| Week in Tech: Week in Tech: Google gets us goggling with an L of an OS Jun 27th 2014, 11:35, by TechRadar 
This week was all about the big G. Not the big G that lives in the sky - we mean the slightly less omniscient one that lives in the cloud. The annual Google IO brought us the future of Android, some whizzy watches, a brand new TV box and, er, a cardboard hat. It's a Googly week in tech! IO need to knowGoogle IO is Google's equivalent of WWDC, an annual event where developers get to see what's next in smartphones, computers, entertainment and wearables. The keynote address was a bum-numbing three-plus hours, but we've boiled down the key information into a much more comfortable five points. Here are the five things you need to know about Google IO 2014. An L of an AndroidAndroid 5.0, previously predicted to take the name Lollipop, is now Android L - and it's going to be an L of an upgrade. As Gary Cutlack explains, there are "a lot of new features, big visual changes and clever tweaks [to] get excited about." From the pretty new look to better battery life, here are the 10 big things L has to offer. Doing a 360The Moto 360 is currently the world's most wanted smartwatch, and it's by far the most desirable of the Android Wear devices we've seen so far. But how does it compare to its similarly droid-powered rivals, the LG G Watch and the Samsung Gear Live? The Gear Live is the cheapest, but the 360 is the more attractive. What a cardThe future of virtual reality is… cardboard! Where previous Google IO attendees got all kinds of electronic goodies, this year's delegates got a smartwatch and a bit of cardboard. But Google Cardboard is no ordinary cardboard. It's cardboard that records everything you do and… no, not really. But it does turn your Android phone into a VR headset for 99.9% less than an Oculus Rift or Project Morpheus. Just don't try to use it in the rain. Google's TV: third time lucky?The newly announced Android TV is Google's third attempt at transforming television. Will this one work, or is it the new Nexus Q? Michelle Fitzsimmons has the remote: "It already seems more refined than the failed Google TV venture," she says, but it's "somewhat uninspired" - although Razer's Android TV "micro-console" looks pretty nifty in an Amazon-y, Apple-y kinda way. Google goes to workAndroid isn't a huge deal in business - almost all business tablet activations are currently iOS, not Android - but that may well change with Android for Work. Why take two devices into the office, Android for Work says, when you can just have one? It promises to keep work and personal stuff separate on a single device, and combined with Android apps on Chromebooks it could help Google make a much bigger dent in the business universe. Google Glass for a grandGoogle Glass has a UK price tag - a ridiculous £1,000 - and a spec bump: the memory has doubled and there are 12 new apps including Shazam and Live Stream. Is it worth the money? Of course it isn't, but as Matt Swider says, owning one is rather like "owning the first TV on the block". It's "more fun than functional right now," but it certainly gets you noticed.        |  | Don't worry - Google's confirmed a new Nexus device will appear this year Jun 27th 2014, 09:30, by Gareth Beavis 
The popular Nexus range was thought to be under threat from a new direction by Google – but it's now been confirmed that it's not only alive and kicking, but something new is in the works. Speaking to ReadWrite, Dave Burke, the head of Android engineering and the Nexus program at Google, confirmed that the brand is still 'invested in Nexus'. The worry is that the new range of Android Silver phones – supposed to be launched in 2015 and feature high-end handsets from all the major manufacturers, from Samsung to HTC to Sony and further – would negate the need for a Nexus phone, as they would all run stock Android. Burke said 'Android Silver is not something we are not commenting on right now,' both dismissing the notion that it would destroy the chance of new Nexus devices and confirming the mooted Silver range is real. Nex(t)usBut it seems that Google needs the Nexus range of phones and tablets, as the hardware and software teams work together in tandem to create a new release of Android – and that's not changed with the launch of Android L. Burke told ReadWrite: "When we are working, there are sort of two outputs. We're building a Nexus device and we're building the open source code. "There is no way you can build the open source code without the phone or tablet or whatever you are building. You have to live and breathe the code you are developing." He went on to say that Nexus is a 'statement of purity', a chance to show how the brand wants Android to look, and reiterated that the Nexus range isn't coming to an end any time soon. What was interesting is that he used the word 'device' as a singular – given we've seen a lot of information regarding both a Nexus 6 and Nexus 8 device, it would have made sense that both would be refreshed later this year when Android L drops, but are we only in line to see one?        | | Google enlists Samsung's KNOX for enterprise BYOD features Jun 27th 2014, 07:00, by Desire Athow 
Samsung and Google have announced at Google IO that some of Samsung KNOX's technology will be integrated in the next version of Android, known as Android L. Details of the agreement are not known but it appears that KNOX's DNA will be available to the core open-source Android platform. Hiroshi Lockheimer, VP of Engineering for Android, said "[Android is] grateful for [Samsung's] contribution to the Android open source project" before adding "Jointly we are bringing enterprise-grade security and management capabilities to all manufacturers participating in the Android ecosystem." Knox will be instrumental to allow the mobile operating system to serve two personae of the same user; one at work and one outside home. It uses a separate container to manage and secure business data and apps. Where's Divide?The announcement comes as a surprise as Google acquired an enterprise BYOD firm called Divide back in May, one that offered a solution that directly competes with KNOX. Whether or not Google will merge Divide with KNOX or whether KNOX is a short-term solution remains to be seen. The Google/Samsung joint announcement was one of many geared towards a business audience which Google and its partners are keen to tap. Chrome OS running Android apps, unlimited storage on Google Drive for $10 (about £6, AU$11) per user per month and numerous other smaller improvements to Google Apps may convince businesses to jump ship.   | | Motorola's budget Moto E lands Down Under in July Jun 27th 2014, 06:18, by Farrha Khan 
The Motorola Moto E is due to launch in Australia in July, falling just under its budget Moto G offering with a $179 price tag. The Moto E will come touting a 4.3-inch, 960 x 540 256ppi display, and will be powered with a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor and 1GB of RAM. The new low-entry handset will also sport a microSD slot for up to 32GB, a 1,980mAh battery and will run Android 4.4 KitKat. No selfies hereWith a 5MP camera round the back, many will be surprised to find that there is no front-facing shooter at all. You do get Gorilla Glass however, and it comes as 'splash resistant' - but with no IP rating, we wouldn't go swimming with it any time soon. You'll also be able to change the shell of the handset, with a variety of colours available. Motorola also announced that Moto G with 4G will be available from early July as well for $299. - Cheap handsets are great, but who's excited about the Moto 360 smartwatch?
       | | Techradar Deals: Get 30 Amazon apps for free for 48 hours Jun 26th 2014, 23:56, by Farrha Khan 
About AU$165 worth of apps are currently free right now at the Australian Amazon app store - but hurry, it's only a two-day promotion. Available on most Amazon and Android devices, you can get your hands on 30 apps, though you'll need to have the app store installed. Amazon added local pricing for the Aussie Amazon app store late last year, and has had "free app for the day" promotions since then. This time, 30 apps have been available for free since a minute past midnight in the wee hours of the morning of Friday, 27 June, and will go back to normal prices at midnight Saturday, 28 June. Some of the free apps include, Plex ($5.52), Sonic The Hedgehog 2 ($3.34), AccuWeather Platinum ($3.24), OfficeSuite Professional 7 ($16.23), Notepad+ ($1.99), League of Heroes Premium ($3.24), Pho.to Lab PRO ($3.24) and The Room Two for Kindle tablets ($2.99).        | | Google IO: Google challenges devs to make Project Ara unlike anything else Jun 26th 2014, 20:40, by klee 
Google has announced many things already at its developer conference, and the search titan still has projects left on the docket, including Project Ara. SlashGear reports Google has challenged developers to come up with a smartphone module that doesn't exist in today's preassembled devices. Hairbrained ideas are welcome but Mountain View is looking for new, never-before-seen parts that plug and play with its modular phone of the future. On top of bragging rights, the first to engineer a working module will get $100,000 (about £58,732/AU$106,216) as a grand prize. There's also room for two runner-ups who will win shoo-in invites to the next Ara developer event. The event is on track for this fall. And it's not like developers will be creating for a dummy model or anything; the Project Ara team successfully turned on a prototype during an IO session. Game on, debs. Google's magic phone factoryDon't think Google is just going to crowdsource the development of Project Ara going forward. While the developers work on their add-ons, Google announced it's figuring out a new, super-speed 3D printer production system to spit out customized modules. Google touts its personal 3D printer is 50x faster than a traditional one. Like an advanced copy machine, this printer can fabricate three-dimensional parts made of multiple types of materials. The machine also prints 600-dpi color images applying them like vinyl onto the modular parts. Next-generation phonesWhile the printer can already produce parts, Google is looking into how to pack even more components into its platform modules. In another research project, the company is looking to create longer lasting battery packs that can extend the operational time of our devices by up to three times. Google expects that in the future, it will eventually be able to create electrical elements such as antennas using 3D printing. To support all this modular magic Google plans to release a prototype version of Android this fall - which could ultimately mean developer devices by next season, too. - Meet Android One, Google's other big plan for smartphones
       | | Samsung and LG to flex muscles with more bendable phones this year? Jun 26th 2014, 16:28, by James Rogerson 
LG and Samsung both adventurously brought curved smartphones into the hands of consumers last year, with the G Flex and the Galaxy Round respectively and it looks like they might be at it again this year. Reports out of South Korea, and spotted by DigiTimes, claim that according to 'sources from the panel industry' both LG and Samsung may have 5 inch phones with flexible displays on the market by September. Apparently Samsung's flexi-phone will have a three-sided display, while LG's will have a QHD (1440 x 2160) screen with a pixel density of 510 pixels per inch. Three sides are better than oneThat sounds somewhat unlikely, as the LG G Flex had a 720p screen, due to the difficulty involved in fitting so many pixels on a curved display, though the Galaxy Round managed a 1080p screen... so you never know, LG might have managed to push things up to 1440p. It's not clear whether these new phones will be successors to last year's handsets or something else entirely. It's previously been rumoured that a variant on the Galaxy Note 4 will have a curved screen, and that's expected to launch in or around September, so that could be the curved device that we'll see from Samsung. That would be bigger than 5 inches, but a flexible QHD display with 510 pixels per inch (as LG is rumoured to be working on) would also be bigger than 5 inches, so we're inclined to interpret the report as meaning that the phones will have screens of between 5.0 and 5.9 inches. Though, of course, it could all be nonsense. That's the fun of flexible phones. - LG just released another phone. It's not flexible, but it is rather good.
       | | 'OK Google' voice commands go Android-wide with new Search app Jun 26th 2014, 15:44, by Chris Smith 
Google's gradual roll out of voice commands across its range of mobile and web services has continued with an update that makes "OK Google" recognisable across the Android system. The Google Search 3.5.14 for Android update, allows users to summon the 'hotword' command from anywhere on their phone and tablet, even when the device is locked. Users can turn on the enhanced hotword detection by heading to Menu > Settings> Voice and toggling the settings. Early reports claim the new system wide integration, first rumoured in April this year, works well in testing. Audio HistoryAlso coming to the new Google Search app, which some users are already seeing, is a new Audio History tool to boost voice searches. The feature learns the sound of your voice and your pronunciation habits in order to yield more accurate search results. Droid-Life has posted this neat hands-on video showing off the new functionality YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsMC5WUkmAI       | |
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