電視串流業者Hulu和時代華納旗下的家庭電影院（HBO）宣布正與Google合作，將透過Google的電視棒Chromecast播放它們的收費訂閱節目。
Google上月推出售價35美元的Chromecast，插在電視的HDMI槽即可透過Wi-Fi無線傳輸，在電視上播放影片。這款電視棒可搭配採用Google Android作業系統的裝置，或蘋果的iPhone。
Hulu和HBO的加入，將可壯大Chromecast的內容，使Google更能與Roku和蘋果TV競爭；這兩大對手也提供網路傳送的內容在電視和行動裝置上播放。Google已表示，未來將爭取納入Pandora媒體的音樂串流服務，並和其他內容供應商合作。
總部設在洛杉磯的Hulu在聲明中說：「我們正積極與Google合作，以便把Hulu Plus納入平台中。」
時代華納的HBO也表示，正與Google磋商，將把HBO Go加入Chromecast平台。
Hello Moto X
After Google acquired Motorola Mobility last year, I wondered what was next for the smartphone company. It spent ages clearing out its pipeline of smartphones that were already in development before rumors of an X Phone made in America started making the rounds. In those early X Phone days, Rick Osterloh, Motorola’s SVP of Product Management said the team that worked on the device was plopped in front of a whiteboard and asked to describe the product they wanted to make. That brainstorming, plus loads and loads of user testing, came together in the form of the Moto X.
Motorola isn’t the same company today as it was when Google snapped it up last year — it’s smaller, leaner, and if recent reports are indication, gutsier than ever. The Moto X is that new Motorola’s coming out party, and I think they’ve finally got something worth celebrating.
Before I launch into a lengthy harangue about how this phone makes me feel, let’s dig into the X’s vital statistics. Just about those rumors were true, folks: 4.7-inch AMOLED display running at 720p? Yep. 10-megapixel “ClearPixel” camera with 1080p video recording? You bet. Android 4.2.2.? Check. microSD card slot? Sadly, no. That would all make for a decent, if unremarkable little smartphone, were it not for what the Moto X packs inside its plasticky frame.
The real star of the show Motorola’s X8 chipset, which actually consists of a 1.7GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, Adreno 320 GPUs, 2GB of RAM and specialized processors meant to handle natural language processing and information from the X’s myriad sensors. If that thing sounds familiar, well, it should.
Verizon and Motorola’s recent Droid launch took some of the shine off the X’s more intimate event this morning. Why? A lot of the X8-centric features that seemed to make the Moto X so smart — those always on voice commands, the motion-sensitive Active Display, and the twisty camera activation gesture — will in all likelihood wind up on most of Motorola’s new phones going forward, the Droid Ultra line included.
Oh, and the device is expected to launch very soon. Think the end of August/early September — it all depends on when Motorola’s carrier and distribution partners make their announcements. Speaking of carriers, AT&T and Verizon will both sell the 16GB black and white versions of the X for $199 (on contract, of course) when it launches later this month, but only AT&T customers will able to customize them using the MotoMaker website. Additional caveat: it seems like the 32GB storage upgrade can only be purchased from MotoMaker for the time being, which is frankly pretty lame.
Not a particular fan of either carrier? That’s fine too: the Moto X will also be available for purchase as an unlocked device, and as a developer edition with an unlocked bootloader (for easily hackability), though Motorola doesn’t seem to have locked down pricing for either version just yet.
Google Fiber光纖上網已經開放至幾個城市
Google在堪薩斯市測試的1Gb光纖上網服務終於推出，Google Fiber有三種服務方案，單純存取Gigabit網路服務的每月使用費為70美元，若要同時使用Gigabit網路及Fiber TV電視服務的月費則是120美元，第三個方案則是免費的5Mbps網路。
Google 去年於美國堪薩斯州堪薩斯市正式推出 Google Fiber 光纖到府服務，理想可達到上下傳 1000Mbps 的速度、實際運作後也有近乎 700Mbps 表現。這回德州奧斯汀丁市將成為第二個可享用 Google Fiber 的城市，服務將在明年登場。
分析
- Google 產品策略與動作越來越快，市值已經超越 Microsoft，如今 Google 已經推出 Nexus 7、Chromecast、Moto X、Google Fiber 四項產品，讓 Google 全面往硬體產品衝；
- 原來 Google 策略及生意模式看，竟將平台、搜尋、加值服務放在前三位，硬體是很小一部份，現在看來還需觀察 Moto X 是否很成功，若 Moto X 很成功，將是 Android 市場新變數。
- 台廠須由半導體、品牌、關鍵零組件、差異化創意找出市場空間，否則，台灣價值就是微利代工；
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