WSJ: Google will add buy buttons to search results on mobile
Google’s getting ready to face Amazon and eBay, according to The Wall Street Journal, and will be adding buy buttons directly to its search results. You’ll see those buttons accompanying sponsored results under a “Shop on Google” heading — they won’t be used for non-sponsored links returned by the algorithm — when you search for products on mobile devices. Upon clicking one, a separate product page will load where you can pick sizes, colors and ultimately complete your purchase. Any product you buy will still come straight from retailers, the WSJ says, so it doesn’t sound like Google’s stocking up warehouses with goods like Amazon does.
However, some major retailers are apparently worried that they’ll get stuck with back-end order fulfillment with no real customer interaction. Since Google wants to remain in good terms with them (they are some of its largest advertisers, after all), it will give shoppers the choice subscribe to their marketing programs. That typically means mailing lists and the like, so the company’s giving them access to customers’ info, most likely names and addresses.
In addition, Google promised them that the product landing pages will be heavily branded with their names and will link to more of their products. The company also won’t take a cut from their sales and will only get paid for every person that clicks their links. Mountain View will reportedly offer several payment options, “including digital payment methods from other providers,” but it (thankfully) won’t be giving retailers access to payment details. If you input credit card info to make a purchase, the website will save it for future transactions, but it will remain with the company.
As for why the feature will only be available on mobile, well, Google has a plethora of reasons. The biggest one is most likely the fact that more people now perform searches on their phones than on computers. According to the WSJ, you might spot a buy button or two as soon as the coming weeks. We don’t have a list of official partners yet, since Google hasn’t officially announced anything, but Macy’s might be one of the first retailers available.
[Image credit: shutterstock]
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Google
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Recommended Reading: The making of a self-driving semitruck
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you’ll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read.
How Daimler Built the World’s First Self-driving Semi
by Alex Davies
Wired
In case you missed it, Daimler built a self-driving big rig, and it just recently got the OK to hit the road in Nevada. The Freightliner truck, known as Inspiration, took a team of around 60 engineers six months to build. Wired’s Alex Davies offers a behind-the-scenes look at the project, detailing some of the tech that’s onboard.
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The Texas Instruments TMX 1795: The First, Forgotten Microprocessor While the Texas Instruments TMX 1795 could be considered the first microprocessor, it has been all but forgotten by most. This piece chronicles its history and its major impact on the computer industry. |
I Was an Undercover Uber Driver Ever wonder what it’s like to drive for Uber? Well, one journalist signed up and got behind the wheel to offer a first-person account of the goings on — including an orientation via YouTube video. |
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Notes on the Surrender at Menlo Park Facebook’s Instant Articles arrived in the News Feed this week, piping in content from The New York Times and more. This piece is an interesting collection of observations on the new feature — the good, the bad and the ugly. |
The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car The head of Google’s self-driving car project sets the record straight on minor accidents and miles logged, providing an update on the team’s status in Mountain View. |
[Image credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Eurobest]
Filed under: Misc
Google takes aim at Amazon, eBay with upcoming ‘Buy’ buttons
Amazon, eBay, and everyone else in the e-commerce industry should prepare for impact as Google plans to launch ‘Buy’ buttons.
The new buttons, reportedly arriving in coming weeks, will appear in search results when users search for products on their mobile devices. A “Shop on Google” banner will house the buttons and appropriate products. The buttons will indeed be paired with sponsored search results.
Here is how The Wall Street Journal describes the way in which Google’s ‘Buy’ buttons will work:
If shoppers click on the buy buttons, they will be taken to another Google product page to complete the purchase, the people explained. On that page, they will be able to pick sizes and colors and shipping options, as well as complete the purchase, one of the people said.
The products will still be provided and sold by retailers, rather than by Google. Retailers including Macy’s Inc. are in talks with Google about taking part in the launch, the people added. A Macy’s spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment on Friday.
Google handles the product pages as well as the checkout process. Shoppers input their billing information just once and Google retains it for future purchases. Retailers will still be able to obtain address information and email addresses in the event that shoppers enroll in marketing programs offered by Google.
Google has no plans to bring the buttons to desktop users at this time. In fact, only a small percentage of search results will actually offer the buttons.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Come comment on this article: Google takes aim at Amazon, eBay with upcoming ‘Buy’ buttons
‘Zombies, Run!’ marks latest update by going free-to-play
Zombies, Run! celebrated the release of version 4.0 earlier this week with some major modifications. The popular gamified exercise app, which used to retail for a flat $4 at the Google Play Store, has switched over to a free-to-play subscription model. The app and gameplay themselves haven’t changed much. Users are challenged to run (literally) a series of 200-plus missions while avoiding the gnashing teeth of an Undead swarm, all within the context of a post-apocalyptic audio drama. Six to Start, the app’s developer, has already released four “seasons” of added content since its debut and will likely continue to do so. However, users will now have to pay $3 per month (or $20 per year) to keep getting these regular updates.
If you want to keep things free, you’ll be able to access just one mission per week outside of the first four from season 1, which can be used an unlimited number of times. Free users also won’t have access to Airdrop or Interval Training missions, nor will they be able to change the run difficulty or track their workout stats. And if you already bought the app before May 13th, don’t worry, you’ll have nearly full access to the entire feature suite. The only handicap for existing users is that they can only run one mission per week from the latest season. Conversely, they will get a hefty discount on the subscription fee moving forward, just $8 a year.
Filed under: Wireless, Internet, Google
Via: Android Police
Source: Google Play
Bug renders ‘Ok Google’ Everywhere useless on Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
Do you have a Samsung Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge and are experiencing issues with the device picking up “Ok Google” hotword detection? Well, you’re not alone.
Since Samsung’s new flagship device launched, users have been having issues with Ok Google Everywhere. It won’t work at all. In fact, the hotword will only work from the Google app or the Google Now Launcher. It’s a strange and frustrating bug, especially for those who just picked up one of the devices.
There must be a solution to a bug as big and as frustrating as this, right? Not exactly. There were concerns raised in the Google Product Forums on the problem. However, the only official response is a community manager’s post, who claims Engineers are “actively working on providing a solution.”
Hi everyone,
Thanks for all of your feedback. We shared this with the engineering team when users initially reported it, and they’ve been actively working on providing a solution. We will provide another update soon.
Note: I’m going to be marking this post as ‘best answer’ only to surface my post to the top of this thread for new users’ visibility. I acknowledge this is still an open issue, and we’re looking into it – thanks!
That was the last official response from Google, which was three weeks ago. The problem is only getting bigger–thousands of complains are being raised all over the Internet. It’s a very consistent problem. At this point, you’d think it’d be a well known bug put on Google’s priority list.
With no response from Google for three weeks now, users are only going to get more frustrated, tell their friends, and eventually hurt the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge’s reputation that Samsung has worked so hard to bolster. Hopefully as the problem gets more and more attention, there will be a fix for it soon, especially if Google’s Engineers have been aware and working on it for three weeks now.
What’s interesting is that the problem has been going on for three weeks now, just a week after the Galaxy S6’s release. It’s perplexing that such a widespread issue like this wouldn’t show up in extensive testing before a massive product launch like the Galaxy S6.
It’s certainly not rendering the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge useless, but its quite a frustrating problem nonetheless. It’s quite possible that Google has been working on this issue for three weeks. It might be a deeper problem that takes a considerable amount of time fix. We don’t know. Hopefully we’ll hear some communication from Samsung or Google on the matter–it’d certainly calm some nerves.
Have you found a way around this problem? Let us know in the comments.
source: Google Product Forums
via: Android Police
Come comment on this article: Bug renders ‘Ok Google’ Everywhere useless on Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
European mobile carriers will reportedly block ads in hopes to target Google
Multiple European mobile carriers may soon be planning to block all types of advertising on their networks. In a report out of the Financial Times, at least one mobile carrier has installed ad blocking software in its data centers and plans to turn it on before the year’s end. This ad blocking software, developed by Shine, an Israeli start-up, prevents most types of advertising from loading in web pages and applications that have been provided by Google and other companies.
Roi Carthy, chief marketing officer of Shine, told the Financial Times:
Tens of millions of mobile subscribers around the world will be opting in to ad blocking by the end of the year. If this scales, it could have a devastating impact on the online advertising industry.
Shine is supposedly working with a number of operators, including one that currently has over 40 million subscribers. The unnamed carrier plans to initially launch an advertising-free service for users on an opt-in basis. This carrier is also supposedly toying with a more radical idea it calls “the bomb”, which would go into effect across its entire network of millions of subscribers at one time. “The bomb” would be put in place to specifically target Google.
If the mobile carrier decides to blanket block ads, questions would be raised regarding net neutrality since mobile operators must treat all data that flows through their networks equally. The mobile carrier could always ask customers to opt-in to ad blocking, but carriers should never have the ability to force that upon its users.
Job listing suggests Google may be developing several Glass products
Google’s Glass project never really took off, but that doesn’t mean the company is abandoning it. According to a recent job listing for the company, it looks like they’re expanding the scope of Google Glass to include “smart eyewear and other related products,” with listing open for several different positions.
Of course, everyone knows Google is the type of company that toy around with tons of different ideas and products, some of which never actually see the light of day. We do know that Google is still working on a newer version of Glass that will hopefully go over a little better with consumers, but there’s no telling when that will actually hit the market.
We’ve seen other companies try to tackle the smart wearable products market with things like watches, wristbands, eyeglasses, sunglasses, and everything in between. Someone will eventually release something that sticks, right?
source: Business Insider
Come comment on this article: Job listing suggests Google may be developing several Glass products
Google self-driving vehicles ready to hit the road
Google has announced they are entering the next phase of testing for their self-driving vehicles as they move from the test track to operating them on public roads. The prototype vehicles will be hitting the streets of of Mountain View this summer. The vehicles will have safety drivers on-board who can take over control if things start getting a little dicey.
Google says the vehicles will utilize the same software that their existing fleet of Lexus RX450h self-driving vehicles use. Those vehicles have already racked up almost 1 million miles of autonomous miles and Google says they normally log about 10,000 miles per week. The new prototype vehicles have been tested extensively at Google’s test facility to make sure the sensors and software all work as expected. Google claims that the knowledgebase they can pack into the vehicles and the software is the equivalent of 75 years worth of driving experience.
Google’s Chris Urmson says the team will be looking to see how the vehicles handle challenges in the real world, like construction or congestion that may prevent access to a desired location. They will also be watching to see what the community reaction is to the self-driving vehicles.
Although the Google self-driving car project is moving at a fast clip, several more years of testing will be needed. Google says they hope to be able to launch more pilot programs in the coming years to better understand how the vehicles could change transportation and how people move about.
Click here to view the embedded video.
source: Google
Come comment on this article: Google self-driving vehicles ready to hit the road
Google’s self-driving cars will crisscross Mountain View starting this summer
Google‘s self-driving car may be cute, but the Mountain View-based giant is dead serious about it. Following the introduction of the bug-eyed two-seater in May 2014, Google announced it’s now ready to let a fleet of 25 self-driving cars loose on the roads of Silicon Valley.
“Loose” may be an overstatement though, as the cars won’t be fully autonomous – as required by California regulations, a human will be in the driver’s seat at all times, ready to take over should the complex software driving the car found itself in difficulty. The cars will be equipped with steering wheels and pedals, controls that Google hopes to make obsolete within a few years.
Google’s cars have reportedly drove themselves over 1.7 million miles since 2009, but not without incidents. Google revealed earlier this week that its vehicles were involved in 11 minor accidents so far. That sounds very little, but the rate is actually higher than the national average of 0.3 incidents per 100,000 miles. However, Google claims the higher incident rate is because the national average is grossly under-reported. Most of the 11 accidents were caused by other cars, according to the company.
Beginning this summer, 25 self-driving prototypes will crisscross Mountain View and the surrounding areas at a top speed of 25 mph. Google will launch a website for the community to report feedback on the trial and offer regular updates on its findings.
Google says its software has already mastered driving under normal conditions, and it gets smarter all the time. The software powering Google’s cutesy prototypes is actually the same as the one running a fleet of Toyota and Lexus factory models that Google has been using for several years now. The information collected by each vehicle is fed into the entire fleet, meaning that Google is amassing huge amounts of info every day. However, Google still needs to prepare for all the unexpected conditions that could appear on the road, and this almost infinite potential for edge cases is what’s going to make or break the project.
As for when commercial self-driving vehicles will hit the road on their own, project lead Chris Urmson said that it’s close to five years. Unfortunately, Google said the same thing in 2012. But who said it’s easy to create a self-driving car?
Download and install latest Google Play Store 5.5.12 APK (Material Design)
The Google Play Store has just received a version bump, bringing it to version 5.5.12 and few minor changes, only a few moments after version 5.5.11 was released.
What’s New
– Popular opinions now surface
– Circular animation to TV shows
Of course, there could be more undisclosed under the hood performance enhancements not immediately noticeable.
If like me you like to be on the cutting edge of developments, you can go ahead and grab the latest Google Play Store 5.5.12 APK from here.
Notice anything else different in the newest version of the Google Play Store? Drop us a comment below.
The post Download and install latest Google Play Store 5.5.12 APK (Material Design) appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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