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What to expect at Google I/O 2013

CNET Update gets ready for a new batch of Google goodies:

Google will announce new products and software updates at its annual Google I/O developers conference, which kicks off Wednesday in San Francisco. Today's Update gets you prepared with a look at what's expected, such as developments around gaming, social and Google Now.

For those hoping to see Android Key Lime Pie, you might have to settle for an update to Jelly Bean with Android 4.3.

It's expected Google will show off new hardware, including an updated Nexus 7 and possibly a new Nexus smartphone. … Read more

Samsung: We'll get you 5G wireless by 2020

Samsung says it has developed new core technology that provides data transmission several hundred times faster than current 4G networks.

In an announcement Monday, Samsung said that plans to accelerate the research and development of 5G mobile communications technologies suitable for consumers across millimeter-wave bands are going ahead, with a view to commercialize the technology by 2020.

The Korean company says that it has developed the "world's first" adaptive array transceiver -- which is able to operate in millimeter-wave bands -- and has overcome issues caused by transmitting data over long distances. The core system is able … Read more

Review: GrandPerspective for Mac displays your hard-drive space graphically

When determining how space is divided on a hard drive, some, more visual users may want a way to have the information represented graphically, rather than in numbers. While simple and of limited overall use, GrandPerspective for Mac is a good option for those looking for a different way to analyze folder and hard drive space.

Download and installation of GrandPerspective for Mac completed easily, but it only contained a basic readme file with no dedicated instructions, which was a detriment due to the complex nature of the program and its interface. It was also unclear if technical support existed. … Read more

Review: QuickVoice Recorder for iPhone provides easy voice recording

The free version of QuickVoice Recorder for iPhone does very little that the built-in voice recorder for your phone doesn't already do. You can quickly and easily record your voice with the tap of a button, navigate the list of recordings you've taken, and share them with people via e-mail as a recording or a ringtone. Is this enough to replace the built-in tool that comes with the iPhone? Let's take a look.

Quick Voice Recorder has a very limited audience in its free iteration because it really just retreads the same basic functions of a built-in … Read more

Review: SeattleClouds helps you create and manage apps

In recent years, an entire new category of media has become not just important, but central to the marketing efforts of many businesses. App development is big business, but with a high cost of entry and low quality alternatives making it hard for a small business to enter the market, it has been a mixed bag. SeattleClouds offers a monthly templated service to create, upload, and manage your apps on the App Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon App Store, and the SeattleClouds app allows you to preview your app as you work on it.

While not a consumer app … Read more

Review: SoundCloud lets users record and listen to the coolest sounds

SoundCloud is a compilation of different tools and features that you may be familiar with in different settings. Designed as a mobile social network for music and audio creators (and their listeners), the service serves as a great way to share your sounds while discovering new ones from friends and artists alike. While its hybrid nature leads to a few limitations, it is ultimately an engaging, exciting way to interact with music and podcasts.

After registering for a new account or logging in with your existing account, SoundCloud takes you to your home screen where you can start recording your … Read more

Star Apps: Counting Crows

For some audiophiles, Counting Crows and The Wallflowers will forever be associated with the mid-1990s--along with Netscape Navigator, Hotmail, and of course, Windows 95. But don't call their joint summer outing a nostalgia trip. Velvet-tongued Counting Crows vocalist Adam Duritz, hot off the heels of The Outlaw Roadshow (alongside a slew of new indie bands), prefers to view his comparatively intimate Wallflowers double bill as a much-needed respite.

Other than sharing a decade, the comradely combos have shared previous tours, a track (Duritz sang on The Wallflowers' "6th Avenue Heartache"), and even a producer (T-Bone Burnett, back … Read more

Review: SoundHound lets users find new music first

The sheer volume of options and tools in SoundHound is impressive, if nothing else because it really does its best to immerse you in your music as people tend to listen to it now--live and socially. The tool, itself, is designed to recognize tracks playing in the background and help you find the artist or album in its database; but it goes beyond that, providing music headlines, a list of the recent charts, popular music from its users, and a Twitter stream of top songs.

If you love music, you will love SoundHound. The app is designed to be as … Read more

New Google Nexus phone to replace de-stocked Nexus 4?

The Android faithful are getting giddy over what Google goodies could be revealed at next week's Google I/O developers' conference, and the de-shelving of the Nexus 4 at retailers has some wondering if a new pure Android phone is about to replace it.

Two U.K. retailers, Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U, have discontinued sales of the Nexus 4 this week, and the number of U.S. retailers still offering the phone online also seems to be shrinking. Check Google's official retail locator for the latest pure Google phone and the only outlets that pop up in most places (I checked New York, San Francisco, and Denver) are all T-Mobile stores.

Yet, when I checked Best Buy's Web site and clicked on the only Nexus 4 on offer (the T-Mobile version), I got a mysterious "Page Not Found" error. It certainly appears someone thinks the Nexus 4 has run its course and is looking to make room for something new.… Read more

AT&T's Aio Wireless rounds on T-Mobile's no-contract plans

Well, this is interesting. AT&T launched a brand-new prepaid network on Thursday that goes head-to-head with T-Mobile's new no-contract model.

Called Aio Wireless (pronounced AY-oh), the new wireless service provider leans on AT&T's network and offers a range of prepaid devices, including Apple's iPhone 5, which costs 649.99 full retail.

Other smartphones are decidedly more entry-level, and Aio does not offer premium devices like the Samsung Galaxy S4 or Nokia Lumia 920. It does, however, sell Nokia's budget Lumia 620 Windows phone 8 device for $179.99.

There are striking similarities … Read more