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9
Debunk: Bing not replacing Google on all Verizon Android devices
0 Comments | Posted by webadmin in Cool Gadgets, news
There’s a rumor going around today that Verizon is stripping Google services out of its Android devices going forward in favor of their Bing equivalents (much the same way that AT&T has gone with Yahoo on some phones), but the company says this afternoon that it’s simply false:
“…that is not true. We have a relationship with Microsoft and Bing is the search engine on our multi-media phones but we have never said it would be exclusive on all of our devices.”
We think the wording here is pretty important: “on our multi-media phones.” We take this to mean that Verizon’s looking at using Bing on its high-end featurephones and its midrange smartphones, possibly keeping the end-to-end Google experience exclusive to its cream of the crop — which would also explain why the recently-launched Fascinate didn’t get the coveted Droid brand as a part of its name.
On a related note, we’re hearing from a tipster today that an upcoming low-end Android device for Verizon from LG is loaded with Bing services, which strengthens the case — it looks like Bing is the “cheap” experience for Big Red right now. We’ve gotta admit, we’re wondering how Microsoft feels about that positioning.
Update: Microsoft is basically corroborating Verizon’s statement, saying that “the deal for Verizon Android devices is not exclusive.”
Update 2: Verizon is additionally saying that Google’s revamped search box that includes its new voice action capabilities will be available for download once the Fascinate hits Android 2.2 — in other words, they’re not explicitly blocking Google services from being installed on the device. Of course, that doesn’t solve the root problem, which is that Bing is baked into the shipping ROM — but it’s something, we suppose.
Debunk: Bing not replacing Google on all Verizon Android devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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New Microsoft brand logos, company tagline revealed at MGX event? (update: no new logos, tagline is a go)
0 Comments | Posted by webadmin in Cool Gadgets, news
It looks like Microsoft may have revealed something big at its annual MGX (Microsoft Global Exchange) event, namely… new logos for its main brands and a fresh brand motto. “Be What’s Next” touts a teaser which has been posted on YouTube, along with a fast moving sequence of morphing logos, shuffling from Windows, to Windows Phone, Xbox, Bing, and finally the familiar Office logo that’s been kicking around for a little longer. It’s unclear if these are just treatments used for a promo at the event, or if this is a signal that Redmond is dumping its familiar (and frankly dated) iconography for something a little looser, leaner, and hipper, but we can’t say it would be a bad thing. It would certainly make sense against a backdrop of potential comeback in the mobile space, gains in search, and the seemingly successful (or at least satisfying) Windows 7 launch. One thing is for sure, MGX is a corporate, non-public opportunity for the Microsoft faithful to cheer the brand (Ballmer received a 30 year commemoration at MGX 2010), so this would definitely be the place to unfurl some new branding. Check the video after the break to see the new style, and hit the gallery below for a bigger look.
Update: So… the YouTube video has been pulled. Fear not, we’ve got our own copy!
Update 2: We’ve just been contacted by Microsoft and told that these are not new logos which will be used on products, rather a standalone treatment to show the flexibility of joined brands. However, the “Be What’s Next” tagline is real, and will be showing up here and there.
[Thanks, Anonymous]
Gallery: New Microsoft logos?
New Microsoft brand logos, company tagline revealed at MGX event? (update: no new logos, tagline is a go) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Bing to bring full-featured client to Android ‘within next six weeks’
0 Comments | Posted by ChicagoMicro in Cool Gadgets, news
Microsoft’s Bing and Google’s Android aren’t exactly complete strangers (hello, Moto), but now the company is saying it’ll bring a full-featured client to the platform sometime within the next six weeks. Not much is known, but according to PC World (via Yahoo! News), it’ll at least include desktop-parity with features such as web, image, and news search (in addition to maps, of course).
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Caption contest: Bing bus goes searching for search results
0 Comments | Posted by admin in Cool Gadgets, news
Bus. Ice cream truck. Personal space invader. Vessel of illicit speaker transport. It’s all semantics, anyway.
Darren: “Man, this smoke is great, but damn if I’m not suddenly craving an orange Push Up.”
Joe: “Unlike the Street View car, the Bing truck is equally at home on the street or at a rave.”
Chris: “In the event the authorities get too close for comfort, Bing is prepared to take its entire operation mobile for weeks at a time, stopping only to refuel.”
Don: “At last, the real decision engine is revealed.”
Richard Lawler: “Ok, so the plot is, we pick up “models” off the street… and find low cost plane tickets, product reviews or a nice restaurant for them. That’s it.”
Ross: “Creative Picture Framing” indeed, Microsoft. Creative picture framing, indeed.
Joanna: “Didn’t we just do a sketchy tech van caption contest!?”
Richard Lai: “For the last time: we don’t sell froyo here.”
Tim: “Creative Picture Framing was a front for GHOST: Google Hating Operatives with better Search Technology. Jeeves had already arrived in his blacked out Benz, but the Altavista boys were nowhere to be found.”
[Thanks, Hosain]
Caption contest: Bing bus goes searching for search results originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 03:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
It had been rumored for a while, but now it’s real: Microsoft’s Bing is being added as an option to iOS’ default search providers. Bing joins Yahoo and Google as Apple’s two other bundled search engines — and between the three, we imagine that comes close to wrapping 100 percent of your average user’s daily generic web search habits. It’s not often you see a Microsoft product headlining WWDC, so revel in the moment!
Bing officially comes to iPhone, iOS originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
27
‘The Vampire Diaries’ and Microsoft team up, try to add ‘Binged’ to the lexicon
0 Comments | Posted by ChicagoMicro in Cool Gadgets
If you were watching last night’s episode of The Vampire Diaries (believe us, we were not), you probably saw something a little… strange. Yes, with the opening credits still running, two women (sorry, we have never seen a frame of this show so we don’t know who these broads are) sitting in front of a laptop converse about a runaway teen named Isabelle Peterson or something like that. Unsure of whether or not this suspicious Peterson character was using a fake name or not, the ladies needed… well, they needed a tool that would allow them to search the vast and beautiful world wide web of information. “But where’d she get Peterson? Classmate? Best friend?” the blond sitting at the terminal wonders. “So…” she says, turning to the computer, “… I Binged it.” Wait, what? You Binged it? Hmm… we’ve never heard that one before, though we have to say in this case, it seems like Bing really came through for the ladies, nailing down the information they were looking for with ease. It’s quite an extended piece of advertising, really. But seriously… Binged? Guess it’ll have to do. Video is after the break.
[Thanks, Eva]
Continue reading ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and Microsoft team up, try to add ‘Binged’ to the lexicon
‘The Vampire Diaries’ and Microsoft team up, try to add ‘Binged’ to the lexicon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
11
Motorola partners with Microsoft, will use Bing search and maps on Chinese Android phones
0 Comments | Posted by webadmin in Cool Gadgets, Power, news
Uh, whoa. When we heard Google’s threatened pullout of China had prompted Motorola to seek out an alternative search provider for its China-bound handsets, we can’t say we were expecting a partnership with Microsoft to result. But here we are, staring at a press release announcing the Bing search and Maps will be the default on Moto’s Chinese Android phones starting in Q1 — and the partnership is described as “global,” so there’s a chance it could spread. That’s just one more slap in Google’s face from Moto, following the release of the Yahoo-powered AT&T Backflip — and another step away from the tight relationship that produced the Droid. And does this mean Motorola might yet build a Windows Phone 7 Series device, despite a very public commitment to Android? We’d say Eric and Sanjay have some unresolved differences to work through.
Motorola partners with Microsoft, will use Bing search and maps on Chinese Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Daimler’s Smart Drive kit for iPhone gives you big buttons, a dent in your wallet
0 Comments | Posted by ChicagoMicro in Apple, Cool Gadgets, Power
If you’re one of the trendy hipsters driving a Smart Fortwo , here’s another way of pimping up your ride: Daimler has announced a Q2 2010 launch for its Smart Drive kit for the iPhone .
Link:
Daimler’s Smart Drive kit for iPhone gives you big buttons, a dent in your wallet
