The Google Technology

Google's +1 button now for other websites too.

2011-06-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Google +1 Button On Web Pages

When Google launched the +1 button last month - its version of Facebook’s “Like” button, but in search results - I said it was incomplete without a web page version of the button.

Today, Google is announcing the +1 button for web pages.

It’s still a recommendation of sites, just as it was before. But now the recommendation comes from that site, instead of a search results page. And that makes more sense. Web surfers are already accustomed to clicking icons from Web pages to recommend them on other sites, notably Facebook and Twitter. With +1, recommendations posted by you or friends are added to Google search results, too, allowing some pages in the flood of results to stand out. From Google’s blog post:

+1 is as simple on the rest of the web as it is on Google search. With a single click you can recommend that raincoat, news article or favorite sci-fi movie to friends, contacts and the rest of the world. The next time your connections search, they could see your +1’s directly in their search results, helping them find your recommendations when they’re most useful.

Google has released the +1 button code for webmasters so they can start putting on web pages. The buttons is already on some sites - including Nordstrom, Best Buy, Mashable and the Washington Post. It can also be found on Google properties such as YouTube, Blogger and the Android Market. You can use it right away, below this post you'll find a +1 symbol. Click it if you like this post.

Source: ZDnet

Breaking News: Google Adds News Headlines to Search Results

2011-05-05T13:14:00.000-07:00

People searching for news, breaking news, or mainstream newspapers or cable television news channels on Google are now being served clickable news headlines rather than a site description. Not sure if this feature is a test or fully rolled out, but I've asked several people today who are all seeing it.

Here's what the new feature looks like:

Compare this to what you find on Bing, which is CNN's usual description about delivering the "latest breaking news and information on the latest top stories, weather, business, entertainment, politics, and more." Also, notice Bing highlights the "Latest from cnn.com" which are being pulled straight from CNN's RSS feed:

Similar to Google's sitelinks, but without any of the obvious visual cues that there is actually a link there (e.g., color blue, underlining) unless you hover over it:

Clicking on the text takes you directly to the story. This feature obviously isn't as "fresh" as its realtime/Twitter results, as this is highlighting stories from 12 and 10 hours ago for CNN, and even older stories for the Los Angeles Times.

Wonder whether comments, pageviews, or social sharing determine how Google is pulling in these headlines, as it seems the stories that are highlighted by Google have high numbers of Facebook shares and lots of comments.

So far, I've found these headlines are appearing on the big three cable news channels -- CNN, FoxNews, and MSNBC. Fox actually has the freshest headlines, all coming within the past hour.

Newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angeles Times are among the websites with the headlines.

Source: searchenginewatch

Google Chrome 10 beta Unleashes Super Fast Speed with CrankShaft

2011-02-19T05:29:00.000-08:00

Google Chrome 10 launches to beta with Crankshaft, a faster JavaScript engine, password encryption and other advantages to boost usability.

Google Feb. 17 released a new beta for its Chrome Web browser, including a new version of its V8 JavaScript engine, better security and other perks just two weeks after its last version went stable.

Chrome 10 runs Crankshaft, a speedier version of the V8 engine that provides a 66 percent improvement on the company's V8 benchmark suite over the current stable release, Chrome 9. Google shows the benchmark numbers here.

In another performance bump, Chrome 10 includes an early implementation of GPU-accelerated video, which means users with the right graphics hardware should see a CPU usage decrease up to 80 percent in full-screen mode, according to Chrome Product Manager Jeff Chan.

This results in increased battery life, always a plus for travelers and corporate road warriors computing on the go.

Chrome 10 sports upgrades in the settings panel. Instead of opening in a separate window, the settings now open in a tab. Also, Google added a search capability to let users search for a configuration setting from the search box.

Users may also navigate to most settings pages using their own dedicated URLs, without needing to navigate through a sequence of windows.

The Chrome team also added the capability for users to encrypt their Chrome Sync passwords, which allow users to sync passwords across multiple computers, with a secret sync passphrase.

Chrome 10 is available in the beta channel for Windows, Mac, and Linux machines, but don't expect to wait long for this iteration to go stable.

Google in July instituted a new release process to speed stable Chrome releases to users every six weeks, or twice as fast as the current pace.

So far, Google has been pretty religious about its innovation cycle. Consider that at that time Google was just wrapping up Chrome 6. Moreover, the paint is hardly dry on the Chrome 9 stable build, which launched Feb. 3 with support for WebGL, Chrome Web Store and Chrome Instant.

Is this ramp up paying off? The Chrome team could argue with market share numbers that it is. Chrome has 10.7 percent browser market share through January and could crack the 11 percent market in a week or so if it hasn't already.

[Source: eWeek.com]

Google Social Search Enhanced

2011-02-18T03:48:00.000-08:00

Google Social Search

Google has bolstered its search service with data about what users' friends have 'liked' and recommended on social networking sites.

All those who are not a fan of the likes of Facebook and Twitter will be relieved to know the Social Search service is opt-in but those that choose to use the updated tool will be able to see if a website is recommended by their mates on networking sites in their search requests and according to Google's blog, "relevance isn't just about pages-it's also about relationships".

Google has confirmed it will move social search results into the main body of the search listings based on their relevance, instead of leaving them languishing at the bottom of the results page in a dedicated box.

"This means you'll start seeing more from people like co-workers and friends, with annotations below the results they've shared or created," wrote product management director Mike Cassidy and product manager Matthew Kulick.

The pair said that the upgrade enables users to get "even more information from the people that matter to you, whether they're publishing on YouTube, Flickr or their own blog or website. With these changes, we want to help you find the most relevant information possible, personalized to your interests and the people you care about."

Google said Social Search is now ‘more comprehensive' as it adds notes for links people have shared on Twitter, for example.

"In the past, we'd show you results people created and linked through their Google profiles. Now, if someone you're connected to has publicly shared a link, we may show that link in your results with a clear annotation," according to the blog.

Finally, the search giant said the update gives users more control over how they connect accounts and makes the process easier too. Users can still connect accounts publically on their Google Profile but now they can also make connections privately in their Google Account.

The updates will be rolled out immediately on Google.com in English.

[Source: hexus.net]

Gmail gets new Skype-like phone capabilities

2010-08-26T01:01:00.000-07:00

Google is offering the ability to make and receive phone calls on a Web browser from Gmail -- putting the Mountain View Internet giant into competition with online phone services such as Skype.

According to a post Tuesday on Google's official blog, the Gmail phone service will roll out to U.S. users during the next few days. Calls to phone numbers in the U.S. and Canada will be free "at least the rest of the year," according to the post. Gmail users also can purchase credits -- $10 at a time -- to place international calls, with rates starting at 2 cents a minute.

"We've been testing this feature internally and have found it to be useful in a lot of situations, ranging from making a quick call to a restaurant to placing a call when you're in an area with bad reception," Google software engineer Robin Schriebman wrote.

According to the post, Gmail users who have a Google Voice phone number can receive calls through the e-mail service. Gmail users must download Google's voice and video plug-in to their Web browsers to make or receive calls.

Google Finance for Android and iPhone Gets a Revamp

2010-08-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

Google Finance App for Android

There are folks who just can't live without the latest financial information at their fingertips and with that in mind, Google has launched its mobile page for Google Finance, giving Android and iPhone users a unified experience across said platforms, and also the desktop. With the new interface, users will be able to easily keep up to date with their portfolio, the latest market news, and the sectors that they care about, along with real time quotes and data. If you're running an Android-powered device, you can also grab the Google Finance app from the Android Market.

Now Print in the Cloud with Google Chrome OS or Mobile Phones

2010-04-17T04:30:00.000-07:00

When Google first showed off Chrome OS, it made a simple but bold pledge, it would not run any native app, at all. The browser is the only native application that the user will have access to, everything else is in the cloud. It sounds like an enticing option, but many pointed out that the market was not yet ready for this, there isn’t a cloud alternative to everything your plain, old computer can do. And there are some things that you just couldn’t do in the cloud, naysayers argued, with one obvious example being printing.

At the time, Google said that, while Chrome OS would not have any support for printers, printing would be available, using the cloud no less. Many speculated how this might actually work, but there’s no need to wonder anymore, Google has unveiled its plans for universal ‘cloud printing.’

“Since in Google Chrome OS all applications are web apps, we wanted to design a printing experience that would enable web apps to give users the full printing capabilities that native apps have today. Using the one component all major devices and operating systems have in common-- access to the cloud-- today we're introducing some preliminary designs for a project called Google Cloud Print, a service that enables any application (web, desktop, or mobile) on any device to print to any printer,” Mike Jazayeri, group product manager at Google, explained.

Chrome OS won’t have native printing support

The idea sounds interesting enough, but it does come with a few caveats. Chrome OS is based on Linux, which does actually have a pretty solid support for most printers out there. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s better than nothing. It wouldn’t have been much of a problem for Google to implement support for printing, on a driver level.

But it would have had to make some sort of GUI for this, which would have meant a native app, unless it built it into the browser. That’s a big no-no in Chromium OS. So, Google came up with cloud printing. It sounds good in theory, printing from any device, Chrome OS netbooks included, to any printer in the world. It almost sounds too good to be true.

Cloud printing is not the magical solution it seems

However, even when and if Google manages to pull this off, the project is in the early stages for now, it’s not the magical solution to printer problems, which we’ve all had on any operating system, it may seem. Because, in the end, one machine is going to need to have the drivers and apps to make printing possible. So, Google is just moving responsibility for that from Chrome OS to another OS. Not the most sporting of solutions.

There’s the option of a ‘cloud-aware’ printer, which Google touts in its PR material, but these devices aren’t exactly mainstream at the moment, to say the least. Still, Chrome OS is to be a long-term project, it only comes out late this year and will be Google’s workhorse for years to come. Things will change, printers will get smarter.

Print from your mobile phone

But ‘cloud’ printing goes beyond Chrome OS and this is where its greatest strength lies. In theory, it would enable any device, mobile phones, set-top boxes, even Internet-enabled TVs to have printing capabilities. In fact, the device itself is completely taken out of the picture, printing will be built into the web apps themselves. That actually sounds like a very interesting promise, but we’re still a couple of years or more away from it becoming a reality on a larger scale.

Google Buzz Privacy Changes

2010-02-13T20:46:00.000-08:00

Google Buzz only launched four days ago but it’s already taking off in a big way. Google already made some changes to how Buzz works on Thursday but today the company has created a blog post highlighting some additional changes — including some ways to turn Buzz off altogether.

Here are some of the big changes that Google is making to buzz, that it plans to roll out over the next few days:

Auto-follow will become auto-suggest — Based on privacy concerns from users who aren’t happy with the current auto-follow structure, Google Buzz will instead prompt users with some suggestions of what users they want to follow, based on who they e-mail most. This is what that screen will look like.

Existing Buzz users will be able to review and confirm their followers via similar screen over the next few weeks.

Buzz will no longer connect to Google Reader or Picasa Web Albums automatically Although only public items were shared via these two connect options, due to feedback from concerned users and confusion, Google Reader and Picasa Web Albums will have to be added manually to your Google Buzz profile just like Twitter or Flickr.

New Buzz tab in Gmail Settings — You can see what the Buzz tab looks like below, but it offers you a chance to decide to show or exclude who you follow on your public Google profile and gives you the option to hide Buzz from Gmail. You can also disable Buzz completely.

One other note — at the bottom of the page in Gmail, you can select a turn-off Buzz button. This will hide Buzz from your Gmail account, although you can turn it back on without losing your information.

What is Google Social Search ?

2010-01-30T06:08:00.000-08:00

Google's move to include social networking information in its searches has gotten personal.

The search-engine giant has announced that, with a few tweaks, people using Google can now see search results related to friends, co-workers and other members of their social networks above all other results.

The Social Search feature was introduced to a limited number of Google users last year and was made available to everyone in beta status this week.

"This is just a first step in our ongoing effort to ensure that Google Web search is always as social as the Web itself," the company said in an instructional video posted to its official blog.

Watch the Google instructional video on how to use Social Search.

The tool requires a Google account. Then, a user can link their profile to friends and family via their blogs or profiles on networking sites like Twitter.

The world's largest social-networking site may prove tricky, though. Many of Facebook's roughly 350 million users responded to Google's addition of results from the site by tightening their privacy settings. The result is that Google -- and other search engines -- can only access people's public profile pages, which usually don't have much information.

If they choose, Facebook users and administrators of Facebook groups and fan pages can adjust their privacy settings to make their data accessible to others on the Web.

When searching, a Google user can now click a link -- "My Social Circle" -- to bring up anything members of the user's network had written or otherwise posted on that topic.

The user would be able to add or remove people from their profile.

In its blog, Google said that enabling Social Search could make results more valuable because they come from sources that the user trusts.

"We think there's tremendous potential for social information to improve search, and we're just beginning to scratch the surface," Google said in the blog post.

Google's move comes as some of the Web's most popular sites are moving to make user experiences more personal.

Last week, Twitter changed its "Suggestions" list, moving away from celebrities and major media outlets to rotating lists of experts in various fields that users may find interesting.

The site also allows users to switch away from the site's top trending topics and instead view the most popular discussions among people who live in their area.

"[D]oes Twitter really want to serve up celebrity musings and general interest news, or would it rather provide the most interesting information streams to individuals -- reflecting our interests, perhaps, or helping us to connect with friends and local happenings?"

Nexus one problems, complaints - list of problems

2010-01-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Google has been receiving a lot many complaints and questions regarding the Google Nexus One smart phone. Users are having problems related to 3G, touch screen, live support, delivery and cancellation.

Google has been receiving a lot many complaints and questions regarding the Google Nexus One smart phone. It has received more than 100 complaints on its website about the Nexus one phone, which was released just a week ago to compete with Apple’s iPhone. Even comparisons are being made between the iphone and the Google nexus one phone.

However, users have been complaining about the network compatibility and saying that it’s not supporting 3G. Many have complained about spotty coverage, availability and delivery problems and also lack of a live customer support. Many say that were passed between Google, HTC and T mobile USA. The site also has some positive comments and questions.

Many users are facing problems with the touch screen and difficulty in returning the mobile phone. Many users have sent mails saying that they are facing problems with the so called third generation networks. The company is investigating the issue and is believed that very shortly will resolve all the problems.

It is pertinent to mention that Google, owner of the most popular search engine has come out with its much awaited the Nexus One phone on Jan 5. They have even opened an online store to make purchases easy and convenient.

A company’s spokeswoman said that Google has phone support available and also has an email option and are committed to replying to the customers in a timely manner.

The nexus one phone costs $179 with a 2 year T mobile contract and $529 without the contract. Google is charging $350 equipment recovery fee for any cancellations in the first 4 months, if the users purchased the phone through T mobile. This is in addition to any other charges and fees T-mobile would charge for early termination.

Google Docs to Allow Storage of Any Type of File

2010-01-12T11:43:00.000-08:00

Google is opening up its Docs hosted office productivity suite so that users can store any type of file in it, giving the popular software-as-a-service product an important online storage component.

The functionality will be rolled out over the coming weeks to all Docs users, both the ones who use the stand-alone suite as well as those who use it as part of the broader communication and collaboration Apps suite for organizations.

Now, Docs users will be able to store all their important files in a single place online, where they can access them from anywhere and share them with other people, according to Google.

"This is a natural extension and progression of what we've been doing with Google Docs," said Vijay Bangaru, Google Docs product manager.

One thing it's not, according to Bangaru, is the G-drive, the often-rumored cloud storage service from Google that has yet to see the light of day. "On the consumer side, this isn't a virtual drive. There isn't a client that's going to help you sync terabytes to the cloud," he said.

Google did work with some partners that built applications that take advantage of this new functionality via a Docs API (application programming interface). Those external applications were built specifically for users of the Premier version of Apps, which is the most sophisticated and the only one that is fee-based, priced at US$50 per user, per year. Companies that use Apps Premier will also be able to build their own applications in-house using the API.

Just because users will be able to store any type of file on Google Docs doesn't mean, however, that they will necessarily be able to work on those files on the Docs cloud, as is possible in the suite today with Adobe PDF files, Microsoft Office files and, of course, the native Docs file formats.

"Unfortunately, it's not possible to write Web editors for every file content out there," he said. In those cases, users will be able to access the files online and share them with others, but in order to work on them, they'll have to download them to their PCs and fire up the necessary application.

Along with the new capabilities, Google is lifting the ceiling on file sizes to 250MB. Users of the stand-alone Docs suite will have 1GB of free storage for files stored in their native formats, as opposed to converted to a native Docs format. They'll be able to buy additional storage for $0.25 per gigabyte per year. Google Apps users will also get 1GB of storage, and will have the ability to buy additional storage for $3.50 per gigabyte per year.

While Docs currently doesn't have one-click buttons to post or publish files to third-party sites and services like Facebook, Google isn't closing the door on adding that functionality and more.

"The idea behind this feature is that it's really an opportunity for Google to invest in cloud storage and provide value added services to its users around sharing files, uploading files and being able to collaborate and search on all of that content," said Anil Sabharwal, Google Docs product manager. "There's a great opportunity for us to provide value-added services on top of any of those file types."

HTC Google Nexus One - Official Specs

2010-01-06T11:59:00.000-08:00

Product specs
General

    * Type:
      Smartphone
    * Operating system:
      Android
    * Style:
      Bar
    * Antenna:
      Internal

Input

    * Input type:
      Touchscreen (Capacitive [finger])
    * Predictive text:
      Yes
    * Navigation type:
      Trackball

Power

    * Talk time:
      2G, 3G
    * Battery type:
      Li-ion (Removable)

Camera

    * Camera:
      5 megapixels
    * Camera features:
      Records video, Auto focus, Flash, Contact pictures

Location

    * Location support:
      GPS, Cellular location, WiFi location, Compass (A-GPS)

Storage

    * Internal memory:
      4 GB
    * Memory card:
      microSD (microSDHC)

Connectivity

    * WiFi:
      802.11 b, g, n
    * WiFi encryption:
      WEP, WPA, WPA2
    * Bluetooth:
      2.1 + EDR
    * Common profiles:
      HSP [headset], HFP [hands-free], A2DP [stereo audio]

Additional specs
Media

    * Media playback:
      Yes
    * Audio:
      AAC, MP3, OGG, WAV
    * Video:
      h.264 / AVC, MPEG-4
    * OTA video:
      Streaming / internet
    * Images:
      BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG

Messaging

    * SMS:
      Yes
    * MMS:
      Yes

Browser and email

    * Browser:
      HTML (Javascript)
    * Email:
      POP3, IMAP, Push email (Exchange, Gmail)

Sync

    * Sync PIM data:
      OTA sync

Apps

    * Apps (default):
      Alarm, Calculator, Calendar, IM, Maps, Notes, Stocks, Weather
    * Java:
      Other

Rings / alerts

    * Custom ringtones:
      MP3 / audio, Contact ringtones
    * Vibrate mode:
      Yes
    * Sound profiles:
      Yes

Radio type

    * Comm standard:
      GSM
    * GSM type:
      GSM
    * GSM bands:
      850, 900, 1800, 1900
    * UMTS / HSPA type:
      UMTS / WCDMA, HSDPA (7.2 Mbps), HSUPA
    * UMTS / HSPA bands:
      900, 1700, 2100
    * Data tethering:
      Yes

Display

    * Screen size:
      3.7 inches
    * Screen resolution:
      Other (480 x 800)
    * Screen type:
      OLED (Active, Color, Backlit)

Audio and voice

    * Audio / headset jack:
      3.5mm

Size and weight

    * Dimensions:
      119 mm (h)
      59.8 mm (w)
      11.5 mm (d)
    * Weight:
      130 g

Availability

    * Availability:
      Available
    * Announced (US):
      Jan 5th, 2010
    * Released (US):
      Jan 5th, 2010
    * Original MSRP:
      $529 USD
    * Product site:
      www.google.com

Additional specs
Hardware

    * CPU:
      1000 MHz
    * RAM:
      512 MB

Sensors

    * Sensors:
      Accelerometer (motion), Ambient light, Proximity

Other features

    * Flight mode:
      Yes

Product info

    * Available colors (each model):
      Black

Power consumption

    * Power type:
      50 - 60 Hz
      100 - 240 V

Google - The Company Of The Deacde

2009-12-31T09:53:00.000-08:00

If there's one company that's hardly been affected by the ups and downs of the last decade, it's got to be Google, the firm that "does no evil".

From the dot.com bubble in the early years of the 21st century to the credit crunch at the end, Google hasn't only prospered but grown from strength to strength and ventured into areas formally under the hegemony of Microsoft and others. To Google has even become a verb in the English language.

It's also led the way and caused Microsoft to play catch-up, and the truth is the Seattle giant just hasn't caught up.

Microsoft did its best to push Windows Mobile all through the years of the decade and as the end of the decade nears, its nemesis, Google, is doing extraordinarily well with its Android platform.

It's even had a bash at what Microsoft considers to be its crown jewels too, with Google Chrome OS, although it's not going to make waves on that front for quite a while, we think. Its Google Chrome browser is gathering steam too, although it's a way to go to compete with Internet Explorer, never mind Firefox.

And as far as search engine technology goes, Google remains the paramount force in the market, forcing Microsoft and Yahoo to re-think both their strategies.

It's made investors happy too. Right now, Google (tick:GOOG) stands at $622.78 on NASDAQ. Its share price has shown a consistent pattern of growth since it floated.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin are aided and abetted by Eric Schmidt, a director of the company since 2001. He was formerly at Novell, Sun and Apple. And its pulled in some outsiders, such as Intel CEO Paul Otellini, to steer its course to one of great pulchritude.

Google News has also dramatically changed the face of the newspaper and magazine industry, while Google Adsense has put money into the pockets of small entrepreneurs and big players alike. Google Books has made a large number of printed works available online. Google Translate makes understanding foreign languages that much easier.

Google's omnipresence worries many people in many disparate industries. But its success in this decade is just too great to ignore.

Google Goggles - The New Snap And Search Technology

2009-12-21T00:45:00.000-08:00

The world, like the World Wide Web before it, is about to be hyperlinked. Soon, you may be able to find information about almost any physical object with the click of a smartphone.

This vision, once the stuff of science fiction, took a significant step forward this month when Google unveiled a smartphone application called Goggles. It allows users to search the Web, not by typing or by speaking keywords, but by snapping an image with a cellphone and feeding it into Google’s search engine.

How tall is that mountain on the horizon? Snap and get the answer. Who is the artist behind this painting? Snap and find out. What about that stadium in front of you? Snap and see a schedule of future games there.

Goggles, in essence, offers the promise to bridge the gap between the physical world and the Web.

Computer scientists have been trying to equip machines with virtual eyes for decades, and with varying degrees of success. The field, known as computer vision, has resulted in a smattering of applications and successes in the lab. But recognizing images at what techies call “scale,” meaning thousands or even millions of images, is hugely difficult, partly because it requires enormous computing power. It turns out that Google, with its collection of massive data centers, has just that.

“The technology exists and was developed by other people,” said Gary Bradski, a computer vision expert and a consulting professor of computer science at Stanford. “The breakthrough is doing this at scale. There are not many entities that could do that.”

Goggles is not the first application to try to create a link between the physical and virtual worlds via cellphones. A variety of so-called augmented-reality applications like World Surfer and Wikitude allow you to point your cellphone or its camera and find information about landmarks, restaurants and shops in front of you. Yet those applications typically rely on location data, matching information from maps with a cellphone’s GPS and compass data. Another class of applications reads bar codes to link objects or businesses with online information about them.

Goggles also uses location information to help identify objects, but its ability to recognize millions of images opens up new possibilities. “This is a big step forward in terms of making it work in all these different kinds of situations,” said Jason Hong, a professor at the Human Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

When you snap a picture with Goggles, Google spends a few seconds analyzing the image, then sends it up to its vast “cloud” of computers and tries to match it against an index of more than a billion images. Google’s data centers distribute the image-matching problem among hundreds or even thousands of computers to return an answer quickly.

Google says Goggles works best with certain categories of objects, including CDs, movie posters, products, wine labels, artwork, buildings and landmarks. It can read business cards and book covers. It doesn’t do so well with trees, cars or objects whose shape can change, like a towel. And it has trouble recognizing objects in less than ideal lighting conditions.

“Today, Google Goggles is limited because it recognizes certain objects in certain categories,” said Vic Gundotra, a vice president at Google in charge of its mobile phone applications. “But our goal is for Goggles to recognize every image. This is really the beginning.”

For now, Goggles is part of the “labs” section of Google’s Web site, which indicates that the product remains experimental. So it is not surprising that it has quirks and flaws.

Goggles had trouble recognizing the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, for example, when the image was shot with several trees in the way of its suspension span. But it did recognize it when the picture was snapped with fewer obstacles in the way. Faced with a picture of a Yahoo billboard shot in San Francisco, the search results showed Times Square, presumably because of the huge Yahoo billboard there.

But the service can also delight and amaze. It had no trouble recognizing an Ansel Adams photograph of Bridalveil Fall in Yosemite, returning search results for both the image and a book that used that image on its cover. It also correctly identified a BlackBerry handset, a Panasonic cordless phone and a Holmes air purifier. It stumbled with an Apple mouse, perhaps because there was a bright reflection on its plastic surface.

It’s not hard to imagine a slew of commercial applications for this technology. You could compare prices of a product online, learn how to operate that old water heater whose manual you have lost or find out about the environmental record of a certain brand of tuna. But Goggles and similar products could also tell the history of a building, help travelers get around in a foreign country or even help blind people navigate their surroundings.

It is also easy to think of scarier possibilities down the line. Google’s goal to recognize every image, of course, includes identifying people. Computer scientists say that it is much harder to identify faces than objects, but with the technology and computing power improving rapidly, improved facial recognition may not be far off.

Mr. Gundotra says that Google already has some facial-recognition capabilities, but that it has decided to turn them off in Goggles until privacy issues can be resolved. “We want to move with great discretion and thoughtfulness,” he said.

Souce: nytimes.com

Google Netbook with Chrome OS ?

2009-12-21T00:14:00.000-08:00

We’ve only just stopped deliberating on whether there will be a Google phone or not, and now an old rumour about a Google Netbook is starting to surface again. Google are keeping us all in suspense these days.

So is there a Google Netbook with Chrome operating system in the offing?

At the moment we have no idea because as we said, it’s all rumour and speculation and Google haven’t actually said anything and until they do we will continue to speculate.

However, if what we are hearing is true, and Google are going to be producing Google branded phones and Netbooks then many people are bound to be wondering what Google are playing at.

We tend to think of Google as an Internet company, mostly because of their dominance in the search engine market and in internet advertising but if they’re going to be producing phones and netbooks too then what’s that all about?

Well it may be a tad surprising for some to learn that Google has been expanding into different areas all along and already produce a massive range of products so instead of asking why they would produce a phone and a netbook perhaps we should be thinking why not?

According to a recent story in TechCrunch, Google has already been in talks with a hardware manufacturer to produce the Google Netbook and have given the company a request for proposal which included a list of technical details for the portable device although the actual technical specifications are still unknown.

There is speculation though that the Netbook will run on an ARM processor and it will incorporate the new Nvidia Tegra graphics chip and of course that it will feature Chrome operating system.

Ok so that’s about it really, not much to go on, but if the rumours turn out to be true which could well be the case, the next question is how would Google make the Netbook available to customers?

Well the talk around Nexus One phone is that the phone will be made available unlocked and directly to the consumer. Could this be what they might do with a Google Netbook too, sell it directly to the consumer?

Others believe that a Google Netbook would most likely be available through one or more carriers who will subsidise the netbook. So what’s it to be?

Well unless Google releases an official statement, we can just keep Googling about it.

Source:geekwithlaptop.com

Will SAAS Model Work for Nexus One -The Google Phone ?

2009-12-21T00:03:00.000-08:00

Google would get greater control over sales of Android devices, positioning its many mobile Web services, from Google Maps to Latitude to Google Voice, in front of users. Any or all of these services would be paired with Google's mobile ads.

eWEEK found Ovum analyst Jonathan Yarmis skeptical about the idea that customers would be willing to pay $500, or whatever the Nexus One might cost given its many new features:

"There's a huge leap of faith required to think the customer will pay the unsubsidized price up front. Even if you're going to get the subsidy back when you activate the phone, you still have to put that large charge on your credit card up front. And knowing the way the process will work, they probably won't give you the credit until 4 to 6 weeks later, so you have to carry the cost for a billing period."

Even so, Yarmis agreed that Google wants to change the power structure between the platform owner, the device manufacturer and the carrier, and suggested that Google could subsidize smartphone pricing with its own advertising chops.

"By owning two pieces of the equation, Google increases its leverage both with carriers—'Take it or leave it'—and the other device manufacturers—'Sure, you have freedom, but if you do things we don't like, we'll compete more aggressively with you,'" Yarmis said.

Of course, as Frommer noted, the biggest hurdle in his SAAS plan would be convincing carriers to cede handset sales to Google, a company with money-making expertise that lies in digital advertising, not hardware.

Whatever distribution plan Google has for the Nexus One, Yarmis said, all paths lead back to advertising, which comprises about 97 percent of Google's sales and underscores Google's $750 million bid for mobile display ad provider AdMob.

He concluded, "Mobile advertising is the next frontier and it's a battle they can't afford to lose. The really good news for them: Oftentimes, the 'innovator's dilemma' is such that chasing the next frontier is often damaging to your existing business (e.g., Microsoft and cloud). That's not the case here. They can chase, and accelerate mobile advertising, and it represents a net increase in available advertising dollars and a net increase for Google in its share."

Meanwhile, the layers that compose the Nexus One continue to be pulled back. Like the Motorola Droid, the device lacks multitouch capability, which is a bummer for people accustomed to pinching and zooming from other Android gadgets. Of course, developers can tap the phone's root.

Source: eweek.com

Google Phone Nexus One Can Have A SAAS Model

2009-12-20T23:50:00.000-08:00

There's been a lot of debate about how Google plans to sell its forthcoming Nexus One smartphone, a thin, speedy device based on the Android 2.1 operating system.

The most intriguing scenario is one in which Google sells the device unsubsidized online and unlocked, letting users pick their wireless provider.

Because we're fond of catch phrases that explain things with brevity, eWEEK calls this Google's new SAAS model. Google's original SAAS model is, of course, software as a service, the cloud computing model that enables the company to host applications and provision them to users over the Web. So call this the new SAAS model, "smartphone as a service."

This model has been laid out by Silicon Alley Insider's Dan Frommer, who suggested in a Dec. 14 post that Google wants to turn the mobile carrier and phone distribution market on its ear. Rather than having users go to Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile to pick out a device and sign up for wireless service and data plans, Google's new model could work in the following fashion.

Users go to Google.com and search for devices, such as the Nexus One, which Google employees are testing and some bloggers have been lucky enough to sample. They order the phones unsubsidized and Google ships them.

A user then powers on the device and picks a carrier, which for the Nexus One would seem to be T-Mobile at this point because it's a GSM device. AT&T does GSM too, but the company seems to be cold-shouldering Android. Strangely, Frommer suggested that there could be a bidding process, in which carriers would compete for users based on whether they want data only, data and voice, unlimited calling, and the like.

He also suggested that Google could even buy access to voice and data networks and act as the carrier. Users would get pay-as-you-go service, or have their accounts credited by signing a long-term contract. Other options Frommer speculated about:

"Maybe Verizon would give you a $200 service credit for a 2-year contract, or credit your Visa card. Or maybe carriers could compete here over "signing bonuses." Google may offer you an extra credit to make Google your default search tool. You could also pick your number through this sign-up process, and even select to make Google Voice your primary voice technique. Google's installer would configure your phone automatically."

Source: eweek.com. engadget.com

Google Revamps Talks to Acquire Yelp

2009-12-18T04:10:00.000-08:00

In a sign that Google is interested in broadening its reach among local businesses, the search giant is in acquisition talks with Yelp, the review site for local businesses, according to three people with knowledge of the deal.

The two companies have had conversations for several years, but a more serious round of acquisition talks began two months ago, one of the people said late Thursday. The companies have discussed a price and are negotiating the details, but have not yet signed an agreement.
The people with knowledge of the deal would not disclose the acquisition price, but one said that it was more than $500 million, the figure cited by TechCrunch, the industry blog that first reported the news Thursday evening.

Yelp, which has raised $31 million in venture capital, is on track to bring in about $30 million in revenue this year, one person said.

Yelp, which was founded in 2004 by two PayPal veterans, Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons, dominates the market for local business listings and ads in big American cities, and has listings in Canada and Britain. It gets more visitors than its closest rival, Citysearch, and many of them review local businesses prolifically.

Yelp makes money selling sponsorships to these businesses. For $300 to $1,000 a month, their ads appear on top of search results and on the profile pages of competitors, and businesses can post slide shows of photographs and prevent competitors from advertising on their page.

Google has been showing greater interest in the local business market in the United States. It has expanded its profile pages for local businesses, which include location and hours, maps and reviews from other Web sites. In June, Google gave local businesses the ability to manage what people see on their profile pages, similar to what Yelp does.

Google has been reaching out to local businesses with simpler ways to advertise on the search engine. It is also distributing stickers that businesses post in their windows and passers-by can scan with cellphones to get coupons or information about the business.

The deal between Google and Yelp could still unravel, one person said, particularly if another acquirer comes forward now that details have leaked.

Source : The New York Times

Google files for Nexus One Trademark

2009-12-15T23:37:00.000-08:00

Image Souce: tmportal.uspto.gov

Finally the long awaited suspense is nearing its end. The search giant Google has filed for a intent-to-use trademark application on December 10th for its upcoming Android 2.1 Google Mobile Phone - The Nexus One. Google (GOOG) has registered the trademark with uspto which could means that Google will have to use the trademark commercially to be granted the trademark. Further, it is likely that Google might use this trademark for its New Unlocked GSM Mobile Phone - Android Developer Phone. which is more likely from the T-Mobile 3G theory.

The blogosphere is full of articles which say that Google Phone will launch on January 5th 2010 and Google not HTC will design and market the phone. But we cant be sure untill Google puts something official about it.

Google's Goo.gl - A URL Shortener Service from Google

2009-12-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

Moments after we heard reports of Facebook’s new URL shortener, Google launched its own service, aptly called goo.gl

At the moment, its only being used for Google Toolbar and Feedburner. Google just announced the new service as a sharing feature of Toolbar that will let you share a web page directly from Toolbar. The shortener is not a stand alone service and is not available for “broader consumer use.” That is, at least for now. Google assures that its shortener will be stable and secure to help protect users from clicking on malicious sites. And unsurprisingly, Google promises a speedy service for links.

Google’s foray into the URL shortening world isn’t surprising; many platforms are developing their own shorteners in house, such as Digg and Facebook.
Facebook’s new URL shortener is being used for URLs in its mobile interface. It’s unclear if Fb.me will be rolled out to the entire platform.

Of course both Facebook and Google’s venture into this space will threaten bit.ly, the most widely-used URL shortener and default service on Twitter and many Twitter clients. Up until now, bit.ly has moved quickly to become the standard shortener. But the sheer volume of short links which both Facebook and Google can produce could soon overwhelm the number of bit.ly links. It’s the data behind the links, however, which is valuable. Whoever can gather the most unified view of all shortened links will end up winning.

You’ve got to think that Google will eventually roll this out more broadly to extend its reach but it’s unclear at the moment if this will happen. (Although Google’s Matt Cutts Tweets that the restriction to Google’s own products is only “for now,” with the possibility of the service “opening up” in the future).

Google Phone Nexus One Boot Animation Video

2009-12-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

Check out the boot animation of the much awaited Google Phone Nexus One.

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Google Phone Nexus One to aim Apple iPhone ..Video

2009-12-14T20:58:00.000-08:00

The Google Phone aka. Nexus One to target Apple iPhone market.

Check the video :

The Google Phone Nexus One: Prices, Specifications and Insight

2009-12-14T06:19:00.000-08:00

The fabled Google Phone made an appearance over the weekend and it’s another iPhone killer, grand experiment for the search giant or a way to rewrite the wireless pecking order. Here’s a look at the risks, rewards and wild card associated with Google’s phone, dubbed Nexus One.

First, a little background:

Google on Saturday said on its mobile blog that is handing out a snazzy phone loaded with an uncompromised version of its Android operating system. The move was all about Google eating is own Android dogfood. The device combines “innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities.”

It didn’t take long for pictures of this Google phone to hit Twitter. The Wall Street Journal then followed up with a few more tidbits. Among them:

Google’s Nexus One will up the ante vs. Apple;

HTC will make the device;

The device won’t be tethered to any carrier and Google will sell it online;

Google wanted to control the hardware, software and user experience completely.

So what is Google up to with Nexus One? The answers are a little fuzzy, but here’s a crack at Google’s calculus behind launching a phone that could alienate partners, drive wireless innovation and alter the competitive landscape among other things.

The risks:

Carriers and handset makers. The biggest risk for Google and its Nexus One effort is that it could alienate partners. Google is now aligned with Verizon Wireless to take on AT&T and the iPhone. Motorola, the manufacturer behind the Droid, is also a key partner in forming an Android army to attempt to topple Apple’s iPhone. One partner that looks tighter than ever with Google—HTC. The wild card: How will wireless partners react to Google selling a phone on its own, offering carrier choice and potentially trumping features on its other Android phones?

The price.

You can’t talk about carrier risk and Google’s plan to sell an unlocked phone without mentioning price. Unlocked devices—if Sony Ericsson and Nokia are any indicator—are pricey. Like $500 to $600 pricey. Without a two-year contract and subsidies from carriers, smartphones are expensive. Too expensive for most of us to be carting the latest greatest device around. Google’s Nexus One may be priced out of the game right away without a subsidy. The wild card: Will the average bear pay up just to have Google control the hardware-software experience?

The profit hit.

Barclays Capital analyst Douglas Anmuth wrote in a research note: “We believe this issue is important to investors because potential phone subsidies could impact Google’s overall cost structure. We believe the
industry subsidy per device is typically $200-$300 and is usually paid by the carriers.” The wild card: Would Google pay the subsidy that carriers usually pay for market share?

The unlocked phone approach. Riding shotgun with the pricing discussion is the fact that Americans just aren’t used to buying unlocked phones. Google, with its brand and market heft, will need to alter behavior with the Nexus One. The wild card: Is this Google phone good enough to change behavior?

Bernstein analyst Jeffrey Lindsay noted in a research report:

We think the strategy is risky because all previous attempts to sell directly to the consumer in the U.S. have thus far have been an abject failure. Specifically we note the low appetite of American consumers for an unsubsidized phone, and the huge acceleration in iPhone sales when Apple lowered the (subsidized) retail price of the iPhone from $399 to $199 suggesting that Americans still seem to have an insatiable appetite for handset subsidies.

What if Nexus One flops?

Few are even entertaining the thought that price and lack of truly whiz-bang features could result in a flop. Google is looking at Nexus One as a grand experiment, but it’s worth at least mentioning the flop factor. The wild card: Expectations are already probably too high.

The rewards

Google could accelerate Android adoption. Google could head off the iPhone at the pass. Yes, Google could annoy partners but it has six months to deliver a body blow to Apple. If Apple took the iPhone to Verizon its market clout would double. “Google is also undoubtedly aware that Apple’s exclusive arrangement with AT&T expires in June 2010 and that an iPhone on Verizon’s 3G network would strengthen Apple’s first mover advantage, giving it formidable market power,” said Lindsay. The wild card: Could consumers really resist an iPhone on Verizon?

Google can put forward its vision of smartphones and Android without compromises. Google doesn’t have to worry about wireless carriers and their approach to apps like Google Voice. Google can make the hardware and software experience seamless. With Nexus One, Google controls its destiny in the smartphone race. Sure, Google may annoy partners, but Nexus One is quite an experiment. The wild card: Will carriers accept Google’s Android vision if Nexus One takes off?

The splintering may end.

Google would slow the splintering of Android. “We think Google’s motivation is to create a “pure” Android phone giving a display of strength that will eliminate further splintering of the Android code base that has been frustrating app developers to date,” said Lindsay. The wild card: Android is open sourced and Google can’t completely control the operating system.

The international play.

Google may face tough sledding trying to convince Americans to buy an unlocked device, but the international reception will be far easier. While Nexus One may be an experiment in the U.S., it could be a beachhead abroad. The wild card: Will global customers fall for Nexus One?

Google can manage pricing.

Yes, unlocked phones are expensive, but Google could sell the Nexus One at a loss. Why? Google can make up the difference on advertising. Instead of signing on to a two-year contract with a carrier you’re basically swapping your data to be delighted. The wild card: Would Google take a hefty loss to get consumers to buy Nexus One?

Nexus One becomes exhibit A in Google’s lobbying efforts to rewrite the wireless industry. Google has been trying to break carriers’ chokehold on services, contracts and what devices are sold to consumers. With Nexus One, Google will be able to show the Federal Communications Commission what it envisions for the wireless industry. If the Google phone helps convince the FCC to open up cell networks and unused TV spectrum to mobile players the effort will be worth it. The wild card: Can Google’s lobbying efforts compete with the entrenched players?

The conclusion

Overall, Google’s Nexus One effort makes sense. Sure, there are risks, but the potential upside is there. Meanwhile, Google has already lined up a bevy of partners for Android. Those Android plans will proceed no matter what Google does with Nexus One. In other words, partners may be annoyed about Google selling an unlocked phone, but they are already locked in with the search giant. Add it up and Google may have little choice if it wants to dent the iPhone’s momentum before it comes to Verizon.

Source: ZDnet Blog

Google Android Phone - Nexus One is for Real

2009-12-12T22:48:00.000-08:00

Google Inc. has designed a cellphone it plans to sell directly to consumers as soon as next year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The phone is called the Nexus One and is being manufactured for Google by HTC Corp., these people said. It runs Android, the operating system for mobile phones that Google developed, they added.

But unlike the more than half-dozen Android phones made by phone manufacturers today, Google designed virtually the entire software experience behind the phone, from the applications that run on it to the look and feel of each screen.

The Internet giant is taking a new, and potentially risky, approach to selling the device. Rather than selling the phone through a wireless carrier--the way the bulk of phones are sold in the U.S. today--Google plans to sell the Nexus One itself online. Users will have to buy cellular service for the device separately.

Google began sharing a version of the Nexus One with employees in recent days, according to several people familiar with the matter. In a blog post Saturday, Google wrote that it was sharing a new device running its Android operating system with employees to "experiment with new mobile features and capabilities."

The phone is a significant escalation of Google's assault on the mobile industry, challenging both wireless carriers that sell devices as well as companies that design them.

Google became a high-profile player in mobile two years ago, when it launched Android. Google designed the software to seed its mobile applications, such as Gmail and Google Maps, and increase usage of the Internet from phones to grow its online advertising business. A number of leading handset manufacturers, including Motorola Inc., built phones running the software, some of which contain branding "powered by Google."

But the phones--many of which just hit the market in recent months--haven't sold nearly as well as Apple Inc.'s iPhone, which is capturing more interest from software developers.

Now, Google appears to want to throw its brand behind a device more directly, designing a phone without working with the wireless carriers that often dictate what features they allow on their networks.

The move could alienate wireless carriers and handset makers that offer Android phones and do not want to compete with Google. Google has repeatedly said that its goal is to have hundreds of Android phones rather than one.

The move also marks a rare foray into direct sales for Google. With the exception of an appliance it markets as a search tool to businesses, the company hasn't sold hardware in the past.

Source:The Wall Street Journal

Google finally releases Chrome browser for Mac & Linux

2009-12-08T13:51:00.000-08:00

Over a year after the release of Google Chrome for Windows, Mac and Linux beta versions have arrived.

At the Web 2.0 Summit in October, Google co-founder Sergey Brin expressed disappointment that a Mac version of Google's Chrome browser had not yet been released.

Brin finally has something to smile about -- aside from his role in one of the world's most successful companies -- a beta version of Chrome for the Mac is now available.

"We've been working hard to deliver a first-class browser for the Mac -- it took longer than we expected, but we hope the wait was worth it!" declared Google product manager Brian Rakowski in a blog post. "We wanted Google Chrome to feel at home on the Mac, so we've focused on uniting our clean, simple design with subtle animations and effects to create a snappy and satisfying browsing experience on OS X."

Google also released a beta version of Chrome for Linux and browser extensions for users of beta and developer builds.

In June, Google began encouraging developers to test an early developer build. Many features, however, were missing.

The final step for Chrome on Mac and Linux will be to be released on what Google calls the stable channel, as opposed to the beta and developer channels.

Google's design goals for Chrome, which represents the foundation of the company's forthcoming Chrome OS, remain focused on speed, stability, and security. As an example, Chrome isolates each browser tab so that buggy Web page code will only crash the tab and not the entire browser. Chrome's multiprocess architecture is also a way to protect users from poorly coded or malicious extensions.

Since its launch for Windows computers in September 2008, Google Chrome has achieved a 5.1% global share of the browser market and surpassed Apple's Safari browser, according to Stat Counter. According to Net Applications, Safari had a global market share of 4.36% and Chrome had 3.93% at the end of November.

To download Google Chrome for MAC OS Click Here .

To download Google Chrome for LINUX Click Here .