Tweets to be Searchable via Google
Google is the search engine powerhouse of the internet. No one says, “Let’s Bing it!” or “Let’s try Yahoo!” The go-to response whenever a question is raised is to ask Google. Twitter is the quick and convenient was to send out a short statement to all of the people that follow you. The joining forces of the two seems like a match made in heaven, and it is.
Twitter is hoping to get more non-users to view tweets and raise advertising revenue, and what better way to do that than working more closely to Google to get tweets in the search results. Previously, Google had to search through Twitter’s website to give a searcher information; now Twitter will be giving tweets to Google as soon as they are published, making the experience better for everyone.
Supposedly Twitter will be receiving data-licensing revenue from the deal, to the tune of about $41 million. The deal was described as a “unique opportunity” by Anthony Noto, Twitter’s CFO.
Source: Bloomberg
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Google Search now bundling all social media profiles into one section
The next time you cue Google Search to learn about a company or musician, pay attention to the results. The search engine now includes a Profiles section for all social media profiles that company or musician has. Services included in this new section are Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Myspace. So it makes things much easier than hopping between apps to find each account. Just perform a search and tap the link to each service.
Hit the break to see a GIF of the feature at work.
Source: +Google
Come comment on this article: Google Search now bundling all social media profiles into one section
Bloomberg: Twitter is reconnecting its firehose to Google
Tomorrow Twitter will release its latest quarterly earnings figures, but ahead of that Bloomberg has word that the service is bringing its firehose of data back to Google’s search results. The two have been estranged ever since 2011 when Google announced its agreement to access the Twitter firehose had expired and it would need to suspend its “realtime” search feature that included up-to-the-minute results from social media. Of course back then Google was still going all-in on Google+, Twitter had expanded relationships with Bing and Yahoo, and webOS was still kicking. Now, Google has backed off of the hard sell for its social media platform and there has been significant turnover in the executives at both companies. According to the report, at some point in the first half of this year Google will again include Tweets as soon as they’re posted, so there’s one more reason to check for typos before hitting Enter.
[Image credit: Shutterstock]
Source: Bloomberg
Google Glass’ new boss wants to redesign the headset ‘from scratch’
If you suspected that Google Glass’ change of leadership would also lead to a big change in the wearable technology itself, you made a pretty good guess. As part of a tell-all about Glass’ troubles, the New York Times is claiming that project lead (and Nest CEO) Tony Fadell plans to redesign the head-mounted computer “from scratch.” And unlike the original, you aren’t likely to see any public beta testing — in keeping with earlier pronouncements, one tipster says that Fadell won’t release this next-gen device “until it’s perfect.” Just when that might happen is still up in the air, but the Nest exec’s historical focus on shipping over experimentation hints that you won’t have to wait years to try Glass 2 for yourself.
[Image credit: AP Photo]
Filed under: Wearables, Google
Source: New York Times
Androidify update includes NBA gear and even more goodies [APK Download]
There is a lot that can designed with the Androidify app. Pretty much anything imaginable can be transformed into an Android character. The latest update furthers that statement by bringing NBA gear and additional itmes to the app that already has plenty of content.
Ready to hit the court?
Users can equip their Android characters with jerseys and gear from any of the league’s thirty-two teams. Then, they can put on matching sneakers, wristbands, and headbands to complete the look. Google included new hairdos and accessories — such as hats and outfits — to give more choice.
So, for example, I was able to build the Philadelphia 76ers’ Allen Iverson as an Android character. His name? Allen Androiverson.
Come comment on this article: Androidify update includes NBA gear and even more goodies [APK Download]
New version of Google Play Music incoming: updated slideout menu and minor fixes [APK Download]
On Wednesday’s, Google enjoys pushing updates to its applications. The introduction of Android 5.0 Lollipop has brought a new slideout menu that Google has started to apply. Today, the Play Music app is receiving an update that includes the new slideout menu (as seen above). The slideout menu also has a Downloaded only toggle, but that is nothing new. The new part is the toggle itself which has changed from a circle to a square. Other changes in the update are either so minute that they go unnoticed or can be found behind the scenes.
Come comment on this article: New version of Google Play Music incoming: updated slideout menu and minor fixes [APK Download]
Launchpad Toys’ services are free as Google acquires company
The company behind popular services such as Toontastic and TeleStory will be joining Google. Launchpad Toys announced today that it has been acquired by the Mountain View giant and will continue to create digital toys and tools. The aforementioned current offerings will become available to everyone at no cost as the company works on new projects. In fact, Launchpad Toys could share a peek of its future as soon as tomorrow.
Here is the statement from Launchpad Toys on the company site:
We’re proud to announce that our little toy company is pairing up with a great big team of tinkerers to empower GAJILLIONS of playful storytellers around the world. Launchpad Toys is joining Google to create even more amazing creativity tools for kids. Today, we’ve made our digital toys and tools free to creative kids everywhere. Tomorrow… well, we can’t wait to share
– Your friends at Launchpad Toys
Ironically, none of Launchpad Toys’ services are available on Android. Both Toontastic and TeleStory are iOS-only for the Apple iPad. The acquisition of Launchpad Toys likely means that Google will be directing the company to give attention to Android.
Source: Launchpad
Via: 9to5Google
Come comment on this article: Launchpad Toys’ services are free as Google acquires company
Ten million Chromecasts sold worldwide, says Google Korea
Around 10 million Chromecast units have been sold worldwide since the release of the streaming stick in July 2013, according to Google Korea.
The $35 stick launched with a handful of apps, but support for the device quickly expanded. Google Korea said there are now over 6,000 Android, iOS, and Chrome apps that are compatible with the Chromecast (for what it’s worth, the same number of apps was touted in October).
This is the first time Google provides hard sales figures for the Chromecast. In the past, company executives said Chromecast sales were “in the millions,” but mostly the company preferred to share how many “casts” were made with the devices: 400 million in July 2014, 650 million in October, and 1 billion in late January.
With the Chromecast approaching its second birthday, there’s been talk about a new version of the device that would bring improvements under the hood. But Google seems more interested in developing casting as a platform, by baking it into Android TV and opening it up to makers of speakers and other audio devices. The first Chromecast-enabled speakers are expected to arrive this spring.
Android 5.1 (!) spotted running on Android One devices headed for Indonesia
Now here’s something you don’t see every day: a new version of Android spotted in the wild with nary a word from Google.
Google announced a few hours ago the upcoming availability of the Android One program in Indonesia. Following India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, this is the fifth country where Google is rolling out its affordable smartphone program. So far, nothing special… except Android 5.1 is mentioned multiple times on the Indonesian Android One landing page, and there’s even a subtle reference to it in the press image (above), where time is set to 5:10.
But the more solid evidence comes from images of the device hitting Indonesia obtained by the folks at Android Police. The images show, black on white, that the software running on the Android One-powered Nexian Journey is Android 5.1.
Given this and the references from the promo site, it looks very likely that Android 5.1 is real, and, probably, coming soon to more devices. Now that the cat is out of the bag, we don’t see Google delaying an official announcement for too long.
What will be new in Android 5.1? We have no details yet, but last year, Android Pit ran an exclusive story claiming Android 5.1 would land by the end of this month, bringing fixes to several glaring problems present in Android 5.0, including the return or proper silent mode and better memory management.
It’s odd that Google is shipping updated software to new devices before even announcing it, but it happened in the past, albeit with smaller revisions. Hopefully, official info is coming soon.
What do you hope to see in Android 5.1?
Website splash shows Indonesia could be getting Android 5.1 on Android One devices soon
Android 5.0 Lollipop is somewhat of an elusive beast at the moment, with only a handful of devices benefiting from it’s improvements, and fewer still have been updated past the original Android 5.0 release to Android 5.0.1 or Android 5.0.2. Which made it all the more interesting to see that on Google‘s own Android One […]
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