version 1.8 and introducing several new features that elevate your on-the-go shopping experience.

For starters, the app makes Google's same-day delivery service available in more places, including in and around the West Los Angeles and Manhattan areas. This version also enables product recommendations based on the stores you shop most, adds new items and more...

Apple, Google and others pledge $2M to hold Super Bowl 50 in Bay Area

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

According to a new report from the San Jose Mercury News, Apple has joined Google and other tech companies who have pledged $2 million in cash and services to help offset taxpayer costs of hosting Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco.

The Bay Area Super Bowl Host committee announced that is has raised $40 million for the event, which will be held at the 49ers' newly-built Levi's Stadium in 2016. The venue is less than 15 miles away from Apple's Cupertino campus...

Safari adds DuckDuckGo support in iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite

Joe Rossignol ∙ June 3, 2014

Safari just got a lot more private in iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. The web browser on iPhone, iPad and Mac now includes the private search engine DuckDuckGo that users can set as default. For Mac users, this goes alongside an all-new private browsing option that functions like incognito mode on Chrome. DuckDuckGo is a search engine that doesn't track you, allowing you to browse the web knowing that your privacy is intact…

Google+ for iOS gains Stories support, adds new photo editor with filters and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Following a stream of ongoing WWDC keynote coverage yesterday, the Internet giant Google issued an update to its Google+ iOS client containing some newsworthy new features.

The free iPhone and iPad app has been bumped to version 4.7.0 and now offers support for nice-looking digital travelogues, called Stories, that Google unveiled last month.

For those unfamiliar with Google+ Stories, it's an album feature that works by combining your photos, videos and location data into interactive presentations. And now the iOS client lets you create this beautiful trip summaries. Other changes, refinements and feature additions are listed right after the break...

Google Play Music adds Downloaded Only filter, playlist editing, Shuffle Artist and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 29, 2014

Google's iOS client for its Play Music service has received a little update today bringing a few useful enhancement to make the experience better and less frictionless. For starters, the new Google Play Music version 1.2.1.1787 has removed a major annoyance: you can now finally edit playlists on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Needless to say, any changes made to a playlist on one device instantly reflect on all your others.

And when sorting through your cloud music library, the app now makes it dead simple to filter only the tracks that you've downloaded to your device for offline listening. There are two other additions, explained after the break.

Google Play Music is free in the App Store...

Chrome iOS update brings improved handling of search queries and other treats

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 28, 2014

Google has issued a brand new Chrome iOS browser version, bringing out several nice-to-haves and refinements to its popular Safari alternative for the iPhone and iPad.

In addition to the usual stability improvements and bug fixes, the new Chrome build 35.0.1916.38, available free in the App Store, improves upon its handling of right-to-left input method for Arabic and Hebrew in Omnibox, which in Google's parlance stands for the browses combined search and address box.

More importantly, the app will now display your exact search term in Omnibox instead of the long search query URL, just like Apple’s Safari. And upon landing on Google's redesigned mobile search results page, the browser now makes it easy to refine your search queries and view more results...

Google’s cute self-driving car goes for a test drive

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Google's self-driving autonomous cars have been conceived in Google X, a semi-secret research facility run by CEO Larry Page and dedicated to making skunkworks projects that could lead to major technological leaps in the years ahead, moonshots of sorts if you will. After years of development, the Internet giant has now revealed its design for self-driving car prototypes and they look damn cute.

Google's Sergey Brin took to Code Conference last night to formally announce his company's vehicle that has no steering wheel, pedals or gear shift. The design isn't finalized yet because Google is essentially building its own car here from scratch rather than retrofit existing Toyota and Lexus designs, like the previous prototypes...

Google releases VirusTotal Uploader for OS X

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 26, 2014

Google on Monday released a useful tool for OS X aimed at beefing up Mac security by making it easy to upload suspicious files for scanning. The software works in conjunction with the popular VirusTotal service which was designed to accept user-submitted suspicious files.

It's simple to use and the whole experience is quite frictionless. After installing the free tool onto your Mac, you can simply right click on any file and selecting the pertinent option from the context menu to upload the file to VirusTotal for scanning...

WSJ: Google developing tablet with advanced 3D imaging capabilities

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that Google is building a new tablet with advanced 3D imaging capabilities. The device is being developed as part of the company's 'Project Tango,' which produced a smartphone back in February.

Citing sources familiar with the project, the news outlet says that the tablet has a 7-inch display and is equipped with two rear cameras, infrared depth sensors, and advanced software that can capture precise three-dimensional images of objects...

Nest and Google clarify: recalled smoke detectors returning soon, no ads on thermostats

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Contrary to a flurry of reports yesterday, Google was never going to put ads on the Nest Thermostat. Moreover, Nest co-founder and the iPod Godfather, Tony Fadell, has confirmed that recalled thermostats will be returning to store shelves sooner than you think.

Allow me to refresh your memory: soon after it was discovered that a safety bug with a Protect Wave feature could prevent the alarm from sounding, Google's Nest unit has responded by preemptively recalling about 40,000 faulty units.

This should set the record straight and put to rest the ridiculous notion that recalling smoke detectors and not doing ads in thermostats is somehow evil...

Google could serve ads to your Nest in the future

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 21, 2014

Google has hinted in a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it's envisioning the future in which ads could be served to a dizzying range of devices such as thermostats, refrigerators, cars and more.

Based on a letter Google sent to the SEC in December, which was disclosed Tuesday and picked up by the Wall Street Journal, its advertising content could in the not-so-distant future appear on “refrigerators, car dashboards, thermostats, glasses, and watches, to name just a few possibilities.”

Google shocked watchers after announcing its $3.2 billion acquisition of smart thermostat maker Nest Labs back in January. Immediately, watchers expressed concern over the repercussions of the buy. Nest co-founder Tony Fadell responded by assuring customers in a blog post that Nest won’t share their data with Google...