Microsoft Build 2017: Microsoft makes Office 365 more open to developers

At its construct 2017 developer conference, Microsoft has announced that it'll be bringing new opportunities to developer through place of work 365. the corporate says that Microsoft teams is now open to all developers to put up apps in the course of the place of job retailer.

These apps might be visible in a brand new ‘uncover apps experience’ feature so as to make it more straightforward for customers so as to add and use apps inside groups. These options at the moment are on hand in Developer Preview, and might be available to all users quickly. .


Besides these, the company also introduced two new capabilities available in Developer Preview. These included Compose extensions, and third-party notifications in the activity feed. Compose extensions allows users to issue commands to bring information from an app or service directly into their Team chat. As the name would suggest, third-party notifications in the activity feed allows developers to alert users of important information and updates to their service.

Further, Microsoft announced that new Teams APIs are coming to Microsoft Graph, allowing developers to access team and channel information. Developers can now package capabilities like abs, bots and connectors, compose extensions, and activity feed notifications into a single Teams app in order to make it simpler to publish and manage.

Besides Teams specific updates, announced that it will be expanding JavaScript APIs in Word and Excel in preview, which would let developers access and extend structured data within documents.

OneDrive will be getting new File Handler capabilities that will allow partners to extend the experience of working with files with new web-based views and connected actions. The SharePoint Framework will allow developers use modern javaScript tools and framework to build web parts within SharePoint. The preview version will soon be getting SharePoint Framework Extensions, lettings developers use these tools to customise SharePoint team sites, document libraries, and lists

During the event, Microsoft demonstrated its upcoming Presentation Translator add-in, which uses Microsoft’s translation APIs in PowerPoint. This would allow presenters the ability to add subtitles to their presentations in the same or different languages. New Insight APIs will allow developers build smarter processes by leveraging relationships between users and documents. The company also made two new core capabilities of Microsoft Graph, namely Delta Queries and Custom data generally available.

Microsoft announced an offer for Microsoft Azure ISV customer that allows them to directly provide new PowerApps and Flow Connectors to Office 365 customers. The company is rolling out its Actionable Messages to more Office 365 users in Microsoft Teams as well as in Outlook 2016 for Windows Insiders who are a part of the fast ring. Further, new Actionable Message tools are now available for developers.
refer from digit

Hackers Exploited Word Flaw for Months While Microsoft Investigated

To understand why it is so difficult to defend computers from even moderately capable hackers, consider the case of the security flaw officially known as CVE-2017-0199.

The bug was unusually dangerous but of a common genre: it was in Microsoft software, could allow a hacker to seize control of a personal computer with little trace, and was fixed April 11 in Microsoft's regular monthly security update.

But it had travelled a rocky, nine-month journey from discovery to resolution, which cyber-security experts say is an unusually long time.

Google's security researchers, for example, give vendors just 90 days' warning before publishing flaws they find. Microsoft declined to say how long it usually takes to patch a flaw.

While Microsoft investigated, hackers found the flaw and manipulated the software to spy on unknown Russian speakers, possibly in Ukraine.

And a group of thieves used it to bolster their efforts to steal from millions of online bank accounts in Australia and other countries.

Those conclusions and other details emerged from interviews with researchers at cyber-security firms who studied the events and analysed versions of the attack code.

Microsoft confirmed the sequence of events.

The tale began last July, when Ryan Hanson, a 2010 Idaho State University graduate and consultant at boutique security firm Optiv Inc in Boise, found a weakness in the way that Microsoft Word processes documents from another format. That allowed him to insert a link to a malicious programme that would take control of a computer.

Combining flaws
Hanson spent some months combining his find with other flaws to make it more deadly, he said on Twitter. Then in October he told Microsoft. The company often pays a modest bounty of a few thousands dollars for the identification of security risks.

Soon after that point six months ago, Microsoft could have fixed the problem, the company acknowledged. But it was not that simple. A quick change in the settings on Word by customers would do the trick, but if Microsoft notified customers about the bug and the recommended changes, it would also be telling hackers about how to break in.

Alternatively, Microsoft could have created a patch that would be distributed as part of its monthly software updates. But the company did not patch immediately and instead dug deeper. It was not aware that anyone was using Hanson's method, and it wanted to be sure it had a comprehensive solution.

"We performed an investigation to identify other potentially similar methods and ensure that our fix addresses [sic] more than just the issue reported," Microsoft said through a spokesman, who answered emailed questions on the condition of anonymity. "This was a complex investigation."

Hanson declined interview requests.

The saga shows that Microsoft's progress on security issues, as well as that of the software industry as a whole, remains uneven in an era when the stakes are growing dramatically.

The United States has accused Russia of hacking political party emails to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, a charge Russia denies, while shadowy hacker groups opposed to the US government have been publishing hacking tools used by the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency.

Attacks begin
It is unclear how the unknown hackers initially found Hanson's bug. It could have been through simultaneous discovery, a leak in the patching process, or even hacking against Optiv or Microsoft.

In January, as Microsoft worked on a solution, the attacks began.

The first known victims were sent emails enticing them to click on a link to documents in Russian about military issues in Russia and areas held by Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, researchers said. Their computers were then infected with eavesdropping software made by Gamma Group, a private company that sells to agencies of many governments.

The best guess of cyber-security experts is that one of Gamma's customers was trying to get inside the computers of soldiers or political figures in Ukraine or Russia; either of those countries, or any of their neighbours or allies, could have been responsible. Such government espionage is routine.

The initial attacks were carefully aimed at a small number of targets and so stayed below the radar. But in March, security researchers at FireEye Inc noticed that a notorious piece of financial hacking software known as Latenbot was being distributed using the same Microsoft bug.


FireEye probed further, found the earlier Russian-language attacks, and warned Microsoft. The company, which confirmed it was first warned of active attacks in March, got on track for an April 11 patch.

Then, what counts as disaster in the world of bug-fixers struck. Another security firm, McAfee, saw some attacks using the Microsoft Word flaw on April 6.

After what it described as "quick but in-depth research," it established that the flaw had not been patched, contacted Microsoft, and then blogged about its discovery on April 7.

The blog post contained enough detail that other hackers could mimic the attacks.

Other software security professionals were aghast that McAfee did not wait, as Optiv and FireEye were doing, until the patch came out.

McAfee Vice President Vincent Weafer blamed "a glitch in our communications with our partner Microsoft" for the timing. He did not elaborate.

By April 9, a programme to exploit the flaw was on sale on underground markets for criminal hackers, said FireEye researcher John Hultquist.

The next day, attacks were mainstream. Someone used it to send documents booby-trapped with Dridex banking-fraud software to millions of computers in Australia.

Finally, on the Tuesday, about six months after hearing from Hanson, Microsoft made the patch available. As always, some computer owners are lagging behind and have not installed it.

Ben-Gurion University employees in Israel were hacked, after the patch, by attackers linked to Iran who took over their email accounts and sent infected documents to their contacts at technology companies and medical professionals, said Michael Gorelik, vice president of cyber security firm Morphisec.

When Microsoft patched, it thanked Hanson, a FireEye researcher and its own staff.

A six-month delay is bad but not unheard of, said Marten Mickos, chief executive of HackerOne, which coordinates patching efforts between researchers and vendors.

"Normal fixing times are a matter of weeks," Mickos said.

Privately-held Optiv said through a spokeswoman that it usually gives vendors 45 days to make fixes before publishing research when appropriate, and that it "materially followed" that practice in this case.

Optiv is now comparing the details of what Hanson told Microsoft with what the spies and criminals used in the wild, trying to find out if the researcher's work was partly responsible for the worldwide hacking spree, the spokeswoman said.

The spree included one or more people who created a hacking tool for what FireEye's Hultquist said is probably a national government - and then appearing to double-dip by also selling it to a criminal group.

If the patching took time, others who learned of the flaw moved quickly.

On the final weekend before the patch, the criminals could have sold it along to the Dridex hackers, or the original makers could have cashed in a third time, Hultquist said, effectively staging a last clearance sale before it lost peak effectiveness.

It is unclear how many people were ultimately infected or how much money was stolen.
refer from gadgets 360

85% enterprises will adopt Windows 10 by 2017 end

Nearly 85 per cent of enterprises are expected to adopt the Windows 10 operating system by the end of this year, market research firm Gartner predicted on Tuesday. According to the survey that involved six countries including India, most of the organisations are recognising the need to migrate to Windows 10.

“Large businesses are either already engaged in Windows 10 upgrades or have delayed upgrading until 2018. This likely reflects the transition of legacy applications to Windows 10 or replacing those legacy applications before Windows 10 migration takes place,” said Ranjit Atwal, Research Director at Gartner, in a statement.

Forty nine per cent of respondents said that the security improvements in Windows 10 drove them for the migration, while 38 per cent of the respondents said that it was cloud integration capabilities that prompted them to adopt this OS.

However, budgetary approval is not straightforward because Windows 10 is not perceived as an immediate business-critical project. “It is not surprising that one in four respondents expect issues with budgeting,” said Atwal.
The survey further noted that respondents’ intention to purchase convertible notebooks increased as organisations shifted from the testing and pilot phases into the buying and deployment phases.
Reffers from financial express

Google targets ‘fake news,’ offensive search suggestions in search

Google is making changes to its search in order to fight fake news, and offensive suggestions in auto-complete. Google has sprinkled some new ingredients into its search engine in an effort to prevent bogus information and offensive suggestions from souring its results.

The changes have been in the works for four months, but Google hadn’t publicly discussed most of them until now. The announcement in a blog post Tuesday reflects Google’s confidence in a new screening system designed to reduce the chances that its influential search engine will highlight untrue stories about people and events, a phenomenon commonly referred to as “fake news.”
“It’s not a problem that is going to go all the way to zero, but we now think we can stay a step ahead of things,” said Ben Gomes, Google’s vice president of engineering for search.

CORRECTING AUTOCOMPLETE

Besides taking steps to block fake news from appearing in its search results, Google also has reprogrammed a popular feature that automatically tries to predict what a person is looking for as a search request as being typed. The tool, called “autocomplete,” has been overhauled to omit derogatory suggestions, such as “are women evil,” or recommendations that promote violence.

Google also adding a feedback option that will enable users to complain about objectionable autocomplete suggestions so a human can review the wording.

Facebook, where fake news stories and other hoaxes have widely circulated on its social network, also has been trying to stem the tide of misleading information by working with The Associated Press and other news organizations to review suspect stories and set the record straight when warranted. Facebook also has provided its nearly 2 billion users ways to identify posts believed to contain false information, something that Google is now allowing users of its search engine to do for some of the news snippets featured in its results.

WHY GOOGLE CARES

Google began attacking fake news in late December after several embarrassing examples of misleading information appeared near the top of its search engine. Among other things, Google’s search engine pointed to a website that incorrectly reported then President-elect Donald Trump had won the popular vote in the US election , that President Barack Obama was planning a coup and that the Holocaust never occurred during World War II.

Only about 0.25 percent of Google’s search results were being polluted with falsehoods, Gomes said. But that was still enough to threaten the integrity of a search engine that processes billions of search requests per day largely because it is widely regarded as the internet’s most authoritative source of information.
“They have a lot riding on this, reputation wise,” said Lucy Dalglish, who has been tracking the flow of false information as dean of the University of Maryland’s journalism department. “If your whole business model is based turning up the best search results, but those results turn up stuff that is total crap, where does that get you?”

To address the problem, Google began revising the closely guarded algorithms that generate its search with the help of 10,000 people who rate the quality and reliability of the recommendations during tests. Google also rewrote its 140-page book of rating guidelines that help the quality-control evaluators make their assessments.

GOOGLE AS REFEREE
Fighting fake news can be tricky because in some cases what is viewed as being blatantly misleading by one person might be interpreted as being mostly true by another. If Google, Facebook or other companies trying to block false information err in their judgment calls, they risk being accused of censorship or playing favorites.

But doing nothing to combat fake news would probably have caused even bigger headaches.

If too much misleading information appears in Google’s search results, the damage could go beyond harm to its reputation for reliability. It could also spook risk-averse advertisers, who don’t want their brands tied to content that can’t be trusted, said Larry Chiagouris, a marketing professor at Pace University in New York.


“Fake news is careening out of control in some people’s eyes, so advertisers are getting very skittish about it,” Chiagouris said. “Anything Google can do to show it is trying to put a lid on it and prevent it from getting out of hand, it will be seen as a good thing.”

Although it also sells ads on its other services and independently owned websites, Google still makes most of its money from the marketing links posted alongside its search results. Google says its new approach isn’t meant to placate advertisers.
Refers from ie Technology

Microsoft Windows 10 Cloud minimum specs requirement leaked ahead of May 2 launch

Microsoft's rumored Windows 10 Cloud-based notebooks will compete with Google Chromebooks.

Microsoft is gearing up for an event in New York on May 2 where the company is expected to make some major announcements. While the company has been tight-lipped about the announcements it is going to make, the invite sent to media hinted at the unveiling of products aimed at the educational market. Ahead of the event, a leaked document is doing the rounds on the web that claims Microsoft is working on a cloud-based version of its Windows 10. It further reveals the company will be launching a reference hardware that will be competing with Google’s Chromebooks.

Microsoft’s much-anticipated Windows 10 Cloud is believed to be a stripped down version of the main operating system, built specifically for students. A leaked screenshot from Microsft’s document titled “Windows 10 Cloud performance”, published by Windows Central, reveals details about minimum specifications required by a hardware to run Windows 10 Cloud and the same have been compared with Chromebook specifications as well.

The benchmarks for a device, conveniently dubbed as ‘CloudBook’, running Windows 10 Cloud includes a battery life of over 10 hours and a quick 20-sec boot-up time. Other noteworthy minimum specifications required are a quad-core Intel Celeron processor or above, 4GB of RAM, 32 GB or 64GB internal storage and Fast eMMC or Solid State Drive (SSD) for storage. It also includes an optional pen or touch-support.

Refer from BER

Best Chrome Extensions to Block Ads

All publishers need to run ads to keep the lights on, but sometimes we can go too far. Opera CTO Bruce Lawson recently quoted a report to say that over 50 percent of all Internet traffic is just ads. That means that half of your limited FUP is probably wasted on advertisements. If you want to take control of this and lower your bills, then you've probably thought about installing an ad-blocker.

If you're wondering about how to block ads on the Internet, the best option is to just install an ad-blocker on your browser. For this article, we're specifically looking at ad-blockers for Google Chrome since it is the most popular Web browser, but the options and steps are pretty simple and pretty similar even for other browsers such as Safari, or Firefox.

On your phone, many popular browsers such as the Opera browser and UC Browser come with built-in adblockers, but on your PC you'll need to install an extension. We looked at some of the most popular adblock extensions available by seeing what all was being recommended by others online, looking at user reviews, and then trying out the extensions ourselves.


Here are the ad block extensions for Chrome that we liked, and why we liked them.

1) AdBlock Plus
One of the best known ad blockers on the market is AdBlock Plus or ABP. It's available on most browsers and has its own Android app as well. Setup is fast, and after that you can forget about it altogether.

ABP does allow some ads through - the advertisers have to meet some requirements to be 'non-intrusive' but you can change this in the settings. ABP also blocks video ads in YouTube, and all noisy ads, and you can set it to block tracking, malware, and social media buttons.

Get AdBlock Plus on the Chrome Web Store.

2) AdBlock

Both AdBlock, and then AdBlock Plus, came up as two separate adblockers for Firefox. When Chrome came along, AdBlock was launched for Chrome by another developer, before the AdBlock Plus team started to support the browser. And so, despite not being connected, the two most popular adblockers ended up with similar names.

AdBlock works a lot like AdBlock plus. Install, leave the defaults on and just get browsing. With AdBlock, malware protection is on from the start. You can also disable AdBlock on individual pages, not just sites, and you can see all the resources it is blocking. It also allows you to whitelist specific YouTube channels, so you can support the creators you want to.

Get AdBlock on the Chrome Web Store.

3)  Ghostery

Perhaps the most comprehensive tracker blocker available, Ghostery has a slightly involved setup process. Once you've added it to your Chrome browser, you're taken to the setup page, and shown all the different types of trackers that it can watch for, and given the option of choosing which ones to block.

Most users will typically opt to block all, but do note that this can also disrupt some site functionality, such as chat assistance on sites, or comments sections. Ghostery is extremely popular, not just for the blocking, but also the analytics it does - at any time, you can click on its icon to see how many trackers are on the site you're visiting, and get updates on what these trackers do.

Get Ghostery on the Chrome Web Store.

4) Privacy Badger

Created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-profit digital rights group based in the US, Privacy Badger isn't exactly an ad-blocker. Instead, it focuses on disallowing any visible or invisible third party scripts that can track you over the Internet. As it happens, most of these trackers are used for advertisements.

This means that Privacy Badger does not block ads that are not otherwise harmful or tracking you. As a result, some ads will still show up. But at least you'll know that companies you've never heard of aren't spying on you through ads.

Get Privacy Badger on the Chrome Web Store.

To install any of these extensions, just go to its page on the Chrome Web Store, and click on the + Add to Chrome button. Follow the on-screen instructions (if any) and you're set. Once again, publishers depend on advertising to stay in business, and if there's a publisher whose content you like, whitelist it in your adblock.

Refer from gadgets 360 

Microsoft Brings enhancements to Windows ten Mail and Calendar for Gmail Users

Microsoft recently announced that it has started rolling out new features to its Windows 10 Mail and Calendar apps for Windows 10 for Gmail users. The company has promised that the new Windows 10 and Calendar apps will start rolling out over the next few weeks to users under Windows Insider Preview programme, and will be rolled out to all Windows 10 users.

The Redmond giant is bringing features like easily tracking travel and shipping deliveries, more actionable emails, easily tracking sports events, faster search, and more for Gmail users. Notably, Microsoft had rolled out a similar update earlier for its Outlook.com accounts.

"We're now excited to bring these features to our users with Gmail accounts, so you can enjoy the best of what Windows 10 Mail & Calendar have to offer," said Vivek Kumar, Product Marketing Manager, Windows 10 Mail and Calendar apps in a blog post.


For Windows 10 Mail app, Microsoft will introduce Focused Inbox for Gmail accounts that essentially segregates mails in two folders - Focused and Others. The Focused section will include all the important mails, while the Others section will house all the not-so-important mails like newsletters, brand discount announcements etc. This is similar to Gmail's methods of segregation into Primary, Social, and Promotions sections in its mail service.

Kumar explained that the new features will be made available to Mail and Calendar users who part of Windows Insider program though adds that "not all Insiders will see the new experience on their Gmail account right away." The update will be gradual and should be available in next few weeks.

"You'll know the new experience is available for your account when you are prompted to update your Gmail account settings.
Reffers from gadgets 360

Google Introduces AI for Its Android Services That Learns from You Without Compromising Privacy

Google, the company that rules the internet, is now testing a method to leverage its machine learning with its ubiquitous presence on mobile devices. The new model they're employing is called Federated Learning, and it hopes to apply artificial intelligence to Google's services on Android without compromising user privacy.

The Federated Learning model would be downloaded directly onto a mobile device. It would then learn from data gathered by Google's apps and services, and apply this knowledge as an update to improve the experience on your phone.

Fairly straightforward so far, right? But the trick would be gathering and using this data without compromising the user's privacy. To accomplish that, the information is encrypted, anonymized, and aggregated with other users' data before being analyzed in the cloud. The combined user data is then used to improve the base model of Google's ecosystem.

But before the aggregated data is used to improve Google services on the whole, a bit of machine learning is applied locally to enhance your personal experience. This act takes place strictly on your phone, and is not shared with Google's cloud-based AI until after it's been anonymized and combined with other users' data.

The improvements made by the local AI will happen immediately, "powering experiences personalized by the way you use your phone."

On that front, the research currently being done involves the Gboard virtual keyboard app on Android. Following the Federated learning model previously described, Venture Beat explains:

To sum it up, research scientists Brendan McMahan and Daniel Ramage stated in a blog post that "Federated Learning allows for smarter models, lower latency, and less power consumption, all while ensuring privacy."

Not edited by us

YouTube Launches In-App Messaging carrier That Lets customers Share and discuss videos

YouTube has launched a preview of in-app messaging provider on its Android and iOS apps - alternatively, for now, it is just to be had for customers in Canada. the brand new in-app messaging will permit customers to share clips, hyperlinks, textual content, and perhaps video too. customers in other regions can get entry to the function by means of invite. ultimate year in may just, YouTube had established it was testing the characteristic with limited customers.

In a blog submit on Google Canada's website online, there's a video the place the new characteristic has been shown as how this in-app messaging function works. which you could share a video with a couple of customers, chat with them, invite more customers, and even reply with additional YouTube video hyperlinks. moreover, there can be a 'heart' inside the chat thread to precise a like for a video or a message. YouTube videos will play throughout the chat window, without customers having to leave it. "not most effective are you able to share and obtain movies in the app, that you could also chat about them right on YouTube, reply with any other video, invite others to the conversation, and more." read the Google weblog.

YouTube had in brief tested this feature in may just ultimate year without any further small print for its rollout. It used to be also restrained just for a few users who were a part of YouTube's trying out process. This time YouTube has best chosen Canada for the rollout of this selection below a brand new Sharing tab. Google has mentioned in its weblog post that Canadians share 15 percent more videos than an ordinary YouTube user, so it can be truthful that they should see characteristic previous than all and sundry else.

however if you're not in Canada and yet are using this selection, you may also want an invitation from a chum who is already the use of this provider. that could very nearly happen if your buddy resides in Canada, they add you to their chat, or share a video on this type. After being brought, that you would be able to share and chat with others as neatly.

the theory behind the YouTube messaging feature is to inspire users to stay inside the YouTube app for sharing and conversing over a particular video, with no need to switch between the other apps. the brand new in-app messaging function is set to compete with fb's video carrier the place that you may remark, like, share, reply to feedback and even privately share video with others. this feature is continue to exist YouTube's Android app and its iOS counterpart as neatly in Canada.

Google ad hints of new smartphones to come on Oct. 4

Google released an intriguing new video on prime time TV Monday that hints of an Oct. 4 announcement of two new smartphones -- the Pixel X and Pixel XL.

The 30-second spot, also posted on Google-owned YouTube, shows a search bar rectangle that morphs into the shape of a smartphone accompanied by the 1974 hit single, “Come and Get Your Love” by the rock band Redbone.

A separate website, madeby.google.com with much the same content shows the smartphone shape with color photos and a place to sign up for email alerts for more information. Fans of the Google Nexus phones will notice the URL refers to “made by Google” as well. Billboards in New York City are also showing the promotion.

The promotion was also backed up by invitations to some media outlets for a Google event in San Francisco on Oct. 4.

Reports suggest that Google will announce two new smartphones that day, the Pixel X with a 5-in. screen, and the larger 5.5-in. Pixel XL. They would presumably run a custom version of the latest Android OS, 7.0 dubbed Nougat. The phones would be manufactured by HTC.

Other reports indicate Google is dropping the Nexus name for Pixel, and plans to announce other products on Oct. 4, such as its Daydream virtual reality device and Google Home, an answer to the Amazon Echo.

The significance of the video and the reports of new smartphones should not be lost on average smartphone users.

Android phones dominate the global smartphone market, with an 85% share that is predicted to continue through 2020, according to research firm IDC. However, Google and even many Android phone makers, are clearly interested in keeping Android users updated with the latest operating system, along with the latest processors, cameras, sleek designs and other updates.

The Nexus line, going back to the Nexus One in 2009, has been one way that Google could show the best designs and uses for pure Android, even as it has served a small group of customers -- mainly tech-savvy users.

“Google’s goal with Nexus, or now Pixel phones, is the same as always: an alternative to Samsung smartphones in the high end which can really show off Android and Google’s ecosystem,” said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Creative Strategies.


So far, “Nexus devices have not helped because of the limited sales channel,” meaning they are mainly sold unlocked on the web. Google needs wider distribution, but can’t really afford to work with carriers and mass retailers because doing so would increase Google’s costs and upset other Android phone manufacturers, Milanesi said.

Milanesi said another report that’s circulating is that Google will bring its pure Android approach through Nexus in-house completely and close it off to other partner/manufacturers. “Alienating partners no longer seems to be a concern,” she added.

Under that scenario, Google could make its Google Mobile Services (GMS) — including Google Search, Gmail, Chrome and Google Maps — “proprietary,” in order to simplify the process of getting devices updated to the latest version of Android. “That would be so pure innovation actually makes it into consumers’ hands,” she said.

GMS is available only through a license with Google, according to the Android website, although installing it on devices requires no license fee.

More details may be forthcoming on Oct. 4 about a GMS that is more proprietary, expensive or restrictive for licensees. Google CEO Sundar Pichai told The Verge on June 1 that his company would “be more opinionated about the design of the phones,” particularly where Google sees a need to “push the devices forward.”

Pichai said then that Google would not create its own phones from scratch, and said Google’s plan was “still to work with OEMs to make phones.”

While Android already dominates the smartphone market, Google has to make Android evolve to keep up with the market and create interest when a new OS version is released, said Jack Gold, an analyst at J.Gold Associates.

“Google needs to show continued improvements, if not outright innovation, if it wants to maintain its market share,” Gold said. “Google often creates flagship devices that are meant to stimulate the market and get vendors’ creative juices flowing. It will continue to do so.”

Gold said he hopes that Google will announce an evolution of its core search capabilities with artificial intelligence with new interfaces for users.

The latest Google video promotion with TV and billboard ads shows a marketing willingness to take the Nexus concept for innovation to the mass market and beyond the niche of technophiles that have purchased the devices online.

On the other hand, Google faces a balancing act as it enlarges its market reach, said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

“Google always needs to be cautious that Android doesn’t get cheapened as a phone platform, especially as Apple gobbles up so much of the premium tier,” Moorhead said. “They should charge as high a price as they can without getting piggish on profits.”

The worst that could happen is if Android smartphones become a “commodity” with little pizazz and innovation.

“Commoditization doesn’t just happen; industries allow themselves to be commoditized,” Moorhead said. “Case in point -- the PC market. The PC market reduced investing then started to get commoditized and had to spend even more to decrease the slide.”
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~computerworld