Google Announces The OnHub WiFi Router

Today Google announced that they are moving into the WiFi router market. The new router is produced through a partnership with TP-Link and it’s called OnHub. Google is marketing OnHub as a router that is simple to setup, effortless to maintain, and highly reliable. Much like Apple’s AirPort Extreme, the OnHub is a very tall router in order to integrate internal antennas, and it is managed via an app for your iOS or Android device. The mobile app will also allow you to see which devices are using bandwidth, and to apply QoS rules to limit devices from using too much. During setup it will automatically select the best channel for minimal interference, and can adjust on its own as necessary. Software updates are also automatically downloaded and applied, which makes it essentially self maintaining as long as Google’s promise of reliable connectivity is met.

As far as specifications go, OnHub is marketed as an AC 1900 router which really says it’s a 3×3 802.11ac router that which has a data rate of 1300Mbps on an 802.11ac link and 600Mbps on an 802.11n link. In addition to being a dead simple WiFi router, OnHub also comes with support for the major protocols which will be used by home automation devices, including Bluetooth Smart, Google Brillo/Weave, and IEEE 802.15.4. The OnHub router is available for preorder now from various retailers in the US, and both the blue and black versions cost $199

Google Revamps Hangouts On The Web

As someone who uses Google Hangouts for both personal and work related correspondence, I’ve always been frustrated that the only viable options for using it are to install Chrome and use the Hangouts extension, or to use the outdated looking interfaces on Google+ or the Hangouts website. With Hangouts becoming a product that extends to messages, phone calls, video conferences, and even the default SMS app on many Android devices, it really felt strange that its web presence seemed so neglected, and felt confined to just being a sidebar on other Google sites. Today that has changed with Google’s revamp of their dedicated Hangouts website.

While the new website wont satisfy users who still want a dedicated Hangouts application for their computers, it’s a much nicer experience than using it through Google+ or the old website. The page background rotates through a gallery of images from Google+ users, and the interface itself is instantly familiar to users who use the Hangouts application on the iOS or Android devices. Although the page has a Material Design inspired interface, the chat windows themselves have the same old Holo appearance, and really fit poorly with the rest of the site. Hopefully an update to the chat windows is something Google has planned for the near future. Anyone who wants to try out the new Hangouts website can do so by visiting the new web page here.

Source: Google via The Verge

Google Reorganizes Into Alphabet: Sundar Pichai is CEO of Google

Today, Google announced that they will undergo reorganization to better represent the growth that the company has seen in the past few years. As a result, Google the company will be now branded as Alphabet.

The big news here is that Google the internet services company will become one subsidiary of the larger Alphabet company – and said subsidiary still operating under the name Google – with the goal of better seperating Google’s core business from what are now Alphabet’s more experimental, far flung ventures. Consequently this change will see current parts of Google like X labs, Calico, Life Sciences, and other ventures shifted over to Alphabet. Meanwhile web services and software like Android, Maps, and Gmail will remain under the Google brand.

Organizationally, Larry Page will remain CEO of this reorganized company, and Sergey Brin will be President. Sundar Pichai will also be CEO of the new Google. Google stock is also immediately being converted over to Alphabet stock, and going forward Alphabet will be the reporting company, however Google-the-subsidiary results will be broken down and reported as part of Alphabet’s results.

Ultimately it remains to be seen what effects this will have on the Google that we’ve known for the past few years. However given that the management structure has remained relatively constant in this move I suspect that business will continue on as usual.