It's been a big week in technology: Google's facing big fines, Huawei has come up with a phone so big it probably has its own postcode and Netflix has big plans for the future of streaming. Not only that, but we've seen big numbers for the Apple Watch, big Blu-ray plans from Sky and a big game that put a man in hospital.
Google's in deep EU doo-doo
We knew it was coming, and now it's official: the European Commission of the European Union has launched a formal investigation into Google's alleged abuse of its search dominance. Google has a near monopoly on search in Europe, and it is claimed that it's used that power to hurt rivals both in search and, via Android, in mobile. The consequences could be severe: if the Commission finds Google guilty, it could fine Google enormous amounts of money. Its investigation into Microsoft cost the firm nearly $800 billion in fines.
Google's Nexus network is mighty Fi
Google's Project Nova has a new name: it's now called Project Fi. If you aren't familiar with Nova or Fi, it's Google's plan to become a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO for short. Becoming a MVNO means Google could offer its customers connections via Google Fi rather than going through firms such as AT&T or Verizon. Traditional networks would still provide the connectivity, but they'd be doing it under the Google brand. Rumours suggest you'll only pay for the data you actually use, and calls and texts will be free within the US. There's no sign of an official launch date just yet, but a US launch may just happen this year.
Apple's best Mac and Dell's banished bezels
13 inches is the sweet spot for laptops: it's big enough for serious work and small enough to be portable. We think that Apple's latest 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro might just be the best laptop Apple has ever created. "Where the new MacBook sacrifices performance and ports for portability, the MacBook Pro makes no such compromises," Gary Marshall says. It "offers an incredible amount of bang for your buck."
It isn't the only tempting 13-incher, though. The amazing Dell XPS 13 is the latest product from the manufacturer's current purple patch, and the firm has managed to cram a 13-inch Ultrabook into an eleven-inch laptop's case. How did they do it? By pushing boundaries and banishing bezels, Dell told us. The story of how the XPS 13 came to be is fascinating, and we can't wait to see what Dell does next. That's something we haven't said for a while.
That's not a big phone. THIS is a big phone
Where Apple's goal is making something "insanely great", it seems that Huawei is happy with "insanely big": its P8 Max smartphone is so big it takes two people to lift it. We're exaggerating, of course, but only just: the P8 Max is really a 7-inch HD tablet pretending to be a phone. The 6.8-inch full HD display is teamed with an equally enormous 4,360mAh battery, and it'll be coming to the UK in a really big box soon.
Netflix: we'd like to teach the world to stream in perfect 4K TV
Have you watched Daredevil, Netflix's new collaboration with Marvel, yet? If you have, we bet you haven't seen it like Kevin Lee has. LG sat him in front of its 65-inch, 3,840 x 2,160-pixel curved 4K TV () and it knocked his socks off. Daredevil was filmed with OLED TVs in mind, and takes full advantage of their huge dynamic range and contrast.
That's not the only Netflix news we've got this week. We've found the 25 best Netflix TV series, discovered why it isn't scared of HBO Now or any other streaming service, unveiled its plans to make a 4K follow-up to Planet Earth and discovered how it intends to improve quality, improve its recommendation systems and protect your privacy. Remember when it just stuffed DVDs into jiffy bags?
Sky's new service is a keeper
Sky's Buy and Keep service baffled us, because it didn't deliver a true digital copy you could keep forever. That's changed, and you can now buy a movie () that you can "watch, stream, download etc over your various devices through the Sky Store app, plus watch on your set-top box and also receive a boxed DVD of that film." Prices currently range from £7.99 to £13.99 and Blu-Ray discs are coming in the not-too-distant future.
Watch men (and women)
The pre-orders have been and gone, and it looks like the Apple Watch could be the biggest new product launch in Apple history: some reports suggest that Apple has taken as many as 2.3 million pre-orders in the first weekend. If that's true then Apple's done in a few days what all smartwatch manufacturers combined took four months to do last year: total smartwatch sales in 2014 were 6.8 million. Unfortunately all that demand means that many people won't be getting their Apple Watch deliveries on April 24.
App-cidents will happen
A man has hurt his thumb playing Candy Crush too much, and by "hurt" we mean "really hurt": the unnamed 29-year-old man ruptured a tendon, which required surgery. The man wasn't a Candy Crush addict, but it seems that the game's charms distracted him so much that he didn't feel the pain until it was too late.
