Google’s Eric Schmidt Slams Apple Lawsuits

Google’s Android OS and entire ecosystem is definitely a thorn in the sides of many other companies. From Google Music to the Android mobile devices themselves, Google is pretty much in competition with everyone. This has resulted in numerous lawsuits from all sides from companies trying to make a buck on Android’s back or simply trying to keep Android down. Apparently unable to contain himself specifically regarding Apple, Eric Schmidt snapped at a conference in Tokyo. I can’t say that I disagree with him.

Speaking at Google’s Mobile Revolution conference in Tokyo, Mr Schmidt said Apple’s case was inspired by jealousy and designed to shut down its fastest-growing rival.

“The big news in the past year has been the explosion of Google Android handsets and this means our competitors are responding,” he said.

“Because they are not responding with innovation, they’re responding with lawsuits.

“We have not done anything wrong and these lawsuits are just inspired by our success.”

Mr Schmidt said Google would support HTC’s fight against Apple and was confident of a win, though he declined to go into details.

Apple Updates Macbook Air and Releases Lion

The Macbook is dead, giving way to a fresh new design for the MacBook Air. Not only is the laptop lighter, it packs more punch than most laptops out there and it’s almost hard to call it a laptop. As Terrance Gaines puts it, the new MacBook Air really makes you wonder what the difference is between a laptop/notebook and a mobile device.

“Portable, affordable and powerful, MacBook Air is the ultimate everyday notebook,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “MacBook Air features our most advanced technology and is an ideal match for Lion, especially with its new Multi-Touch gestures, full-screen apps, Mission Control and Mac App Store.” — via Apple

“Lion is the best version of OS X yet, and we’re thrilled that users around the world can download it starting today,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Lion makes upgrading a Mac easier than ever before; just launch the Mac App Store, buy Lion with your iTunes account, and the download and install process will begin automatically.” — via Apple

Google+ The Top Free App In The Apple App Store

Only out for a few days, the Google+ iOS app became the top free app in the Apple App Store. This is pretty ridiculous since it is brand new and Google+ isn’t even open to the public yet, although it appears invites are not that hard to get these days (hint: message me your email).

This is quite impressive considering that the app, which started out buggy and continued to be buggy after the “fastest update to an iPhone app” Erick has ever seen, is currently only pertinent to at the most an estimated 18 million people in the field test AND that Google has its own mobile operating system to focus on, Android.

Google+ Gets Games and Fridge

Not surprisingly, Google+ appears to be planning to add a gaming aspect to Google+. It’s not exactly clear exactly what this will entail, but it’s a logical step for Google to extend and integrate Google+ into social gaming and across all their other service offerings.

The exact nature of gaming on Google+ has not been detailed, though the search giant has confirmed that APIs will be available for third-party developers to hook into the network. Leaks suggested that Google was already in talks with some gaming companies, with a so-called “social gaming team” responsible for bringing popular titles onboard. However it’s also possible that Google+ could be used to pull in Android game results, turning the site into an online leaderboard of sorts. – via SlashGear

On another note, Google has acquired Fridge, a company focused on simple group coordination and sharing. The talent from this acquisition should help Google+ augment their existing social network by adding more group interaction.

“Right now, Google+ is asymmetric,” says Chang. “We’re going to help them create shared spaces.”

Chang notes that a few different parties were interested in acquiring F ridge, but he never considered selling to any other company. “Fridge fits perfectly into Google+’s plan,” he says. – via Business Insider