TAG Heuer announced at Baselworld in Switzerland that it is developing a smartwatch in collaboration with Intel and Google. The announcement was light on specifics regarding features or pricing, but explained that the watch is expected to ship later this year. The watch is also expected to be expensive, based on the companies involved and the language of the announcement. David Singleton, director of engineering for Android Wear, discussed “fusing beauty with technology” for a “unique blend of emotion and innovation.” Continue reading Luxury Smartwatch to Launch from TAG Heuer, Google and Intel

YouTube has made some compelling new changes in the last week. The video site just announced the launch of its “Cards” system, which is designed to eventually supplant annotations. The company also announced its new site, “YouTube for Artists,” essentially a resource guide for music artists promoting their work on YouTube. In addition, YouTube now supports 360-degree video formats in most of its mobile and Internet platforms, a move the company promised earlier in the year to address the growing interest in virtual reality content. Continue reading YouTube Upgrades Support Music Artists and Virtual Reality

Google has opened its first branded physical store, with plans to sell the company’s Android phones and tablets, Chromebook laptops and Chromecast TV services. The Google shop is located on Tottenham Court Road in London. While not its first foray into physical locations — Google opened “Chromezones” in U.K. stores in 2011 and “Androidland” in Australian stores — it marks the first time the company is opening a shop under its own name and illustrates how some major online players are exploring new ways to reach consumers. Continue reading Google Selects London Location for its First Ever Branded Shop

Nvidia, a company best known for its graphics chips, has plans to launch a new set-top box with significant processing power and Ultra HD resolution. The $199 console, known as the Nvidia Shield, runs on the powerful new Tegra X1 processor and Android software. The Shield was designed to deliver streaming video games through Grid, described as a “Netflix of videogames.” Consumers will also be able to stream 4K video from Netflix, YouTube, and the Android TV version of Google Play. Continue reading Nvidia Unveils Set-Top for 4K Movie and Video Game Streaming

BitTorrent has developed a data sharing service called Sync that lets users share and sync files between devices without having to store any information on remote servers. Powered by BitTorrent’s peer-to-peer file-sharing technology, Sync reportedly transmits data between devices 16 times faster than today’s cloud services. Because there is no cloud, there are no user accounts or passwords either. Free and paid versions of Sync are now available on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Windows Phone.  Continue reading BitTorrent Launches Sync as New Alternative to Cloud Services

In 2011, Google launched Google+, an ambitious social media endeavor to rival Facebook and other emerging social media sites and apps. Under Google+, the company premiered Google Photos and Google Hangouts, two products that despite the social network’s shortcomings, have been well received by the public. In an attempt to further develop these and other Google+ products, the company plans to launch these products into separate services with new management in place to oversee their development. Continue reading Google+ Compartmentalized to Push Growth of Popular Products

The VideoLAN Organization has released an upgraded VLC 2.2.0 open source video player with some notable new features. VLC for Linux, Mac and Windows now includes an in-app extensions store, in-app subtitle downloads, resume playback functionality, and support for interactive Blu-ray menus. Resume playback has been available on mobile versions, but is now offered on the desktop. VideoLAN has also added support for Android TV, Windows Phone and Windows RT. VLC 3.0.0 is scheduled for release later this year. Continue reading VLC Upgrade Adds In-App Extensions Store, Android TV Support

Google recently announced that it plans to consider two new variables as ranking signals to help improve search results for mobile users of Google search. Google’s latest ranking signals will include a site’s mobile-friendliness and information from indexed mobile applications. The company is committed to helping website owners reconfigure their pages to be more mobile-friendly through various online guides and resources. The mobile-friendly ranking will take effect the third week of April. Continue reading Google Implements New Ranking Signals for Mobile Web Results

Virtual reality content creator Jaunt has partnered with longtime movie sound experts at Dolby to improve the audio in immersive experiences. Audio is a crucial part of making VR feel more like reality, and the Dolby Atmos system will allow Jaunt to specifically target sounds so that they seem as if they are coming from a very specific location. The new technology is expected to improve VR storytelling since content creators would be able to use sound to redirect a user’s attention. Continue reading Dolby and Jaunt Bring Atmos Surround Sound to Virtual Reality

Since last summer, Google has been improving the technology behind Android for Work, an initiative to push the company’s mobile operating system in the workplace. Google wants to encourage employees to use their Android phones as both personal and work devices. To do so, Google built Android for Work to support personal and work profiles autonomously on a single device. The company also launched Google Play for Work, which lets companies manage their very own app stores. Continue reading Google Makes Push for Android Smartphones in the Workplace

The Beam is part LED lightbulb and part projector. Users can screw it into a light socket or place it on a flat surface and project content anywhere. The small-scale device has an onboard computer to access content on the Web. It can also project games or movies from a smartphone or tablet. The smart projector has a corresponding iOS and Android app for operation and programming commands. Beam Labs Inc. is offering the $399 Beam device as part of its Kickstarter campaign that ends March 24. Continue reading Smart Projector Displays Content from Your Phone or Tablet

Google is now offering users more cloud storage to upload their personal music files through Google Play Music at no cost. Earlier this week, Google upped the cloud capacity of music storage to 50,000 songs, far exceeding the 20,000 song limitation previously in effect. The company’s upgraded cloud capacity for music storage dramatically surpasses that of its competitors, including Apple, Amazon and Xbox Music. Additionally, other cloud offerings for music storage generally come at a premium cost. Continue reading Google More Than Doubles Cloud Storage Capacity for Music

Facebook has unveiled two new iOS apps designed for people working behind the scenes. Designers now have a tool that lets them prototype the interface of an app without writing a single line of code. The Origami Live app will then roughly translate the design into code with the click of a button. Facebook has also created a new app for advertisers so that they can schedule or even create their Facebook ads from their phone. Facebook Ads Manager provides metrics on the ad’s performance. Continue reading Facebook Releases New Apps for Advertisers and Designers

In order to help build traction for its Google Wallet service, Google is exploring how it can unite banks, wireless carriers, payment networks and device makers to carry the payment service. The company is reportedly willing to offer wireless carriers additional revenue to have Google Wallet featured on Android phones. Google’s attempt to revive its mobile payment service comes after a recent announcement by Apple claiming that its Apple Pay is now the leading contact-less payment service.  Continue reading Google Seeks Carrier Support to Revive Wallet Payment Service

Hulu recently introduced a new feature called Watchlist that combines the Queue, Favorites, and Shows You Watch features that already exist on the platform into a single personalized interface. Much like the existing features, Watchlist lets users keep track of shows, pick favorites and keep a list of those they have already watched. The new feature also detects a user’s favorite shows and automatically curates a list based on those shows with the most favored programs conveniently listed at the top.  Continue reading Hulu’s New Watchlist Feature Helps Simplify Your Binge Viewing