HTC has denied that it is working on a “Google Edition” HTC One with stock Android, but it seems the Taiwanese company may have simply been trying to cover it up.
Earlier this week, one source claimed such a device is in the works, and now the same claim — this time from multiple different sources — has started circulating again. According to the latest rumor, an HTC One with stock Android will be announced within the next two weeks.
After bringing new features to its public Chrome browser for Android this week, Google has now updated its beta release to version 28. In addition to fullscreen support for tablets, the update brings Google Translate page translations, a new graph that displays estimated bandwidth savings when using the browser’s data compression feature, and more.
Google is considering a buyout of Waze, the mapping app for iPhone and Android that specializes in crowd-sourced information. Waze’s asking price is around $1 billion, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Other big tech companies have been courting the map startup, most notably Facebook.
“None of the bidders is close to clinching a deal and the talks may fall apart,” says the report. There have been whispers that Apple has also considered an acquisition, but nothing concrete has surfaced yet.
Waze would be a good asset for any of the three aforementioned companies. The service has more than 40 million users that report valuable information like traffic incidents and wrecks. At this point, Apple Maps could probably use the functionality more than Google.
After being pulled from the App Store back in April for violating Apple’s latest guidelines, AppGratis has turned to Android to keep its app recommendation service alive. The company has this week launched a new app in Google Play that promises a free app every day, plus discounts of up to 90% on paid Android titles.
UPDATE: EE has confirmed to Cult of Android that Facebook has indeed killed plans to bring the HTC First to the U.K. The statement is at the bottom of this post.
Plans to bring the HTC First to the United Kingdom have reportedly been axed following the handset’s dismal launch in the United States. Sources claim that it was Facebook that killed the plans, rather then HTC or any of the European carrier partners.
