It’s certainly the age of awards, and why shouldn’t YouTube have their own? To crown its newly-minted digital music video domain, the YouTube Music Awards will take place on November 3rd, and will livestream globally at 6pm EST. Kia has sponsored the 90 minute event, which will only be available on the Google-owned service. It will he hosted at Pier 36 in New York, and artists will be nominated based on views, likes, and shares of videos. After the nominees and award categories are announced, viewers will vote for who they want to win. Artists performing at the event include Lady Gaga and Eminem, and it will also feature broadcasted concerts from London, Moscow, Seoul, and a TBD city in Brazil. YouTUbe even brought in Spike Jonze as creative director. It’s a big step in how YouTube supports and showcases artists on the platform, and could mark the real beginning of YouTube’s digital network dominance over traditional mediums.
Tag: google
Google Launches Quickoffice
If you thought the only software launch of note this week was the new iOS, think again. Google announced Quickoffice for iOS and Android, which includes 10 GB of Drive space. It brings the native support for Microsoft Office formats to your device, for free. It means that documents, spreadsheets, and presentations no longer need to be converted to the Google Docs format (or, for that matter, over into Keynote for Apple functionality). It also provides for the creation of .zip documents to save space; it’s also available for free right now.
Google Buys Bump
Bump is a unique app that’s a dark horse in the world of file transfers. It allows users to transfer files between phones, and between phones and computers, all with a simple ‘bump.’ It works like so: the app running on the mobile device uses the phone’s sensors to feel when the physical bump occurs, which sends the information up in to the cloud. The algorithms in the cloud match devices that feel the same exact bump in the same place, and uses that data to transfer files between devices. It makes sharing and transferring files as easy as NFC, but with the same degree of functionality as dropbox. And now, Google owns this capability. It will be fascinating to see what Google uses it for (one imagines Drive will be updated with Bump, at the least), and how it will add to Google’s already impressive arsenal of startup technology.
Google Partners With EdX
EdX, a not-for-profit online learning program founded by Harvard and MIT, announced a partnership with Google to develop an open-source learning platform. Called Open EdX, the platform will be used to build out MOOC.org, which will be what wordpress is to blog publishing, but for open sourced courses. It will be a free way for businesses, universities, and individuals to build and host courses, on the cloud, for any topic, in any format, across a global audience. Presently, the MOOC platforms include Coursera, Udacity, Canvas, and NovoEd, which collectively have many other university partners. The ultimate goal, it seems, isn’t quite defined yet; MOOC could open itself up to a full online degree program, it could function alongside traditional degree programs, or it could even just provide supplemental education for those interested in learning. It’s a powerful partnership, so it will be worth watching its development.
MyGlass Companion App Acts As Glass Remote Control
Google Glass always came with the promise of a more immersive technological experience without staring down at a phone. As the device has been tested, though, we’ve seen that the gesture-based control system isn’t quite as frictionless as intended. Many struggled with the controls, and realized that there needs to be another element of control in place. Google released an app update to remedy this problem with MyGlass Companion, which is an app interface that allows the user to touch, swipe, and tap their phone’s screen to move through the Glass UI. It allows users to interact with the device perhaps a bit more granularly, and will provide for a more fluid form of interaction, with multiple access points now in place. The update is now available in the Google Play store.
Android Version “KitKat” Launches, Reveals Nestle Partnership
Today in strange partnerships: Google has partnered, in a no-cash-changing-hands deal, with Nestle, worldwide purveyors of the Kit Kat candy bar brand to name its new version of Android “KitKat.” This is the first branded version of the consistently decadently-named mobile OS. With the 50 million Android-branded Kit Kat bars being distributed by Nestle worldwide, Google will gain greater exposure in convenience stores and other impulse-buy displays, while the Kit Kat brand gains greater recognition elsewhere. The mutually beneficial deal is said to have been agreed upon between the two companies within an hour in November. This could signal a shift to even greater integration and innovation of brand ties for Google, making them a thought leader and trendsetter in this fairly new and under-tapped arena.
Amazon Incentivizes Developers With In-App Rev Share
Amazon is luring developers to their platform with a clever Amazon.com tie-in. Developers who choose to integrate Amazon purchasing into their apps via a linked Amazon account will earn up to 6% of purchases. The deal seems like a win-win as Amazon supports their dotcom and app ecosystem while developers gain another revenue stream. With that said, the Kindle series holds a slim 4% market share in the tablet space and will need to have a lot of developers buy-in if they want to have success over the next year or so.
Is Chromecast As Open As Advertised?
Google’s Chromecast made waves because it’s cheap, and actually does what it promises to do. It also comes with its own apps and development tools, meaning that the utilizations for the device could be endless – that is until Google released an update that cut off the open development of the platform after an Android developer reverse enginered the Chromecast to let users stream anything straight from their Android smartphones. Called AllCast, the app broadcasts anything and everything from the device, until Google’s latest update cut off the workaround. As far as development goes, it means that the ecosystem will likely be relatively constrained. But as far as trends are concerned, this move has vast implications for the Chromecast network; it means that sponsored material and app-based streaming are the only possible way forward for the technology, and that brands will have a strong hand to play in terms of branded, casted content.
Mercedes Benz Tests Google Glass Integration
We all know the value of in-car navigation systems, but a true door-to-door system doesn’t quite exist yet. Mercedes-benz are working with Google on developing Google Glass to continue your turn-by-turn navigation after you park your car. Google already offers walking directions via Google Maps, but the Mercedes app would seamlessly switch between Glass and your vehicle, meaning that directions wouldn’t stop or need to be reset upon exiting the car. The end goal is to have this app available to the public for Glass’s 2014 launch.
Google Maps And Waze Share Features
Though Google bought Waze – the social mapping, traffic, and navigation app – some time ago, the two are now sharing their respective features for the first time. The Google Maps app for iOS and Android will feature real-time incident reports from Waze users in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Switzerland, UK and the US. In the Waze app, Google Search will now feature prominently, and Google Street View is now accessible within the Waze Map Editor. As the two apps continue to fuse it will be interesting to see if they can combine to be greater than the sum of their parts.
