google i/o

Google has announced an 88 percent price cut for those using Google Maps on high-traffic Web sites and services.

The move, which Google Maps API product manager Thor Mitchell announced yesterday, comes a few days before the developer-oriented Google I/O show and two weeks after Apple ditched Google Maps for the upcoming iOS 6.

Google lets others embed Google Maps on their own sites and services through the Google Maps API, or application programming interface. When Google announced new limits to Google Maps usage last October, Mitchell said at the time, "We need to secure its long-term future … Read more

With Google's annual developer conference, Google I/O, fast approaching, it's time to once again predict some of the Android-related items that I expect out of the three-day event. As usual, there's no shortage of Android rumors to ponder, but this year seems to be just a little bit different. For the first time since Android was announced, we're expecting to see an Android device officially launch at the conference. Exciting? Sure, but there's much more. … Read more

June is the perfect time for backyard barbecues, lemonade and tablet warfare:

Microsoft is taking tablets into its own hands with the Surface. And next week, so will Google. It's expected that Google will show off the Nexus tablet at its developers conference that begins next week. And some reports have Google's tablet launching in July -- which will likely be before the Surface hits stores.

The Surface boasts solid hardware, a kickstand and a cover that also serves as a keyboard. But how much will it cost? All we know is that the light version, using Windows … Read more

The June tablet cavalcade will continue with a Google Nexus device, say Asia-based reports.

In the wake of Computex and today's Microsoft Surface announcements, June is turning out to be a hot month for new tablets.

And now it's Google's turn. The 7-inch Nexus tablet, jointly developed with Asus, will be unveiled at Google I/O, which starts on June 27, according to a report from Taipei-based Digitimes. An earlier rumor made a similar claim.

Other specifics include Wi-Fi-only connectivity and no rear camera, due to its low $199 price, the report said. (There is a front … Read more

Today we're rocking out in the cloud to take our minds off our mobile bills:

Verizon has completely restructured nearly all of its phone plans with something called a Share Everything Plan. The plans will give you unlimited text and unlimited voice. As for data, you have to pay for how much data you want a month. Then you have to pay another fee for each device that will use that pool of data.

Verizon is encouraging you to have multiple devices that can all share from the same plan, but it can make your bill more expensive if you're an individual. … Read more

Registration for Google's 2012 developer fest, Google I/O, doesn't open until March 27. But geeks, wonks, developers, and designers might want to head over to the reg site straightaway to goof around with the addictive online "Machine" builder that Google has put up on the site.

The fun little Web app lets you create a machine that flips, spins, elevates, and guides a virtual marble from the left side of the screen to the right. The site says that the best Machines will get featured at Google I/O. This is may be part of … Read more

Go, Google's experimental programming language, is coming to the company's App Engine cloud-computing service--and a bit closer to reality in the process.

Google hopes to use Go to tackle modern programming challenges such as getting useful work out of chips with multiple processor cores. Getting new languages to catch on is difficult, though--it took Sun Microsystems years with Java, and its Fortress never really caught on widely.

But incorporating Go into App Engine could help make it more relevant, or at least easier to test out, by reducing the hassles involved in trying it. App Engine is a … Read more

Google grabbed the news spotlight this week as it hosted its annual I/O developer conference in San Francisco, but nothing shone as bright as its Chrome browser and the Chrome-based laptop the company introduced.

The Chromebook, touted as an always-on and always-connected computing experience, will be offered by Samsung and Acer starting June 15. The Samsung Chromebook will go for $429 in the U.S. for the Wi-Fi only version and $499 for the 3G version. Acer's Wi-Fi only Chromebook will cost $349.

The devices will be sold in the U.S. by Amazon.com and Best Buy. … Read more