Google and Lenovo announce 3D Smartphone

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Google and Lenovo announced that they would begin selling a smartphone that can see in distances and can do things like measure the height of your ceiling or the area inside of a room simply by touching a few points on the screen when pointing its cameras up and down.

A culmination of Google's Project Tango, the device would be sold globally for under $500 and have a screen under 6.5 inches diagonally. Test devices have been in the shape of a small tablet that executives said was too large for consumers to use easily.

In a demo of the capabilities of such phones, executives demonstrated how to play a virtual game of Jenga on a real coffee table, and they demonstrated how virtual pets could react to objects in the real world when caught in the phone's gaze. One app also appeared to place virtual furniture and appliances in a room measured by the device to see if they would fit.

The companies also put out a call for developers to apply to an app incubator by mid-February with the promise the apps could come pre-installed in the device when it goes on sale.

Google Nexus 6P Special Edition

Huawei, the company that manufactures Nexus 6P for Google, has released the Special Edition variant of the Smartphone in the Indian market.

Priced at Rs 43,999, the Nexus 6P Special Edition sports a metal body in gold color, has 64GB internal storage and costs Rs 1,000 more than the standard variants. It will be exclusively available on Flipkart starting December 21.

Google had originally released Nexus 6 in silver and grey colors. The 32GB variant costs Rs 39,999, while the 64GB model is priced at Rs 42,999.

The all-new Google Nexus 6P has a 5.7-inch AMOLED display with QHD (1440x2560p) resolution and comes with the integrated Nexus Imprint fingerprint sensor on the back. The Smartphone features an all-metal, 7.33 mm thick body in white, grey and Aluminium finishes, packs a 3,450 mAh battery, and comes with front-facing stereo speakers.

The Smartphone has a 12.3 MP rear camera (1.55 micron sensor which captures more light, thus delivering better low light photos) that supports 4K recording and can capture videos at 240 frames per second; it is backed by a dual-LED flash. On the front is an 8MP camera, the highest resolution for selfie camera for a Nexus Smartphone yet.

Railway partners with Google for Wi-Fi

RailTel, the telecom wing of the Indian Railway, has signed an agreement with the subsidiary of Google India to provide Wi-Fi facilities at 400 stations across the country.

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha said that RailTel Corporation of India Ltd (RCIL), a PSU under Railway Ministry, signed an agreement with Mahataa Information India Pvt Ltd (MIIPL), an arm of Google Inc, to equip 400 stations with Wi-Fi in two phases.

In first phase, as many as 100 stations out of the total A1 and A categories would be covered with the offering, while the facility would be extended to 300 stations in the second phase.

Non-suburban stations with an annual passenger earning of more than Rs 60 crore are categorized as A1 stations, while those with yearly passenger income from Rs 8 crore to Rs 60 crore fall under the category of A stations.

The capital expenditure for the project would be incurred by RCIL and MIIPL.

Google launches Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) for Nexus Devices

Google has released the Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) for several of its Nexus devices.

Users can get the Android 6.0, the newest version of Google's mobile OS, update for the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player directly from Google. Also, an over-the-air update for each of these products should be arriving very soon.

The update focuses on improvements to battery life through a new feature called Doze, which makes it less power-hungry than previous versions, and also overhauls Android's handling of app permissions in a way that gives the users much more efficient control over exactly what information an app has access to.

In addition, Google Now on Tap, the new contextual search feature, scans and analyzes whatever is on the users screen to pull up relevant information.

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) also includes native fingerprint authentication support. It is not yet announced when Android 6.0 will reach phones from other companies like Samsung, LG and Motorola.

Sundar Pichai is new CEO of Google

India-born Sundar Pichai was named CEO of Google yesterday by the company's founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin in course of a re-organization that created a mother company called Alphabet.

Pichai, 43, a Chennai native who went to IIT Kharagpur and later to Stanford and Wharton, will take charge of a slimmed down Google (quickly dubbed Google Minus) that Larry Page said will be stripped of companies "that are pretty far afield of our main Internet products," which will all go into Alphabet. Page will be CEO of Alphabet.

The new mother company will include, besides Google, units such as Calico (which focuses on Longevity), X lab (which incubates new efforts like Wing, Google's drone delivery effort) and units dealing with life sciences (such as the one working on smart contact lens that detects blood sugar level). Google's investment arms, Ventures and Capital, will also be part of Alphabet.

Still, Google will remain the biggest piece of Alphabet. Explaining Pichai's elevation, Page said he (Pichai) has really stepped up since October of last year, when he took on product and engineering responsibility for Google's Internet businesses.

A straight elevation for Pichai would have meant that two of the world's five largest companies by marketcap are headed by executives of Indian-origin - Pichai at Google which is ranked #4, and Microsoft, which is ranked # 5, is helmed by Satya Nadella.

But it won't be so straightforward. Page explained that Alphabet Inc. will replace Google Inc. as the publicly-traded entity and all shares of Google will automatically convert into the same number of shares of Alphabet, with all of the same rights. Google will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet, which he (Page) will helm. The company's two classes of shares will continue to trade on Nasdaq as GOOGL and GOOG.

Still, the elevation is a milestone for Indian-origin CEOs, of whom there are at least half dozen in Fortune 500 companies, including Indra Nooyi at Pepsi, Ajay Banga at Mastercard, and Sanjay Mehrotra at SanDisk. There is a good chance that the third ranked Berkshire Hathaway too could be headed by a PIO with Ajit Jain strongly tipped to succeed Warren Buffett. Apple and Exxon Mobil are ranked #1 and #2 respectively.

Google launches Next Gen Android One Smartphone in India

Google has launched its next generation Android One Smartphone with Lava Pixel V1. The phone has been priced at Rs 11,350, approximately Rs 5,000 costlier than the three first generation Android One phones, which were launched last year. 

The new Android One Smartphone features a 5.5-inch HD (720x1280p) IPS display which comes with Asahi Dragon Trail Glass protection to guard against minor scratches. 

Lava pixel V1 is powered by a 1.3GHz octa-core processor with 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage (around 25.47GB is usable). The phone features a microSD card slot to expand storage. 

The Smartphone sports a 13MP rear camera with flash. It has a 8MP front-facing camera for selfies. The earlier version had 5 MP and 2 MP cameras respectively. 

The dual-SIM Smartphone supports 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM radio and GPS. 

Google to launch ‘Computer on a Stick'

Google and Taiwan's Asus are launching a "computer on a stick" which can plugged into a display to turn it into a PC. Google said that the Asus Chromebit would be arriving mid-year with a low price tag. 

"Smaller than a candy bar, the Chromebit is a full computer that will be available for less than $100," Google said. 

"By simply plugging this device into any display, you can turn it into a computer. It's the perfect upgrade for an existing desktop and will be really useful for schools and businesses." 

Google has produced Chrome devices with other manufacturers including Acer, Lenovo, Dell and LG. 

Google to acquire India's InMobi

Google is in early talks to acquire Bangalore-based start-up InMobi, in a move that would strengthen its offering in the increasingly competitive mobile advertising space.

InMobi, which helps companies target phones and mobile devices in their advertising, was launched in 2007 and claims to have over 1 billion users across 200 countries. It counts Japan's SoftBank, an early backer of China's Alibaba, and early stage venture capital firm Sherpalo among investors.

According to a source, InMobi is expected to be likely valued at around $1 billion.

The Economic Times newspaper first reported news of these ongoing talks.

Google Nexus 9 launched in India

While Google has still not made the all-new Nexus 9 tablet available for purchase on its Play Store website in India; yet the manufacturer of the tablet, HTC has released the device in the country via Amazon. The tablet is available for Rs 28,900.

Amazon.in is giving away a gift card worth Rs 2,000 with Nexus 9 purchased till December 12.

Nexus 9 has an 8.9-inch screen with 2048x1536p resolution and is powered by the 64-bit quad-core Nvidia Tegra K1 processor, clocked at 2.3GHz. It is the first tablet to run on Android 5.0 (Lollipop), the latest version of Google's mobile operating system. The latest Nexus tablet comes with 2GB RAM. Only the 16GB variant is available on Amazon.in.

The tablet has an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 1.6MP front camera. According to Google, its 6,700mAh battery lasts up to 9.5 hours on a single charge. In terms of design, Nexus 9 is made of plastic but features metallic trims on the sides. It also has front-facing speakers.

Among the chief competitors of Google Nexus 9 in India are Apple iPad Air 2, Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet.

Google launches Chromecast in India

Almost after one and a half years its global debut, Google has finally made Chromecast, its media streaming device, available in the Indian market.

Chromecast will be sold in India at Rs 2,999 through e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal starting December 10 midnight, coinciding with Google's GOSF shopping festival. The device is sold in the US at $35 (Rs 2,165 approximately).

Google had unveiled the Chromecast on July 24 2013. The device is essentially a small thumb drive-like stick that can be plugged into an HDMI port on LED/LCD TVs. It allows users to stream content from video services like Hulu, Netflix, Google's YouTube and content from Google Play. It's worth pointing out that US services like Netflix and Hulu don't work in India.

In India, Chromecast currently supports YouTube and Google Play Movies, as well as apps from partners like Eros Now, Spuul and YuppTV.

As part of a promotional launch offer, Airtel and Eros are offering Chromecast customers some special subscription offers. Eros Now will give Chromecast customers free access to their full catalog of content for two months. This includes popular Bollywood and regional movies, as well as music, and TV shows on-demand. Airtel is offering existing customers who buy a Chromecast, free data up to 20GB per month for 3 months. New Airtel customers can have activation charges of Rs 1000 waived. 

Chromecast connects with smartphones, tablets and PCs to stream online content to TVs. However, unlike Apple TV, it doesn't officially support streaming of local content to TVs to prevent copyright infringement issues, and connects to an online server for beaming content.

App makers need to add support for their apps for users to be able to stream content through their devices. However, users can still 'cast' their Chrome browser tabs to the Chromecast. This implies that video playing on any web page can be streamed. This feature is in beta and there's considerable lag in the mirroring. The Chromecast also allows users of Nexus phones and certain other high-end phones to mirror their phone screens on their TVs.

Google, Facebook, Oracle offer Rs 1 Crore plus Salary at IITs

Top international recruiters Facebook, Oracle and Google have rolled out at least 40 offers with total compensation packages higher than Rs 1 crore at the end of only the second day of IIT campus placements. Such a large number of crore-plus offers - including cash and stock -  are being offered for the first time.

Oracle is leading the charge, offering up to 4,800 stock units worth $200,000 (Rs 1.24 crore), besides a $125,000 (Rs 77.5 lakh) cash component. IIT BHU sources have revealed these figures.

Sources from IIT-Delhi, IIT-Roorkee and IIT-Kanpur said some 4,000 stock options had been indicated as part of the overall package by the American multinational computer technology corporation.

Google, for Mountain View postings, rolled out a salary of $130,000 and 250 stock units worth approximately $134,500 (Rs 83 lakh), said IIT-BHU officials.

The institute added that one student has been selected by Oracle US, and another for Google US.

Average domestic salaries at IIT campus placements this year have been in the range of Rs 10-12 lakh.

Placements at the older institutes started on December 1. Stock options are typically rolled out by companies as a retention measure and are often vested only after employees remain with the company for a specified period.

Facebook has already made offers of $250,000 (Rs 1.55 crore) to students at IIT-Bombay, IIT-Kharagpur and IIT-Delhi.

Google Glass to be powered by Intel

Google has partnered with chip maker Intel for its next Google Glass. According to a report by WSJ, the next Google Glass will be powered by Intel and will arrive in 2015.

Wall Street Journal reports that Intel chip will replace the Texas Instruments processor which currently powers Glass. The next Google Glass is expected to have a better battery life. This a deal between Google and Intel is said to be part of a wider push into wearable's by the chip maker. According to reports, Intel also plans to promote Glass to generate new business, including pushing glass in work capacity to manufacturing businesses, hospitals and others.

Although Google has been promoting Glass for a while now, the wearable has yet to capture a market share. It has shown promise in medical and other businesses and such a professional adoption might be the right direction that Google needs to promote Glass. Google's Glass at Work initiative aims to push Google Glass usage in such industries. 

Intel has recently ventured into the wearable market with its first ever MICA bracelet for $495. The wearable is meant for fashion conscious women and comes with a stylish design. The bracelets body is laden with semi precious stones and pearls. It has a 1.6 inch OLED curved sapphire display and comes with an inbuilt SIM card, 3G and GPS connectivity. Apart from this Intel has also planned a smartwatch with Fossil and a smart bracelet in collaboration with Opening Ceremony.

Is Google Glass just an Experiment?

After two years of popping up at high-profile events sporting Google Glass, the gadget that transforms eyeglasses into spy-movie worthy technology, Google co-founder Sergey Brin sauntered bare-faced into a Silicon Valley red-carpet recently.

The Googler, who heads up the top-secret lab that developed Glass, has hardly given up on the product- he recently wore his pair to the beach.

But Brin’s timing is not propitious, coming as many developers and early Glass users are losing interest in the much-hyped, $1500 test version of the product: a camera, processor, and stamp-sized computer screen mounted to the edge of eyeglass frames. Google itself has pushed back the Glass roll out to the mass market.

While Glass may find some specialized, even lucrative, uses in the workplace, its prospects of becoming a consumer hit in the near future are slim, many developers say.

Many of the glass app makers have stopped working on their projects or abandoned them, mostly because of the lack of customers or the limitations of the device. Few more have switched to developing for business, leaving behind consumer projects.

Plenty of larger developers remain with Glass. The nearly 100 apps on the official website include Facebook and OpenTable.

Google insists it is committed to Glass, with hundreds of engineers and executives working on it. Tens of thousands use Glass in the pilot consumer program.

Glass was the first project to emerge from Google’s X division, the secretive group tasked with developing “moonshot” products such as self-driving cars. Glass and wearable devices overall amount to a new technology, as smartphones once were, that will likely take time to evolve into a product that clicks with consumers.

Brin had predicted a launch this year, but 2015 is now the most likely date for the launch.

The lack of a launch date has given some developers the impression that Google is still treating Glass as an experiment.

In April, Google launched the Glass at Work program to help make the device useful for specific industries, such as healthcare and manufacturing.