Items tagged with NASDAQ:GOOG
Smart speakers are still very popular devices and are high on the wish lists of folks looking to bring more automation and AI-powered assistants into their home environment. Both Best Buy and Target are offering outstanding deals on the Google Home smart speaker with Google Assistant. The deals knock a significant amount off the MSRP and could represent the perfect time to get a Google Home in every room of your home or office, if you're looking for that level of connectedness. The regular price for the Google Home smart speaker is $99.99, but Best Buy has a deal right now where it is offering $70.99 off the purchase price. That brings the price for the Google Home smart speaker to $29, representing...
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As is the case with just about every Google smartphone, the mid-range Pixel 4a has leaked on numerous occasions ahead of its official release. Today, we're gaining some insight into when the Pixel 4a will actually launch, and if the report is accurate, it will be available in less than a month. This information comes from a German blog, which alleges that it received internal documentation from wireless carrier Vodafone that confirms a May 22nd launch. As Android Police points out, this date lines nicely with the canceled Google I/O event due to COVID-19, which was originally scheduled to take place between May 12th and May 14th. So, it's very possible that Google...
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It seems as though everyone is into video conferencing these days, and understandably so—it's a critical service for remote work, and a way to keep yourself sane during this time of social distancing (having weekly meetups with friends and family members is great for staying in touch). With all that in mind, Google has decided to make its premium Meet video conferencing service free for all. Up until now, Google Meet has only been available through G Suite, making it exclusive to enterprise and education customers. Over the coming weeks, anyone with an email address will be able to sing up for Meet and access the same features as G Suite customers, such screen sharing, simple scheduling,...
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Google's Android operating system is the most populous in the world, and is used by hundreds of different smartphone OEMs. That large ecosystem along with OEMs that have varying timetables, resources, and "desire" to keep smartphones updates has led to fragmentation. It's why we see new devices still be announced in 2020 running Android 9, and devices that lose access to new Android builds after being on the market for only a year in some instances. OEMs, with the help of Google, are thankfully accelerating the pace at which they release updates, especially when it comes to security updates. A new report from Security Research Labs (SRLabs) indicates that there has been a decrease in the...
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Google has announced that its Stadia streaming service is adding 11 more games. Along with the new games also come new updates for Stadia Pro subscribers. One of the best things that Stadia Pro has announced for subscribers is that PUBG is now free. The Pioneer Edition that is free for Stadia Pro users will cost other users $39.99, while the base game priced at $29.99. Along with PUBG, Stadia is also announcing an update with some new titles from EA coming to the service, including "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" coming this fall, "Madden NFL" coming this winter, and "FIFA" coming this winter. New First on Stadia Games include "Crayta", which will be free for Stadia Pro this summer. "Crayta" brings...
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First announced way back in October 2019, Google finally got around to releasing its latest Pixel Buds yesterday. For this latest generation, the Pixel Buds are truly wireless with an improved design, easier pairing procedure for connecting to your Android device, and hands-free access to the Google Assistant. The Pixel Buds come priced at $179, but they are already massively discounted via wireless carrier US Cellular. The carrier is selling the Pixel Buds for the usual $179 price, but it is providing 30 percent off all accessories with the code ACCESSORY30 at checkout. That brings the total for the Pixel Buds down to $125.30 with free shipping (plus any applicable tax). Google...
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Google officially unveiled the Pixel Buds back in October with a new design and the promise of high-quality sound along with helpful AI features. Google announced today that the new Google Pixel Buds are now available to purchase in "Clearly White" for $179 in the United States. The new Pixel Buds bring easier pairing using Fast Pair technology. To help improve sound quality, the new Buds combine signals from beamforming mics and a special sensor that detects when your jaw is moving. Google also integrated Adaptive Sound that temporarily adjusts the volume to compensate for new noise in the environment. That means if your coworker starts talking loudly, the Pixel Buds will increase the volume...
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Two weeks ago, Apple and Google announced a unique and very rare partnership in an effort to help track the spread of COVID-19 around the globe. The pair revealed a common API that would be used on both iOS and Android platforms, leveraging Bluetooth Low-Energy rather than GPS to track the spread of coronavirus infections. Despite the use of Bluetooth beacons, completely optional participation in the program by users, the optional uploading of positive coronavirus test results, and strict controls put in place by both companies, there have been many that feel that the new Contract Tracing Bluetooth Specification is a privacy nightmare waiting to unfold. To help cut through some of the...
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Epic and Google have long aired their dirty laundry in a public feud over how much money the latter takes in profits from games in the Google Play Store. Now, Epic Games has finally caved and is putting Fortnite on the Google Play Store, but it's not at all happy about it. When Fortnite for Android launched, Epic sidestepped the Play Store and made the game downloadable directly from the Epic website, cutting off a sustainable revenue stream for Google. The game may be landing on the Play Store, but Epic says that it will still be available from Fortnite.com moving forward. Now that Fortnite is available on the Play Store, most users will download it there because of the convenience. Google makes...
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One of the things that has made setting up new smartphones easier and more convenient for users has been the advent of the eSIM that does away with the need for the tiny (and easily) carrier nanoSIM card. Apple was one of the early adopters of this technology, and all of its modern smartphones use that feature. Some iPhone users who wanted to take advantage eSIMs with Google Fi were unable to do so because Google didn't support the tech on the newer crop of iPhone models, but that has now changed. Google Fi has announced that iPhone subscribers will now be able to use eSIM tech on the following compatible iPhone models: iPhone XR iPhone XS iPhone XS Max iPhone 11 iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 11...
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As we have said before, these are challenging times as we all adapt to the reality of a deadly virus and keeping our distance from one another to slow its spread. Making matters worse, nefarious actors are pouncing on the opportunity to spread malware. This means you need to be extra cautious about falling for a phishing scam. It's a numbers game for malware authors. Google shared some interesting stats, saying Gmail weeds out and blocks more than 100 million phishing emails every day. During the past week, Google says it saw 18 million daily malware and phishing emails related to COVID-19. "This is in addition to more than 240 million COVID-related daily spam messages. Our ML [machine learning]...
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Google has announced that it is temporarily (and automatically) reducing the video recording quality for its family of Nest cameras. Google is taking this step to reduce the amount of bandwidth required in an attempt to lessen the strain on ISPs, and the internet in general. Demand for bandwidth is booming with people all around the country (and around the globe) being forced to work from home due to the coronavirus. The change is temporary, and only the quality and bandwidth settings will be adjusted. Google says that other user-configured settings will remain the same and will work normally. It's unclear what the default quality setting will be, but presumably somewhere in the middle of the...
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In a potential move that could shake things up in the mobile space, Google might be taking a page from Apple by designing its own system-on-chip (SoC) hardware for future Pixel smartphones and lower end Chromebook devices. If that turns out to be the case, it would be disappointing news for Qualcomm, and good news for Samsung. Google has traditionally leaned on Qualcomm to power its smartphones. For example, the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL wield a Snapdragon 855 processor, while the previous generation Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL both touted a Snapdragon 845 SoC. The same is true of the upcoming Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a XL—they are rumored to run on a Snapdragon 730 chip. By shifting design chores in-house,...
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The Google Pixel 4 family of smartphones have been on the market since the fall of 2019, which means that the discounts are starting to pile up on these Android flagships. Both the Pixel 4 and its larger Pixel 4 XL sibling were near the top of the class when they debuted, and are still very competitive devices despite the arrival of new stars like the LG V60 ThinQ and Samsung Galaxy S20. The latest round of discounts brings the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL down to prices that we've never seen before for unlocked models. In the case of the Pixel 4, it's now priced at just $499 (compared to the previous low of $549), while the Pixel 4 XL will set you back just $100 more at $599. Both of...
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