After officially debuting Chromecast outside of the US, Google today announced a new app for the device that allows users to create a collaborative photo montage on their TV screens. The idea is that anybody takes a picture and sends it to a shared “photowall,” creating an instant collage of photos on a big screen which, in turn, can be shared with everybody, across social networks. So although Chromecast has thus far been mostly about streaming video from mobile devices, Google looks to be making a turn to the social in a bid to be more than just a streaming stick – the goal is social control of the living room.
Tag: google
Motorola & LG Announce Android Wear Smartwatches
Fresh off of Google’s announcement that it’s developing an Android smartwatch OS called “Wear,” Motorola and LG have announced new pieces for the operating system. LG’s G Watch, due to arrive next quarter, looks to be a simplistic plastic touch screen much like other devices already available on the market. Motorola’s Moto 360, however, could likely become the creme of the smartwatch crop. With real leather and machined metal, it’s a sleek-looking device that brings the form factor of the smart watch to a level likely deemed more than acceptable by most regular watch owners, who want a device fashionable enough to actually sport on their wrists. Both prominently feature Google’s Android Wear, and represent concrete, physical steps to compliment Google’s earlier announcement to break into the smartwatch space.
Google Introduces Unified Cookie
Google wants to do away with traditional cookies, and we’re finally getting an understanding of how that might happen. Google has developed a new type of technology that allows advertisers to target people who’ve visited their websites with ads on tablets and smartphones – while bridging the desktop and mobile gap. It works through something called a “hashed tag,” which allows advertisers to keep track of that individual person anonymously, without storing their email and phone data, an important caveat when consumers want continued emphasis on privacy. Once tagged, the advertiser can show ads to that tagged individual anywhere on Google’s network of third party sites and apps. It’s important to note that this works through tagging someone and targeting the tag, not targeting the person individually via a network of email addresses like Facebook has on file. Right now, Google is looking for advertisers that operate sites with registered user bases of over 100,000 or more to test the new hashed tags – but expect to see the technology in a fully fleshed version in the near future.
Google Gets Serious About Wearables
Wearables have been a hot topic since the new year, with CES featuring wearables a-plenty. Until now, most were powered by third party operating systems, all with different standards and functionalities. Google has decided that Wearables are a potent enough market to expand the Android operating system into, and have announced that they are developing a new wearable SDK for Android. The tools will be available to all in roughly two weeks, and will look to get Google’s interface into smart watches, fitness bands, and others to enable seamless sync between devices and phone operating systems. So although Apple beat Google to the car, it looks as though Google is taking the lead on wearables and connected devices as they continue to flourish.
Roku Cross-Platform Streaming Stick Drops To $50
In late 2012, Roku announced its first Streaming Stick. Priced at $99, it only worked with Roku-Ready TV’s. Not surprisingly, it didn’t sell very well, with limited use-cases and few ways for consumers to connect with the device. For the 2014 release, however, Roku made sure to develop a much improved product. It works via standard HDMI, and it comes pre-packaged with a remote. For a $50 price point, it’s $15 more expensive than Google’s Chromecast, but practically speaking it’s nestled in the same range. For that extra $15 you get many more content sources: PBS, Showtime, and over 1,000 niche programming channels have partnered with Roku. The Stick also ships with Roku’s proprietary apps, and from a design perspective, it shifts the universal search function to the forefront of the user experience. This April, cordcutters have yet another way to distance themselves from traditional cable packages, and Roku is making the shift easier and easier.
Google Updates Hangouts To Compete With Facebook
Google Hangouts looks a lot different after a complete renovation on Thursday, and it takes many design cues from its new conglomerate competitor, WhatsApp & Facebook. The new iOS app features tabs along the bottom of the screen with names like Hangouts, Contacts, and Favorites, much like its competitors. You can now also send videos, add stickers, or share your location within the conversation, and the new app is also optimized for iPad with a dual-pane design. Just as the messaging space has been thrust into the spotlight by Facebook’s acquisition, Hangouts has established itself as one of the bigger players in the space simply through its user base already garnered through gmail users. With this redesign, it positions itself not as a direct extension of gmail, but more of a firm competitor in the increasingly fragmented messaging battle.
Google Launches Maps Gallery
A new Google Maps Gallery was announced today, a new way for governments, businesses, and others to share and publish mapping data to Google’s Maps Engine. Maps in the Gallery are viewable in Google Earth, and and are easily discoverable via search engines, which means that branded maps – e.g. a National Geographic sponsored map that relates to a new edition of the magazine, or a map of important spots in an upcoming movie – are now possible. It’s an opportunity for third parties to utilize Google’s effective mapping system for additional, well-designed maps that plot out specific data points in a way that’s both searchable and easily accessible.
Google Features Music Videos In Search
If you’ve searched Google in the past day or two, you might have noticed a new card-like format at the top of your search results. That’s because Google has started to showcase links to YouTube videos with large, Google-Now styled cards at the top of its pages. You can’t play the music video within the search engine, but when you click on the post it takes you to the YouTube page. Not all music videos will show up this way, however; only uploads from VEVO and official artist’s accounts will be shown like this, as well as special videos that have, ostensibly, gone viral. It means that we’re officially entering the age of promoted video search on what, for many, is the front page of the Internet. As well, it’s an attempt to keep music streamers off of Spotify and Rdio, and on YouTube.
Google Sells Motorola To Lenovo
In a major turnaround, Google is selling Motorola to Lenovo for $2.91 billion, in a mixture of cash and stock. Lenovo plans to use Motorola to gain a major foothold in the American market, an arena that it’s struggling to break into. That said, Lenovo is certainly a company on the rise, having shipped 45 million smartphones in 2013, a 90% year-over-year growth. Google is framing the move as a way to craft a better Android ecosystem for all devices, not just Motorola, while holding on to Motorola’s Advanced Technology and Projects group. The move seems to take the more ‘basic’ handset business – which has been hemorrhaging money since acquired – and dumps the load on others while Google gets to work with the higher-end patents and technology. For Lenovo, it’s very much in line with its past moves, such as purchasing ThinkPad from IBM in 2005. So while Lenovo gets the handsets, Google gets to keep all the patents and high-tech research. A win-win? We’ll just have to see.
Google Glass Titanium Collection
One of the major inhibitions for wide-spread adoption of Google Glass is certainly its overly-distinctive design, in addition to the fact that the smart glasses aren’t actually glasses. In one swoop Google’s changed all that with its Titanium Collection for Google Glass, which features super light titanium frames, twist-on sunglasses, and prescriptions in addition to the heads-up display in the upper right corner. The styles, named Split, Thin, Bold, and Curve, are now available to Explorers (aka beta testers) as part of a $225 upgrade option this afternoon. One of the major stumbling-blocks for Google has officially been overcome.
While function is obviously paramount, wearables cannot overlook aesthetics. Making glasses’ appearance more conventional might spur adoption while quieting privacy concerns prior to their public launch.
