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Use Google Now to send text messages, e-mail

During Google I/O Google announced some improvements to its Google Now service. One of those improvements -- as we have already covered -- was the ability to create reminders within the app. One other feature we haven't discussed yet is the ability to send a text message or e-mail using Google Now.

Similar to the way Siri works, you're able to give a voice command to Google Now and have a message composed, complete with the recipient of your choosing (so long as they are in your contacts). After Now has filled in all of the required … Read more

EU likely to push Google to concede more on antitrust

European antitrust regulators could seek further concessions from Google that may delay its settling of anticompetitive charges in the region.

The search firm landed itself in hot water in late 2010 after rivals and competitors complained to the European executive body for allegedly infringing EU-wide antitrust law by abusing its dominance in the search market. 

After formal charges were issued and Google laid out settlement proposals to avoid hefty fines in the region, those same complainants are knocking on the EU's door demanding more be done.

According to Reuters, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia warned that Google may … Read more

LG unveils white Nexus 4, says no plans for for Nexus 5

LG unveiled on Tuesday a white version of its blockbuster Nexus 4, while an executive nixed plans for a sequel device.

An LG executive told Dutch Web site All About Phones that it has no plans to build the Nexus 5, citing Kim Wong, head of LG's Europe business. The report was translated by Android Beat.

An LG representative confirmed the executive comments, but noted that the company wouldn't rule out another Nexus in the future. The representative said that the executive intended to convey the belief at LG that it didn't need the Nexus name to … Read more

Google Maps rolls out bike routes in six European countries

Google announced Monday that it is rolling out extensive bike directions on Google Maps in several European countries, including Germany, France, Poland, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein.

If only this had existed six years ago, I could have avoided my best friend wanting to ring my neck.

When we decided to ride our bikes on a 500-mile tour around the south of France in 2007, my one job was to map our route. I got a paper map, highlighted a loop adjoining several country roads, and off we went. Easy.

Actually, not so much.

While our ride started out pleasant, we … Read more

Google said to deploy Wi-Fi blimps in Africa and Asia

How can the Internet be brought to areas that have no infrastructure for high-speed wireless? Beam the Wi-Fi networks down from flying objects, of course.

Google is reportedly working on creating wireless networks for more remote parts of the world, such as countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, with sky-bound balloons and blimps, according to Wired.

Dubbed "high-altitude platforms," these mechanisms will reportedly be able to connect roughly a billion more people to the Internet worldwide, according to Wired. The blimps signals are said to be able to reach people in areas that are hundreds of square … Read more

Grant Morrison: Google Glass is 'half-fish, half-man' (Q&A;)

Superman has been able to leap a tall building in a single bound since he was created in 1938, but author Grant Morrison's ideas seem to know no limits.

DC Entertainment held a press event recently to celebrate the conclusion of Morrison's seven-year run writing Batman, in which he posited that all of Batman's adventures, from his dark crime-busting origins, to the crazy science-fiction romps of the 1950s, to what he calls the "hairy chested love-god" tales from the 1970s, to today's Dark Knight, have all happened to the character.

Morrison's authorial interests … Read more

Google's Schmidt: Teens' mistakes will never go away

It must be peculiar for children of the Internet age.

They are the first to have a complete record of their whole lives. They are the first who'll be able to offer concrete proof of every one of their days, friends, and actions.

Eric Schmidt worries, however, that they'll be the first who'll never be allowed to forget their mistakes.

As the Telegraph reports, Schmidt spoke Saturday at the Hay Festival in the U.K. and offered some sobering thoughts for those addled by online life.

He said: "There are situations in life that it's … Read more

Beware the coming of the Google Glass photographer

As you head off to your Memorial Day weekend getaway with smartphone or digital camera in hand, keep in mind that by this time next year, there could be a whole new breed of technophile attending the holiday festivities: the dreaded Google Glass photographer.

In the chuckle-worthy video below, the folks at online app training company Grovo offer a glimpse into a horrifying future. An obnoxious, photo-obsessed Glass owner gets all up in everyone's grill to record everything with many, many blinks of the eye. … Read more

Google to build YouTube app for Windows Phone 8

Microsoft and Google seem to have found common ground in their recent skirmish over YouTube on Windows Phone 8.

The pair announced Friday that they are going to build together a version of a native YouTube application for Windows Phone 8 that will meet Google's terms of service. The new app will be available in the Windows Phone Store in the "coming weeks," according to a Google spokesperson.

A quick play-by-play recap for those new to the latest Google-Microsoft feud: On May 8, Microsoft fielded a YouTube application that it built itself for Windows Phone 8. The … Read more

Google Translate says 'Hola!' to Chrome

Not only is Google Translate not dead, its powers of mildly accurate, often-amusing, and on-the-fly translations are in the process of being gifted to Chrome 28 Beta for Android.

If you load a foreign language Web site in the beta, which landed in the Google Play Store on Thursday, a bar will appear at the bottom of the screen with a button to translate the site. Tap the button, and voila! It will appear in a different language.

The accuracy of the translation is another issue. However, Google spokeswoman Roya Soleimani said, "Google Translate works through statistical machine translation. … Read more