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Nexus: The best of Google, now in three sizes
October 29, 2012
People increasingly have more than one device, and they switch between them many times a day. Nexus—Google’s hardware line for Android devices—gets rid of the hassle. Just sign in with your Google Account and everything is there ready to go, whatever device you’re using: photos, emails, contacts, bookmarks, even your entertainment on Google Play.
Today, we’re excited to announce three great new Nexus devices … in small, medium and large. And they all run Android 4.2, a new flavor of Jelly Bean—which includes the latest version of Google Now and other great new features.
Nexus 4 with Google Now and Photo Sphere
Nexus 4 is our latest smartphone, developed together with LG. It has a quad-core processor which means it's super fast, a crisp 4.7" (320 ppi) display that's perfect for looking at photos and watching YouTube, and with wireless charging you just set the phone down on a charging surface to power it up, no wires needed. While Nexus 4 is incredibly powerful under the hood, it also features the latest version of Jelly Bean, Android 4.2—the simplest and smartest version of Android yet. Starting with the camera, we've reinvented the photo experience with
Photo Sphere
, which lets you capture images that are literally larger than life. Snap shots up, down and in every direction to create stunning 360-degree immersive experiences that you can share on Google+ with friends and family—or you can add your Photo Sphere to Google Maps for the world to see.
Android 4.2 brings other great goodies like Gesture Typing, which lets you glide your finger over the letters you want to type on the keyboard—it makes typing fast, fun and a whole lot simpler.
Android 4.2 also adds support for wireless display so you can wirelessly watch movies, YouTube videos and play games right on your Miracast-compatible HDTV.
Learn more about all of the new features of Android 4.2, Jelly Bean,
here
.
Google Now—even more useful
We designed Google Now to make life simpler by giving you the right information at just the right time in easy to read cards, before you even ask. And the feedback has been awesome. So today we’re adding more cards that we hope you’ll find useful. Flight information, restaurant reservations, hotel confirmations and shipping details—how often have you found yourself wading through your email to get this information at the last moment? So next time you book a table for dinner, you’ll get a reminder with all the details without ever having to lift a finger. You’ll also get cards for nearby attractions, interesting photo spots, movies times at nearby theaters or concerts by your favorite artists.
Nexus 7: Thin, light and now even more portable
Nexus 7 brings you the best of Google–YouTube, Chrome, Gmail, Maps–and all the great content from Google Play in a slim, portable package that fits perfectly in your hand. To give you more room for all that great content you can now get Nexus 7 with 16GB ($199) or 32GB ($249) of storage. But we also wanted to make this highly portable tablet even more mobile. So we added HSPA+ mobile data. Nexus 7 is now also available with 32GB and HSPA+ mobile ($299), which can operate on more than 200 GSM providers worldwide, including AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S.
Nexus 10:
Powerful and shareable
Nexus 10 is the ultimate tablet for watching movies or reading magazines. We wanted to build a premium entertainment device, so we partnered with Samsung to do just that. Nexus 10 is the highest resolution tablet on the planet with a 10.055" display at 2560-by-1600 (300ppi), that's over 4 million pixels right in your hands. It comes with a powerful battery that will get you up to nine hours of video playback and more than 500 hours of standby time. With a set of front-facing stereo speakers, you can watch movies right from your Nexus 10 and they simply sound awesome. But what makes Nexus 10 unique is that it's the first truly shareable tablet. With Android 4.2, you can add multiple users and switch between them instantly right from the lockscreen. We believe that everyone should have quick and easy access to their own stuff -- email, apps, bookmarks, and more. That way, everyone can have their own home screens, their own music, and even their own high scores.
Google Play: More entertainment, more countries
We’ve recently added a ton of great new entertainment to Google Play,
such as movies and TV shows from Twentieth Century Fox. Earlier this
year we expanded our service beyond movie rentals and now you can
purchase movies and build a library of your favorites in Google Play.
Today we’re bringing movie purchasing to more countries - Canada, the
U.K., France, Spain and Australia.
We’re also excited to announce two new partnerships. We’re now working
with Time, Inc. to bring you even more magazines like InStyle, PEOPLE,
TIME and others.
And we’ve partnered with Warner Music Group who will
be adding their full music catalog with new songs coming each day.
We’re now working with all of the major record labels globally, and
all the major U.S. magazine publishers, as well as many independent
labels, artists and publishers.
On November 13, we're bringing music on Google Play to Europe. Those
of you in the U.K, France, Germany, Italy and Spain will be able to
purchase music from the Google Play store and add up to 20,000 songs—
for free—from your existing collection to the cloud for streaming to
your Android devices or web browser. We’re also launching our new
matching feature to streamline the process of uploading your personal
music to Google Play. We’ll scan your music collection and any song we
match against the Google Play catalog will be automatically added to
your online library without needing to upload it, saving you time.
This will be available in Europe at launch on November 13 and is
coming to the U.S. soon after. This will all be for free—free
storage of your music, free matching, free syncing across your devices
and free listening.
Great value
We’ve always focused on building great devices at great value. And we
think today’s devices offer the very best that money can buy. Here are
more details on when and where you can pick up your next Nexus device:
Nexus 4
:
8GB for $299; 16GB for $349; available unlocked and without a
contract on 11/13 on the Google Play store in the U.S., U.K., Australia,
France, Germany, Spain and Canada. The 16GB version will also be
available through T-Mobile for $199, with a 2-year contract (check
here
for more details).
Nexus 7
:
16GB for $199 and 32GB for $249; available in the U.S., U.K.,
Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Canada and Japan, and also through
our retail partners Gamestop, Office Depot, Office Max, Staples and
Walmart.
Nexus 7 with 32GB and mobile data
:
$299 and unlocked, on sale 11/13 in
the Google Play store in the U.S., U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Spain
and Canada.
Nexus 10
:
16GB for $399; 32GB for $499; available on 11/13 in the
Google Play Store in the U.S., U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Spain,
Canada and Japan.
You'll also be able to purchase the 32GB version in more than 2,000 Walmart stores in the U.S.
A Nexus device is much more than simply a phone or tablet. It’s your
connection to the best of Google—all of your stuff and entertainment,
everywhere you go with no hassle. Now you have three new Nexus
devices, a new improved version of Jelly Bean and more entertainment
than ever before—all available on Google Play. The playground is open.
Posted by Andy Rubin, SVP, Mobile and Digital Content
Update 2:30pm:
This post has been updated
with the availability of Nexus 10 at Walmart.
Get your Google back
October 26, 2012
If you’ve moved to Windows 8 and are getting acquainted with it, you may be looking for a couple of your favorite Google products that you use every day. To help you get the best experience possible on Google and across the web, we’ve designed and built a new Google Search app and Chrome browser for Windows 8 and created a
simple site
to help you get your Google back.
The Google Search app comes with a clean and recognizable user interface. Our new voice search lets you naturally speak questions. The image search and image previews are built for swiping. And, as usual, you get immediate results as you type with Google Instant. The
doodles
you enjoy on special occasions will be right there on the homepage and even show up on the Google tile on your start screen.
The Chrome browser is the same Chrome you know and love, with some customizations to optimize for touchscreens, including larger buttons and the ability to keep Chrome open next to your other favorite apps. It delivers the fast, secure web experience you’ve come to expect from Chrome on all your devices.
To get both Google Search and Chrome installed on your Windows 8 machine, head to our
site
and learn how to get your familiar Google apps back.
Posted by Tamar Yehoshua, Product Management Director, Search
Trekking the Grand Canyon for Google Maps
October 24, 2012
In our ongoing effort to create the perfect map—one that’s as comprehensive, accurate and easy to use as possible—we’ve gone well beyond just the streets. Through the Street View feature on
Google Maps
, you’ve been able to explore panoramic views of amazing places around the world ranging from
the Swiss Alps
to
the Amazon
to
Antarctica
, and a variety of
urban cities
,
university campuses
,
ancient ruins
and
ski resorts
as well.
Today, demonstrating the rocky and rugged paths we’ll travel to make Google Maps even more complete, we’re collecting imagery from a place no
car, trike or snowmobile
has ever been before. On its first official outing, the Street View team is using the
Trekker
—a wearable backpack with a camera system on top—to traverse the Grand Canyon and capture 360-degree images of one of the most breathtaking natural landscapes on the planet.
Operations Manager Steve Silverman (left) and Product Manager Ryan Falor (right) hiking the Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim with Trekkers
The narrow ridges and steep, exposed trails of the Grand Canyon provide the perfect terrain for our newest camera system. The Trekker—which its operator controls via an Android phone and automatically gathers photos as he walks—enables the collection of high-quality imagery from places that are only accessible on foot.
Falor controlling the the Trekker with his Android device
This week, photos are being gathered from portions of the South Rim at
Grand Canyon National Park
, including the ridge, the famous
Bright Angel Trail
,
South Kaibab Trail
and more. These panoramic views will soon be live on Google Maps, giving everyone from real-life visitors to armchair travelers the opportunity to marvel at this beautiful, majestic site from the comfort of their computers or mobile devices.
The team hiking the Bright Angel Trail
So get ready for the virtual adventure that awaits! And in the meantime, we’ll keep on trekken’ and working hard to bring you panoramic imagery of more visually stunning places we have yet to explore and share on Google Maps.
Posted by Ryan Falor, Product Manager, Google Street View
Watch the Hajj from the Grand Mosque of Mecca live on YouTube
October 24, 2012
Tomorrow marks the start of the observance of Eid El Adha, celebrated by the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims. As part of this holiday, nearly 2.5 million Muslims will participate in the world’s largest pilgrimage to perform the ritual of
Hajj
. This year, millions more from around the world will be able to experience the ritual via the live stream from Mecca, Saudi Arabia on the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information's
YouTube channel
.
The Hajj represents one of the five pillars of Islam; it requires all Muslims around the world who are able-bodied and can afford it to perform the pilgrimage once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of
Dhu al-Hijjah
, the 12th and last month of the
Islamic calendar
.
This live stream was made possible by our cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information, which also
broadcast Islamic prayers live
from the
Grand Mosque in Mecca
during this year’s Ramadan.
Watch on
www.youtube.com/makkahlive
.
Posted by Abdulrahman Tarabzouni, Head of Emerging Arabia, Google
The new Chromebook, for everyone
October 18, 2012
As a kid growing up in India, I was fascinated with computers and the endless possibilities they presented. I had to wait until college to finally get my hands on one in the computer lab and since then began dreaming of a world where everyone could have access to one. We’re not quite there yet, but every day we get a bit closer.
A few years ago, we set out on a journey to build a
better computer
that’s faster, simpler and more secure. When we
introduced
a few Chromebooks into the market, many of you early adopters joined us on this journey. For folks living entirely in the
cloud
, the Chromebook is now a primary computer.
Many people use the Chromebook today as the perfect additional computer for their home. For families, it’s easy to use and share: for kids doing homework on the couch, parents catching up on emails at the kitchen counter and grandparents staying connected on video chat. There’s no need to worry about
security updates
and maintenance is easy; all you need to do is charge the battery. It just works.
This gets to the heart of the Chromebook vision. In order to have one, two or more computers around the house, they need to be easy to use and much more affordable. So together with Samsung, we designed a new laptop—the
new Samsung Chromebook
for $249—the computer for everyone.
The new Chromebook is a great computer at any price, but it’s an incredible computer at $249. It’s one of the lightest laptops on the market. You can easily carry it around all day—it’s 2.5 pounds, a mere 0.8 inches thick, with more than 6 hours of battery life for the typical user. And with 100 GB of free storage on Google Drive*, you can get to all of your stuff anytime, anywhere.
Even with its compact design, it’s packed with performance—it boots up in less than 10 seconds and resumes instantly. High-resolution videos (in 1080p) are beautiful to watch and when using the touchpad, you’ll notice smooth scrolling due to a hardware-accelerated user interface. And as you‘d expect from a Chromebook, it’s easy to share with others. Everyone—mom, dad, grandparents, tech lovers, tech haters—can have separate accounts where all of their stuff is kept safe. Finally, if you’re an active Google user of products like Gmail, Drive, Search, Maps, YouTube, Play or Google+ Hangouts, everything just works seamlessly.
Starting today, the new Samsung Chromebook is available for pre-order online from Amazon, Best Buy, PC World and other retailers. Next week it will be available for sale from these same online retailers as well as the Google Play store. You can also buy them at over 500 Best Buy stores across the U.S and over 30 PC World and Currys stores in the U.K.
So if you ever felt it was too complicated and too expensive to have an additional computer (or two), we hope you (and the entire family) will give the new Chromebook a try.
Posted by Sundar Pichai, SVP, Chrome & Apps
*You will have 100 GB of free storage for 2 years, starting on the date you redeem the offer on eligible Chrome devices.
Google’s data centers: an inside look
October 17, 2012
Very few people have stepped inside Google’s data centers, and for good reason: our first priority is the privacy and security of your data, and we go to great lengths to protect it, keeping our sites under close guard. While we’ve shared many of our
designs and best practices
, and we’ve been
publishing our efficiency data since 2008
, only a small set of employees have access to the server floor itself.
Today, for the first time, you can see inside our data centers and pay them a virtual visit. On
Where the Internet lives
, our new site featuring beautiful photographs by
Connie Zhou
, you’ll get a never-before-seen look at the technology, the people and the places that keep Google running.
The server floor in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Night falls over our Lenoir, North Carolina data center
In addition, you can now explore our Lenoir, NC data center at your own pace in Street View. Walk in the
front door
, head up the stairs, turn right at the ping-pong table and head down the hall to the
data center floor
. Or take a stroll around the
exterior
of the facility to see our energy-efficient cooling infrastructure. You can also watch a video tour to learn more about what you're viewing in Street View and see some of our equipment in action.
Finally, we invited author and
WIRED
reporter
Steven Levy
to talk to the architects of our infrastructure and get an unprecedented look at its inner workings. His
new story
is an exploration of the history and evolution of our infrastructure, with a first-time-ever report from the floor of a Google data center.
Fourteen years ago, back when Google was a student research project, Larry and Sergey powered their new search engine using a few cheap, off-the-shelf servers stacked in
creative ways
. We’ve grown a bit since then, and we hope you enjoy this glimpse at what we’ve built. In the coming days we’ll share a series of posts on the
Google Green Blog
that explore some of the photographs in more detail, so stay tuned for more!
Posted by Urs Hölzle, Senior Vice President, Technical Infrastructure
The meaning of open, redux
October 16, 2012
Nearly three years ago I wrote a blog post,
"The Meaning of Open,"
about Google’s commitment to openness and how it makes the entire company better. After it was published I received several thoughtful responses from readers—professors and writers appreciative of the look inside Google, business leaders telling me how open affects their business, grad school students surprised that this was the very opposite of the lock-in strategy they were being taught.
This week we released the
"Open" issue of Think Quarterly
, which includes a few of my
thoughts
on how the world of open has progressed in the brief time since that December 2009 post. In short, the impact of open systems has been greater than even my most optimistic self would have predicted back then. Open ecosystems are rewriting the rules—not only in the tech industry but in education, healthcare and governance.
My article,
"The Future is Open,"
is just one of several good reads in the
"Open" issue
. I hope you enjoy it!
Posted by Jonathan Rosenberg, Advisor, Google
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