According to Google, which underwent an antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission recently, the speed of change in the tech industry makes it impossible for regulators to impose restrictions without holding up the progress of future innovations. And the commission agreed, dropping all charges against the search giant. Continue reading Mobile Revolution: Google Dominates Mobile Search…For Now

The interest in 3D entertainment and augmented reality has inspired numerous new head-mounted displays and wearable technology. Using Bluetooth technology and wireless connections to offload processing, these displays come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but all have similar aims: to create an immersive entertainment experience or overlay relevant information onto our surroundings. We expect to see some compelling new products at CES. Continue reading CES 2013: Head-Mounted Displays and Wearable Tech

Google Now “brings together virtually everything Google knows about you and where you are and then turns all of this information into a useful dashboard on your phone,” according to TechCrunch. The new product is a standard feature of Android Jelly Bean and up. It shows users information about their daily commute, appointments, local weather, upcoming flight and hotel reservations and much more. Continue reading Mobile: Google Now To Become Central Hub for Android

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos got a “wake-up” call a decade ago, when he got word of a project at Google to scan and digitize product catalogs. “He saw it as a warning that the Web search engine could encroach upon his online retail empire, according to a former Amazon executive,” reports Reuters. That was just the beginning of a rivalry that will continue heating up in 2013. The two will compete even more fiercely in the online advertising, retail, mobile gadgets and cloud computing realms. Continue reading Are Amazon and Google on a Collision Course for 2013?

LG has confirmed it will launch new Google TV offerings at CES next week, including 42-, 57-, 50-, 55- and 60-inch models from the upcoming GA6400 series, and 47- and 55-inch Cinema Screen panels from the new GA7900 series. Features include: Magic Qwerty Remote, natural language recognition via a built-in microphone, and built-in Google search functions. An updated Home Dashboard offers convenient access to content from HBO Go, YouTube and other apps. Continue reading CES 2013: LG to Unveil Seven Google TV Models

From Kim Dotcom and the rise of patent troll lawsuits to Apple v. Samsung and the public outcry against SOPA/PIPA, 2012 was a dramatic year in terms of copyright law, tech-related legislation and Internet policy. Response to the SOPA/PIPA bills in January helped set the tone as the debate in Washington raged, and consumers and companies took to the Internet in protest. At one point, politicians were flooded with a record eight million e-mails from regular Internet users in just a few days. So what were the top tech policy stories for 2012 — and how will they impact us moving forward? Continue reading Year in Review: Top Tech Policy Stories of 2012

Industry analyst Tim Bajarin offers his perspective on the leading tech trends we can expect in the coming year. Bajarin, who has been writing an end-of-the-year prediction column for 23 years (and says he has been “reasonably successful”), predicts some interesting developments, including: Augmented Reality going mainstream, increased consumer attention for Google’s Chromebook, a new interest in hybrids and convertibles from IT managers, a dramatic increase in mobile malware, and more. Continue reading Tim Bajarin Details Top Six Tech Trends Expected in 2013

As China continues to expand its smartphone market, edging past the U.S. for the title of world’s largest, “the rise of the Android mobile operating system should be a huge success story for Google, which developed and maintains Android,” writes Technology Review. However, even as shipments of the more affordable Android devices are on the rise in China, it’s often overlooked “how little Google itself is benefiting from Android’s growth in China,” according to the article. Continue reading Android Devices On the Rise in China, But Stripped of Google Play Store

YouTube has released a new basic iOS camera app that uploads automatically and makes sharing to social networks as easy as pushing just one button. Simply called Capture, it “comes with a few key features that make it superior to the default iOS camera app: It offers image stabilization and color correction, and users can trim clips and even add a YouTube-approved soundtrack,” reports GigaOM. Continue reading Google Aims to Replace iPhone Camera App with YouTube Capture

Google Maps has returned to iOS, and carries over the redesigned look of Gmail and other Google apps on iOS, writes Engadget. Google Maps for iOS looks mostly like its Android counterpart, but includes a few new features, “such as swiping upwards to expand directions and location details” and “tucking the layer toggles into a menu pulled out from the right,” notes the post. Continue reading Hands-On Review: Redesigned Google Maps Finally Available for iOS

“The perfect search engine would really understand whatever your need is,” says Google CEO Larry Page. And that’s exactly what the search giant wants to do. Moving past mathematical statistics and indexing, Google is building up its Knowledge Graph, a new database for understanding “things, not strings.” Continue reading Google Wants to Change Everything You Know About Online Search

As the Google TV platform fails to gain traction, Google is looking to sell its Motorola Home Business, which is responsible for building set-top boxes for cable providers. The Motorola cable box business was acquired by Google for $12.5 billion last year. According to Bloomberg, Google has received multiple offers, the most compelling coming from Arris Group Inc. and Pace Plc. Google reportedly wants to sell in order to focus on its high-end smartphone business to ramp up competition with Apple. Continue reading Google Fields Bids from Arris and Pace on Motorola STB Business

Playcast is a cloud-based gaming service that runs through pay TV, IPTV, or over-the-top TV providers like Google TV and Roku.

“For the end user, the system operates like VOD or an app, while remote servers actually run the games and stream a video feed of the gameplay in real-time,” reports Engadget. “On the back end, one server shelf can serve up to 15 players an HD (read: 720p) feed simultaneously, and graphical artifacting is kept to a minimum because it streams over the operator’s managed network.”

Playcast differentiates itself from OnLive because Playcast can brand its front-end interface to fit specific customers’ desires and does not need additional hardware. Playcast also offers packages of games for subscription use.

The company plans to launch in Q3 of 2013 with 10-15 packages of 20 games each. The packages will likely cost $10-$15 a month. Playcast will alternate 10 percent new games in each month to keep customers engaged.

“It appears that Playcast will provide casual gamers an intriguing option for getting their gaming fix next year,” concludes the post. “But we’re reserving judgment until we see how well the games run on a managed network, what titles are offered, and just how much it’ll cost.”