Google launches Nexus Protect insurance service in Canada
Google has revealed that its Nexus Protect insurance service is now available in Canada. The service costs an additional $69 for the Nexus 5X and $89 for the Nexus 6P, which covers up to two incidents of accidental damage over a 2-year period. When a claim is made, customers are required to pay a $79 excess towards the repair.
If you’re based in Canada and have just picked up a Nexus 5X or Nexus 6P and would like to secure a little more protection for your handset, hit the source link below to subscribe to Nexus Protect.
Source: Google Store
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Android Wear can switch to LTE, works without your smartphone
Your next (or first) Android wearable needs not for Bluetooth or Wifi. Android Wear’s cellular support has finally arrived, just as the first compatible watch starts to ship. LG’s Watch Urbane 2nd Edition crams an LTE radio beneath its circular 480 x 480 screen, with models that’ll work on AT&T and Verizon — carriers that are both selling the watch in the US this week.
Source: LG, Official Android Blog
Google’s “about me” page places all your information in one place
Do you ever wish you could update all your Google information from one place? Well, now you can with Google’s new “about me” page. The changes that you make there will show up across all Google services like Drive, Photos, Google+ and more.
Before, only on Google+ could you control this information, but now you can control it for all Google services on the “about me” page. Also, you will still be able to change your information on Google+, or you can make changes from the “about me” page, either one works.
The “about me” page lets you change basic information like your name, photos, gender, birthday, and occupation. However, there is a “plus” button in the lower right corner that allows you to add work contact info, personal contact info, education, work history, places, and sites.
Source: Google (about me)
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Google announces the winners of it’s Paint the Town contest
Usually, when you hear stories about Google working on their self-driving cars it’s about the technology that goes into them. However, Google also cares about how they look, which is why they had a “Paint the Town” contest where people could submit artwork and the winners would have their designs go on to a Google self-driving car.
The “Paint the Town” contest theme was “my community, my neighbors” where local artists from California submitted their work for Google to judge. The results are now in, Google has selected 10 winners and two honorable mentions. The winners now have their art on the doors of Google’s self-driving cars, some of the artwork is pictured above, but you can see all the winner’s designs here.
Source: Google Self-Driving Car Project (Google+)
Come comment on this article: Google announces the winners of it’s Paint the Town contest
Russia demands Twitter store user data within the country
Russia’s social media shenanigans continue. After first blocking Reddit over a thread on ‘shrooms, banning Wikipedia for a single entry on cannabis, threatening Facebook over gaymojis, outlawing memes and demanding Google loosen its Android policies, the Russian government has now reportedly ordered Twitter to move data on the country’s citizens to local servers.
Source: BBC News
Apple is reportedly working on peer-to-peer payments
Apple is reportedly in negotiations with US banks to create a mobile personal payment platform that would compete with PayPal’s popular Venmo app. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources close to the talks, states that discussions are currently ongoing though there’s no confirmation that any banks have actually signed on yet. Chase, Capital One, Wells Fargo and Bank have all been named as potential partners.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Google deliberating on building its own smartphone – Should it?
Google may have inadvertently put itself in a pickle with the Nexus program. The software giant did benefit at the beginning by joining forces with popular OEMs to build special Google-exclusive smartphones, but as the company and Android have matured, it’s appearing that the strategy has to change in order for the hardware to follow.
According to an insider report provided by The Information, “People who work at Google say there is debate and discussion about the topic right now”. It doesn’t sound like there’s a decision yet, but the constant hardware challenges have been brought up – such as inhibited control over phone design. Also, the non-uniformity of Android among manufacturers has not been good for its image.
Let’s examine this conundrum for a second. What’s the problem with changing things up for growth? Well, Google’s revenue is dependent on manufacturers. These alliances and partnerships is how Android got to where it is. Also, buddy-ing up with phone-makers portrayed to everyone what Android was all about – openness, flexibility, and “be together. not the same” ideology. If Google distances themselves from OEMs, it could not only be biting the hand(s) that feeds them but also fragmenting the ideals it built itself on.
Please bear with me while I argue with myself now. Should Google actually be afraid of its partners running away? I mean, where would they go to? As Microsoft has shown, it’s not easy to build an OS and convince people that it’s better. We’ve known Samsung has been home-brewing Tizen for a while now. Why hasn’t it emerged? Well, the fact that Tizen is only on the Gear S2 answers that question. It’s only because Android Wear is so new that it can actually compete (or can it even?).
Android has evolved so much that the only competitor can be the other long-standing giant – iOS. Therefore, I am in concurrence that Google should do what it wants to better its product. When I look at the newly launched Nexus 5X and 6P, I don’t see unified design. Apple is much more refined with its products lineup. If Google is going to mature to that level, it needs to take control and make it happen.
The launch of the new Pixel C tablet (which runs Android has opposed to Chrome OS as on the Chromebook Pixel) could very well be a foreshadowing of Google’s new in-house direction. Pixel devices are built by Google, and moving forward to a Pixel phone makes so much sense at this point.
What are your thoughts on the whole ordeal? Should Google stick with its roots, or do you think the prospect of a Pixel phone sounds rad?
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The mobile world’s walls are crumbling
Ponder the photo you see above for a moment. Yes, that’s Apple Music running on a BlackBerry phone powered by Android — products from three mobile rivals working in harmony. The very concept of this would have been outlandish just a year ago, let alone a few years earlier when these companies were at each other’s throats. This is the best sign yet that some of the walls in mobile tech are finally tumbling down. Companies are realizing that they sometimes have to play nicely with each other if they want to succeed… and that’s good for everyone.
Periscope’s skip-ahead update hits mobile, with 3D Touch on iOS
Periscope’s latest update hit the web late last week, and today it’s live across Android and iOS devices, with some special twists. Mobile users can now fast-forward and rewind through replays, as promised. The app’s Global Map has a few more functions, as follows: Zoom in on a location and the map will show live broadcasts (red dots) and replays (blue dots) from the past 24 hours. Anyone with Periscope on an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus can use 3D Touch to press down on the app icon and pull up a menu of options: Search People, Teleport (which takes you to a random live stream), Broadcast Mutuals and Broadcast. Android users finally get pinch-to-zoom in this update, as well.
[Image credit: Periscope]
Source: Periscope on Medium
Google makes its self-driving cars friendlier with artist prints and colors
Google’s self-driving car prototypes still look as cartoony as ever, but some of them are now a lot livelier, thanks to the company’s “Paint the Town” project. The Big G asked local California artists to submit original works of art that reflect the theme “my community, my neighbors.” It then selected 10 winners and two honorable mentions whose pieces now decorate the doors of prototypes being tested in Google’s home city. There’s an artistic depiction of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, one that shows the sunset as seen from Highway 101 and another that focuses on neighborhoods’ green spaces — you can see them all right here. The tech juggernaut just wrapped up submissions for its cars in Austin, Texas, as well, so expect to see more colorful prototypes in the future.
AIVAnet 