Archive for the ‘google’ Category

Google acquires start-up SayNow for its social voice platform

Google Voice is already a pretty popular service and now Google has snapped up a California-based start-up, SayNow, for an undisclosed sum. SayNow’s platform offers voice messaging between individuals or groups and the company already offers access to its services via Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Android and the iPhone. The company claims to have over 15 million users on its apps and services, such as SayNow Phone, SayNow Broadcast, Big Call and Chit Chat. It isn’t clear what Google is planning to do with the platform at the moment, but it’s expected that it will eventually be integrated into Google Voice.

Google acquires start-up SayNow for its social voice platform, By Ubergizmo, 26 Jan 2011. Top Stories : EVO Shift Review, iPhone 4 Review,

Posted: January 26th, 2011
at 9:03am by Matthew Chung

Topics: CellPhones, Google Voice, acquisition, google, saynow, voip

Google Wants One Big, Happy Android Newspaper App [Android]

Click here to read Google Wants One Big, Happy Android Newspaper App

According to the WSJ, Google is in talks with publishing houses for a “digital newsstand” Android app, for selling daily mobile newspapers and magazine subscriptions through. But what about Amazon’s Android Kindle app, which already does that? More »

Posted: January 3rd, 2011
at 8:30am by Kat Hannaford

Topics: Android, Android magazine app, Android newspaper app, Magazines, Newspapers, app, apps, google

Galaxy Tab hitting AT&T on November 21st for a $649 premium?

It’s not official but that image above sure as hell looks like an official AT&T training document. AT&T already announced that it would carry the Samsung Galaxy Tab but has been coy with details about launch date, pricing, and custom apps. Now, if the screengrab above can be believed, we know that it’ll hit AT&T shops on November 21st for a “HQ recommended” price of $649.99 without contract and featuring the same data plans (250MB for $14.99 per month or 2GB for $25 per month) AT&T offers alongside its $629 16GB WiFi + 3G iPad offering. Right, that’s 20 bucks and change more for half the display and $50 more than the base price of Verizon’s Galaxy Tab offering. Of course, AT&T will preinstall the Nook eReader and the AT&T Account Manager app for on-device activation and monthly credit refills. Not sure that’s worth the premium though. Hold tight to see how this plays out as we should see an official pricing and launch date announcement any day now.

Gallery: Galaxy Tab hitting AT&T on November 21st for a $649 premium?

[Thanks, tipster]

Galaxy Tab hitting AT&T on November 21st for a $649 premium? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted: November 11th, 2010
at 7:28am by Thomas Ricker

Topics: Android, AttAccountManager, Galaxy, Galaxy Tab, GalaxyTab, activation, att, att account manager, google, nook, rumor, tab

Google Instant Speeds Mobile Search — If You’ve Got the Bandwidth

Google Instant on a PC browser has always been a clever idea in search of a use case. With the new mobile beta for Android and iOS, the search giant has found its first.

“Wouldn’t it be great to have Google Instant on mobile devices, where each keystroke and page load is much slower and you frequently have just a moment to find the information you need?” writes Google engineer Steve Kanefsky.

Indeed. With fast hands and a full QWERTY keyboard, the time between typing “Google Instant” and “Google Ins” is minimal. On a non-PC keyboard like a phone, e-reader or remote control, it’s considerable.

To activate the beta, you need to be running Android 2.2 (Froyo) or iOS. Then go to google.com in your mobile browser and tap the Google Instant “Turn on” link beneath the search box.

The only trouble with Google Instant on mobile devices is the net connection. Google Instant works by making server calls with each stroke. To even make it work in a mobile browser, google had to create a new AJAX and HTML5 implementation to dynamically update the page with new results.

On a good Wi-Fi network, that’s no big deal. On 3G, it’s not a major problem. On (gasp) EDGE, it can actually make search much, much slower.

“With Google Instant on mobile, we’re pushing the limits of mobile browsers and wireless networks,” Kanefsky writes. “Since the quality of any wireless connection can fluctuate, we’ve made it easy to enable or disable Google Instant without ever leaving the page. Just tap the ‘Turn on’ or ‘Turn off’ link.”

See Also:

Posted: November 5th, 2010
at 3:48pm by Tim Carmody

Topics: 3G, Android, Google Instant, Phones, Search, google, iOS, wi fi

Gadget Lab Podcast: Droid 2, Voice Search and Carrier-Humping Surrender Monkeys

For a quick download on the top tech stories of the week, check out the latest Gadget Lab podcast — just 12 minutes long this week, yet packed with everything you need to know.

In this week’s podcast, we give you a hands-on look at the BlackBerry Torch that was introduced last week. We finally got our hands on one, posted our review of the Torch, and show you how it looks in the podcast video.

Also this week, Motorola announced its new Droid 2, which looks a lot like the old Droid. We’ve got one of these, too, and we show off its main differences in the video.

In other Android news, Google announced enhancements to Android Voice Search, so you can now use it to compose e-mail messages, text messages, search for music and more.

Special guest Ryan Singel, from Wired.com’s Epicenter and Threat Level blogs, joins us to explain the biggest tech story of the week: How Google turned into a carrier-humping net neutrality surrender monkey.

And finally, we take a quick look at the $80 Looftlighter. I was excited to test this out because the publicist said it was a “flamethrower.” In fact, it’s more like an outsized curling iron. We haven’t tested it for its intended purpose yet (starting charcoal grills and fireplace fires) but we do apply it to a business card in the studio, with disappointing results.

If anyone wants to send me a real flamethrower to test out, I’d be eager to hear from you.

Like the show? You can also get the Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or if you don’t want to be distracted by our smiling faces, check out the Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab video or audio podcast feeds.

Or listen to it here:

Gadget Lab audio podcast #85