Home Game Google Fiber in Utah; Twitter’s Targeted Ads; Galaxy S4 Arrives Next Week

Google Fiber in Utah; Twitter’s Targeted Ads; Galaxy S4 Arrives Next Week

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Google Fiber in Utah; Twitter’s Targeted Ads; Galaxy S4 Arrives Next Week

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Topping tech headlines on Wednesday, Google announced that its third Google Fiber city will be Provo, Utah.

The company will buy iProvo, a city-owned fiber-optic network, in a deal that still must be approved by the city council at a meeting on April 23. If Google gets the green light, it will upgrade iProvo to gigabit technology and finish network construction, so the 115,000 residents along the existing iProvo network can tap into Google Fiber. Standalone gigabit Internet service and gigabit Internet-plus-TV will be offered for a monthly fee; residents can also access Fiber’s free 5 Mbps Internet service for seven years, for a one-time $30 activation fee — much lower than the $300 charged in Google Fiber’s first location, Kansas City.

In other news, Twitter now offers a new layer of marketing that allows partners to target ads based on the content of users’ tweets. Keyword targeting in timelines lets advertisers “reach users based on the keywords in their recent Tweets and the Tweets with which users recently engaged,” according to the micro-blogging company. Users won’t see any change to their Twitter feed; ads will not be shown any more frequently and users can still dismiss irrelevant or annoying Promoted Tweets.

Meanwhile, several U.S. wireless carriers yesterday provided details on when they will offer the Samsung Galaxy S4. T-Mobile will begin selling the smartphone on April 24 online and in stores May 1 for $149.99 down plus payments of $20 per month for 24 months. The GS4 will hit Sprint’s shelves on April 27 for $249.99 with a two-year contract.

Also making headlines Wednesday:

  • Internet Sleuths Try to Crack Boston Marathon Bombing: In the aftermath of the deadly bomb attacks, amateur sleuths on sites like Reddit comb over available photos and video in an effort to single out bombs and suspects from the crowd.
  • FCC Probes Post-Bombing Cell Phone Congestion in Boston: The Federal Communications Commission is examining the network congestion issues that arose in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings as part of its efforts to boost network reliability during disasters.
  • Microsoft Inks Huge Android Patent Deal With Foxconn: Microsoft inked a deal with Foxconn parent company Hon Hai that allows the Taiwan-based firm to produce devices with tech covered by Microsoft’s patents for Android and Chrome OS.
  • Funny or Die’s ‘iSteve’ Film Debuts Online: Funny or Die finally released its comedic biopic on the life of the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
  • Google Boosts Mobile Search Results: Google introduced two new features aimed at speeding up mobile Web searches.
  • Amazon Expanding Android Appstore to Nearly 200 Countries: Amazon on Wednesday announced that it is continuing the global expansion of its Appstore for Android.
  • Siri Has New Challenger With Spain’s Sherpa: The Sherpa virtual assistant app combines Siri and Google Now to predict and anticipate users’ needs.
  • Nintendo to Release New Zelda Game for 3DS: Nintendo is gearing up to release an all-new Legend of Zelda game for the Nintendo 3DS.
  • Acer, Paramount Team Up for ‘Star Trek’ Campaign: Mobile hardware maker Acer and movie studio Paramount Pictures are boldly going where no companies have gone before, with the launch of a joint marketing campaign.
  • FTC Cracks Down on Cell Phone ‘Cramming’ The Federal Trade Commission filed its first case against phone crammers who added bogus charges to users’ mobile phone bills.

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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/news/google-fiber-in-utah-twitters-targeted-ads-galaxy-s4-arrives-next-week