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As I sat through the last half hour of a nearly 4-hour keynote, sweat pouring through my shirt, my attention waned. Most people's did. Where were the gadgets? Last year, Google seemed like the hottest (or, most conversation-starting) hardware company around. This year, the only hardware mentioned was the 3-month-old Chromebook Pixel. I wanted new, weird products: watches, new evolutions of Glass, crazy convertible tablets. I wanted to see what Google's next products are.

Yet, you can see the message. In the people wearing Glass -- of which I was one, sheepish, awkward. In the customized, personalized Maps. … Read more

On Tuesday, when Google's Vice President of Android Product Management Hugo Barra told a crowd of nearly 6,000 attendees that the online giant would be releasing its own variant of the critically-acclaimed Samsung Galaxy S4, many broke out in applause.

Not only would the top-tier device sport all the same desirable specs the GS4 was already known for (like the quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor and Android 4.2 OS), it would also give Android purists/TouchWiz haters, an unsullied Nexus software experience.

Yes, there was clapping all around (and even a "woot!" or two) until Barra … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- A month and a half ago, Google began using its WebP image format in its Google+ app for Android, and now it's saving tremendous amounts of network usage as a result.

"We're saving many terabytes of bandwidth a day, and because of the cost factor, we're saving our users money," said Stephen Konig, a Google product manager, in a well-attended WebP Google I/O talk Friday.

Users' cost savings come because they're less likely to run into data usage caps or incur onerous roaming fees outside their home countries.

But of … Read more

At Google I/O, the company announced some small updates to its Google Now service. One of those updates added the ability for Android users to create location- and time-based reminders.

There are a few different methods for adding a reminder to Google Now. You can use your voice or enter it manually.

To create a reminder by voice, launch Google Now and say "Google" or tap on the mic icon. Once you hear the beep to alert you that Now is listening, start the command with "Remind Me" and add in what you're afraid … Read more

This robot hand, maneuvered by an operator with a sensory glove, entertained guests at a Google I/O party this week by picking up and crushing 55-gallon drums. And you, Crave readers, entertained us by crushing our caption challenge for the above shot of said bot. Here are some of our favorites, and a big hydraulic high five to all who participated.

"Easily controlled via tablet gestures, voice, and villagers screaming for mercy." --Jason DeFoe (Thompson, N.D.)

"Wait, what's the Vulcan salute again?" --Tim Smith (San Francisco, Calif.)

"Obamacare covers carpal tunnel, right?" --Hank Prince (McKenzie, Tenn.)

… Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google's mapping service relies on mammoth data centers, vast quantities of satellite imagery, and a fleet of Street View cars. But it also relies on you.

At the Google I/O developer show here on Friday, Google engineers described how they've overhauled Google Maps, and two areas in which information from Google users is key to that.

First, using anonymous data collected from people using Google Maps on mobile phones, it picks the best navigation routes. Second, using photos people upload to its Panoramio and Picasa photo services, it generates immersive tours that swoop around … Read more

New music services are great at making me feel old.

Opening Spotify is like opening the door to some hip cafe where a mustached 20-year old barista takes my order with folded arms and a stamp on his hand from last night's secret show. I feel not just a little lame. But instead of running for the door like the curmudgeon that I am, yearning for the comfortable embrace of my iTunes collection, I stay.

I stay because even in these days of free apps, free video streams, and free e-books, I'm still totally enthralled by the idea … Read more

As one of the longest-running and most successful Web comics of all time, Penny Arcade has garnered an enormous and devoted fanbase who lives for the topical, no-holds-barred commentary of gamer characters John "Gabe" Gabriel and Tycho Brahe. The Web comic has also spawned the annual gaming convention PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) and multiple video games.

In a recent e-mail interview with Download.com, Penny Arcade's co-creator and writer Jerry Holkins, the man behind Tycho, discussed, among other things, his experiences developing games, current gaming trends, and his top five mobile game apps.

When is On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness … Read more

Attention all those of you who came of age in the 1990s: Sonic the Hedgehog is back and ready for the mobile world of the 21st century.

So get out your old HyperColor T-shirts, pop in that cassette copy of Pearl Jam's "Ten," and get ready to relive the days when kids had actually heard of a company named Sega.

The company this week launched a remastered version of the original Sonic game in the Google Play store for Android, and also announced the next title in the Sonic franchise will be exclusive to perhaps Sega's oldest foe, Nintendo.… Read more