Google

A few months back Google announced that it was developing a pair of six degree of freedom (6DOF) controllers to be used with the Lenovo Mirage Solo standalone VR headset. The device, which runs on Google’s Daydream platform, needs to be fitted with a new faceplate that allows for the controllers to be tracked without the need for external sensors. Today, we’ve finally seen those controllers in action for the first time. Alex Coulombe of Agile Lens was one of the first to receive a development kit for the new controllers, which are being sent out to studios now. He’s been posting the first videos of the controllers in action on an insightful thread on Twitter, coming away with some key findings. Overall, Coulombe seems very happy with the controllers, describing them as “really, really good.” The field of view (FOV) for tracking is apparently “surprisingly wide” and the tracking quality is “on par” with … [Read more...] about Google Daydream 6DOF controller videos: The first wave hits

Like much of Google's 2018 hardware, the arrival of a refreshed Chromecast was an open secret ahead of October 9th. The full details were hazy, though, leaving Chromecast fans with a little room for excitement. Unfortunately, the full reveal was less intriguing than the already minimal update most were expecting.  Though the Chromecast hasn't been refreshed in three years, Google failed to mention the new hardware during its event. Now that the company has quietly added the device to its store, it's clear not much has changed. The $35 dongle does not have Bluetooth support, as an earlier FCC filing seemed to indicate, instead featuring just Wi-Fi 802.11ac. It can also stream up to 1080p at 60fps, which is an improvement on the 720p at 60fps of the previous device (or 1080p at 30fps), but still a little disappointing if you consider that the new Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and Roku Premiere offer 4K for only marginally higher prices. The new hardware does, however, let users play music … [Read more...] about Google reveals minor third-generation Chromecast update with multi-room audio support

Back in May of 2016, Google announced two new messaging apps: Allo and Duo. The former, as you probably know, is being killed off in about three months. Duo, however, is still alive and kicking, as it's a pretty good video calling app. It just hit a whopping one billion downloads on the Play Store, which is no small feat. Duo hit 500 million downloads just six months ago, so another 500 million in that time span is pretty impressive. Granted, Duo does come pre-installed on many Android devices, but it's basically impossible for any app that isn't pre-installed on some devices to reach that number. In fact, looking at Wikipedia's list of 25 apps with over a billion downloads (as of April 2018), the only app on the list that doesn't come pre-installed on any device is... Subway Surfers. Yeah, I didn't expect that either. In case you somehow haven't ever tried out Duo and want to do so now, you can download it via the Play Store widget below. Download QR-Code Google Duo - High … [Read more...] about Google Duo reaches 1 billion downloads on the Play Store