Google’s Android and Chrome event: a new Nexus 7, Chromecast, Android 4.3, and more – The Verge

New Nexus 7 with LTE now available for $349 in US from Google Play

2013-09-09T17:59:29-04:00

Nexus 7 hero (1024px)

More than a month after the Wi-Fi version of Google's second-generation Nexus 7 went on sale, the 4G LTE model has arrived. Google just announced that the cellular variant of its impressive tablet is now available to buyers in the United States via Google Play. It's priced at $349, and Google says early orders will ship promptly within one to two business days. Additionally, T-Mobile will begin selling the 4G-equipped Nexus 7 in its retail stores beginning in October - and will be offering customers 2GB of data for a month for free so they can try out the company's network. Apart from a cellular radio and support for a barrage of wireless ba …

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Google Chromecast review

2013-07-29T09:19:12-04:00

It's surprisingly difficult to put a web browser on TV. It's difficult for regular people - the best option is often just plugging in a laptop - and it's been ridiculously difficult for the tech industry in general. From interface problems to weird remotes to clunky performance, attempts to put the web on TV have all met with failure of one kind or another. Google in particular learned a hard lesson with its Google TV platform, which crashed and burned so spectacularly when it launched in 2010 that hardware partner Logitech nearly went out of business.

But now Google's back with the Chromecast, a far simpler way of getting the web on your T …

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Keeping it simple: Chromecast, Google TV, and the zen of a $35 dongle

2013-07-25T16:00:04-04:00

Chromecast dongle 1020

Google's combined Chrome and Android event yesterday should have had a relatively small impact: the Nexus 7 was already widely leaked and Android 4.3 was a very minor update. Instead, Google surprised us all with a tiny, $35 HDMI dongle called the Chromecast that captured our imaginations and seemed to finally answer a question that has been hanging over the company for years now: when will it finally figure out some kind of TV strategy?

The little device is useful, cheap, and thoroughly infused with Google's philosophy of cloud computing. We've already compared it to Apple's AirPlay technology, but the differences between the two services …

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Google TV isn’t dead, will support Google Cast with update this year

2013-07-25T12:27:00-04:00

Google TV

Google may have released its AirPlay-like Chromecast dongle yesterday, but that doesn't mean that its fledgling Google TV platform is dead yet. The team behind the streaming TV platform says that "we believe there is ample room for both products to exist and succeed," and employee Warren Rehman says that many existing Google TV devices will be updated to support Google Cast - the AirPlay-like technology that underlies the Chromecast dongle.

Support to stream content from apps like YouTube and Netflix will come as part of the Android 4.2.2 update for Google TV, which was first announced earlier this year at the company's I/O developer confer …

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Samsung reportedly building new Nexus 10 tablet, arriving in the ‘near future’

2013-07-25T09:39:30-04:00

Gallery Photo: Google Nexus 10 hands-on photos

Samsung is lined up to once again build a 10-inch Nexus tablet for Google, according to The Wall Street Journal's Amir Efrati. The new Nexus 10 should be arriving "in the near future," Efrati said, after reportedly learning the details from Android and Chrome lead Sundar Pichai. Last year, Google put a little over three months time between the release of the Nexus 7 and the Nexus 10 - while Pichai's statements don't necessarily suggest that same time frame isn't in the cards this year, it does confirm that the company is standing by its ventures into competing with the full sized iPad.

The involvement of Samsung also serves as another sign t …

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New Nexus 7: how Google’s latest compares to iPad mini and the best small tablets

2013-07-24T14:46:23-04:00

Gallery Photo: Nexus 7 hands-on photos

Google's first Nexus 7 made a lot of noise when it landed: it was a strong tablet, ran stock Android, and sold for an unbeatable price of $199. Now just over a year later, the company is back with an updated version that's slimmer, lighter, and has what Google says is the world's highest resolution display for a 7-inch tablet. The new Nexus 7 is going to be available for $30 more next Tuesday - but the story is going to be a lot different this time around. There are now better Android tablets in the market than ever before, and Google's latest will have to deal with the new tablet heavyweight, Apple's iPad mini.

The new Nexus 7 is about the …

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Google’s Chromecast and Nexus 7 event: everything you need to know

2013-07-24T13:47:29-04:00

chromecast event

News of the new Nexus 7 leaked early, so the highlight of today's breakfast with Sundar Pichai was a product that truly surprised us: Chromecast, a tiny, $35 dongle that streams audio and video to your TV from phones, tablets and laptops. But that wasn't all: the new Nexus 7 emerged as expected, with a slimmer form factor and significantly improved screen. So did Android 4.3, an incremental update to Jelly Bean that improves graphics performance and communication between devices. We learned that more than 50 billion apps have now been downloaded from Google Play - 2 billion of them since Google I/O in May - and that more than 1 million apps …

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Hands-on with Google’s $35 Chromecast, a streaming TV stick

2013-07-24T13:33:20-04:00

Gallery Photo: Chromecast hands-on pictures

The Chromecast, a $35 dongle from Google that lets you stream videos from your phone, tablet, or PC to a television using Chrome, has its minimalist instruction manual printed on the inside cover of the box. There are just three directions: 1.) Plug it in, 2.) Switch input, and 3.) Set it up.

We just got our hands on the streaming stick at a San Francisco event, and it seems like a fairly solid little dongle, perhaps three inches long, made of firm textured plastic with a glossy clear band around the center, with an gold-plated HDMI port on one end and a microUSB port at the other. That's not to transfer data to or from the Chromecast, mind …

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Google’s new Nexus 7 with Android 4.3 hands-on

2013-07-24T13:26:28-04:00

Gallery Photo: Nexus 7 hands-on photos

The new Nexus 7 is in our hands and as you'd expect, it's an improvement over last year's model in every appreciable way. The big show here is obviously the 1920 x 1200 screen, which Google claims has the highest pixel density of any tablet at 323ppi. It certainly looks good, with wide viewing angles and intense colors. This year's model is just a little taller and a little less wide than the old Nexus 7, which makes it easier to hold in one hand - at least in its portrait orientation. Instead of the old faux-leather backing, Google and Asus have opted for a matte, soft-touch black plastic that feels just fine.

It's running Android 4.3 - th …

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Google reveals Chromecast: video streaming to your TV from any device for $35

2013-07-24T12:51:29-04:00

via d35lb3dl296zwu.cloudfront.net

Google is making another foray into the living room with the Chromecast, a small $35 dongle that allows users to stream videos from a phone or tablet to their TV using Chrome. Essentially, it turns every TV into a smart TV, but it lets you control it through whatever device you're on rather than providing a new interface. "Everyone loves their phones, tablets, and laptops," said Google. "Unlike other solutions, we will not force you to have the same operating system on all your devices." It connects over HDMI and is powered by USB, and can be plugged right into an A/V receiver if your TV doesn't have an extra port. Google says that future de …

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