Hasta La Gadget!

Let it never be said that Google doesn’t show its iOS-toting fans love. Even when it’s not bringing apps to Apple’s platform first, it usually makes sure to offer its wares on the competing ecosystem. It may have taken a while, but the Google Fiber remote app is now available outside of Android land. You’ll need to have an iPad (sorry, no pocketable version here), but just like its Jelly Bean-bound cousin, you can change channels, schedule recordings and fire up on-demand programming. The free app is available now through iTunes, though, it obviously won’t do you much good outside of Google Fiber’s limited coverage area.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software, HD, Apple, Google

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Source: Google Fiber Blog, Google Fiber (iTunes)

Google Fiber is growing in Kansas City and, as recently reported, coming to Austin, and today Mountain View revealed a third city that will enjoy its high-speed internet: Provo, Utah. The news broke today on the official Fiber blog, Provo’s website and the city mayor’s personal blog — what official wouldn’t be happy to break that news? If the agreement is approved by the city council, Google will buy the city’s existing iProvo network and upgrade it to Gigabit technology. The deal would bring free 5Mbps service to homes already on the iProvo network (for a $30 activation fee) and offer free connectivity for 25 public institutions. The council will vote next Tuesday — but we can’t imagine any verdict other than a resounding “yes.”

[Thanks, all]

Filed under: Internet, HD, Google

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Source: Google Fiber blog, Provo Insights

The Google Fiber rollout for Austin has been spoiled twice, but today it’s officially official: the music-centric city will become a gigabit city… eventually, that is. Google now says that it will start wiring Austinite homes for super-fast internet access by mid-2014 — we wouldn’t cancel that cable or DSL service just yet, sadly. At least the pricing should be familiar. Google still plans to offer both stand-alone internet access and internet-plus-TV bundles, both at rates within the ballpark of what it offers for Kansas City, and there will still be a near-free 5Mbps plan that only requires a one-off construction fee. Institutions will get free gigabit access, of course. While we’d like Google Fiber as soon as possible, we’re just happy to realize that our next SXSW crash pad may have a lot more bandwidth on tap.

Update: During a formal announcement call, Google and the city of Austin provided a few minor details. They revealed that Google didn’t get any incentives to land a deal, and that engineering work is only beginning in earnest on April 10th. As for AT&T’s me-too initiative? Kevin Lo from Google Fiber says that it’s “great” to see AT&T aware that the demand exists for gigabit access. No hard feelings, then.

Filed under: Networking, HD, Google

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Source: Google Fiber

While our zipcodes still haven’t popped up on Google’s gigabit-connected list, it announced tonight that Google Fiber is coming to the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, KS. The Olathe City Council approved an agreement allowing the expansion earlier this evening, although there’s no word on timing for the deployment just yet. The internet / TV service Google provides will be competing with Comcast locally, as opposed to incumbent Time Warner in many of the previous areas. As you can see from the map above, this is technically beyond the initial rollout announced, which should thrill residents of what Wikipedia tells us is the fourth largest Kansas City suburb and hometown of NFL running back Darren Sproles. Still, despite Google calling this hopefully the first of several announcements for additional KC-area cities it will still require a move to this particular corner of the Great Plains.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Google

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Source: Google Fiber Blog, OlatheKS.org

Netflix has long been judging your ISP’s streaming quality, but you’ve had to dig around blog posts and other less accessible pages to get the low-down on just which networks reign supreme. Its new, dedicated ISP Speed Index page is much more straightforward: stop by and you’ll always have a quick glimpse of which internet providers are the most Netflix-friendly across key countries, with more detailed breakdowns for individual nations. Not that there’s been an upheaval in the pecking order, at least if you’re an American. Google Fiber was once again the clear US speed leader in February, while DSL and Clearwire’s WiMAX trailed the pack. The site mostly provides a handy point of reference for ISP shopping, even if it suggests that a cross-country (or cross-planet) move might be in order.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet

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Source: Netflix ISP Speed Index