Saturday, October 19, 2013

Android World Update # Motorola's hands-free controls may be the best thing that ever happened to mobile

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Motorola's hands-free controls may be the best thing that ever happened to mobile
Oct 19th 2013, 17:55, by Jerry Hildenbrand

Touchless Control from Motorola

With no confusing set up and consistent performance, Motorola finally delivers the "voice assistant" we've been hearing about

I hear you. I wasn't a believer at first, either. I've tried Siri. I use Google Now. Using your voice to control your phone isn't all that it is wrapped up to be, because there was always something missing. The other night I realized Motorola found it, added it, and may have delivered the best feature set to mobile devices ever.

Talking to my phone isn't something I'm going to do every day. I'll do it if my hands really are full, I'll do it to play with the features, and I'll do it to demonstrate it for someone who hasn't seen it before, but for the most part I just pick up my phone and use my fingers to do what I want to do — even while driving, which I finally decided had to stop. That's another story about three deer and a malfunctioning master cylinder in my old truck, but you get the gist of it.

But I have a new found respect for it now, and it all started in the clearance bin at Target.

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Android World Update # Chromecast Android app now available in the UK

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Chromecast Android app now available in the UK
Oct 19th 2013, 14:38, by Alex Dobie

Chromecast

But the device itself is still unavailable

Good news for anyone in the UK who managed to import a Chromecast into the country. The accompanying Android app can now be downloaded through Google Play by British users, whereas previously it was blocked to all outside the U.S. Unfortunately the device itself is still unavailable for purchase on the UK Google Play Store, though the app's new international availability may signal that that's about to change.

International readers: hit the Google Play link above and let us know in the comments if you're able to download the app. We'll stay on the lookout for any further signs of a possible international Chromecast rollout.

Thanks, Gary! 


    






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Android World Update # Google tops $1,000 per share: The Mountain View juggernaught keeps growing

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Google tops $1,000 per share: The Mountain View juggernaught keeps growing
Oct 19th 2013, 14:16, by Chris Umiastowski

Google

Third-quarter earnings show Wall Street pleased with Google's continued growth 

Google’s third-quarter results were published on Thursday, and I had a chance to look into the results this morning. Some of the key financial figures were already covered in Thursday's brief post on this, so I’d like to focus on what I thought was interesting out of the conference call.

As the headline suggests, Google’s growth remains very strong. It posted $14.9 billion in total revenue, including the Motorola segment, which still loses a couple hundred million dollars per quarter. But the ex-Motorola revenue numbers (called the Google segment) are up huge. Specifically, the business is up 21 percent year over year. (For the sticklers, this number is on a constant currency basis, so it ignores FX effects, and I think it’s a better reflection of real growth.)

There’s nothing too surprising in the financials, aside from the impressive revenue growth. A good revenue quarter and rising operating margins mean solid overall profit, which has Wall Street excited. Remember that stocks tend to move based on short-term results (and short-term thinking), so none of this is particularly due to the strength of Android, or Chromebooks, or Google Play revenue — despite their importance in the grand scheme of things.

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Android World Update # Another exec leaves HTC, this time the head of PR who only joined the company four months ago

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thumbnail Another exec leaves HTC, this time the head of PR who only joined the company four months ago
Oct 19th 2013, 12:21, by Gary Sims

Lorain_WongHTC has suffered another loss at the executive level with the sudden resignation of Lorain Wong the vice president and head of global public relations. Wong joined HTC only four months ago to lead HTC’s global communication strategies, including PR, media, and corporate communications. Wong has over 25 years of experience in marketing, communications and media and at one time was the Director of Partnership Marketing for AT&T responsible for negotiating and managing sports and entertainment partnerships across Southern California.

Her sudden departure comes at an uncertain time for HTC which has lost six senior executives in the past 2 and a half years. Other recent causalities to HTC failing market position and worsening financial situation include HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera and HTC’s Asia CEO Lennard Hoornik. Before them, marketing chief John Wang and Chief Financial Officer Winston Yung also moved on to greener pastures.

The reason given for Wong’s departure are the standard “personal reasons” which is almost double-speak for she was pushed. However it seems that Wong is still of some value to HTC as according to Chief Marketing Officer Ben Ho, her direct manager, she will stay on as a consultant for three or four months. This consultancy role is probably necessary during the handover period to the next head of PR, who has yet to be named.

Back in May product strategy manager Eric Lin left HTC and advised all his friends still working at the Taiwanese smartphone maker to “just quit, leave now.” Eric’s tweet went on further to say “it's tough to do, but you'll be so much happier, I swear.”

Back in June HTC revealed that it had signed a two-year marketing deal with Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. that was estimated to be a worth a cool $12 million for the actor. The total spend for the campaign is thought to be around $1 billion. The first series of adverts of the “Change” campaign focus on the idea of transformation, and comically used combinations of words that start with the letters H, T, and C, such as "Hipster Troll Carwash", "Hold This Cat" or "Humongous Tinfoil Catamaran". It is likely that Wong had a part in this campaign but it is unknown if the campaign’s impact has anything to do with her leaving the company.

Media files:
Lorain_Wong
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