Google launches Duo to take on Apple's FaceTime, Skype

Google launches Duo to take on Apple's FaceTime, Skype

Knock, knock, Google's video chatting app has arrived.

The app, dubbed Duo, represents Google Duo response to other popular video calling options, including Apple's FaceTime, Microsoft's Skype and Facebook's Messenger app.

Duo isn't much different from the other video chatting services, except that it gives a glimpse at who is making the call, helping the recipient decide whether to answer. Google calls this feature, "Knock, knock."

The new app, announced in May, is being released Tuesday as a free service for phones running on Google's Android operating system as well as Apple's iPhones.

Like FaceTime for iPhones, Duo only requires a person's phone number to connect. Many other services require both participants to have account logins to use their video calling options.

Google has been offering video calling through its Hangout feature for several years, but the internet company is now tailoring that service for business meetings.

Duo is being billed as a simpler, more reliable way to see friends and family as you talk to them.

It is the first of two new mobile apps that Google, owned by Alphabet Inc., has planned for this summer. The Mountain View, California, company also is preparing to unveil a new messaging app called Allo featuring a robotic assistant that will suggest automated responses to texts. (more)

Read More On : Latest Technology News

Samsung may release phones with bendable screens by 2017

Samsung may release phones with bendable screens by 2017

Samsung Electronics Co is considering introducing two new smartphone models that will feature bendable screens, including a version that folds in half like a cosmetic compact, people familiar with the matter said.

The devices using organic light-emitting diodes could be unveiled as soon as early 2017, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. That would likely give it a head start on new Apple Inc iPhones. The second Samsung model will have a 5-inch screen when used as a handset, that unfurls into a display that's as large as 8 inches, similar to a tablet, the people said.

Samsung, the biggest supplier of OLED panels for mobile products, has pioneered the development of new screen formats with its multi-sided Edge smartphones. Using advanced display technology may help the company recapture customers from Apple and boost earnings that have slumped for the past two years.

"This product could be a game-changer if Samsung successfully comes up with a user interface suitable for bendable screens," said Lee Seung Woo, an analyst at IBK Securities Co in Seoul. Click Here