You can now get notified when Google releases new interactive Doodles

You know the cool, informative, and often times interactive Doodles that show up on Google’s homepage to celebrate holidays, special events, or the achievements of different people and humanity in general? Well, with more and more searches being performed on mobile or directly via your browser’s add..

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Google Assistant to receive keyboard input, gesture shortcuts coming to Search

You might be happy enough interacting with the Google Assistant by voice alone, but what if you had the option of using a keyboard to input commands as an alternative? That"s already possible in the Allo messenger app, which features integration with the Google Assistant. It would make sense fo..

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Verizon mistakenly shows a 256GB variant for both the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL

The first smartphone designed by Google is a hit, as you probably already know. The Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL are both available with 32GB or 128GB of internal storage, although if you go to Verizon"s website you might get the impression that a 256GB variant is being offered. To see exac..

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128GB Google Pixel XL ordered in November, will ship in March

If you"re a Verizon customer, you might be still waiting for the delivery of your 128GB Google Pixel XL. You might recall that Verizon has had trouble keeping this model of Google"s first smartphone in stock. Today, one of our loyal readers told us about his order for the phone, which was ..

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Google is pulling the plug on the Hangouts API and third-party app support

For all the amazing work and achievements Google can credit itself in the tech realm as a whole, there is one area which has seemingly and rather inexplicably always eluded the online giant. Social efforts in all shapes and forms, including messengers and the infamous Google+ have always been a weakpoint in the chain and the current situation isn"t really that much better.
Allo and Duo seem to be center-stage in the IM package Google is currently trying to push to end users. Thus, Hangouts" faith is still quite uncertain and while Google is sticking to its promise not to retire it, it is now clear that a major course readjustment is already underway.
As part of that, the platform"s API, or at least the part used by many third-party developers will be going down on April 25. Apparently, Google intends to use Hangouts as a specialized tool for meetings and market it for enterprise use.
At the Google Horizon event in September 2016, we previewed a new experience for Hang..

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On April 25th, most third party apps using Google Hangouts will be shutting down

Even with its Allo messaging app launched, Google has said that it has no plans on shuttering Google Hangouts. Still, it has started pre-installing Allo on new Android handsets instead of Hangouts. While Google might not be ready to eliminate Hangouts, it is no longer allowing third party apps to us..

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Watching two Google Home speakers babble with each other is the precursor to the A.I. apocalypse!

At a glance, a Google Home seems fairly harmless. It"s just a wireless speaker with a friendly, voice-activated AI assistant that sometimes tries too hard to come up with clever responses to silly questions, and also searches Google for information when you ask it to. Following a spark of devia..

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The Pixels" Google Assistant is getting keyboard input soon

The Google Assistant situation is a huge mess at the moment. There are three different Google Assistants, and each have a specific featureset, which means some things are missing from one of them but not others, and so on. The Google Assistant that"s exclusively built into the OS of the Pixel and Pixel XL phones can only take commands via voice – you simply can"t write in order to ask it something. On the other hand, the Google Assistant that lives inside the Allo chat app can be talked to or texted, but only replies via text and never speaks to you. The third Google Assistant is the one you can find in the Google Home device, which has its own frustrating set of limitations, such as no support for multiple accounts.
Will this change in the future? Probably, but it remains to be seen how fast Google can move – and if it even wants the Google Assistant brand to mean a consistent featureset regardless of which particular implementation you happen to be using. The company has a..

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Moto Z phones support Google"s VR platform Daydream

If you own a Motorola Moto Z series phone, you might not know that your handset supports Google"s VR platform Daydream. Google"s Daydream website includes a list of phones that will run Daydream branded VR products. That list is a short one that includes the Google Pixel and Google Pixel X..

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This is the first Daydream viewer that does not come from Google

Google has revised its plans for mobile virtual reality (VR) just last November: it launched the Daydream platform, a set of requirements more demanding than the all-access Google Cardboard that ensures a higher quality VR experience.
Along with the Daydream platfrom itself, Google launched the Dayd..

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Google acquires Swedish company Limes Audio in a bid improve audio quality for conference calls

In a blog post yesterday, Google announced that it has acquired Sweden-based company Limes Audio – a business that specializes in improving the sound quality of voice communication systems. Since Google is focusing on providing better conferencing solutions for businesses with solutions powered by C..

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Google Calendar will help you stick to that New Year"s fitness resolution

Be honest, did you promise yourself to work out more this year? And did you do the same last year, and the year before that? Well, you"re not alone. And since Google knows you"re highly likely not to stick to that New Year"s resolution, it"s lending you a helping hand with an upd..

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Google Assistant coming soon to Android TV and Android Wear 2.0

Google Assistant is among the mos advanced personal digital assistants running on smartphones. Starting this year, the AI will make the jump to other platforms, Google confirmed at CES.
The first platform to get the Google Assistant in the coming months is Android TV. It will be rolled out as part o..

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Google Tango is partnering with GAP so you can virtually try on clothes before you buy

Asus"s press event at CES this year was home to two major announcements – the Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom and the ZenFone AR. The ZenFone 3 places a big emphasis on kicking out solid photos and long-lasting battery life, whereas the ZenFone AR is all about – you guessed it – augmented reality experienc..

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ZTE Axon 7 Android Nougat update coming soon with Google Daydream support

It"s press day here at CES 2017, and while the show floor might not open until tomorrow, lots of announcements have been taking place today. We"ve seen a heap of appliances and TVs get the limelight, but among all of that, there"s been a bit of mobile news that"s broken through t..

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Asus ZenFone AR and Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom vs iPhone 7 Plus, Google Pixel XL, LG V20 and others: size comparison

Asus just revealed a duo of smartphones at CES in Las Vegas, both of which stand out with unique features. These are the ZenFone 3 Zoom and the ZenFone AR.
The Zoom is a 5.5-incher geared toward smartphone shutterbugs with its dual-camera setup with optical zoom, while the ZenFone AR is a 5.7-inch p..

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January security update is now being sent out by Google for Pixel and Nexus devices

Another month has just begun, so it"s time to welcome it with a new monthly Android security update. Google usually outs these on the first Monday of each month, but it"s made an exception this time around, probably having to do with the New Year or something.
Anyway, the security bulletin is up and it lists all of the vulnerabilities that have been fixed. As always, there are two security patch level strings – one will make your phone show the January 1 security update level, the other uses January 5. The latter is the more complete of the two, and it"s what devices supported by Google are getting.
Speaking of which, the company has already made factory images and OTA zip files of the new update available for the Pixel and Pixel XL (two for each, in fact, with build numbers NMF26U and NMF26V), Huawei Nexus 6P (N4F26I and N4F26J), LG Nexus 5X (N4F26I), Pixel C (N4F26I), HTC Nexus 9 (N4F26M), and Asus Nexus Player (NMF26R). If you feel like something"s missing from..

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LG to introduce competitor to Amazon Echo and Google Home on January 4th at CES

LG plans on introducing a number of new robots this coming Wednesday at CES in Las Vegas. Among these robots is the “Hub Robot” which will be LG"s challenge to Google Home and Amazon Echo. The latter two are voice activated personal assistants that also help control smart home products such as ..

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Google Keyboard crosses 500 million installs on Play Store

The Google keyboard app – which is now known as Gboard – has hit the 500 million installs milestone on Google Play. With this, the app has made it to the list that currently includes some biggies like Google Photos, Dropbox, and Skype.
Gboard offers several features, including glide typing, voice typing, built-in emoji and GIF search, as well as the ability to write in multiple languages at the same time.
The keyboard also features a new G button that can be used to instantly search Google for things such as nearby stores or restaurants, videos, images, news articles, sports scores, and so on.
Source

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Google"s Gboard app exceeds 500 million downloads in the Play store

It"s been two weeks since Google redesigned its keyboard application for Android devices and republished it under a different name in the Play store. Now Gboard, formerly known as Google Keyboard, has exceeded 500 million installs.
Of course Gboard did not registered 500 million downloads in ju..

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