Editor’s Note: Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Google Nexus 4 8GB variant sold out on US Play store, not coming back (NDTV)
After getting a $100 price cut, last week, the 8GB storage variant of Google’s Nexus 4 is sold out on the Google Play Store in the US. According to a report by Droid Life, the 8GB version of the device which was being offered at a the new price of $199, is no longer in stock. Google has confirmed to The Verge that the variant would not be restocked. This implies that Google is holding a clearance sale in order to get rid of existing Nexus 4 stock, probably ahead of the launch of a new Nexus smartphone device. The 16GB version of the Nexus 4 is still available in the Play Store for $249.
ICANN kills Google dotless domain hopes (ZDNet)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s request for dotless top-level Internet domains have received a resounding ‘no’ from the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), and now ICANN has also rejected the tech giant’s desires. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has rejected Google’s wish to introduce a new dotless domain system, designed to save users even more time when typing in a web address. The proposed generic top-level domain (gTLD) would let users simply type in a word — for example, “http://search/” — in order to be routed to the correct service.
Balky carriers and slow OEMs step aside: Google is defragging Android (Ars Technica)
Android 4.3 was released to Nexus devices a little over a month ago, but, as is usual with Android updates, it’s taking much longer to roll out the general public. Right now, a little over six percent of Android users have the latest version. And if you pay attention to the various Android forums out there, you may have noticed something: no one cares. 4.3’s headline features are a new camera UI, restricted user profiles, and support for new versions of Bluetooth and OpenGL ES. Other than the camera, these are all extremely dull, low-level enhancements. It’s not that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is out of ideas, or the Android team is slowing down. Google has purposefully made every effort to make Android OS updates as boring as possible.
Google affair triggers aftershocks in Silicon Valley (CNBC.com)
How Google’s robo-cars mean the end of driving as we know it (CNET)
Google’s self-driving car initiative is moving into a new phase: reality. Three years after first showing the world what it was up to — rolling out a Toyota Prius with laser-scanning hardware awkwardly perched on the roof — Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is moving its big idea out of the lab and into the real world. Consider recent developments: A spokesman confirmed to CNET that the company was in what were described as productive talks with automakers involving Google’s self-driving technology. Separately, Google is reported to be crafting a partnership with auto supplier Continental. And there’s even the possibility of Google-powered robo-taxis sometime in the future.
Google’s All-American Moto X Phone Contains Few U.S.-Made Parts (Bloomberg)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Motorola Mobility is marketing its new flagship Moto X smartphone as being made-in-the-USA, but that label mainly applies to what’s on the surface. A look inside the Moto X, which went on sale in North America last month, shows that nearly all of its parts were built in Asia or Europe. Market researcher IHS published a list of the phone’s components last week based on a tear-down of the hardware. “If people are somehow thinking that ‘made in America’ is American top to bottom, they don’t understand the electronics supply chain,” IHS analyst Andrew Rassweiler said in an interview. “You’ve got three flags planted, possibly, in even one piece of silicon.”
