Google introduces a new logo
What started out as nothing more than a humble search engine, Google has grown to into one of the most powerful forces on the web, reaching its hands into just about every market including mobile, email, maps, web browsing, and so much more. Most recently, Google also saw a big change in its structure with the introduction of a parent company called Alphabet. To celebrate this evolution, Google has released a video showcasing its accomplishments over the years, while also outing a brand new logo.
As it has been from the company’s beginning, the logo is still the name “Google” but the styling has been considerably revamped. The new look is much more modern and has a material design-esque air to it.
Here’s Google’s official reasoning behind the changes and an explanation of how the new logo will help improve the Google experience — regardless of whether you’re using it on a PC, tablet, phone, car, or elsewhere:
These days, people interact with Google products across many different platforms, apps and devices—sometimes all in a single day. You expect Google to help you whenever and wherever you need it, whether it’s on your mobile phone, TV, watch, the dashboard in your car, and yes, even a desktop!
Today we’re introducing a new logo and identity family that reflects this reality and shows you when the Google magic is working for you, even on the tiniest screens. As you’ll see, we’ve taken the Google logo and branding, which were originally built for a single desktop browser page, and updated them for a world of seamless computing across an endless number of devices and different kinds of inputs (such as tap, type and talk).
It doesn’t simply tell you that you’re using Google, but also shows you how Google is working for you. For example, new elements like a colorful Google mic help you identify and interact with Google whether you’re talking, tapping or typing. Meanwhile, we’re bidding adieu to the little blue “g” icon and replacing it with a four-color “G” that matches the logo.
You can expect the new look to rollout to various products starting today. What do you think of the new logo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
This is Google’s new logo
Google has a new logo. A few weeks after the company announced a huge restructuring effort that will split the search, advertising and internet giant into several different organizations, the new Google is showing off a new identity. The iconic four colors and “Google” over a white background remains unchanged, but the font is significantly different, removing the serifs that have been part of the letters for years. All in all, it’s a flatter, slightly more modern design — one that also evokes the company’s new Alphabet logo — but it’ll certainly take some getting used to.
Beyond the new wordmark, Google’s also doing away with the someone iconic blue and white “G” logo and replacing it with a new, four color version to match the four colors the company is so closely associated with. The four colors will also be used in the “microphone” that shows up in the many places where Google’s voice search is enabled. There’s a lot of updating to be done before this branding is seen across the many places where you can interact with Google, of course, but this new branding will likely spread far and wide before long.
For design enthusiasts who want to dig deep into the process behind how Google created its new logo, the company has posted extensive details on its design blog.
Filed under:
Google
Source:
Google
Tags: google, googlelogo, logo
The ‘Nuyu’ wants to be your digital workout buddy
Health o Meter announced on Tuesday the launch of its new Nuyu line of health tracking devices and an associated mobile app. The system relies equally on the Nuyu Activity Monitor, which tracks steps, calories, distance and sleep; and connects with its counterpart Nuyu app via Bluetooth. The $48 Monitor can be worn on the wrist (with one of 8 available strap colors) or belt — even tied to shoelaces. It displays your constantly-updated stats on a large OLED screen which is depth rated to 30 meters and runs for up to four months on a single battery. The app itself is free and available for both Android and iOS, though the data is only compatible with Apple’s Health Kit.
Additionally, HoM is releasing a wireless scale for $50 that monitors your weight (though not you body fat content as the more expensive FitBit Aria) and reports back to the app via a BlueTooth connection. There’s also a $500 sleep system that modulates your body temperature in time with your circadian rhythm. It employs a mat that first warms you to help you fall asleep, then cools once you are zonked and then heats up again when it’s time to wake up. The company’s proprietary algorithms reportedly learn your sleep cycle and will adjust the heating/cooling cycles to accomodate. Finally, HoM is also developing 12-week Coaching Plans that will include “daily tips, exercise demonstrations, nutrition plans, grocery lists and more” for $20, according to the company’s release. The sleep system and coaching plans will be available from Amazon starting in October.
Filed under:
Peripherals, Wearables, Wireless, Mobile, Apple, Google
Tags: Amazon, Android, Apple, Bluetooth, google, health, healthometer, iOS, nuyu, wellness
Google’s custom self-driving car comes to Austin
Google’s cute, koala-faced self-driving car is no longer limited to roaming around Californian streets. The company is bringing “a few” of the prototype autonomous vehicles to Austin, Texas within the next few weeks. They’ll stick to the same northern parts of the city as the modified Lexus SUVs do today, so don’t expect to see one parked outside of Stubb’s BBQ any time soon. Still, this is a rare chance to see Google’s robotic ride outside of its native habitat — so long as you aren’t trying any fancy bike tricks, you’re in for a treat.
Filed under:
Transportation, Google
Via:
Wall Street Journal
Source:
Google Self-Driving Car Project (G+)
Tags: austin, autonomous, car, google, self-driving, self-drivingcar, transportation, vehicle
Google Maps v9.14: improved Navigation UI and ‘Popular times’ charts added
The Google Maps team seems to be pretty busy lately. It has been only about a week since version 9.13 hit the Play Store, and today we are already starting to see v9.14 hitting Android smartphones. The latest update to Maps brings forth a couple main changes to the application. A revamped interface will help you better plan your trips, and the new ‘Popular times’ chart will keep you posted on the best times to hit up your destination of choice.
Let’s start off with the new Navigation UI, shall we? The design of said section is likely the biggest change we have seen coming to the Google Maps app in a while. Upon requesting a route, the user will be presented with a large map, as opposed to the small thumbnail that really didn’t help much in the past. The different modes of transportation have been moved right below the location fields, making them more accessible and informative, as they also show the travel time without having to access each option.
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Those who need to access more details about trips will also enjoy the new pull-up function, which can be accessed from the route query. This section will display information on toll roads, elevation, accidents, turn-by-turn details and more. Overall, the application has been redesigned to leave more significant information within closer reach.
Planning a trip is not only about routes or immediate traffic data, though. Sometimes you want to take your drive at a later time, and this is what the new feature ‘Popular times’ is all about. Google can predict how busy a location will get depending on the time, taking into account previous data from their servers. Just hit up the business details card and a chart showing you all the details will show up.
Want to grab the new app? Remember these updates usually roll out periodically, so it may not show up for you just yet. Those really itching to test out the new features can download the APK file here. Otherwise, just wait around and hit the comments to let us know what you think about this update. Will either of these improvements ease your specific traveling woes?
Download Google Maps from the Play Store
Alphabet’s Life Sciences division is partnering with Sanofi to battle diabetes
Earlier this month we talked about Alphabet’s first new company to oversee, Life Sciences. Life Sciences was, and basically still is, Google’s health company. They are now teaming up with Sanofi, pharmaceutical company which makes diabetes medication, to monitor and treat people with diabetes.
The two companies will develop small devices to monitor statistics and software to make sense of the stats in order to find new treatment options.
Andrew Conrad from Life Sciences says Sanofi has lots of experience with insulin and could help Google build devices to provide dosages, or automatically adjust the medication based on the person’s blood sugar reading.
“Sanofi’s experience making insulin—which controls diabetics’ blood sugar levels—might help Google design smaller, Internet-connected devices that could automatically suggest or adjust insulin dosages in response to blood-sugar readings or doctor-prescribed patient exercise regimes.”
Source: Wall Street Journal
Via: Engadget
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Google is working to make 4K video less of a data hog
Ultra HD 4K video is still in its infancy, but there’s no doubt the format will become increasingly popular in the next year or two. Huge players like YouTube and Netflix already support it, but delivering such high bandwidth video content remains a challenge. Google’s trying to do its part to solve that problem by developing a more efficient video compression codec called VP10. The new codec has been in the works for nearly a year, but the company gave some details about how effective it can be over the VP9 format it’ll eventually replace. In an interview with CNET, Google product manager James Bankoski said that VP9 uses half the bandwidth needed to deliver the same quality video as the popular H.264 format — and with VP10, the company is trying to cut it in half again.
Reduced bandwidth usage isn’t the only thing VP10 has going for it — it should also provide shaper images, better color, and a better dynamic range between lights and dark. But despite some strong technical credentials and the backing of Google, widespread adoption of VP10 is hardly a foregone conclusion. H.264 is still the dominant video compression standard, and its successor (HEVC / H.265) will likely see widespread support.
Still, this is a battle that isn’t yet won, and the dominance of YouTube means that VP10 will have a fighting chance against HEVC. The fact that VP10 is open source is another point in its favor; the licensing for HEVC could add red tape and costs for developers and devices makers. It’ll be a while before this conflict comes to a head, however: Google said it hopes to hit its performance targets for VP10 by the end of next year.
Source:
CNET
Tags: 4k, google, h264, h265, hdpostcross, hevc, vp10, vp9, youtube
Google Here shut down amidst privacy, interest concerns
Google appears to have been working on a secret project called Google Here that would have added some new features to their Google Maps product, but Alphabet CEO Larry Page decided to kill it off. Google Here would have combined Google Maps with location detection triggered by wireless beacons installed by retailers to launch “app-less” apps on a user’s smartphone.
According to the information that has surfaced, Google Here was a fairly large project that spanned several departments and was led by Dan Cath and the Google Maps team. Sources familiar with the project say it was shut down amid concerns that it was too invasive and there was not enough information available indicating retailers would buy in to it. Some have noted Nokia’s Here mapping service may have created a small marketing glitch as well.
The idea behind Google Here is similar to what some apps have built-in – certain actions will be triggered when a smartphone is determined to be close to a given destination or location. For example, some to-do apps give user the ability to set a location like “grocery store” and when the user is close to that destination, a message will pop up to remind them of what is on their grocery list.
Using beacons installed in retail locations of participating merchants, a user’s phone would operate in a similar manner, albeit without any previous interaction by the user. For example, if a user had a Walgreen’s loyalty card and entered a Walgreen’s, Google Here would automatically bring up the loyalty card on the user’s screen.
However, even if a user had not previously interacted with a location, they may get a nudge from Google Here. For instance, if a user visited a Starbucks, they may receive a notification to install the Starbucks app for a discount.
This second example was one that Google and potential partners were especially interested in as it was a way to push offers to individuals who were not otherwise customers. Increasingly, especially for retailers, they are finding it difficult to get customers to install their specific apps and it was thought Google Here might provide a way around that.
Sources say one of the problems that became clear was that a successful user experience would require more than installation of a beacon. Retailers would have to invest in a development team to put together mobile advertising to take advantage of the platform. This cost could turn off a lot of retailers, especially smaller ones, from participation.
Google appears to have identified their own issue with making Google Maps into a push notification platform. They worried this would be received as invasive and annoy smartphone owners.
Although Google Here may have been killed off, sources think similar concepts are still in the works inside Google.
source: Fortune
Come comment on this article: Google Here shut down amidst privacy, interest concerns
Maps version 9.14 rolls out new navigation UI [APK Download]
Another day, another update; Google is pushing out Maps version 9.14 to users and brings with it a new UI to begin navigation, including a bigger map, more information, and better route selection.
There’s also a chart in the business listings details page to show how busy a business gets at different times of the day.
Left: Old. Right: New.
The most notable change is a blown up map when starting a navigation journey that takes the place of a smaller thumbnail. You can now scroll and zoom, just like any map in the application, which is useful to see alternative routes, nearby landmarks, and more.
In addition to the aforementioned changes, Maps version 9.14 brings the following changes:
- Popular Times in business listings
You can find a detailed rundown of the APK over at AndroidPolice. You’ll see the new Maps version 9.14 app rolling out to the Google Play Store, but if you’d like to download it now, you can grab the APK here.
The post Maps version 9.14 rolls out new navigation UI [APK Download] appeared first on AndroidGuys.
OnHub companion app Google On available in the Play Store
For those of you picking up Google’s recently announced OnHub router, you can grab the companion app Google On from the Play Store for free.
Google On is how you access your router, whether you need to reboot it, manage priority devices, run a network check, learn how to improve your Wi-Fi connection, and so on.
Additionally, Google On is used to setup your new router in just a few minutes. For the average person, setting up a router is a tedious and lengthy process, but Google On makes it a seamless process.
If you’ve got the OnHub, be sure to hit the download link below!
Come comment on this article: OnHub companion app Google On available in the Play Store
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