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Google I/O: countdown to the keynote kickoff

2011-05-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted from the Code Blog)

In less than 24 hours, we�ll be kicking off Google I/O 2011, our annual developer conference here in San Francisco. This year�s keynote presentations will highlight the biggest opportunities for developers and feature two of our most popular and important developer platforms: Android and Chrome. Google engineers from Andy Rubin and Sundar Pichai�s teams will unveil new features, preview upcoming updates, and provide new insights into the growing momentum behind these platforms.

Plus, for the first time in Google I/O history, you�ll be able to join us throughout the two days at I/O Live. We�ll live stream the two keynote presentations, two full days of Android and Chrome technical sessions, and the After Hours party. Recorded videos from all sessions across eight product tracks will be available within 24 hours after the conference. Whether you�ll be joining us in San Francisco or from the farthest corner of the world, bookmark www.google.com/io and check back on May 10 at 9:00 a.m. PDT for a fun treat as we count down to 00:00:00:00.

Posted by Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering

Share and personalize your Google Goggles experience with Goggles 1.4

2011-05-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

Since its launch, we have worked to make Google Goggles faster and more accurate when returning search results for a wide variety of images. Today, we are taking several steps to make Goggles a better and more personal experience. Goggles 1.4 for Android devices introduces an enhanced search history experience, the ability to suggest better results to Google if we are not able to accurately match your image, and improved business card recognition.

Enhanced search history
The new search history experience lets you search your Goggles results, make personal notes on specific results and share your results with friends. When you add a personal note to a Goggles result, the note will appear in your search history. I�m trying to learn more about wine, so when I taste something new, it�s easy for me to add a note to help me remember what I liked about the wine. Later, I can search my search history for words in my note to help me find that bottle that went so well with steak. Read more about how to enable search history for Goggles here.

To make a personal note, tap the pencil in the corner when viewing a search result.

Notes are intended to help you better organize your search history, so if you choose to share a result with a friend, your notes will not be shared. However, you can always add a personalized message to your friend when you share your results with them.

Share a result by sending a link to your friends.

Suggest a better result
We are constantly working to improve the accuracy of Goggles at recognizing certain categories of items, but visual recognition is still a complicated task. With Goggles 1.4, you are now able to suggest a better result when Goggles cannot find an image match, or the quality of the result is poor.

To send your suggestion to Google, tap �Can you suggest a better result?� on the results page. You can then select the relevant part of the image and submit a tag. Tags will be used to improve recognition in object categories where Goggles already provides some results, like artwork or wine bottles.

When suggesting a better result, you can crop the image and add a description.

Improved business card recognition
Business card recognition is one of the most popular uses of Google Goggles, so we're rolling out some new updates to make the experience even quicker and easier. Additionally, instead of simply recognizing the content as text, Goggles now recognizes the information as a contact, making it easier to add to your phone's contact list.

Call or add the person directly as a contact

Google Goggles is available for Android 1.6+ devices. Download it by visiting Android Market or by scanning the QR code below:

Posted by Jacob Smullyan, Software Engineer

Google Earth optimized for Android-powered tablets

2011-05-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog

When we launched Google Earth in 2005, most of us were still using flip phones. At the time, the thought of being able to cart around 197 million square miles of Earth in your pocket was still a distant dream. Last year, that dream came to fruition for Android users when we released Google Earth for Android. With the recent release of tablets based on Android 3.0, we wanted to take full advantage of the large screens and powerful processors that this exciting new breed of tablets had to offer.

Today�s update to Google Earth for Android makes Earth look better than ever on your tablet. We�ve added support for fully textured 3D buildings, so your tour through the streets of Manhattan will look more realistic than ever. There�s also a new action bar up top, enabling easier access to search, the option to �fly to your location� and layers such as Places, Panoramio photos, Wikipedia and 3D buildings.

Moving from a mobile phone to a tablet was like going from a regular movie theatre to IMAX. We took advantage of the larger screen size, including features like content pop-ups appearing within Earth view, so you can see more information without switching back and forth between pages.

One of my favorite buildings to fly around in Google Earth has always been the Colosseum in Rome, Italy:

With the larger tablet screen, I can fly around the 3D Colosseum while also browsing user photos from Panoramio. The photos pop up within the imagery so I can interact with them without losing sight of the Colosseum and its surroundings. Also, by clicking on the layer button on the action bar, I can choose which layers I want to browse.

This version is available for devices with Android 2.1 and above. The new tablet design is available for devices with Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and above. Please visit the Google Earth help center for more information.

To download or update Google Earth, head to m.google.com/earth in your device�s browser or visit Android Market. Enjoy a whole new world of Google Earth for tablets!

Posted by Peter Birch, Product Manager

Google Voice and Sprint integration is live

2011-05-03T10:11:00.000-07:00

Cross-posted from the Google Voice Blog.

It�s official, the Google Voice integration with Sprint is now live!

As we mentioned when we first announced the integration, there are two ways to bring Google Voice to your Sprint mobile phone:

Option 1: Keep your Sprint number: Your Sprint number becomes your Google Voice number so that when people call your Sprint mobile number, it rings all the phones you want.

Option 2: Replace your Sprint number with your Google Voice number: All calls made and texts sent from your Sprint phone will display your Google Voice number.

In both cases, Google Voice replaces Sprint voicemail and international calls made from the Sprint phone will be connected by Google Voice.

For detailed instructions on how to get started with either option, visit google.com/voice/sprint.

This integration is currently only available to Sprint customers in the United States.

Posted by Patrick Moor, Software Engineer

Video Chat on Your Android Phone

2011-04-28T13:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, the expressions on a person's face can mean much more than what they say. To help you stay in touch with your friends and family, we�re launching Google Talk with video and voice chat for Android phones.

You can now video or voice chat with your friends, family and colleagues right from your Android phone, whether they�re on their compatible Android tablet or phone, or using Gmail with Google Talk on their computer. You can make calls over a 3G or 4G data network (if your carrier supports it) or over Wi-Fi.

In your Google Talk friends list, a video or voice chat button will appear next to your contacts and you can simply touch the button to connect with them. Any text chats from the person you�re talking with will be overlaid on your phone�s screen so you can read them without having to leave the video. And, if you need to check something else, the video pauses automatically so you can go back to your phone�s home screen or another app. The audio will keep going even though the video has paused. Check out how this works:

Google Talk with video and voice chat will gradually roll out to Nexus S devices in the next few weeks as part of the Android 2.3.4 over-the-air update and will launch on other Android 2.3+ devices in the future. To learn more about using video and voice chat, check out our Help Center.

Post content Posted by Colin Gibbs, Product Manager and Wei Huang, Tech Lead

Introducing the new Google Docs app for Android

2011-04-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

(Cross posted on the Google Docs Blog, and Google Enterprise Blog)

Increasingly, people are using mobile phones to access information -- from email to web browsing to editing documents. Part of getting work done on the go is being able to easily access, edit and share content, which is why we�re happy to announce the new Google Docs app for Android.

With this new app it�s easy to filter and search for your content across any Google account, then jump straight into editing docs using the online mobile editors. The app also allows you to easily share items with contacts on your phone, right from within the app.

The Docs app also allows you to upload content from your phone and open documents directly from Gmail. You can also add a widget to your home screen for easy access to three core tasks: jumping to your starred documents, taking a photo to upload, or creating a new document with one tap.

And my favorite feature: Using the app and your phone�s camera, you can turn photos with text into editable Google documents with the power of optical character recognition (OCR). Just create a new �Document from Photo' or select the camera icon from the widget, and your converted document will appear in your documents list shortly after you snap the picture. You can also convert photos already stored on your phone by sharing them with the Google Docs app. OCR does a pretty good job capturing unformatted text in English but won't recognize handwriting or some fonts - stay tuned, it will get better over time!

The Google Docs app is currently available in English and works on Android 2.1+ phones. Try it out by scanning the QR code below or by visiting Android Market.

Let us know what you think of the new Google Docs Android app in our forum.

Posted by Reuben Kan, Software Engineer

Verizon officially announces HTC Droid Incredible 2: available April 28th for $200

2011-04-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

It was pretty clear that a launch was imminent, and Verizon has now finally officialy announced that the HTC Droid Incredible 2 will be available on Thursday, April 28th. It will run you the usual $200 on a two-year contract, which will buy you a 4-inch super LCD screen, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, an 8 megapixel camera with a dual LED flash, a brand new 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and WiFi mobile hotspot support. As expected, it's also a world phone, but it'll be left in the dust by the Thunderbolt when it comes to sheer speeds due to its lack of LTE support.

Apple gets its white iPhone 4 ducks in a row ahead of launch

2011-04-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

Look, we all kinda, sorta know that Apple will finally admit it's springtime tomorrow and let the white iPhone 4 fly the nest. But in order to sell white iPhone 4s, you've got to ship them first, and one small Belgian retailer has just received its first batch of the mythical pale device and lined them up for some loving photography. Not only that, but they're even offering to sell you either the 16GB or 32GB over on their site (which, mind you, we can't vouch for!), though they can only ship within the Benelux region.

PICTURES - SONY ERICSSON XPERIA PRO 2

2011-04-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

Here are a few hot pictures of what seems to be the Sony Ericsson Xperia PRO 2. The Sony Ericsson Xperia PRO 2 has a sliding keyboard, with 3.0 inches HVGA (320 � 480) resolution touch screen and 5-megapixel camera with HD recording. The phone is equipped with Android 2.3 OS.Pics after the break...

NOKIA OUTLINES ITS PLANS RELATED TO THE NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION

2011-04-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

At WIMA, Nokia outlined its plans related to the NFC. Mark Selby, head of sales and industry collaboration concentrated on the Nokia�s NFC strategy in the opening keynote.

NOKIA C7 (NFC MOBILE EXPERIENCE IN WMA CONGRESS 2011)

2011-04-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Nokia�s first NFC-enabled smartphone, Nokia C7, was demonstrated with working NFC at WIMA . The Nokia C7 will be NFC-enabled with the rollout of Symbian Anna within the coming months including both new and existing Nokia C7s.

DELL VENUE PRO SOFTWARE (VS NEXUS S & iPHONE 4)

2011-04-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

In this video the guys at pocketnow talks about the Windows Phone 7 software on the Dell Venue Pro and compare to the Nexus S and iPhone for internet speeds.

New Smartphone User Study and Webinar

2011-04-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

79% of smartphone consumers use their phones to help with shopping, from comparing prices and finding more product info to locating a retailer, 72% use their smartphones while consuming other media, and 88% of those who look for local information on their smartphones take action within a day.

These are some of the key findings from �The Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users,� a study from Google and conducted by Ipsos OTX, an independent market research firm, among 5,013 US adult smartphone Internet users at the end of 2010.

Check out our post on the Google Mobile Ads blog for more of the study�s findings, or join us in tomorrow�s webinar where we�ll present the full research findings. In the meantime, enjoy this research highlights video.

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Mobile Ads Marketing Team

B&N Nook Color update released, brings Froyo, apps, and Flash - Hands on video

2011-04-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

We've been waiting for this day: our little reader would finally become a big boy tablet -- without having to resort to any sort of hackery. We knew it was coming and, as of now, owners of the Barnes & Noble Nook Color should be receiving notices that their devices are ready to drop those training wheels and run some proper apps. Flash web browsing, downloads, games, e-mail, it's all here.Video,update,download & more after the break...

Obviously the biggest addition here are the apps themselves, and sadly we're not talking full Market access -- nor access to any of the standard Google applications like Gmail or Maps. Barnes & Noble has its own set of libraries that software developers must include and use, providing the unified experience the company wants to bring to its little ecosphere, making the look and feel of apps jive with the rest of the system. As to which apps will be available, we saw a number of games, cooking helpers like Epicurious, and, yes, Angry Birds -- though we weren't able to get the latter to install successfully.

To that end, frequently used apps slot right in next to your most recently read books and magazines, and browsing for them in the store is just like hunting for printed titles, even carrying over the same categories -- or genres, as it were. The stock browser now includes Flash support and things perform reasonably well, but there was some noticeable lag at times when playing videos or scrolling about on pages with animations. Performance is generally good, but there are definitely some responsiveness issues and it's safe to say your Nook won't exactly be making any owners of dual-core Honeycomb tablets jealous when it comes to performance.

The reading experience has also been improved, with proper page turning animations, important for those who need a little visual flair with their reading. Reading can now be done in landscape mode for anyone so inclined, while books can include videos and animations. No, you won't be seeing a dramatic recreation of Jean Valjean stealing bread, but you might just find some how-to videos in cookbooks showing you how to properly activate your yeast.

Some children's books are also being updated, adding "read and play" functionality that mixes simple games and challenges in with the text and pictures. In one Dr. Seuss book we were presented a picture of multiple white dogs and were asked to tap on the one wearing roller skates. We found it.

There are a number of other tweaks coming, too, including beta access into a new social portal. This lets you see what friends are reading, taunt them for their Twilight addiction, and even guiltily request to borrow a copy of Breaking Dawn. This has the potential to make the Nook's lending functionality far more useful than it is now.

Ultimately this latest update turns the $250 Nook Color into a fine entry-level tablet with a comfortable size, nice screen and a rather accessible price. That said, this is still a far cry from the pure Android tablet experience that many enthusiasts want. In other words: this isn't likely to stop those Nook hacks that we've come to know and love over the years.

Update: Barnes & Noble indicates the software will be pushed to WiFi-connected devices over the "coming weeks," but if you just can't wait you can download your update here.

ANDROID - ACER STEAM UNBOXING AND SIZE COMPARISON

2011-04-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

The Steam offers a very nice high end feature set with, Android 2.1 Eclair, 3.7� AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display, 5MP auto-focus camera, video capture 720p HD @ 24fps, Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon processor, HSDPA, Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth, GPS, micro HDMI port, 3.5mm audio jack and Dolby Mobile technology.

Nintendo confirms next Wii coming in 2012, will preview it at E3

2011-04-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

Nintendo has just announced it plans to introduce a successor to its Wii console next year, a "playable model" of which will be shown off at the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles coming up on June 7th. No details are available as to how the next Wii will improve on the first one, though we imagine Nintendo will be happy if it simply matches the success of its current-gen home entertainer -- the brief note publicizing the new roadmap also comes with a total of Wii sales accumulated between its launch in '06 and the end of last month: 86.01 million. That's said to be on a "consolidated shipment basis," so maybe Nintendo is mixing its definitions of sales and shipments the way Sony likes to, but it's a mighty big number either way. Bring on E3, we say! Update after the break...

Update: Bloomberg has provided the first official hint about Nintendo's next console with a quote from company President Satoru Iwata. Nintendo will "propose a new approach to home video game consoles," though it won't be a simple move to 3D, as Iwata notes "it's difficult to make 3-D images a key feature, because 3-D televisions haven't obtained wide acceptance yet." Given that motion gaming is no longer new and 3D is off the table until 3DTVs go mainstream, we're now left facing only one potentiality -- Nintendo is planning on bringing genuine innovation to our living rooms. We suppose it also adds fuel to the rumor of a crazy next-gen controller to go with this next-gen console.

iPHONE 4 VS DROID X VS EVO 4G VS VIBRANT (GALAXY S) - VIDEO COMPARISON

2011-04-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Noah attempts the unthinkable: A Fatal FourWay Dogfight. Four of the summer�s baddest touchscreen smartphones enter the squared circle to duke it out: Apple iPhone 4 vs Moto Droid X vs HTC Evo 4G vs Samsung Vibrant. Check out the videos after the break...

Samsung makes sure you know the Galaxy S II is really, really thin with silly new ad

2011-04-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

Samsung seems to be killing time until it finally ships the Galaxy S II by making promo videos for its dual-core superphone. The latest in a series of ads for the S II spends a few precious seconds reminding us just how excellently thin it is, and gives us a particular usage scenario where that slim profile truly becomes practical. We won't spoil that for you, though we should play spoiler in noting the barely readable small print above -- "Thickness of the device may differ by country or carrier." So remember, just because you and your pen pal from across the world are both buying a product with an excruciatingly specific title like Samsung Galaxy S II doesn't mean you'll both get the same thing. All that said, the 8.49mm-thick version of the device is ready to wow you in this video.

Apple signs Warner Music to its cloud-based music service

2011-04-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

Need another sign that iTunes will soon be floating your library up to the cloud? Look no further than confirmation of Apple signing Warner Music, a deal that should see the label's music available in its upcoming streaming iTunes service. This is in addition to last week's confirmation that two major labels signed on, though its unclear whether Warner is part of the pair or is, indeed, a third. That might leave only one of the major labels left unsigned -- or maybe Apple's already locked down all four but doesn't want to kiss and tell. Yet.

ANGRY BIRDS RUNNING ON SYMBIAN S60v3 (NOKIA E5)

2011-04-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

Heres a video showing the popular game angry birds running on Symbian S60V3 phone (In this video it plays on Nokia E5-00).

UNBOXING THE SONY ERICSSON ASPEN

2011-04-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

The Sony Ericsson Aspen is an eco-friendly handset which can be used as a mobile office. Microsoft Office documents can be viewed and edited using Microsoft Mobile in a one-hand operation. The SlideView key gives the user one-click access to their e-mail and calendar. There is a 3.2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom, a music player with stereo speakers and an FM radio with RDS. The Sony Ericsson Aspen is a Quad band phone with a battery which can allow 10 hours of talktime or 450 hours on standby. It is made in Iconic Black and White Silver.

Dell's 10-inch Android and Windows tablets get names, specs, release dates

2011-04-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

Well, well, what have we here? A pair of 10-inch Dell tablets, one running Windows 7 on those fancy new Oak Trail chips from Intel and the other pushing Android 3.0 with a Tegra T25. We already saw these devices leaked in February, but now we have some specs and release dates. The Wintel powered Latitude ST boasts a resolution of 1366 x 768, 2GB of RAM, up to a 128GB SSD, GPS, an accelerometer, both front- and rear-facing cameras, an 8-hour removable battery, and "1080p video output," which we assume means HDMI-out. The Android-flavored Streak Pro opts for a 1200 x 800 panel, but keeps the pair of cameras (and two mics) for video chats, while adding an unspecified mobile broadband radio and slathering Dell's Stage UI on top of Honeycomb (whether or not that's a good thing is purely a matter of taste). Pricing is still up in the air, but the leaked roadmap indicates the Streak Pro will land in June, followed by the Latitude XT3 convertible tablet in July, and the Latitude ST in October.

HTC Flyer up for preorder for $499 at Best Buy on April 24th

2011-04-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

Europeans have been able to preorder the HTC Flyer for months, and now curious Yanks are about to get their chance, too. The tablet will be available for preorder on April 24th (that's this Sunday) for $499 with Best Buy as the exclusive seller. Though our friends across the pond have been able to snag 3G versions, the one about to come stateside just has WiFi. The Flyer, as you'll remember, is the phone maker's first tablet, and has a 7-inch (1024 x 600) display, aluminum body, 1.5GHz Qualcomm chip, and a version of the company's Sense UI that was tweaked with slates in mind. Alas, It'll ship with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), but HTC is promising an eventual upgrade to 3.0 (Honeycomb) and all of the bigger-screen goodies that come with it.

SONY ERICSSON XPERIA ARC - HANDS ON VIDEO

2011-04-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

The Sony Ericsson Xperia arc is a phone with a 4.2 inch LED back-lit multi-touch 480 x 852 pixel resolution Reality display. It uses the Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine which gives crystal-clear colours and crisp images. It has an 8.1 megapixel camera with up to 2.46 times smart zoom and touch focus, LED flash, and geo-tagging. There is also HD video recording (720p), an MP3 player and an FM radio. This Quad band phone is only 8.7 mm thick, weighs 117 grams and has a battery which gives up to 7 hours of talktime or 16 days on standby.

HTC Sensation procures online real estate, launches sign-up page

2011-04-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

The G2X may be getting all the attention as the current flagship for T-Mobile, but HTC is bound and determined to make sure it doesn't stay that way for long. Curious souls may be happy to learn that a sign-up page has been set up for the HTC Sensation to update fans on news and announcements. This is a good sign that nary a precious moment of time is being wasted; after all, we've got a full six weeks before the heavily-rumored June 8 launch, and there's an abundance of opportunities for the two companies to get the word out like crazy between now and then. Who can blame them for taking advantage of one of the summer's hottest devices?

Sign up here : HTC