02/23, 12:00pm
Google Music counting on new hardware to revive
Google Music isn't generating the sales Google wanted, contacts uncovered Thursday. Although still in its first quarter, the Android-focused music store's sales were enough below estimates that CNET's music industry insiders had reason to be "concerned." There wasn't an immediate alarm as Google was hoping to "correct certain issues" and market Google Music more heavily, but it was undercutting low expectations.
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02/12, 3:25pm
Google Experience Center would target Project X
An investigation into Google's public records has hinted that the company is planning large expansions that would be incubators for multiple secret projects. The Mercury News sleuthing found that Google was spending over $120 million in construction around its Montain Vew headquarters for both public and private work. Secret projects would reportedly play a part, including for the Android@Home wireless audio device and Google's well-known but still secretive Project X labs.
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02/09, 7:35pm
Google wireless audio may come through silence
Google's apparent decision to make its own wireless audio system appears to have come after stopping at least some activity with accessory makers, according to Electronista sources. Now said to have based its work on the Android@Home technology shown at Google I/O last year, the company had been talking to accessory makers building up to the May event but grew silent not long after. The silence might not necessarily have been ubiquitous, but it suggested that Google had taken the reins to make a product of its own.
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02/09, 4:55pm
Google may tap Android at Home for own speakers
Google may be making its own wireless audio system and dipping into its own hardware, an apaprent leak uncovered Thursday. The unnamed system, purported by the Wall Street Journal to have been in the works for years, would share at least music throughout the home. It would be sold directly under Google's brand, including the speakers, but could talk to other hardware and could use a phone or tablet for control.
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07/10, 8:00pm
iPhone 4 AirPlay and FaceTime ads pop up
Apple tonight ran two new TV ads for the iPhone 4 (below), both of which focus on features that are genuinely rare on rival platforms. "AirPlay" shows its namesake wireless audio and video streaming to speakers as well as photos and videos. "FaceTime" demos two-way video calling between two iPhones, with a Mac, and with an iPad.
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06/24, 5:55pm
AirPlay, Thunderbolt may add 100 to device prices
Both AirPlay and Thunderbolt may be prohibitively expensive for a large number of device makers for either to become mainstream in the near future, sources rumored Friday. AirPlay wireless audio streaming allegedly adds as much as $100 to the price of an audio system since it involves more than just introducing Wi-Fi. Costs were getting lower, iLounge heard, but even Philips' Fidelio system costs $230.
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05/10, 6:20pm
Android at Home intros at Google IO
Google promised a major impact on technology at its initial Google I/O keynote with a new effort known as Android@Home. In tandem with Android Open Accessory, the push would encourage developing lighting, audio systems, refrigerators, and other appliances that talk wirelessly to phones and tablets. Users could control the whole home knowing that any Android app could speak to a device.
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