Google rolled out an update to its search engine, which boosts the ranking of mobile-friendly pages. The update affects search rankings only on mobile devices in all languages.

Mobile searchers will now find it easier to find high-quality pages that don’t require tapping or zooming. Read more »

Google has said that its Project Loon, which involves beaming 4G mobile Internet from helium-filled balloons, is close to launching thousands of balloons. The project has been underway for a couple of years now.

“We’re getting close to the point where we can roll out thousands of balloons,” said project leader Mike Cassidy, adding that such a number is necessary to deliver reliable Internet access to users in remote areas where no other means to connect to the Internet are available. Read more »

Huawei unveiled the P8 a couple of days ago. The flagship smartphone is headed to stores soon, and it looks like the Chinese company has a surprise prepared for its customers in the UK. The leaked image you can see below is complemented by a rumor saying UK-based buyers of the P8 will get “VIP Service”.

What this means is that you’ll get same-day courier replacement if you have a faulty unit. According to a source inside Huawei, customers will be able to call a special number and speak to a customer rep who will diagnose the problem. If the issue is covered under warranty, then a new handset will be dispatched immediately, with same-day or next-day arrival (if the call happens after the cut-off time for the same-day option) at the customer’s doorstep. Read more »

Google Drive for Android received a major update. The latest version of the popular application brings new features, as well as support for 23 new languages.

The new Google Drive app build offers a new ‘Add People’ option to let users share a file with others straight from the notification area. Read more »

In February, Google introduced a new program called Android for Work for users who prefer to bring their own smartphone or tablet to work. With this solution, Android devices’ owners can have two profiles that keep work and personal data separate.

After baking these features in Android 5.0 Lollipop, Google has now released Android for Work for devices running Ice Cream Sandwich through Kitkat. Read more »

Apple’s current pair of flagship devices – the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are enjoying an ever-growing level of popularity, bringing more and more attention to one of the company’s most ambitious projects – widespread NFC-based payments. The Cupertino giant has bee investing heftily in the new service, pushing it all throughout the US, Canada and Europe, despite some major retailer distrust.

But this steady expansion has yet to reach China – an area where the service has hit a lot of problems and is still in limbo. As some of you might remember, Apple has been struggling to strike a deal with China’s UnionPay and bring Apple Pay to the enormous market. After a lot of hardships, the feature was supposed to finally see the light of day in iOS 8.3, but the OS update is already here and NFC payments are still nowhere to be found. Read more »

The video binge-watchers stay glued to the YouTube only if they have an AdBlock installed for uninterrupted entertainment. Meanwhile, several millions of users have to go through the YouTube ads to continue watching their 5 to 10 minute videos.

YouTube is now working to eliminated the YouTube ads by offering an ads-free monthly subscription service through its Content Creators to the end users. By paying a monthly fee, you can enjoy watching videos from your favorite channels without wasting a second on the ads. Read more »

Although a launch elsewhere is still in up in the air, Apple Pay is continuously gaining ground in the US. Apple’s payment system has now added 39 new banks and credit unions to its list of partners.

This brings the total number of banking institutions that support Apple Pay to more than 180, which is pretty substantial. Apple has been constantly looking for new partners since it announced the service last year. Read more »

Google is always looking for ways to boost the usage of its products among consumers globally. For that, the company is in talks with Hutchinson Whampoa to work on a deal that will eliminate the international roaming costs for Android phones.

Google wishes to disrupt the US mobile market with its own network and deals with other networks to offer better, affordable options for the Android phone users. The idea is to have a uniform rate for calls, texts, and mobile data irrespective of the region. Read more »

Microsoft and Samsung announced an expansion of their global partnership. Going forward, the Korean giant will pre-install Microsoft applications and services to its Android hardware.

Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge will ship with Microsoft OneNote, Skype, and 100GB of OneDrive cloud storage. Read more »

For a lot of people Windows 10 sounds like the a dream come true. The net installment of the popular OS promises universal apps across all hardware platforms and versions and perhaps even more exciting – compatibility with every Windows Phone 8 handset out there.

Things looked even better after the US tech giant announced its plans to captivate the Chinese market by offering legal upgrades to both genuine and non-genuine Windows installs. Another piece of the Windows 10 puzzle has surfaces today, courtesy of a leaked China presentation and it could potentially show a slightly darker aspect of the upcoming OS. Read more »

Facebook’s strategy for the mobile apps is full of surprises. With free Voice Calls in the Messenger app, the company decided to compete with the likes of Skype. Now it is testing out a diaper app called Phone to compete with the likes of Truecaller.

A random trial message showing up in the Facebook app for Android talks about installing a Phone app meant for Facebook only. Read more »

A German court has ordered a nationwide ban on UberPop, a ridesharing service that lets drivers without a taxi license register with Uber and offer trips in their own cars at a lower rate. The case was brought last year by German taxi operator group Taxi Deutschland.

The ruling came after the Frankfurt district court found the low-cost service to be in violation of the country’s public transportation act, according to which any service carrying passengers for a fee must be operated by licensed drivers. The court also set a fine of $270,000 for each violation of the order. Read more »

Google has rolled out a nifty update for its Docs app for Android devices. The new version brings the capability to review a document in full screen mode.

At times, one just has to read an entire document before editing the text and saving the changes. Read more »

Apple announced today the CarPlay service has received a warm welcome among car manufacturers and support for it will spread even wider through 2015.

Currently the CarPlay functionality has been integrated in lots of the popular car brands, but by the end of this year Apple promises we’ll see CarPlay integration on every major car brand. Read more »