Gadgetory

what's happening brian Tong here and welcome to Google ishes it's all the Google that we can pack inside of a show now Google is taking on the universe with the recent announcement of five winners that will be sharing 5.25 million dollars for their milestone achievements in Google Lunar XPrize contests now the final goal of this contest is to take a robot to the moon a 20 million dollar grand prize will be given to the team that's able to land a robot on the moon that can move more than 500 meters and it must also stream video from the surface of that moon now the three categories of achievement that companies were recently rewarded for we're imaging mobility and landing technology and you guys can find out more about the contest and the companies competing at the link below and it's just another way that Google is pushing people to think big all right we've shown you plenty with Google's Project are a modular smartphone but have you seen the blocks SmartWatch platform that's really a me to create a modular SmartWatch of their own while blocks unveiled their plans a few months ago and now the latest reports claim Google may be interested in working with the blocks team to bring the best of both companies modular ideas together to work in harmony blocks take on the modular SmartWatch was featured on Intel's CES booth and they showcased how each module or link of the SmartWatch could act as a battery SIM card slot gps unit or more and also having a single development community for both devices really make sense and also give them the best chance to survive long term as well ok Google Fiber is likely making its next expansion into North Carolina both Charlotte and Raleigh Durham have been listed as potential candidates there has been no official announcement but google is planning three separate announcements in the area next week and we highly doubt it will be the unveiling of the nexus 7 phone or maybe it could be now up to this point google fiber's gigabit network exists in provo utah Austin Texas and Kansas City Missouri you know the home of the 100 times faster Wi-Fi at starbucks alright sticking to networking a recent report from the information claims that Google is launching its own cellular network where they will sell plans directly to customers and manage their calls and data just like a carrier now they won't be building their own infrastructure but they'll accomplish this by buying wholesale access to sprint and t-mobile's network similar to companies like boost mobile or Cricket Wireless the specific details remain unclear but we will keep you guys all updated and in some gadget news new leaked photos off the purported kima that's the HTC One m9 model with its rounded metal body design it looks very similar to the ma but the power button has now moved to the right side of the device while the volume rocker has been moved lower as well we expect a 5-inch 1080p display 20.7 megapixel rear camera and eight core Snapdragon 810 processor and three gigs of RAM but official details are expected at Mobile World Congress in March and Google's $99 Nexus player has been available on their own Google Play website for some time but it's expected to hit walmart store shelves and new eggs online store so you can go and get it there and no we didn't forget about HP's recent announcement for their new Pro slate 12 that includes a 12 inch screen but it's also the first tablet to be built with Gorilla Glass 4 the latest glass tech from the company that's supposed to be stronger and offers better drop protection now the HP pro slate will also include a duet pen that will act as a regular stylist and a writing utensil as well specs include a 1600 x 1200 resolution snapdragon 800 processor 2 gigs of RAM and 32 gigs of expandable flash storage starting at five hundred and sixty nine dollars but they'll also be offering a smaller pro slate 8 inch model that starts at 449 alright that's going to do it for this week's show you can always email us at Google Isha's at cnet com or tweet me at brian Tong thanks for watching we'll catch you guys next time for some more of that Google ishes Google ish asst