Google

Google and Motorola rumored to be working on X Phone to once again take on the iPhone

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Dec 22, 2012 a 4:30 pm

Google buys Motorola. Denies any plans to do anything with it. No one believes them. Flash forward. Rumors spread Google is doing something with them. Deep breath. It's rumored to be an "X Phone" designed, once again, to take on the iPhone.

That might sound silly until you realize it's been Samsung, not Google, who's had all the success in the market against Apple. Now that Google owns Motorola, it only makes sense they'd want that division to be profitable as well, and to be an insurance policy against the power of manufacturers like Samsung, the same way Android was an insurance policy against the power of BlackBerry and Microsoft at first, and then very quickly Apple.

How Google got their design together on iOS

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Dec 21, 2012 a 9:40 pm

There's an argument to be made that one of the best Google phones on the planet right now is the iPhone 5. Over the last few months Google has been rolling out better looking and more functional iPhone and iPad apps. From Google+ to Gmail, Google Maps to YouTube, Chrome to Google Drive, they've introduced a more consistent, more usable, more human experience on iOS -- arguably even more so in some ways than what they offer on their own, competing platform, Android. That includes playful pull-to-refresh implementations, prominent photos and profile pictures, and other consistent cues that suggest a coordinated maturation of their design language. To find out more, Matthew Panzarino of The Next Web spoke to Jason Cornwell, lead designer of Gmail for iOS:

Which maps app are you using on your iPhone? [Poll]

By chrissyboy6969, Tuesday, Dec 18, 2012 a 6:25 am

Google Maps downloaded over 10 million times in the first 48 hours of release

We all know the timeline by now. Apple replaced Google as the location data provider in iOS 6 Maps. It didn't work out as well as Apple intended. Apple was forced to apologize and recommend alternative maps apps. Nokia released HERE maps for iOS. And now Google has released Google Maps for iOS.

According to Google’s VP of Geo and Commerce Jeff Huber, the app had been downloaded an astounding 10 million times in the first 48 hours since its release. Now, raw download numbers indicate a high level of interest, but they don't tell us how many people tried them an liked them enough to keep using them.

That's where you come in.

Which maps app are you currently using on iOS 6? Are you sticking with Apple Maps? Have you switched to Nokia HERE or Google Maps? Have you resisted upgrading to keep iOS 5 apps? Or are you using something else entirely? Vote in our poll up top and elaborate in the comments below!

Google releases YouTube Capture for iPhone

By Leanna Lofte, Monday, Dec 17, 2012 a 3:37 pm

Google has released YouTube Capture, an app dedicated to recording videos for quick upload to YouTube, Google+, Facebook, and Twitter simultaneously. You can also touch up your videos with color correction, stabilization, trimming, and music tracks.

Free - Download now

Google's new iOS maps rumored to pin themselves in the App Store tonight

By Phil Nickinson, Wednesday, Dec 12, 2012 a 9:07 pm

Attention blokes driving through the Australian Outback, Scott Forstall, or anyone else who needs to actually get where they're going: Google Maps may natively return to iOS as early as tonight, according to anonymous sources as cited by All Things D.

Apple and Google supposedly join forces to buy out Kodak patents

By chrissyboy6969, Saturday, Dec 8, 2012 a 3:40 am

Apple and Google have reportedly joined forces to bid for Kodak’s imaging patents. The joint bid is thought to be in the region of $5oo million and both companies hope it will be enough for them to get the patents out of bankruptcy. The news comes from Bloomberg who has been talking with people who have knowledge of the situation.

Snapseed goes free, adds Retrolux, integrates Google+

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Dec 6, 2012 a 9:39 am

Snapseed, one of the best bits of photo editing software on the iPhone and iPad, has gone free-as-in-Google today, and as some modicum of recompense, added Google+ to its mix. Snapseed had gone free for short periods of time in the past, before the Google purchase, but this time there's no going back.

Free - Download now

Official YouTube app now supports iPhone 5, iPad and Airplay

By Leanna Lofte, Tuesday, Dec 4, 2012 a 7:01 pm

Google is on a roll today; this morning, they updated Gmail for iPhone and iPad and now YouTube has been updated with optimization for the iPad and iPhone 5, AirPlay support, and more. All three of these have been huge user requests, so this is great news.

Free - Download now

FTC may sue Google over antitrust violations stemming from FRAND patent abuse

By Joseph Keller, Thursday, Nov 1, 2012 a 8:29 pm

The staff of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recommended to the commission that Google should be sued for violation of antitrust laws regarding patents. Google is attempting to block import of products from both Apple and Microsoft, which rely on industry-standard technology, and the FTC may be inclined to sue Google in order to get them to offer reasonable licensing deals. Google’s efforts are actually a continuation of those of Motorola Mobility, purchased by Google late last year. One of the key factors in Google’s decision to buy the company was their portfolio of patents, many of which cover industry-standard technology such as 3G wireless and video streaming. The FTC investigation revolves around questions of licensing.

iOS gets a new Google Search app, and it holds its own against Android

By Phil Nickinson, Tuesday, Oct 30, 2012 a 4:08 pm

Google today announced an updated Search app for iOS devices. That in and of itself is should be cause for celebration, but it's the the new voice search that has us particularly excited. (Especially since Siri hasn't quite lived up to expectations.)