Engadget Daily: Apple and Beats, GoPro’s media empire and more!
Today we discussed Apple’s purchase of Beats Electronics, got a taste of GoPro’s growing media empire, went hands-on with Beats’ new Solo² headphones and learned about an American-made TV that sits behind your bathroom mirror. Read on for Engadget’s news highlights from the last 24 hours.
With Beats, Apple faces the music
Music streaming is on the rise, but it’s still a largely untested source of revenue. So, is Apple’s acquisition of Beats guaranteed to turn a profit, or have Cook and Co. purchased a very expensive business lesson?
Extreme exposure: Inside GoPro’s burgeoning media empire
GoPro doesn’t want to simply build a camera to capture thrilling close-calls and daredevil stunts; it wants to be a media empire. Read on as our own James Trew investigates how the company aims to transform athletes into viral video creators.
Beats’ new Solo2 headphones sound way better than they feel
It’s been a busy week for Beats, what with being purchased by Apple and releasing a brand new model of headphones, the Solo². This $200 over-ear set of cans has a well-balanced sound and an attractive look, but it’s almost as uncomfortable to wear as the Solo HD.
A return to American-made TVs, by way of the bathroom
Ever heard of Séura? Born in the garage of Gretchen and Tim Gilbertson, it’s one of the few consumer electronics manufacturers still operating in America. What’s more, it builds TVs that sit behind your bathroom mirror.
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Filed under: Misc
Google Maps brings terrain view back to Android for outdoorsy types
If you’re hoping to get a bit more help from Google Maps on your next trek through the wilderness, you may be in luck. Version 8.1.0 appears to be on the way, thanks to a peek at the APK from the folks over at XDA Developers, and it packs a handy terrain view option in the side menu. This selection offers 3D elevation details of the landscape with mountains and more — a useful tool for hikers, climbers and trail bikers. All told, this appears to be the major change as the app is said to hold over the existing features, aside from the addition for the great outdoors. Unfortunately, the new version isn’t available for download from the Play Store just yet, but those feeling particularly adventurous can sideload the update now.
[Image credit: MyLoupe/UIG via Getty Images]
Source: XDA Developers
Google Maps 8.1.0 update brings terrain view
Google has updated their Maps app bringing the version number to 8.1.0 from the previous 8.0.0 having already updated their camera app to version 2.2.
With the update comes terrain view which will display 3D elevation of various geographic features such as mountains, making it extremely useful for hiker or cyclists to determine a route elevation directly on the Maps mobile application.
The Google Maps update is steadily rolling out to various countries in the Google Play Store so if you haven’t got the update yet then check back soon as you may not have been involved in the initial wave.
Let us know what you think of the new terrain view in the comments below.
The post Google Maps 8.1.0 update brings terrain view appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google’s cutesy cars are a ‘serious threat’ to the auto industry, says GM
There’s no doubt about it: for a company that makes most of its money from web ads, Google knows how to make an adorable self-driving car. The search giant’s automotive prowess isn’t going unnoticed by the industry’s more established players, either. Mark Reuss, GM’s executive VP of global product development, told recently told Bloomberg that he could see Google becoming a “serious competitive threat” in the motoring realm.
Yes, that seems like a “well, duh” confession to us too, especially now that Google will roll out at least 100 of those cutesy, two-seater prototype cars for some real world testing later this year. It certainly doesn’t hurt that California’s Department of Motor Vehicles just gave a thumbs up to self-driving car tests on public roads, a decision that’ll take effect in September. Of course, Google can only become a competitive threat if it wants to be, and it’s still unclear just how it plans to bring these motors to market. A separate Google Motors division? A slew of partnerships with existing manufacturers? Our crystal ball is on the fritz, and car crafters aren’t quaking in their boots just yet. Reuss noted that “anybody can do anything with enough time and money” – Google’s definitely got plenty of the latter, but major auto makers haven’t just been sitting on their laurels. GM and Nissan both have self-driving car projects underway in China and Japan, respectively, while Volvo has been testing its own on the open roads of Sweden.
Source: Bloomberg
Google Maps v8.1 Rolling Out, Brings Back Terrain Mode and Other Minor UI Tweaks [APK Download]
A day late, but not a buck short. Another Google app has updated, this time it is Google Maps. Maps is now at version 8.1 and brings back something that hiker, bikers and outdoor enthusiasts probably missed most, Terrain Mode. Terrain Mode is an alternative map view to satellite that offers a topographical look at the mountains, hills and valleys in a given area.
Terrain Mode is the most significant aspect of the update. The rest of the update seems to be at some UI changes in various sections. Each navigation card offers up the navigation type via an icon, car, bike, person ect. They moved the time and mileage to the right and made it a little smaller too. In the transit view times and travel time have been made a big bolder so they stand out a bit more. Lastly, biking and Walking views look the same.
They also managed to shrink the file size a little bit from the previous maps version too. In typical Google fashion the update is rolling out in stages. If patience is NOT one of your virtues, hit the link below to go download the APK.
Download: Google Maps v8.1 APK
Via AndroidPolice
//<![CDATA[
ord = window.ord || Math.floor(Math.random()*1E16);
document.write('’);
//]]>
Google takes American ISPs to task over video buffering
You don’t like when YouTube videos pause during playback, and neither does Google. More often than not, your internet connection is to blame, shifting the responsibility to provide consistent performance from Google to your ISP. In an effort to increase transparency (and perhaps highlight your own service provider’s bandwidth limitations), Google’s making its Video Quality Report available in the US. The tool launched in Canada earlier this year, and should be making its way to other countries within the next few months, detailing streaming quality and local consumption trends, graphed by time of day. Google’s also endorsing certain providers as “HD Verified,” making it clear which ISPs meet YouTube’s standards, and which do not.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Google
Source: YouTube
Google employee shows what to expect from Android Wear notifications
There’s plenty we know about Android Wear already: It’s Google’s software platform for wearables; it’s designed to allow you to interact with your phone and with Google Now straight from your wrist; and numerous manufacturers, from HTC to Motorola, have Wear-powered smartwatches coming in the near future. Now there’s even more we can glean, thanks to increasing activity at Google’s developer hubs. For example, in-house developer advocate Timothy Jordan has just highlighted the three examples shown above as being some of his favorite Wear notifications so far — including a slightly panic-inducing warning from a Nest thermostat. (Don’t worry, a follow-up message reassures everybody that the smoke is clearing.)
There’s also a regular calendar notification on show, a message from a game (Clash of Clans), and what looks to be the playback of a StarShipSofa science fiction podcast. The origin of each notification is identified by an icon in the top right corner, or by a background image. Meanwhile, although these particular examples are all short enough to fit on a single screen, Google has also recently demonstrated how longer notifications can spread over multiple screen using right-to-left swipes. In fact, Mountain View insists that it only requires a tiny bit of code to add this functionality to the notification system of an existing Android smartphone app, which hopefully means it’ll be easy for third-party app developers to make their full-length notifications work on Wear.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables, Software, Mobile, Google
Google updates its camera app once again brining a few new features, including a timer
It’s been a month and a half since Google released a standalone Google Camera on the Google Play Store. Since then there’s already been one update to the app. Now Google strikes again with some new features. Google Camera is now at version 2.2.024 (after the update). Google added a few features in this update:
- New panorama modes
- A timer, which can be set to 3 or 10 seconds
- Ability to change the aspect ration of pictures you’re taking between 4:3 and 16:9
These are some serious improvements Google brought to the table and it’s a good sign for the future. It has been only a month and a half since Google released the app and since then we’ve already seen 2 updates each of which brought new features to the table. We’re liking the app and the new features thus far, how about you?
The post Google updates its camera app once again brining a few new features, including a timer appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Nexus 5, 7 and a Chromecast are now available in even more European countries
Google keeps on expanding the Google Play hardware offering’s reach, and now the LG Nexus 5, Asus Nexus 7 and a Chromecast can now be purchased in even more countries.
Nexus 5 and 7 are now available in Norway and Switzerland. On the other hand Chromecast’s reach has expanded even more, it is now available in the following countries (in addition to current ones): Australia, Belgium, Japan, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland. Prices will depend on the region of course.
Full availability list:
- Chromecast: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States
- Nexus 5: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, India, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States
- Nexus 7 (2013): Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, India, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States
- Nexus 7 (2013) LTE: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, India, Japan, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States
Any of you out there residing in said countries that have been waiting for this?
SOURCE: Google
The post Nexus 5, 7 and a Chromecast are now available in even more European countries appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google highlights the lack of diversity in tech by publishing worker data
While many will tell you that there isn’t much diversity among technology workers, it has been tricky to back up that claim with real, hard numbers. Well, Google now has some evidence: it just published diversity figures for its own staff, broken down by ethnicity and gender. And it’s not a pretty sight, at least in the company’s eyes. About 91 percent of Googlers are either Asian or white, and 70 percent are men. That’s not exactly a wide variety of people, and the ratios only get worse when you examine technology-specific jobs.
The search firm argues that this narrow range partly stems from longstanding educational challenges that limit who it can recruit. Less than 5 percent of Americans earning computer science degrees are black or Hispanic, for example, while women make up 18 percent. Google has poured money into educational programs in hopes of diversifying the technology industry in the long run, but it’s clear that there’s a long way to go before Google’s offices (and those of other companies) represent a broader range of cultural experiences.
[Top image credit: Campus Party Valencia, Flickr]
Filed under: Misc, Internet, Google
Via: New York Times
Source: Google Official Blog, Google Diversity
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