#News: Apple Launches $300 Million Green Energy Fund in China

Apple Inc will launch a $300 million clean energy fund in China, the firm said in a statement on Friday, working with its suppliers to invest in renewable energy projects that could power close to 1 million homes in the country.
China’s government has made cutting pollution a key priority, putting pressure on local and international firms to help reduce high levels of smog in its major cities and clean up the country’s waterways and polluted soil.

The investment from the iPhone maker, which will be made along with 10 suppliers including Pegatron Corp and Wistron Corp over a four-year period, also comes as the United States and China lock horns over trade.

Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook earlier this year called for calm heads in Washington and Beijing as the world’s two largest economies have veered towards a trade war and exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars of goods.


Full Article at Reuters

#INFOGRAPHIC: What Is The Internet Of Things? Learn More About How It Affects Your Life

The internet of things is coming to get you! Just kidding — you’ve already fallen into its trap. But that’s not a bad thing. The term sounds vaguely scary, but it just means technology is rapidly changing.

We can connect to the Internet through our phones and computers, but also our refrigerators, thermometers and security systems. A friend purchased a wireless printer that also plays music. I think it’s cool, but I’m also thinking, “Why does it exist?” Music won’t make a printer more efficient, but I suppose it makes the whole experience a little more pleasurable.

And according to this infographic, technology and the Internet only stand to become a bigger part of our lives in the next two years. Experts predict that by 2020, each person will have 26 smart objects, which means that we’ll become even more reliant on technology than we already are. Forget the Roomba or voice-activated stereo systems. Soon, we’ll look like the characters in Wall-E who whiz around on hover chairs and are fed by robot machines.

If you already use that voice-to-text app to send the text messages you’re too lazy to type, then you’ve embraced the internet of things. It’ll only get more interconnected from here. Find out more about the unwritten rules of the Internet.

Here’s How to Watch Apple’s iPhone 6 Event

By Josh Wolford at WebProNews:


The tech world turns to Cupertino today, as Apple is holding yet another September press event expected to showcase new hardware.

The event is scheduled to kick off at 1 pm EST (10 am PST) and Apple has chosen to put a stream online.

That’s the good news. The baddish news is that you can’t stream the event on Chrome or Firefox.

Instead, you’ll have to use Safari. Live streaming of today’s big event requires Safari 5.1.10 or later on OS X v10.6.8 or later, or Safari on iOS 6.0 or later.

You can also stream the event using the second or third generation Apple TV with software 6.2 or later.

Here’s where you should head.

What can you expect? Well, new iPhones for one. Apple is expected to unveil multiple sizes of the new iPhone 6, possibly in 4.7 and 5.5 inches. There’s also a lot of speculation surrounding Apple’s much-discussed wearable device (you may have heard it called the ‘iWatch’).

All will be revealed in a few hours, so you don’t have to sit there and speculate.

Ah, who am I kidding – it’s an Apple launch. Speculate away!

Amazon Launches A 3D Printing Store With Customizable Goods

By Darrell Etherington at TechCrunch:  


Amazon has launched a new store for 3D-printed goods, which include items that can be customized to change their size, color, material and even aspects of their design. The store covers a range of types of products, including jewelry, electronics, toys and games, home decor and kitchen supplies, and items are supplied by a number of partners including Mixee, Scupteo and 3DLT.

Amazon is touting this as the debut of a new way for the ecommerce giant to offer even more specialized inventory that can better cater to specific customer tastes. “The introduction of our 3D Printed Products store suggests the beginnings of a shift in online retail – that manufacturing can be more nimble to provide an immersive customer experience,” said Amazon Marketplace Sales director Petra Schindler-Carter, in a press release announcing the new storefront.

Along with the launch of the store, Amazon is introducing a new personalization tool for customizing some of the 3D-printed designs, which opens up a widget that lets you choose from a number of basic designs, pick the color and finish of your plastic/metal material, and preview what it will look like with a 360-degree 3D preview. You can also tweak individual aspects of the design with some items, including thickness and other dimensions.

Prices on items vary, but the most affordable tend to fall into the $30 range, and they go upwards from there depending on size and material.

The introduction of the store does indeed mark a potential turning point in the sale of online goods – it means the largest online retailer in the English-speaking world is endorsing a means of direct production and selling that could change how future products are conceived and planned. One-offs and small runs are much more affordable via 3D printing, so theoretically the sky’s the limit on the range of things customers could order, provided 3D printing technology keeps evolving.

It’s worth noting that Amazon only sells a set catalogue of 3D-printed items so far – it hasn’t yet offered a way for customers to upload their own design and have them printed as does Shapeways, for instance. Amazon likely wants to maintain some kind of quality control and not have to concern themselves with educating customers about the ins and outs of 3D printing custom designs, however – and this doesn’t necessarily mean that refinements in the process wouldn’t open the door to this kind of thing in the future.

Google Launches Translate Community

By Chris Crum at WebProNews:  


Google just announced the launch of a new Translate Community aimed at helping the company improve its translation quality for the 80 languages it already supports.

The community is aimed at multi-lingual language enthusiasts, who will also be tasked with helping Google launch in additional languages.

“In the new community, you’ll find options to help with a variety of things, including generating new translations and rating existing ones,” says Google Translate program manager Sveta Kelman. “Over time, you’ll find more ways to contribute, as well as get more visibility into the impact of your contributions and the activity across the community. We will also localize Community pages to support your preferred display language. If you have feedback and ideas about improving and growing our community, we’d love to hear it so please don’t hesitate to submit it via “Send feedback” link on the bottom of the page.”

Translate Community will also give people who don’t necessarily want to volunteer their time to dedicate to the cause a place to let the team know about problems they encounter while using Google’s products.

Users can click an “Improve this translation” button, and then “Contribute” to submit a suggestion. It will incorporate corrections over time.

Bose Sues Beats Over Noise-Cancelling Patents

By Daisuki Wakabayashi at Wall Street Journal Digits Blog: 


Bose is suing Beats Electronics, the headphone and speaker maker that Apple agreed to acquire for $3 billion earlier this year, for infringing on patents related to its noise-cancelling technology.

Bose filed the lawsuit on Friday in U.S. District Court in Delaware, saying that Beats – known for its colorful and flashy headphones – had infringed on five of its patents pertaining to its noise-cancelling headphones. Bose also filed a complaint to the U.S. International Trade Commission, seeking to halt the sale and import of certain Beats products.

In the lawsuit, Bose asks for damages and an injunction against Beats.

“We are committed to protecting our investment, protecting our customers, and defending the patents we own,” a Bose spokeswoman said in a statement. Spokespeople for Beats and Apple declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The complaint doesn’t affect the closing of the Apple deal scheduled for September, according to one person familiar with the matter.

Windows 9: One OS For Desktop, Mobile & Xbox

By Chris Smith at BGR:  


Unlike Apple, which thinks merging iOS and OS X would be a “waste of energy,” Microsoft wants one single Windows operating system to be available to all its device users, whether they’re Windows Phone handset owners, Xbox fans, or rely on a Windows computer for work or play. Business Insider reports that CEO Satya Nadella said on the company’s FQ4 earnings conference call that a future version of Windows will merge all current Windows versions, becoming an “operating system that covers all screen sizes.”

“In the year ahead, we are investing in ways that will ensure our device OS and first party hardware aligned to our core,” Nadella said. “We will streamline the next version of Windows from three operating systems into one single converged operating system for screens of all sizes.”

“We will unify our stores, commerce and developer platforms to drive a more coherent user experience and a broader developer opportunity,” he added.

Microsoft already revealed at Build 2014 in early April that it will let developers create apps that will work across devices, including Windows Phone smartphones, Windows computers and Xbox consoles, but the company is apparently ready to go even further.

However, that doesn’t mean Microsoft will have a simpler way of selling Windows products to users.

“Our SKU strategy will remain by segment, we will have multiple SKUs for enterprises, we will have for OEM, we will have for end-users,” Nadella added. “And so we will – be disclosing and talking about our SKUs as we get further along, but my statement was more to do with how we are bringing teams together to approach Windows as one ecosystem very differently than we ourselves have done in the past.”

Microsoft Launches Lumia 530 w/ 4-inch Display

By Ben Woods at TNW:  


Microsoft has today announced a new member of its Lumia range in the form of the low-end Lumia 530, which will arrive from the start of next month in Europe.

Priced at €85 before taxes or local subsidies, Microsoft said it expects the Lumia 530 to go on sale in European countries for a retail price of below €100 when it starts to roll out next month, putting it at the lower-end of the affordability scale for Lumia devices.

Key specs include the most recent version of Windows Phone 8.1, a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 5-megapixel camera, a 4-inch FWVGA (854 x 480 pixels) display and a selection of interchangeable colored shells – available in bright orange, bright green, grey or white. The device will also be offered in single SIM and dual-SIM variants.

Alongside the phone, the company also introduced a new mini speaker designed with portability in mind. Priced at €19, the Bang by Coloud may not offer luxuries such as Bluetooth connection, but it does offer connectivity through a 3.5mm headphone jack and promises up to eight hours of playback. Microsoft said it would be available “in the coming weeks”.

Why Many People Want Their BlackBerrys Back After Switching

By Zach Epstein at BGR:


Following the release of the original iPhone in 2007 and the subsequent launch of Android, many people with work-issued phones spent years asking for their employers to switch away from BlackBerry smartphones to more modern devices. Finally, as Apple and Google increased their focus on security and BlackBerry hit dire straights a few years ago, workers began getting what that wanted and bring your own device (BYOD) policies became more common.

More recently, however, an interesting trend is being observed: Workers want their BlackBerrys back.

Following the release of the original iPhone in 2007 and the subsequent launch of Android, many people with work-issued phones spent years asking for their employers to switch away from BlackBerry smartphones to more modern devices. Finally, as Apple and Google increased their focus on security and BlackBerry hit dire straights a few years ago, workers began getting what that wanted and bring your own device (BYOD) policies became more common.

More recently, however, an interesting trend is being observed: Workers want their BlackBerrys back.

FROM EARLIER: BlackBerry says its square phone is already stealing back iOS and Android users

CIO’s Tom Kaneshige reports on an interesting phenomenon that we’ve heard rumblings of in the past. At companies where employees were permitted to ditch their work-issued BlackBerry phones and bring their own iPhones and Android handsets, they’re now begging their IT departments to move back to BlackBerry.

Why? It turns out there are a few reasons.

For one thing, there are privacy concerns. When workers use their own iOS and Android devices, IT departments gain access to all of their private data in addition to any corporate apps that might be on the devices. It’s never a good thing when you have to hand over a smartphone packed full of naked selfies so that IT can fix an issue with email not syncing properly.

Beyond that, IT professionals Kaneshige spoke with say they are having some serious problems with mobile device management (MDM) software, and the related on-device apps often cause issues like battery drain and device bogging.


The full report

Apple Is Giving Access to OS X Yosemite Public Beta Tomorrow

By Nick Summers at TNW:


Apple will soon allow any Mac user to download the beta version of OS X Yosemite, the latest version of its desktop operating system.

To access Yosemite, you’ll need to head to the OS X Beta Program page and submit your details. As Engadget reports, only one million people will be accepted into the scheme, so if you’re interested sign up now.

By registering an email address, Apple says it will notify you shortly about the OS X Yosemite beta. The early preview should be available at around 1PM Eastern/10am Pacific tomorrow (July 24), meaning there’s just over 24 hours for you to sit and gaze longingly at these screenshots.

OS X Yosemite sports a flat design inspired by iOS 7, including a new dark theme and translucent layers for the Finder and Dock. There’s also an Alfred-style productivity and app launcher, iCloud Drive and ‘Continuity,’ which makes it easier to switch between your Mac and iOS devices.

Microsoft To Cut 18,000 Jobs This Year

By Bill Rigby at Reuters:  


Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it will slash up to 18,000 jobs, or 14 percent of its workforce, this year as it trims its newly acquired Nokia phone business and tries to transform into a cloud-computing and mobile-friendly software company.

The larger-than-expected cuts are the deepest in the company's 39-year history and come five months into the tenure of Chief Executive Satya Nadella, who outlined plans for a "leaner" business in a public memo to employees last week.

"We will simplify the way we work to drive greater accountability, become more agile and move faster," Nadella wrote to employees in a memo made public early Thursday. "We plan to have fewer layers of management, both top down and sideways, to accelerate the flow of information and decision making."

The size of the cuts were welcomed by Wall Street, which viewed Microsoft as bloated under previous CEO Steve Ballmer, topping 127,000 in headcount after absorbing Nokia earlier this year.

Samsung Reportedly In Talks To Buy SmartThings

By Kaylene Hong at TNW:   


This year has been the battle of smart homes among big internet firms. Google bought Nest for $3.2 billion, while Apple announced Homekit at its WWDC conference in June, an SDK that aggregates third party Internet of Things apps into one place.

Now Samsung is also planning to enter the battle, as TechCrunch reports that the Korean company is in talks to buy home automation firm SmartThings for around $200 million. SmartThings lets users set up their home devices to be controlled via a mobile app, and has already raised $15 million from investors including Greylock Partners.

Apple, IBM in Deal to Create Apps, Sell Phones

Flashback 30 years and no one would have seen this coming: After decades as competitors, Apple and IBM announced a deal to work together to create simple-to-use business apps, and sell iPhones and iPads to IBM's corporate customers. WSJ's Niki Blasina reports.

The deal underscores Apple's push to expand the reach of the iPhone and iPad into the business world—beyond their traditional base among consumers. IBM, meanwhile, is hoping Apple's simplicity and popularity will help stem eight consecutive quarters of year-over-year revenue declines, as it moves more of its business software onto the mobile devices used by employees.

The two companies said they hope to use the expertise of IBM's consultants and relationships with corporate customers to create business apps that offer the simplicity—a hallmark of Apple products—of today's consumer apps. The apps will draw on IBM computing services such as security, device management and big-data analytics.

Under the agreement, IBM's employees will provide on-site support and service of Apple products inside companies, similar to the AppleCare service that Apple sells to consumers. IBM said it planned to make more than 100,000 employees available to the Apple initiative. It is a rare partnership for Apple, which historically has avoided such alliances.




Full story >> 

Amazon Asks FAA To Allow Shipping Drones

By Alex Wilhelm at TechCrunch:   


Amazon has petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for exemption from rules barring it from testing drones in the United States.

The online shopping company made waves recently by showing off small unmanned aircraft that it claims will be able to deliver parcels to consumers in 30 minutes. The drone delivery service, called Prime Air, could greatly speed up Amazon’s delivery times, creating a competitive advantage for it over other digital marketplaces and lowering the time-threshold advantage that traditional stores still enjoy over their online competition.

The White House Allowed Tesla to Sell Directly in All 50 States

By Jeff John Roberts at GigaOm: 


A petition asking the Obama Administration “to allow Tesla Motors to sell directly to consumers in all 50 states” finally received an official response this week, but the answer will likely disappointment fans of the car maker.

As Jalopnik reports, the White House wrote, “as you know, laws regulating auto sales are issues that have traditionally sat with lawmakers at the state level” — meaning that Tesla will not be getting any high-level help fighting laws that block the direct sale of cars like Tesla Motor’s electric Model S.

States like New Jersey and Texas have passed such laws, which are widely viewed as a means to protect the auto industry’s longtime franchise dealer model. This means that, while Telsa can open “experience outlets” that show off its cars, it can’t actually sell them through these outlets.

Tesla filed its petition in June 2013, and soon received more than 100,000 signatures, which is the level at which the White House is obliged to offer an official response.

While the Administration’s framing of auto sale regulation as a state issue is not surprising, Tesla boosters will be disappointed that it did not call on Congress to look at the issue.

Samsung Finds Evidence of Child Labor In Supply Chain

By Kaylene Hong at TNW:  


Samsung was “urgently” looking into fresh allegations of child labor at a supplier’s China factory last week, after New York-based watchdog China Labor Watch (CLW) accused the Korean company of employing underaged workers at Shinyang Electronics.

Now Samsung has just announced that it has “temporarily suspended business with the factory in question” after it indeed found evidence of child labor at the factory. This comes despite Samsung earlier saying that it didn’t find any cases of child labor even after conducting audits on three occasions since 2013, with the latest one ending June 25 this year.

Sony Launches 'Selfie Smartphone' Xperia C3

By Kaylene Hong at TNW:  


A smartphone that’s optimized to help you take the best selfies ever — that’s how Sony is positioning its latest device, the Xperia C3, which it launched today.

What is notable is that the Xperia C3 comes equipped with a five-megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera that allows you to capture more in the frame, as well as a Superior Auto Mode that adjusts pictures automatically for suitable lighting conditions. There is also an auto scene recognition function, which works together with HDR and LED flash for optimal lighting in your selfies.

To complement its selfie focus, the Xperia C3 comes loaded with selfie camera apps. AR Effect lets you add graphics and animations to your selfie pictures and videos, while Portrait Retouch gives a makeover of up to two people per image from 10 different beauty styles, frame options and eye pattern changes. Timeshift-burst lets you capture 31 frames in two seconds so you can choose the best-looking image to put up on your social networks.

The 5.5-inch device, which comes with a 720p HD IPS display, is just 7.6mm thin and weights a mere 150g. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, comes with 1GB of RAM and features a battery stamina mode that helps you to save on battery drain by detecting when you’re not using your display and automatically turning off the functions you don’t need. As for the rear-facing camera, the Xperia C3 has an eight-megapixel snapper featuring SteadyShot to help shoot smoother videos.

How to Install Google’s Awesome Android L Update Right Now

By Zach Epstein at BGR:


Google’s I/O 2014 keynote certainly had its ups and downs earlier this week, but the clear highlight as far as we were concerned was Android L. Google’s next Android build, likely named Android 5.0, will feature a number of key changes.

Google won’t release Android L to the general public for some time yet, but the developer preview is already available and thanks to some handiwork from the hackers on the XDA Developers forum, anyone can install it right now.


All you’ll need is a rooted Nexus 5 and some time on your hands. You’ll also need to be somewhat savvy — this procedure is not for beginners and missteps can end up doing real damage to your phone.





Read the full story >>

Most Important Things Google Announced at I/O

Via TheVerge:

MATERIAL DESIGN: A BRAND-NEW LOOK FOR EVERYTHING GOOGLE
Google’s web products and its own Android mobile operating system haven’t always meshed very well in terms of their visual design, but no longer. At I/O 2014, the company unveiled a unified design language called "Material Design," which will carry the same visual style across the web, Google’s Chrome browser, and all Android mobile devices — including Google’s new pack of wearables. Material Design is, in essence: colorful, minimalistic and airy, with lots of wide open spaces with more breathing room for text. But it’s not totally flat: boxes of information slide over each other and disappear when not needed, and there are dramatic, almost movie-like animations for switching between tasks. It’s clearly inspired by Google Now, the company’s predictive personal assistant for Android phones. Google even created a whole new website showing off Material Design so that third-party developers can better tailor their apps to fit Google’s new unified visual style.


A sneak peek at Google’s new OS

ANDROID L, A NEW OS FOR YOUR PHONE, CAR, TABLET, AND TV
Google today showed a sneak peak of the new version of Android coming this fall, codenamed Android L. L is a fresh look at how a software operating system should work, no matter what device you’re using it on. L works inside cars, TVs, and mobile phones, and incorporating all the principles Google laid down in its Material Design principles while maintaining your favorite things about Android. The lock screen, for example, has been redesigned to show a notifications stack hovering over your wallpaper, which you can interact with or swipe away. Every button reacts when you tap it, and every card or button flies off-screen when you swipe on it, like Google’s new interactive notifications. There are also some new, less design-centric features. With L you won’t need a passcode to unlock your phone if you’re wearing a smartwatch that you’ve paired, or if you’re in your car. "Personal unlock" searches for familiar things nearby to check if your phone’s with you, or if it might be somewhere else. Another important feature: when you Google something, relevant results might pop you directly into an app you’ve already installed.

UNIFIED MULTITASKING FOR YOUR APPS AND CHROME TABS
It’s time to mix up your tabs. Android L includes a feature called "recents" that stacks windows from Chrome, as well as your recently used apps, into one carousel that looks like a sheaf of little cards. It replaces Google’s current app-switching interface, and while we don’t yet know how useful it will be, it’s supposed to give you an easier way to multitask. After all, Google is all about putting web content and phone apps on equal footing, and it wants you to be able to access both easily.


SEARCH
Google search for the mobile web is getting a visual makeover with Material Design, the company’s new unified visual style. Now when a user searches for any term that’s visual — a movie, a historical figure, a piece of artwork — Google search will present the first result in its own carousel at the top of your phone or tablet’s screen, with a colorful backdrop that automatically matches the colors of the image in front of you. The carousel of results is animated live on the web, allowing you to scroll through results from left to right smoothly. Google also says it’s improved search within apps, so if you tap a restaurant reservation it will automatically open the OpenTable app, for example.

PRECIOUS BATTERY LIFE
Battery life has been a common complaint in the world of Android, and phone-makers like HTC have developed their own battery-saving apps. Now, it’s an official component of Android L. Project Volta is Google’s name for an overall battery-optimization push, and there’s also a power-saving mode, which will supposedly help you wring some more life — Google says about 90 minutes — out of your phone.


REMOTE WIPE AND SECURITY
Android L includes a new "kill switch" that lets users remotely wipe their device even if it’s been stolen and restored to factory settings. The feature, already implemented in iOS, has contributed to a decrease in thefts since it launched with iOS 7.


Android Wear

DESIGN AND UI
Today Google gave its first deep look at how Android Wear devices will actually work. In short, Android Wear is all about glanceable information, and about what Google Now can help you with at any given moment. For example, swiping up and down lets you navigate through Google Now cards like recent messages, reminders, notes, music controls, alarms, your heart rate, and a step counter. By tapping once on a sleeping Android Wear device, you can turn on voice controls to say something like "Okay Google, call me a car" (with the Lyft app). You can swipe horizontally to see more about any card, or swipe downward to turn on "do not disturb" mode so your phone and watch won’t ring while you’re at dinner or in a movie.


GOOGLE’S FIRST SMARTWATCHES ARE HERE TODAY
Google and its partners have spent the past months showing off the smartwatch models that could run Android wear. Today, you can actually order two of them. The LG G is a large but modest-looking black square, a style we’ve already seen variations of from Samsung, Pebble, and others. But most of the buzz so far has been around the Moto 360, a large, round piece of glass and stainless steel that actually sort of looks like a traditional watch. You’ll have to wait until summer to order the Moto 360, but LG’s model will be available for order this afternoon. You can also order the Samsung Gear Live, which looks like an Android Wear version of the existing Tizen-based Galaxy Gear line. We don’t yet have pricing and availability for the LG G, but the Gear Live will be shipping on July 7th for $199.99. The Moto 360, meanwhile, is rumored to be selling for $249.


Google in your car

ANDROID AUTO IS COMING THIS YEAR
Phones, tablets, smartwatches, and TV — none are particularly unexpected for a computing platform. Android L, however, is also coming to your car. Google has officially announced Android Auto, which takes the familiar phone features people illicitly use while driving and puts them on an integrated display. You can "cast" your phone to the car’s screen, which is supposed to be able to control the rest of the dials and buttons in the vehicle. It’s focused on "navigation, communication, and music," along with a Google Now-style home screen that can give you a basic overview of what’s going on. It’s optimized for voice commands, which can be used to navigate with Google Maps, send messages with a speech-to-text API, and find and play music, among other things.

Google is trailing both Apple and Microsoft with this announcement. Apple’s CarPlay — a simple, Siri-based iOS system — is officially coming to cars from Honda, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, and others later this year, and Microsoft is testing a Windows-based interface; all three companies are hoping to replace automakers’ default infotainment systems. Android Auto will be released along with Android L, both of which are coming before the end of 2014.


APPS AND PARTNERS TO DRIVE ANDROID AUTO ADOPTION
Google’s bid to take over your car’s dashboard, Android Auto, won’t be available until later this year. But it’s already off to a rolling start, securing the support of major automakers including Dodge, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Audi, and even Bentley. As for the apps that will work in your car, Google has a bunch of partners lined up here too: Spotify, Songza, Pandora, Pocket Casts, the MLB’s At Bat app; all will be available for you to call up while driving using only your voice. The apps should also support touchscreen controls while you’re stopped, and Google has a new SDK to get even more developers making Android apps for the car.

In the living room

GOOGLE TRIES AGAIN TO WIN YOUR LIVING ROOM WITH ANDROID TV
Google announced Android TV, the company’s new software that runs on your TV or third-party set-top box. Android TV is like a Google Chromecast combined with an Apple TV. You can broadcast content to your TV, but also see a grid of popular content, apps, and games. Android TV is of course tied in closely with voice search and Google Knowledge Graph, meaning a voice search for "who played Katniss in The Hunger Games" or "Oscar-nominated movies from 2002" yield instant responses. There’s now one Android software-development kit for all the company’s Android form factors, so expect to see lots of Android TV apps soon. Apps work across Android platforms, too, so you can battle friends in NBA Jam from your TV even if they’re using an Android phone. Sony and Sharp are producing Android-powered TVs and set-top boxes for launch in 2015.


CHROMECAST STREAMING ‘THROUGH THE CLOUD’
The $35 Chromecast TV dongle was announced just under a year ago, and Google brags that it’s a top seller on Amazon and is outstripping sales of other streaming devices at retail stores. It’s also adding a few new features. The most interesting one is the ability for users to stream content from anywhere instead of needing to be on the same Wi-Fi network as the Chromecast. We don’t know exactly how it does this, but it gives users control over who can stream to their TVs and operates "through the cloud." A feature called Backdrop can run feeds of photos, news, weather, or art while you’re not using the Chromecast, like a classy TV screen saver. And a "cast screen" button lets you directly mirror anything on your Android device to your TV as long as you’re using a supported phone or tablet from Samsung, HTC, LG, or the Nexus program.


Desktop and more

ANDROID APPS ON CHROME
Later this year, some Android apps are going to start working on Chromebooks. Based on Google’s demo of apps like Evernote and Vine, apps work very smoothly, and even let you take advantage of local hardware and cameras. In other words, you can shoot a Vine on your Chromebook. But this also means there’s no touch-and-go interaction. To navigate through Flipboard you’ll have to click and drag. Google says that it’s still in "the early days" of letting developers port their apps to Chrome, however.


GOOGLE TEARS DOWN THE WALL BETWEEN OFFICE AND DRIVE
You can finally edit Microsoft Office files natively in Google Drive. It was always possible to switch between the two programs, but an update to Drive will remove the speed bump of converting and reconverting. There’s also a new "suggested edits" feature, which will let multiple people write a document at the same time and track their changes, commenting on what other editors have written.


GOOGLE FIT TRACKS YOUR FITNESS TRACKERS
Earlier this month, Apple announced HealthKit, a meta-tracker for all iOS fitness apps. Now, Google is doing the same thing for Android with Google Fit. A set of APIs lets app and peripheral makers feed data into a centralized fitness stream, as long as the user gives permission. Google has gotten some major partners on board, including Nike, which is even adding its "Fuel" number to the Fit stream so other apps can use it.


GOOGLE VR
How do you end three hours of talking about mobile operating systems, programming, smartwatches, cars, and cloud storage? With virtual reality goggles, obviously. Google wrapped up its event by giving attendees a cardboard frame, which they could put together and pair with an Android phone for a makeshift VR headset. If you’re willing to buy some lenses and other simple components, you can build your own at home. This is far from a new idea -- it’s been one of the go-to methods for homemade virtual reality -- but it was a fitting end to an I/O that covered just about everything Google’s software does.

Google Glass Arrives in the UK for £1,000

By Nick Summers at TNW:  


Google Glass, the head-mounted wearable computer unveiled more than two years ago, is finally available outside the US. After appearing in a support page linked to hardware availability, Google has launched the long-awaited device in the UK.

The Explorer Edition is being sold through the Google Play store for £1,000 and is available in Cotton, Charcoal, Tangerine, Shale and Sky. Google is also selling the frames from its Titanium collection as an optional add-on. Each Explorer Edition comes with an extra frame or shade for free; otherwise, the frames are being sold for £175 each, while the shades cost £120 individually.



Read the full story >>