LG's Nexus 4 spotted outside of Google Play with EUR599 pricetag
One of the main perks in buying a Google Nexus 4 is its attractive price. Sure, it doesn't have LTE, but it is no less of a compelling product in LTE's absence. As it turns out, the smartphone might also carry a different price tag outside of the Google Play Store.
The Phone House, which is a retailer based in Spain, gave some details concerning the local availability and price of the LG-made Nexus 4. In the Google Play Store the device retails for EUR299 for the 8GB version and EUR349 for the 16GB one, but according to The Phone House, LG's suggested retail price is actually EUR599.
LG Australia lists LGE960 as Google Nexus device, worst kept secret?
Four weeks ago my colleague Joe Wilcox discussed a rumor pertaining a new Google Nexus device. Just days ahead of the October 29 event that the Mountain View, Calif.-based company will hold in New York, LG Australia lists the LGE960 as a Nexus device.
The South Korean manufacturer added a support page for the LGE960, but gives away just a small amount of details. It looks to confirm that the search giant will indeed release a Nexus device that will be available for purchase online straight from the Google Play Store. Another interesting detail is that Australian carriers will also offer the device, suggesting that it may happen in other markets as well.
Chromebook sells out
Somebody believes Google's marketing claim that the $249 Chromebook is "for everyone". Just five hours ago, I reported the device's availability. It's not anymore. A spokesperson confirmed this evening that Google Play sold out of the portable during its first few hours of availability "with more stock coming soon".
Google introduced the new Chromebook, which uses ARM processor rather than x86 processor, on October 18, with pre-orders starting same day. What's different today: Google selling the portable direct from the Play store, alongside Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7. Samsung manufactures the portable, which shape, 11.6-inch screen and overall size resembles Apple's MacBook Air. But Google makes a value push, by selling a computer with similar benefits for one-quarter the price.
Google Play introduces carrier billing for Verizon Wireless customers
Last May, Google expanded the carrier billing option in Google Play to include all media content (apps, books, music, movies, TV shows, periodicals) for fifteen different wireless carriers worldwide. In the United States, this included AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile.
Now, it looks like Verizon Wireless is joining in on the act.
Google Play update lets you remove apps
Today Google started to deploy an updated version of its Google Play Store app for Android smartphones and tablets, bringing along an interesting new feature -- the ability to remove apps from "My Apps".
Before Google Play Store build version 3.9.16, Android users did not have the options to remove unused apps from their account, which was especially bothersome when dealing with hundreds of them that keep piling up (and resyncing to devices). Also newly introduced is the ability to add apps to "My Wishlist", a feature aimed at users that want to keep track of new apps, but wish to postpone installing or purchasing them.
Happy Birthday Google (belated)
If you went to Google.com today, you probably noticed the logo was replaced with a fun little birthday cake animation celebrating 14 years of incorporation. Google was incorporated on Sept. 4th 1998, but chose today to celebrate the birthday. What does it matter when they celebrate, after all, Google has had a great year.
In April, Google released a concept video about Project Glass, fancy glasses with computers in them. In May, the search giant closed the purchase of Motorola Mobility. During the annual developer conference in June, Google made a lot of announcements, among them: Android 4.1, Nexus 7 tablet, Nexus Q and creepy but useful Google Now. The fun: skydiving, bicycles and rappelling down the side of a building. Big surprise: event participants could purchase a developer version of Google Glasses.
Who puts faith in Apple, who in Google
Some companies really know how to maximize marketing, and drive up their share price in the process. In March, Apple used a countdown clock to boast about 25 billion App Store downloads. Google's mobile store reached the same number this week, announced with little fanfare today.
Apple shares traded for about $531 then, but rose sharply following the app milestone and thereafter fairly consistently in the wake of a series of well-marketing managed announcements or product releases, topping $700 this month. There are daily reports across the InterWebs about record share price. Meanwhile, more meager marketer Google, which share price also flies record high this month -- above Apple, at $764.89 peak -- is largely ignored. Perhaps pro-Apple bias contributes to the silence? Whatever, Google has big numbers of its own.
When will multi-platform users escape digital content hell?
I'm not locked in to any one company's ecosystem right now. I have a Windows 7 Ultrabook, a desktop I built myself running Mint Linux, an iPad, and my trusty Galaxy Nexus. Each appliance serves the purpose I purchased it for very well, and I feel no need to switch away from any of them for the moment. When I perform basic daily tasks, things run smoothly. I use Dropbox and Google Drive for sharing much of my content back and forth, and it's a great experience.
When it comes to purchasing digital content like music, movies, or books, it feels like I am punished for not being locked in to any one content system.
Why I (still) fear Android
It's a BlackBerry Playbook fan's penance. After months spent swiping away the nightmares from my early Android tablet experiences (think Honeycomb 3.xx on Galaxy Tab 10.1), I find myself once again staring into the dark abyss that is Google's nascent mobile OS.
The occassion? An impromptu evaluation of the Acer Iconia Tab A200 as a potential low-cost computing solution for secondary education. My wife and I looked at possible post-PC alternatives for use in a new private high school we're funding on our home island of Mauritius. The hope was that such a tablet, coupled with a wired or wireless (the A200 has a full-sized USB port) keyboard/mouse combo, could serve double duty as both a library reference device and a thin client for hosting RDP sessions into a Windows terminal services environment (still gotta teach those kids Microsoft Office).
Google resumes 16GB Nexus 7 sales
When the larger model of the Nexus 7 vanished from the Play store a week ago, it was generally assumed that demand outstripped supply. After all, the tablet has been insanely popular since its launch, and pretty much sold out everywhere. The fact that the 8GB model was still available in the store just suggested that people were more interested in physical memory than cloud storage.
But then the conspiracy theories began to kick in. There had been a lot of complaints about the 16GB model prior to its disappearance, with most focusing on screen issues, which led my colleague Joe Wilcox to question whether the model had been withdrawn for reasons other than just overwhelming popularity. His article certainly struck a nerve and generated some interesting comments, including further complaints about the device. Could he be right? Was there more to the story than Google was telling us?
Nexus Q first-impressions review
Google's first consumer electronics device is a baffling beast. Its industrial design shames Apple TV, Roku and other cloud-connected set-top devices, while the user interface will confuse some people accustomed to a single remote to scan content on the big screen. Nexus Q is all about the cloud and smartphone. The TV's role is viewing, and little more. Price is another matter -- $299, same as Apple TV at launch more than five years ago. But that device sells for $99 today, and, granted, offers far fewer options to delight videophiles and audiophiles.
Nexus Q's promise: Your content anytime and anywhere there is a cloud connection -- and your friends' and families', too. Google calls the device the "first social streaming media player", and there's truth in the claim. But many of the basic streaming and control functions can be achieved simply by connecting your smartphone to the television. If you're going to use the handset as remote anyway, you could just as easily use it as source. That said, Nexus Q is delightful and its concepts represent a leap forward for media player industrial and user-interface design.
In-app subscriptions come to Google Play, includes 'bundling' capabilities
Google announced on Thursday that Android developers can now use in-app Billing to sell monthly or annual subscriptions from inside of apps sold in Google Play. The feature brings Google Play up to speed with Apple's iTunes App Store, which rolled out this feature over one year ago.
With the new feature, developers set the price and billing interval and Google Play manages the purchase transactions for both the seller and the subscriber. Users can view their subscriptions in the "My Apps" screen in the Play Store app, the same place they view their updates, or they can view them in the app's product details page in the Play Store app. This is where users can cancel subscriptions if they choose.
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