Google search on Android phones will prompt you to download apps. Google Google wants to get better at searching for things on your smartphone. So when you look something up in Google’s search app, the software will now show you links to download other apps — but only when content in those apps is relevant …

Google will let app makers apply to give their Android apps a family-friendly designation. Sarah Tew/CNET Google wants parents to be able to more easily figure out which apps are family friendly. So the search giant on Tuesday announced a new program called “Designed for Families,” which designates which apps in its Google Play online store are safe for children. …

Jason Cipriani/CNET Google is getting ready to make its Android Wear software, which powers wearable devices like smartwatches, work with Apple’s iPhone. The company will add support for Apple’s iOS software and Wi-Fi in the next version of Android Wear, which could come out in the next few weeks, according to a person familiar with Google’s plans. Google’s plans were …

Google is making a push to get people to use its Chrome operating system, which powers its Chromebook laptops. Richard Nieva/CNET Move over, Android. Google’s mobile operating system may be the most popular software in the world for powering phones and tablets. But Google is also making a push for its other operating system, Chrome OS, which mostly powers laptop …

Google reportedly wants to let people pay their bills using Gmail. Getty Images People use Google’s Gmail to firm up brunch plans with a friend, exchange notes with colleagues and say hi to their mom. Now, Google wants to add another use to that list: Paying bills. The search giant is building a service reportedly called “Pony Express” that will …

AUSTIN, Texas — Turns out nobody can remember their Yahoo passwords. Now the company wants to make it so no one has to. Yahoo on Sunday launched a new service called “on-demand” passwords, which lets someone log into a Yahoo account using a short password the company texts to their phone instead of having to remember their own password. Here’s …

Meerkat CEO Ben Rubin said the company is already moving past dependence on Twitter. Richard Nieva/CNET AUSTIN, Texas — The talk of the South by Southwest festival here has been Meerkat, a fast-growing app that lets people stream live videos from their phones, and its tussle with Twitter. But Meerkat CEO Ben Rubin says he doesn’t blame the social networking …

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced more details about the Apple Watch. Apple If you want to sport the high end versions of the Apple Watch, it will cost you. The 18-karat gold version of the watch starts at $10,000. The most expensive version of the watch on Apple’s website is $17,000. The midtier version, made of stainless steel, will be …

The tool only works in California for now, but Google plans to expand it to other states. Google Google may be experimenting with out-there projects like driverless cars and smart contact lenses, but it hasn’t forgotten about the prosaic. Case in point: the tech giant on Thursday launched a new tool that helps people compare automobile insurance quotes. The service, …

Yahoo broke the world yodeling record on Monday. Yahoo Yahoo may not be breaking world records in mobile revenue just yet, but it did enter the record books for one thing on Monday: yodeling. For the company’s 20th birthday, CEO Marissa Mayer assembled more than 3,400 employees outside of the company’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., to perform Yahoo’s signature sound …