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Google's music-streaming service All Access launched last month during I/O. The service, similar to that of Spotify or Slacker, allows Android users to create radio stations or stream entire albums directly on an Android device.

Streaming isn't a new feature in the Google Music app, as you have been able to stream music library stored in the cloud service for a while now. But All Access has increased the amount of streaming, and thus increased data usage.

Google on Thursday updated the Android Music app, which now allows you to choose the audio quality streamed through the … Read more

In just two short months we've seen the debut of five Samsung Galaxy S4 phones: the Samsung Galaxy S4, the Galaxy S4 Active, the Galaxy S4 Google Edition, the Galaxy S4 Mini, and the Galaxy S4 Zoom. There are already rumors of a sixth, the 6.3-inch Galaxy S4 Mega.

Making matters more confusing is that the phone specs vary, and some Galaxy S4 phones may offer an experience that's quite different from the original top-rated S4's. From my perspective, Samsung is simply muddying its S4 brand name with too many Galaxy S4s.

When I think of … Read more

Your Google account is responsible for giving you access to more than just your e-mail nowadays. Your Google account provides you with access to a wide range of Google services, including Google Music, Google Drive, and Google+. It also allows you to log in and set up devices, like Android smartphones, tablets, and Chromebooks.

To help you keep an eye on your Google account, Google tracks your recent account activity and allows you to review them from your Google Dashboard. It's similar to the Gmail "Last account activity," but includes more than just your Gmail activities. To … Read more

Google has faced some European Union antitrust scrutiny as of late, but the company's troubles might have only just begun.

The Financial Times reported Thursday, citing EU documents it claims to have seen, that the governing body's competition watchdogs are conducting an informal investigation into whether Google is violating competition regulations with its Android operating system. According to the documents, Microsoft and Nokia, among other competitors, have complained to the EU that Google is violating competitive rules with its handling of Android.

The Financial Times story follows a report from The New York Times in April, saying that … Read more

Acer is looking at wearable technology as its next big opportunity, a high-level executive told tech Web site Pocket-Lint.

The wearable technology market could be worth billions of dollars to the industry, ST Liew, president of the smartphone business group at Acer, told Pocket-Lint in an interview. He teased some wearable tech product to emerge in 2014.

Acer is just the latest company to look into wearable tech, a burgeoning market that is starting to see interest from major players. From Google Glass to the Nike Fuelband, the category has begun to pick up steam. The products are often seen … Read more

Google may get its second-generation small tablet into consumers' hands before Apple does.

Market researcher IHS told CNET that Japan Display Inc. and AUO are expected to make the display for the next-gen Nexus 7, while Quanta will make the tablet itself.

"As far as I know, JDI and AUO didn't start to supply this panel to Quanta yet. However, they are saying it will start from June and July," Ricky Park, who heads research for TV, Tablet, Monitor and Notebooks display at IHS, told CNET. He is based in South Korea.

The "launch...of the … Read more

Google is expected to sell more mobile ads this year than the rest of its competitors combined for the second straight year, according to a new forecast.

The Web giant will generate $8.8 billion in revenue from mobile advertising this year after paying commissions to its ad partners, a 92 percent increase over the previous year, according to a forecast released Thursday by research firm eMarketer.

Mobile ad sales are expected to hit nearly $16 billion this year, meaning Google will have a 56 percent share. Google sold $4.6 billion in mobile ads in 2012, capturing 52 percent … Read more

Heard of the game Bad Pigs? Or is it Bad Piggies?

Some clever hacker decided to create a malicious app deceivingly similar to one of the top games in the Google Play store. And, it was downloaded more than 10,000 times before people took notice.

Security company F-Secure wrote on Wednesday that it had located Bad Pigs -- which had the same artwork and app description as Bad Piggies -- and let Google know. The only apparent differences between the two apps were the names of the app and the developer -- who was "Dan Stokes" rather … Read more

When the iPhone arrived six years ago, it was the hot commodity. It didn't take long for Apple's sleek, powerful smartphone to dominate the mobile phone market -- and one of its greatest draws was a rapidly growing software marketplace, curated and quality controlled, bringing extraordinarily useful features to what was essentially a pocket-size computer.

However, competitors weren't far behind. Some have continued on, others have failed, but by far the biggest is Internet giant Google's mobile operating system, Android. In fact, the number of Android devices activated outnumbers iOS devices by a mile -- 750 million Android to 600 million iOS.

Nevertheless, as we and many of you well know, the iTunes app marketplace seems vastly superior in quality of content, in spite of Apple's barriers to entry, such as a registration fee for app sellers, and the fact that Google Play is rapidly catching up in terms of quantity and downloads. Apple has pipped 50 billion downloads across over 900,000 apps, while Google Play is currently counting down to that number across 750,000 apps. But there's an even greater discrepancy in app revenue. A massive 76 percent of the entire revenue generated by apps goes to iOS -- leaving the other 24 percent of the pie to all other operating systems.… Read more