Google to acquire Fitbit for US$2.1 billion

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Fitbit is going to be the newest brand to be taken under Google's wings. Google announced that it has "entered into a definitive agreement" to acquire Fitbit for US$2.1 billion (around CA$2.7 billion). The announcement comes days after reports are going around that Google was in talks to purchase the fitness tracker company. Fitbit will be joining Google itself, in the same way that Nest is under Google right now.

According to Rick Osterloh, Google's senior vice president for hardware, the reason they want Fitbit is to help them create wearables within the company. That they "see an opportunity to invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce Made by Google wearable devices into the market."

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Review: Google Pixel 3a

At first glance, there’s very little difference between the new Pixel 3a and last year’s stellar Pixel 3. Both phones share Google’s sleek and rather muted aesthetics, they both run Pure Android efficiently, are build around Google Assistant and it’s AI features. Both Pixel models also feature outstanding cameras, with segment-leading Night Sight low light capability, and arguably the best camera software available today.

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Google consolidates Home and Nest smart home initiatives

Fresh from Google IO 2019 is the news that Google Home and Nest devices are now consolidated into a unified smart home hardware and software initiative. The first product under this brand is the Google Nest Hub. A 10-inch smart display with Google Home functionality as well as a camera for video calls (or for security when you're away), this device can be anyting from a smart-speaker, kitchen TV, or digital photo frame.

Coming to Canada for the first time, the Google Nest Hub comes in a variety of colours including, chalk, charcoal, aqua and sand. Google says You can buy Hub for $169, and starting today, you can pre-order from the Google Store.  Google also has some deals for pre-orders of the Nest Hub between May 7 and May 27, Customers will get a Google Home Mini for free. Starting today, pricing for Google Home speakers will be $129 and Google Home Max will be $399.

Google bans app developer with over 600 million downloads over ad fraud

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This isn’t the first time Google has banned an app developer from its marketplace, but it’s probably one of its biggest yet. The tech giant banned Android developer DO Global after it discovered that it was committing ad fraud. A Buzzfeed report found at least six of the company’s apps have a code that made it seem like a user was clicking on an advertisement even if they weren’t using the apps. These even had generic names like Selfie Camera and Total Cleaner, which obscured the fact that they were owned by DO Global. And that violated Play Store policy.

Almost half of its over 100 apps have been removed from the Play Store. DO Global, which is partly owned by Chinese tech firm Baidu, has already racked up over 600 million downloads in the Play Store. The developer has also been taken out of Google’s AdMob network, which cuts off their access to Google’s mobile advertising service.

Source: Engadget