HTC One gets bonus Google Drive storage as Sense 5.5 update rolls out abroad

Google is taking a page out of Dropbox's book and offering free extra storage for certain HTC One handsets. The HTC One Max got 50GB of storage space out of the box, but we've been tipped that those with the handset's smaller sibling will net an additional 25GB of room in the cloud,all thanks to the international Sense 5.5 (and Android 4.3) update that readers have already started receiving in Europe. These expansions are in addition to the complimentary 15GB of Drive space available to all Google users, bringing the allotted storage totals to 65GB and 40GB for the One Max and One, respectively. There are a few caveats, though. According to Mountain View, the HTC One Developer Edition isn't eligible for this due to its unlocked bootloader. Furthermore, you can only activate this promo once per Google account, which rules out gaming the offer to get even more space. Got all that? Good -- there's a quiz later. 

Source: Google Support, LlabTooFeR (Twitter)

Billboard: YouTube building an on-demand music streaming service with free and paid tiers

The rumor mill's been churning out tales of a forthcoming YouTube music streaming service for months now, and today Billboard published a new story with a startling amount of detail about it. According to unnamed sources, YouTube's working on an on-demand music service with both free and paid tiers. Apparently, the ad-supported free version will provide unlimited, on-demand access to a whole host of tracks on any device, thanks to the licensing agreements Google struck for its Google Play All Access music service. Aside from the obvious -- removing ads from the equation -- it's unclear what folks will get for their money should they choose to opt for the paid version.

This new rumor is lended credence when considered in light of last month's revelation that YouTube will be offering offline access to content next month -- a feature that'll likely be expected from consumers who have grown accustomed to such things from the likes of Spotify, Rhapsody and other subscription music services. According to Billboard, YouTube's service has yet to receive a release date, and given how long these rumors have been floating around, it seems reasonable to expect that we won't see the new service anytime soon. For its part, when we contacted YouTube for comment on this story, we, quite naturally, got the same reply as Billboard did:

We're always working on new and better ways for people to enjoy YouTube content across all screens, and on giving partners more opportunities to reach their fans. However, we have nothing to announce at this time.

Source: Billboard

Gmail and Google Docs now support handwriting input, make your Japanese term paper that much easier

Google Translate has supported handwriting input for a while now, and today that functionality arrives on two of Mountain View's biggest products: Gmail and Google Docs. If you've played around with this feature in Translate, the format will look quite familiar; once your language input tool has been enabled (see the source link for the step-by-step instructions), select the pen icon from the toolbar in Docs or your email window, and start writing in the panel with the on-screen pen. As with Translate, the real benefit here is the ability to write several characters at once -- especially useful for languages such as Chinese, Hindi and Japanese -- and it could definitely speed up composing long emails or papers. Currently, Google Docs supports handwriting input for more than 20 languages, while Gmail can manage over 50. Head to the source link for more info.

Tags: google

Google buys French company FlexyCore to make Android more buttery

Though Google made significant strides in smoothing out Android performance with Project Butter, apparently it's not yet satisfied. According to L'Express, Mountain View has just purchased French firm FlexyCore for €16.9 million ($23.1 million). That company made its name with software like DroidBooster, which improves the speed of apps running Android without increasing battery drain. A Google spokesman in France said that the business is already integrated with its Android teams, and confirmed that the software will "help optimize the performance of (Android) on mobile devices." Whether it'll bear fruit in the soon to be released Android 4.4 KitKat remains to be seen -- but given Google's promise that the new OS will make even low-spec phones sing, we wouldn't be surprised.

Source: L'Express (translated)

Google hints at Chromecast expansion as its apps go international

With all of the focus on the imminent unveiling of a certain next-generation Nexus smartphone, another of Google's bestselling products could soon be set for a wider launch of its own. The company has begun lifting restrictions on the official Chromecast apps and is now allowing iOS and Android users outside of the US to download them for the first time. We've successfully installed the apps on our devices in the UK and Canada, while additional reports lend credibility to complete international rollout. The Chromecast still finds itself geographically challenged, but those who jumped on Amazon's offer of international shipping will welcome Google's decision to extend the availability of the apps. While we're expecting to see the Nexus 5 and Android 4.4 KitKat launch before the end of the month, we wouldn't be surprised if Google has a Chromecast surprise up its sleeve too.

Via: Android Central
Source: Chromecast (Google Play), Chromecast (App Store)

Lenovo introduces the A10, its first Android-powered convertible laptop

Android has made its share of appearances on laptops before, but today Lenovo announced that it's taking a crack at the idea with the A10, a 10.1-inch notebook with a fold-back touchscreen display. The 2.2-pound convertible, which you can use in laptop or tablet mode, comes with a 1.6GHz quad-core Rockchip RK3188 Cortex-A9 processor, a 1,366 x 768 display, Android 4.2, 2GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage with microSD expansion, VGA webcam, two USB 2.0 ports and one HDMI port. The whole package is 0.69 inch thick, and Lenovo claims it offers nine hours of battery life with continuous video playback. We haven't heard details on pricing or availability -- Lenovo tells us that it'll vary by region -- but earlier rumors pegged it at about $340.

Google extends Chrome support for Windows XP until April 2015

If you have to keep using Windows XP for the next couple of years, you won't necessarily be stuck using an outdated web browser. Google now says that Chrome will get XP-compatible updates until "at least" April 2015, one year after Microsoft drops support for its aging OS. The extension should minimize the threat of browser-based exploits for those who can't transition to newer platforms all that quickly. While an OS upgrade would ultimately be the safest move for many users, it's good to see Google offering some love to older PCs.

Source: Google Chrome Blog

More Nexus 5 details break cover in leaked LG service manual

It appears that nothing about the hardware of Google and LG's next Nexus smartphone will be left to the imagination by the time it releases. Android Police just got its mitts on what's claimed to be a 281-page draft of a service manual for the DE21. Surprise! The product specs match up nicely with the DE20 that went through the FCC a month ago -- and then some. This leak reveals the best shots yet of both the internals and the exterior, as well as a through listing of every spec. To refresh your memory, we've known those to include a 4.95-inch display, a 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, inductive charging and NFC. This particular model's LTE bands (1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 20) are optimized for Asia and Europe.

BlackBerry sale plans could include Google, Intel, Samsung or others

BlackBerry may have a failsafe in the event that its deal with Fairfax Financial doesn't pan out. Reuters claims that the smartphone maker is now holding early, just-in-case sale discussions with multiple large technology firms that include Cisco, Google, Intel, LG, Samsung and SAP. It's not clear which companies are serious about bidding, but they're reportedly interested in BlackBerry's servers and patents; unsurprisingly, they're not so keen on the ailing smartphone business. None of the involved companies are corroborating the rumor, and there's no guarantees that BlackBerry will sell itself to any suitor besides Fairfax. If there's another big takeover announcement in the future, though, you'll know you had fair warning.

Source: Reuters

Google finally squashes IM bug

Google finally zapped a scary and disconcerting glitch that caused its IM apps to route messages to the incorrect recipients.

Although Google said it repaired the delivery malfunction early Thursday morning, the company didn’t declare the problem fully solved until Friday at 2 p.m. EDT, more than 36 hours after the bug struck users of Talk, Chat, and Hangouts.

French agency may slap Google with a €300,000 fine for privacy violations

Google has once again found itself in the hot seat over its data practices, and this time, a French agency is sounding the alarm. Earlier today, France's National Commission on Computing and Freedom (CNIL) threatened Google with a €300,000 fine due to the company's lack of compliance with a June decision aimed at protecting users' private data. Previously, Google was given three months to address CNIL's concerns about centralized data collection that lumps together information from Youtube, Gmail and searches and transparency about how such data was put to use.