Hasta La Gadget!

While the entirety of the Google apps ecosystem appears to still be flickering on according to tips we’re receiving from readers as we speak, Google has reported that their entire environment should be ready to roll. What we experienced this morning was everything from slow service to entire Gmail inboxes disappearing – if you’re experiencing one or the other, please feel free to let us know in the comments of this post or via our tipline email.

While Google earlier noted that they were “working hard to restore normal operation,” the newest message sent out across the Google Apps dashboard is that, specifically, “the problem with Google Mail should be resolved.” According to contacts speaking with SlashGear, services such as Google Drive have yet to return to optimal service.

Check Google’s own App Status Dashboard to see the status of your favorite app right this minute!

At the moment it appears that the services that have been affected started with the Google Admin control panel and API which went down at around 8:20 AM Google Server Time. Google Drive went down just about 40 minutes later, Google Docs about 10 minutes after that, and even the Google News was having some issues throughout the morning. Google Calendar was unable to be reached by several readers sending notes in to SlashGear this morning as well.

If you’ve had trouble or continue to have trouble, you can also contact Google directly. Through Google’s own Google Apps Documentation & Support page you can access unique support based on which app you need help with and what kind of Googler you are. Make the effort and make everything better for everyone!

Gmail and other Google apps return after short outage is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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I’ve made my fair share of apps, and to me the one question that still bounces around my head is: When taking an app-first approach to designing a product, how should a designer decide on the look and feel of the icon? There are many different icon types I’ve considered, but I wanted to explore a few of the more pervasive methods I’ve come across. More »

Will Google Voice, Mountain View’s red-headed stepchild, live to see another day. Google pulled the plug on its popular Reader RSS reading service, so anything is possible.

BlackBerry has been hit hard by Apple and Android in the enterprise smartphone market, and now it’s making some moves to make sure that it doesn’t face the same fate in the automotive segment. QNX, BlackBerry’s operating system subsidiary that makes the new BB10 operating system, today announced that it would be adding music streaming service 7digital into its in-car entertainment and information system, QNX CAR.

The deal gives QNX more leverage against Google and its own car ambitions, as well as Apple, which has made some moves into the automotive segment, and is the world’s biggest seller of digital music today. The QNX deal will see access to 7digital’s catalog of 23 million tracks, and HTML5-based music store, via the QNX system; the music service will work across the 40 countries where 7digital already has licensing agreements. It follows on the heels of QNX deals with other music providers including Pandora, Tune In, and Slacker.

(As a point of comparison on footprint, yesterday music streaming service Spotify added several new markets in Asia, Latin America and Europe to its global coverage, and now works in 28 countries.)

QNX says that this will in turn mean that automotive OEMs and others working on in-car systems can now build customized digital music stores into QNX-based “infotainment systems.” These will link up with 7digital’s wider service across mobile and web platforms so that subscribers can access their music on all of them.

The move is another sign of how everything, including cars, are fair hardware game today. “The lines between in-car systems, mobile devices, and the web are blurring,” said Derek Kuhn, vice president of sales and marketing at QNX Software Systems, in a statement. “Our partnership with 7digital is a testament to how well digital music services can be integrated into a seamless automotive user experience.”

At the same time, digital music specifically has a huge opportunity in the next generation of cars — something companies like Spotify and Apple are also considering as they also look to integrate with new platforms.

“Connected and mobile devices have changed the way music is consumed, but one thing that hasn’t is people’s desire to listen to music in the car,” said Ben Drury, CEO of 7digital. “We’re already working with partners in the automotive sector and now, for the first time, automotive companies using the QNX CAR platform can leverage our HTML5 music store, where their customers can access the largest collection of digital music from the convenience of their vehicles.”

For 7digital, this is another way of making sure its service remains relevant for its existing subscribers. It already has a strong relationship with BlackBerry; the service is preloaded on a range of the company’s smartphones, including the newest BB10 devices. The company, based in the UK, has raised $18.5 million to date, with its named investors including Sutton Place Managers and Balderton Capital. Its last round of funding, $10 million in October 2012, came from “two public technology companies.” I’ve reached out to 7digital to ask if BlackBerry happens to be one of them.

Samsung is another strong partner of 7digital; the streaming company powers the world’s biggest smartphone maker’s Music Hub music service. 7digital also works on Pioneer’s in-car system.

For its part, QNX, which was acquired by BlackBerry in 2010 as part of its bigger drive to update its mobile platform, has been an early and strong player in in-car systems for years already, and it works with companies like Audi, Toyota, BMW, Porsche, Honda and Land Rover.

Interestingly, it has something in common with BlackBerry in that both have reputations as workhorses. “The only way to make this software malfunction is to fire a bullet into the computer running it,” an automotive customer once said of QNX.

But as the mobile industry has shown us many times, it’s not always the early movers who are the long-term winners in this space.

While QNX has built a reputation with reliable in-car navigation and other legacy car-computer systems, in the new age of connected everything, the car could well become a hot battleground, like the smartphone is already, in the bigger war of ecosystems. QNX has been, like others, developing next-generation systems to meet that demand.

There are already companies working on ways of synchronizing the apps in one’s phone with those in the car, and companies like Apple and Google, as well as automotive companies themselves, all want a piece of the action. Cars and car news featured prominently at both the CES and MWC events earlier this year.

The bigger risk for BlackBerry is that QNX goes the way of its crown jewel, the BlackBerry smartphone, which was once the default smartphone — the only smartphone in many cases — used by enterprises. These days, it’s a different picture. IDC noted last November that iPhones are bing bought “in droves” instead of BlackBerry handsets. Some of this is down to individual users bringing in their own devices; and some is down to larger corporate contracts.

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