IN BRIEF: Has Google added Fitbit to it’s ever-growing graveyard?
Google bought Fitbit for a whopping US$2.1 billion last week, thats around AU$3.0 billion. Will it survive Google’s bite?
Google wants to make it easier to encrypt emails with new plugin
Google has today announced that it plans to support end-to-end encryption with Gmail via a Chrome extension, making it harder for others (such as intelligence agencies) to snoop on your emails. End-to-end encryption sees the sender encrypting data (in this case, an email) before it is sent to its intended recipient. It stays encrypted until the receiving party decrypts it, meaning that no third party can intercept and read or […]
Report: As Vic Gundotra departs, Google+ will fade into the background
It feels like just yesterday that we first got our hands on Google+, the social network that was meant to put more control in the hands of its users through ‘Circles’, rather than a binary list of Friends. At the time, I wrote that “Google+ just feels like Facebook and Twitter combined with a few more and a few less features,” which wasn’t exactly a unique critique of the social […]
Google Play Music for iOS: a buggy disappointment so far
It’s been at least 6 months since Google promised that their Play Music service would come to iOS, and it’s 6 months too early by the looks of it. I’m not usually one to complain about first-day bugs, but for an app promised to arrive at a more appropriate 5 months ago, to see it genuinely broken in key features isn’t fun. It’s smooth though. Google Play Music was first […]
Will Google’s new ‘Shared Endorsements’ affect you?
Probably not. As expected, the backlash in tabloid tech blogs and news websites over Google’s new ‘Shared Endorsements’ system has been overwhelming, but also misinformed. Google today will begin enforcing their new Terms of Service for all Google+ users over the age of 18, allowing the company to present your Google+ name, photo and endorsements throughout its advertising network. However, as is usually the case with Google coverage, the privacy angle […]
Official YouTube app for Windows Phone is here(ish)
Earlier this year, Microsoft released an official YouTube application for Windows Phones, complete with account login and video downloading. During it’s initial release, it was thought that the rivalry been Microsoft and Google had finished (or at least, an agreement had been made). But this wasn’t the case as shortly after, Google had sent a letter to Microsoft asking for it’s removal due to breaking the terms of service. After […]
Moto X finally revealed – dual-core CPU, 4.7-inch display, 10MP camera
After numerous rumours pretty much of the details of the phone, Motorola has revealed the long-awaited Moto X this morning. Featuring a Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, a 4.7-inch 720p AMOLED display, and a 10-megapixel camera, it marks a supposed rebirth within Motorola – one where there is a noticeable Google presence than before. Other specs include an Adreno 320 quad-core GPU, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 2GB of RAM, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi […]
Those leaked Google Babble screenshots? Yeah, they sure as hell aren’t real
Here at techgeek.com.au, we’ve grown a keep sense of cynicism when it comes to leaked screenshots. While we do love to see the latest software goodies early, plenty of people love to take advantage of the excitement by creating fake screenshots. And sometimes they’re so realistic, you would believe them. But the latest Google Babble screenshot maker, allegedly leaked from the project which is said to be combining Google’s communication services into […]
Google announces Chromebook Pixel
Google have today announced the next laptop to their Chromebook line. The Chromebook Pixel, a touchscreen laptop for those who live up in the clouds. The laptop features a 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 32 or 64GB SSD and a measly 5 hours of battery life. The Chromebook has a 12.85-inch display and according to Google, has the highest pixel density of any laptop screen on the market today with 239 […]
Don’t get Microshafted: nobody is innocent in Microsoft’s new anti-Google campaign
In the continuing war between Google and Microsoft, which was entirely one-sided until Google pulled Exchange support from their free Google Apps, we’ve been hand-delivered another stinging campaign from Microsoft which, in reality, is just a little bit of a scam itself. Neither party is innocent when it comes to using your email for targeted ads. First of all, I’d like to declare that I’m not commenting in this way […]
Google extends Exchange ActiveSync support so Microsoft can update Windows Phone
Good news Windows Phone users! Microsoft and Google have come to some sort of conclusion to a potential mess where users would not be able to sync to Google services via Exchange ActiveSync. Google will extend support til July 31; while Microsoft will update Windows Phone to support CalDAV and CardDAV. “We’re happy to share today that Google will extend their support for new Windows Phone connections via Google Sync […]
Google Maps restored for Windows Phone devices
Stewart Wilson / techgeek.com.au Google have completely back flipped on their decision to block the use of Google Maps on Windows Phone devices after a huge uproar from the Internet community. Through a statement provided by Google to The Verge, Google say they are “working to remove the redirect” that they had put in place. The full statement from Google is: We periodically test Google Maps compatibility with mobile browsers to make […]
OPINION: Google’s block of Maps on Windows Phone isn’t really a block
Image: activefree/Flickr (Creative Commons). When was the last time you used a web-app on your phone more than once? Hmm, yeah, I can’t remember a time either, maybe apart from a link to a few blogs. Which is why the usual shit-storm that arises with any change to anything is pointless, especially in the case of Google Maps on Windows Phone. If you own a Windows Phone, Google Maps is […]
Motorola RAZR HD, RAZR M announced – coming to Telstra in Q4
Early this morning also was an announcement by Motorola on its future phones lineup. As we know, Google is shaking up the brand to make it more profitable, and it appears Google is doubling down on the RAZR brand with three new smartphones – two of which, the RAZR M and the RAZR HD, will be coming to Telstra in Q4 this year. The RAZR M features a 4.3-inch AMOLED […]
Motorola sacks 20% of employees as Google steps in to make it profitable
Motorola will be sacking 20 percent of its global workforce – or 4,000 employees – as Google tries to bring the struggling Android manufacturer to profitability, after purchasing it for US$12.5 billion last year mainly because of its patents. In a filing, Google said that the sackings were to “return [it]’s mobile devices unit to profitability,” adding that, “Investors should expect to see significant revenue variability for Motorola for several […]