Tag: Google

Google today announced their new Daydream VR headset.  The $79 headset will be available in November and comes in three, soft fabric color options.  The headset is specifically designed to work with devices that have Google Daydream enabled such as the new Google Pixel lineup.  Google indicates that other Daydream enabled phones are on the way which will work with the headset.

Google designed the headset in software fabrics instead of hard plastics for a more comfortable fit.  They also designed it to work around eyeglasses to give more comfort.  The headset also comes with a controller that has a gyroscope built into it which allows you to point, click and interact within VR environments.

Today Google announced Google Home, their in-home device that gives you search and personal information by voice command.  Aimed at competing with the Amazon Echo, Google Home brings the power of Google Artificial Intelligence to give you detailed information about your day, upcoming events, search information, travel information and the like.   And it is for everyone in the family.  Like Google OnHub, Home is aimed at sitting out in the open and doesn’t look like a piece of techno-kit sitting on a shelf.

Google Maps has had a nice addition over the last few days which gives you a list of events you have coming up so you can quickly find them in Maps and navigate to them.  The new list is found under My Places in the app.  There you will find a new tap, Upcoming, where you will find events that you have coming up based on things Maps finds in your calendar and in Gmail.  If, for example, you have travel plans or dinner reservation confirmations emailed to your Gmail account, they will now show up in this Upcoming list.  Likewise, if you add an event to your calendar, it too will show up.

Once you have the event in the Upcoming tab, all you can tap on it and it will bring up the event’s location within Google Maps.  From there you can easily navigate to that event.

Gathering information about colleges can be a daunting task.  While the process is much easier than it was when I was going to university, it is still a bit overwhelming at times trying to sort out admissions rates, tuition costs and other detailed information about universities you may interested in attending.  Google Search is trying to help out.  Late last week it there was a behind-the-scenes update that brings the College Scorecard right into the search results.  Now by searching for a university admissions stats, you no longer get linked to the College Scorecard site or the university site.  Rather, the details are right there in the results so you can quickly process that information and make a more informed decision quicker.

When the announcement came out a few weeks ago that Google would be holding an event on October 4th, it seems pretty straight forward.  This Google event, it seemed, would bring us a couple of new phones and that would be about it.  However, the much anticipated Pixel and Pixel XL are likely to only be the tip of the iceberg.  The event is shaping up to be huge with announcements across a wide swath of the Google landscape.

While everything to this point is purely rumor, there are strong indicators of what we will see or won’t see.  I’ve put together a list of things we are likely to see in the October 4th event and it is expansive.  Get ready for a really exciting day!

Google Pixel / Google Pixel XL – Probability:  100%

Fundamentally, this event started as a launch event for Google’s new phones, the 5.2″ Pixel and 5.5″ Pixel XL.  Both devices are expected to be launched with the new Pixel Launcher and with

Google Pixel

Android Nougat 7.1, the first maintenance release for the latest version of Android.  As for the details, both devices are expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 820 processor and both will have 4GB of RAM.  Both are expected to have a 12MP main camera, fingerprint scanner and sticking with Nexus tradition, will not have a MicroSD card for storage expansion.  They will however come with 32, 64 or 128GB of Storage.

The devices have been heavily influenced by Google and are built by HTC.  It is also expect that for the first time, Google will have their phones in carrier and retailers.  Pricing is still a bit of a mystery but something around the $450 mark for the Pixel and $650 for the XL (starting price) is likely.

Finally, don’t expect these phones to be available on the 4th.  It will likely be the end of the month before we see them ship if history holds true.  You will however likely be able to pre-order them on or around the 4th.

It is pretty clear with the advent of “OK Google”, Google Assistant and the soon-to-be released Google Home that the Mountain View company wants you using your voice to get information or to give commands to your devices.  All of these voice-enabled apps & services improve all the time and the latest to see big improvements is Google Maps.  You’ve been able to use limited voice commands in Maps but yesterday Google made some back end changes that gave it a slew of new ones.  Now you can use commands like “Mute Voice Guidance” or “Navigate to Starbucks” all by voice without ever having to touch your phone while you are driving.  That’s safer for you, those in your car, and those around you.  Distracted driving leads to serious accidents and deaths each year and these new commands, hopefully, will cut that down some.