Unwired View » google

Google News updated for Android, iPhone, WebOS

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:52:49 +0000

The Google mobile team has announced a new version of Google News for Android, iPhone and WebOS (Palm Pre).

Available in 29 languages, the updated Google News for mobile features “the same richness and personalization” that Google News offers on your desktop PC. There are now more stories and images displayed on the homepage, and users can easily access their favorite sections, play videos, find articles and so on.

To try out the new Google News for Android, iPhone and WebOS, just point your mobile browser to http://news.google.com

Google News for Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 will also be updated in the near future.

Via the Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

The Google Phone is reportedly “very real”. Wouldn’t that make Andy Rubin a liar?

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:55:49 +0000

Despite Andy Rubin’s recent “we’re not making hardware” statement, the rumors about a Google Phone just won’t die.

According to TechCrunch a “pure Google-branded phone” with Android is “absolutely confirmed” for early 2010 – although it should have been launched this year.

Reportedly, the handset will be manufactured by a major company – LG or Samsung, most probably – but only Google’s branding will be visible on it. There are no details about the smartphone’s design and features, but it’s said that Google is in charge of every little aspect regarding the device.

Rumors also have it that Google plans a big advertising push for its phone, and we could see this as early as January 2010.

OK, so if all this is true, wouldn’t it mean that Andy Rubin lied when he said that Google won’t have an Android phone of its own? I guess we’ll have to wait until next year to see what exactly is going on.

Similar Posts:

Google Earth for iPhone updated to version 2.0

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:22:17 +0000

Launched more than one year ago, Google Earth for iPhone has now reached version 2.0, coming with new features and support for a total of 31 languages (including Russian, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and Hebrew).

Google Earth for iPhone 2.0 lets you view custom maps (created by your or by others) via the My Maps interface. Moreover, it offers improved performance and enhanced icon selection – “when you touch an icon, a small glow appears under your finger to let you know which icon you have picked.”

A review of Google Earth for iPhone can be found here, while the app can be downloaded here (iTunes link).

Google Earth for iPhone is a hugely popular application, so we’re wondering how long it will take until Google launches a version for Android, too.

Via the Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google offers free Wi-Fi in US airports for the Holidays

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:53:41 +0000

Google (which recently announced the acquisition of AdMob for $750 million) has teamed up with Boingo Wireless, Airport Marketing Income, Advanced Wireless Group and others in order to offer free Wi-Fi in 47 US airports during the 2009 Holiday Season – starting now and through January 15 2010.

Participating airports include Las Vegas, Seattle, Boston, St. Louis, San Jose, Houston, Baltimore, Burbank, Miami, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, Charlotte and Indianapolis. Seattle and Burbank airports will continue to offer free Wi-Fi after the Holiday season, for an indefinite period of time.

Google says that more than 100 million people will pass through the 47 participating airports during the Holidays. Many of them probably carry Wi-Fi enabled laptops or smartphones, so Google’s new offering is more than welcome.

A complete list of airports that are providing free Wi-Fi can be found at the Free Holiday Wi-Fi website – where there will also be a photo contest, starting November 16.

Via Press release

Similar Posts:

Google buys mobile advertising company AdMob for $750 million

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:52:47 +0000

Google announced that it has reached an agreement to buy AdMob, a California-based company that presents itself as the “world’s largest mobile advertising marketplace.”

Founded in 2006 by entrepreneur Omar Hamoui, AdMob will be sold to Google for $750 million in stock.

By acquiring AdMob, Google will further enhance its experience in mobile advertising. As mobile advertising continues to grow, Google will be able to offer more effective tools for creating, serving and evaluating mobile ads formats.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, however, both Google and AdMob have approved it.

More details on the deal can be found here.

An interesting article over at Business Insider points out that Google agreed to pay that much money ($750 million) for AdMob because Apple may have also been interested in buying the company, since “AdMob has 80% of in-app advertising on iPhone.”

Via Press release

Similar Posts:

Google Mobile App now offered through Best Buy stores

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:49:55 +0000

Google and Best Buy have announced a new partnership that will make Google Mobile App available in Best Buy Mobile stores across the US.

In consequence, users who have a Windows Mobile, BlackBerry or Symbian S60 smartphone can visit a Best Buy store and “get some help installing the app or to see a live demo of what the application can do.”

Also, if you’re buying a new phone at Best Buy, Google Mobile App can be installed as part of the Walk Out Working program.

“We are excited to offer users a new and more personalized way of getting Google on their smartphones. While Google Mobile App is available as a free download from m.google.com, often times users run into problems because they don’t have the right handset or data plan,” declared Marc Vanlerberghe, Director of Marketing at Google.

Google Mobile App includes features like My Location and search by voice, and at the same time provides quick access to Gmail, Google Maps, Google Search and so on.

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google Analytics now available for mobile apps (Android and iPhone)

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:08:15 +0000

Google has recently launched enhanced mobile reporting features for Google Analytics, which allow you to “see how people are using specific parts” of their mobile applications on Android and the iPhone.

The data provided by Google Analytics helps app developers find out how users interact with their apps, what features they use more and so on.

To learn more about Google Analytics for Android and iPhone mobile apps, you should read the technical documentation and check out the SDK on Google’s website.

The video below shows how Redfin (an online brokerage for buying and selling homes) uses Google Analytics with their mobile app:

Via the Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google Search by voice available for S60, in Chinese too

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:43:52 +0000

Google announced that the Google Search by voice feature is now available for Nokia’s Symbian S60 handsets. Integrated into the latest version of Google Mobile App, the feature lets you search for almost anything (from “restaurants” to “movie times” and so on) without having to type your queries.

Of course, if you prefer not to search by voice, you can always just type what you want to look for – there’s a shortcut that can be placed on your Nokia phone’s home screen for that.

Google also said that, from now on, Search by voice is available in Mandarin Chinese (the most spoken language in the world).

Mandarin Chinese voice recognition currently works with Nokia’s S60 devices only, but Google promises it will soon bring it to other platforms like Android and iPhone.

A funny video presentation of how Google Search by voice works on a Nokia S60 smartphone can be watched below:

Via the Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Andy Rubin says Google won’t make an Android phone of its own

Ilinca Nita — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:44:13 +0000

Andy Rubin, the man behind Google’s Android OS, has recently denied the rumors of Google building its own Android phone.

About ten days ago, The Street quoted analyst Ashok Kumar, who has reportedly talked with unnamed Google partners and said that a Google-branded Android phone is in the making.

Well, according to CNET, Andy Rubin declared the following: “We’re not making hardware. We’re enabling other people to build hardware.” So it looks like, at least for the time being, Google has absolutely no plans to build its own phone.

Rubin also mentioned that such a phone would only compete with Google’s customers. And speaking of Google’s customers, I’ve counted 13 Android phones that were officially announced until now:

HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1
HTC Magic / T-Mobile myTouch 3G
HTC Hero
HTC Tattoo
Samsung i7500 Galaxy
Samsung i5700 Spica
Samsung Moment
Samsung Behold II
Motorola Cliq / Dext
Motorola Droid
LG GW620
Acer Liquid A1
Huawei T-Mobile Pulse

Many more Android phones will come later this year and in 2010 (including the Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael), so Android is likely to become hugely popular without the existence of a Googlephone anyway.

Similar Posts:

Orange signs partnership with Google to offer Google Mobile App

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:12:06 +0000

Orange announced that it has signed a multi-year strategic partnership with Google in order to provide customers with one-click access to Google Mobile App via various mobile platforms.

Google Mobile App will be launched by Orange across many Orange Signature handsets, including phones running Symbian S60, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry OS. The app will include links to Google News, Google Mail, Google Maps, the Orange mobile portal, and other services.

Orange will also launch a Google Search widget for its Android Signature phones. Moreover, starting this month, Android phones like HTC Tattoo (UK, France, Spain), HTC Hero (France) and LG Eve (France, Spain) get to have specially created services like Orange Email Wizard.

Orange is the first global mobile operator to offer Google Search App on different mobile platform. The company said that internet search on phones increased by 120% over the last year.

Via Press Release

Similar Posts:

Google intros free Maps Navigation for Android 2.0, Garmin and TomTom stocks plummet

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:44:19 +0000

The same day when the Verizon Motorola Droid was officially unveiled, Google announced Maps Navigation for Android 2.0.

Designed from the ground to leverage on your handset’s Internet connection, Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 offer lots of nice features, including: the latest map and business data, search and search by voice (in English), traffic view, satellite view, Google street view, and car dock mode.

Unlike most of the GPS services offered by major companies (like Garmin and TomTom), Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 is free.

Probably that’s why, almost immediately after Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 was announced, the stocks of Garmin and TomTom have plummeted (as Engadget pointed out).

Here’s video presentation of Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 (and yes, that phone is Verizon’s Motorola Droid – which was also spotted in GSM flavor):

All in all, Android is really becoming a threat to almost all companies that are directly or indirectly related to the mobile industry. And that’s a good thing, since competition eventually means better products for us, the end users.

Via the Official Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google Maps 3.2 brings Layers to BlackBerry

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:23:15 +0000

Google Maps for mobiles version 3.2 is now compatible with RIM’s BlackBerry smartphones, offering users most of the features already available for Symbian S60 and Windows Mobile.

One of the nicest new features available now for BlackBerry is Layers. With Layers, users can quickly view various types of info directly on their maps. There are different types of layers: the Wikipedia layer, the Google Latitude layer and so on.

To download the latest version of Google Maps on your phone, visit m.google.com/maps.

A video preview of Google Maps with Layers for BlackBerry can be watched below:

Via the Official Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Unlocked Android Google phone in the works?

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:18:03 +0000

When you say “Google phone” you’re instantly thinking about an Android handset that’s launched under brands like T-Mobile, HTC, Samsung and so on. And while some of these handsets also have Google’s branding on them, they’re not Google-only phones.

Probably that’s why Google wants to have an Android phone of its own.

The Street quotes Ashok Kumar, analyst at Northeast Securities, who has apparently talked with some of Google’s design partners and says that the Mountain View-based company is currently collaborating with a handset maker, readying what should be the first Google-branded smartphone.

The Google handset may be released this year – not via telecom operators, but through retailers, so it will probably be sold unlocked.

Ashok Kumar also says that the Google Android phone will use a Qualcomm chip, so it might be manufactured by HTC, which already has 4 Android handsets on the market, all using Qualcomm platforms.

It’s said that Google also prepares a “Chrome netbook” that will be produced by Quanta and powered by a Snapdragon CPU.

Of course, nothing’s officially confirmed at the moment, but Google certainly has what it takes to launch its own phone and to distribute it all over the world.

Similar Posts:

Google Search Options now available for mobile

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:43:49 +0000

Google Search Options for PC have been available for a while, and now Google has decided to launch these features for mobile too.

Available only in the US at the moment, and only for iPhone, Android and webOS, the Google Search Options can provide more relevant web searches than ever.

For example, you can filter your search results by forums and reviews, or by time (the last 24 hours, the last 7 days and so on).

To test the new Search Options, make a search on google.com on your smartphone and select the Options tab.

No word yet on when Google will make Search Options available for Windows Mobile, Symbian S6 and BlackBerry.

Via the Official Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Verizon and Google officially promise several Android phones

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:20:29 +0000

Verizon has just announced that it reached an agreement with Google, signing a strategic partnership with the big G in order to release Android devices, as well as related services and mobile applications.

Google and Verizon are ready to “co-develop several Android-based devices” that will be manufactured by leading handset makers.

Most probably, one of the promised Android devices is the Motorola Droid / Tao / Sholes (pictured below), which is rumored to be launched before the end of October.

The first Android devices from Verizon will be unveiled in the next few weeks. Further details (like prices and exact release dates) should be announced soon.

Via Verizon

Similar Posts:

Google launches new Local Search for Mobile

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:43:36 +0000

The folks over at Google are, once again, offering improved services for mobile phones – this time its Local Search for Mobile, which has been updated with some pretty nice features.

Local Search for Mobile now integrates Google Maps – this means that you can use Google Maps on your PC to search, for example, a place to visit; if you star that place, you’ll be able to see it on your phone once you’ve logged in your Google account.

To enjoy the new features of Google Local Search for Mobile, simply click on the Local tab on google.com, or visit www.google.com/m/local. Note that, for the moment, the new Local Search for Mobile is available only in the US and China.

The video below should give you a better idea of how Google Local Search for Mobile can help you:

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google Mobile App for WM now with My Location

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:15:31 +0000

Google is continuously enhancing its mobile services, and the latest to get an upgrade is Google Mobile App for Windows Mobile.

As of today, owners of WM phones have Google Mobile App with My Location and thus they can get local results without typing their location. In case you don’t want it, the My Location feature can be disabled in the Advanced Options menu.

Other new features that Google Mobile App for Windows Mobile brings include Google Suggest (offering suggestions to complete your search queries faster) and Search with Maps (you need to have Google Maps installed for this).

If you don’t have Google Mobile App on your phone, you can get the latest version from m.google.com.

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google and Baidu to fight over China’s mobile search market

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:58:18 +0000

China’s mobile market is continuously growing, so it’s obvious that its mobile search market is also growing – especially since China Mobile and China Unicom have started to offer 3G services across the country (TD-SCDMA and UMTS, respectively).

The two giant mobile carriers currently have more than 600 million subscribers and, although only about 40 million of them are using mobile search services, there’s still a huge potential for search engines.

At the moment, Baidu is the most popular PC search engine in China (with a market share over 60%), while Google is on the second place. However, things are different when it comes to mobile search engines – Baidu and Google both have about 26% of the market each.

It’s estimated that China’s mobile market will worth more than 1,200 billion yuan by 2010, while mobile advertising industry might worth more than 1 billion yuan ($146 million) in the same year. So both Google and Baidu will try to gain as much market share as possible.

Google theoretically has an advantage – its Android OS. Most of the Chinese Android users are likely to use Google for mobile searches (since Google’s services are preinstalled on Android devices). However, Google would benefit from this only if Android will become popular across China and attract millions of customers. We don’t know if this will happen, but it’s definitely possible.

Via Reuters

Similar Posts:

Google Sync now has push Gmail support for iPhone, Windows Mobile

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:50:41 +0000

Google has announced that iPhone, iPod touch and Windows Mobile users can now enjoy push Gmail support via Google Sync.

Launched at the beginning of the year, Google Sync is a service that lets you synchronize Google Calendar and Gmail Contacts with your phone. And, as of today, it also offers Gmail messages pushed directly on your handset.

The service allows you to sync only the Calendar, Contacts or Gmail if you don’t need them all synced.

Google Sync is also available for Symbian S60 and BlackBerry, but without push Gmail support (for the moment at least).

Google Sync can be tried out at m.google.com/sync

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google Fast Flip launched for Android, iPhone

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:59:09 +0000

Google Fast Flip is a new web-based service offered by Google and available to iPhone and Android users (well, to PC users too, but that’s not exactly our concern).

Integrating “some of the best features of reading articles in print and on the web”, Google Fast Flip for mobile allows you to flip through media-rich web pages with ease, jut by swiping your finger.

You can also browser headlines or popular stories, search for the topics you’re interested in, share articles via email and so on.

Google Fast Flip works with all Android smartphones, iPhones and iPod touch devices. You can try it out by visiting fastflip.googlelabs.com from your mobile browser.

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google launches Listen for Android and new Image Search Results for feature phones

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:57:21 +0000

The folks over at Google Labs have a new Android application for you: called Listen, the app allows Android users to easily find podcasts and Web audio content relevant to their searches.

Listen for Android also lets you stream audio files over the air (OTA), or subscribe for new content from your favorite sources on the Web.

You can get Listen for Android via Android Market, or you can download it from the Google Labs website.

Google has also launched new Image Search results for feature phones (non smartphones) – many months after releasing new Image Search results for Android and iPhone.

From now on, when you search for Google images on your feature phone, the results are shown optimized – you can view eight to fourteen images at once. When you click an image, a detailed page shows up, including a link to the website that hosts the image. Also, “next” and “previous” links are included, so you can easily navigate through the search results.

Via the Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google to add carrier billing to Android Market

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:07:25 +0000

At the moment, users can buy apps from the Android Market only via Google Checkout – which may not be the most convenient purchase option for everyone.

Probably that’s why Google plans to add more payment methods to the Android Market.

According to CNET, a future Android OS update will offer several other paying systems. Including carrier billing – which means that, for example, T-Mobile customers could purchase apps and pay for them via their monthly bill.

Moreover, it looks like you may even be able to buy apps without using Google Checkout at all.

The new Android Market payment methods might be available as soon as T-Mobile USA launches the MyTouch 3G – but there’s nothing official about this at the moment.

Via Android Community

Similar Posts:

Google launches Search with My Location for iPhone 3.0

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:18:09 +0000

iPhone owners who have the iPhone 3.0 OS can now use Google Search with My Location, via the Safari browser.

To benefit from the service, visit google.com from Safari and turn on the My Location feature. To update your location, simply tap on the “update” link.

When everything’s set, the results displayed after you search something via Google will be according to your location – the nearest restaurants, the nearest clubs, local weather and so on.

Of course, when you don’t want Google to use your location, you can turn off the feature from the Preferences tab.

For the moment, Google Search with My Location for iPhone 3.0 is available only in the US and the UK (in English, of course).

Via the Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google to monetize Voice via ringback advertising auctions?

Staska — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:41:52 +0000

The newly announced Google Voice looks like a great service that should ease your communication problems on multiple devices significantly.

And Google is already thinking of the ways of monetizing Voice. In a way it knows best – through advertising. And it just might work.

When I use my phone, there is actually one time, when I wouldn’t really mind listening to some short audio adverts. Especially if Google can make them relevant to me.

It’s that time between when I dial the number and the person I called answers the phone. Filled with those boring beeps or stupid ringback tones from the operator.

This is exactly the place where Google wants to insert their short audio advertisements, described in a patent app “Ringback advertising”.

And it’s thinking about setting the self serving audio advertising system in a way that is pretty similar to how Google Adwords works. Complete with auction bidding, Listen Through Ratio and quality scores.

Advertisers can structure their ads by various product categories, location, which can easily be determined for each caller and then start the bidding contest for their ads to be played. The callers can also set up in their profile which categories of ads they are interested in.

There’s also a place for a third party publishers in the system. This can be a service organization or professional, retailer or, possibly, even you and me.

The electronics chain can become a publisher, and set up an audio adverts from the vendors in the chain to be played each time someone calls one of their stores or help lines. Then LG and Samsung can start bidding contest on whose ad will be played, and the publisher gets a significant cut every time the ad is listened to.

Of course, this can work not only through Google voice. Actually, it could be enough to install some software to company PBX and the system will be on.

But if Google Voice gains traction with tens of millions of users throughout the world, this can open another pretty nice income stream to Google.

And with the targeting capabilities that Google will have if it connects your Google Voice to everything it knows about you through your main Google account, this might get pretty interesting… and even a bit scary.

Especially if you add all the info that your Android phone, or any other mobile device with installed Google Voice client, can collect about you.

Similar Posts:

Google Voice apps available for Android, BlackBerry

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:13:24 +0000

The folks over at Google have just launched Google Voice for mobile, available at the moment only for Android and BlackBerry.

Naturally, with Google Voice for mobile, you can call and send text messages from your Google Voice number. The application also provides voicemail transcriptions and cheap international dialing (starting at $0.02 per minute).

If you have a BlackBerry, visit m.google.com/voice on your smartphone to use Google Voice. Android phone owners can find the Google Voice app through Android Market.

A video presentation of Google Voice for mobile can be watched below:

iPhone owners will also get a Google Voice app, but it’s not clear yet when this will be launched.

Via the Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google intros AdSense for Mobile Applications (iPhone and Android)

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:29:03 +0000

Google has announced the beta release of AdSense for Mobile Applications, available at the moment only for iPhone and Android smartphones.

Leveraging on the fact that people use more and more smartphones, which come with a continuously increased number of applications, Google wants to make things easier for developers, publishers and end users.

More exactly, thanks to the AdSense ads for Mobile Applications, app developers will earn some extra revenue, publishers will reach more customers, and users would see only ads that are relevant to them.

Developers can join the AdSense for Mobile Applications beta program by visiting this site.

Meanwhile, you can watch this video with Google AdSense for Mobile Apps explained:

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Android Developer Challenge 2 announced by Google

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:14:45 +0000

Google has just announced the Android Developer Challenge 2 (ADC 2), the second edition of the competition that should (and will) bring new and cool applications for the Android OS – which has now reached version 1.5.

Participants can develop apps, evaluate/score others’ apps, or both.

The ADC 2 will debut in August, when developers will be able to submit their applications. These applications will be ‘judged’ by users who have access to Android Market, via a special ADC 2 app that lets them download, test and rate the submissions.

There will be 20 finalist applications, for 10 distinct categories:

Education/Reference
Social Networking
Lifestyle
Productivity/Tools
Entertainment
Games: Casual/Puzzle
Games: Arcade/Action
Media
Travel
Misc

Winners will be announced in mid-November 2009.

The prizes for each of ADC 2’s ten categories are as follows:

1st prize: $100,000
2nd prize: $50,000
3rd prize: $25,000

Also, there will be three overall winners:

1st prize: $150,000
2nd prize: $50,000
3rd prize: $25,000

To read more about Google’s Android Developer Challenge 2, visit its official website.

Similar Posts:

Google wants to make your Android phone much smarter with accelerometer and other sensors

Staska — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:42:00 +0000

The smartphones we carry around today are pretty smart. They can already do a lot of things and usually do exactly what we tell them to do.

And the recent improvements in user interfaces are making the process of telling your smartphone what to do better and better.

So now the R&D labs at major cellphone/OS vendors are dabbling on another frontier. Making your handset understand what you are doing at any moment of time, anticipate what you will do next, and conform to your wishes even before you thought of that.

Some of these efforts, like integration between calendar and the mapping apps, the automatic syncing with the cloud in WebOS Synergy, or automatic broadcasting of your status and location to friends via Google Latitude and Ovi Contacts, are already appearing or will very soon appear in your next smart device.

But it is just a very early start. And today we get a glimpse of how Google plans to turn your Android phone into a really clever handset by using built-in accelerometer and other sensors.

The main idea behind Google’s patent app called “Activating Applications Based on Accelerometer Data” is that by continuously monitoring your accelerometer data, your handset can differentiate between your activities. It’s because the different activities – jogging, walking, driving a car in heavy traffic or highway, riding a train or bike, going up in elevator, sitting at your desk in the office – they all generate different acceleration data profiles.

Combine that data with your location (GPS sensor) and time, and there’s a very good chance for your Android phone to correctly guess what your are doing right now.

Add in a training period of a few days or weeks, where your handset watches what you are doing now and what you are doing with it, and there’s a possibility for it to become really smart, start anticipate your wishes beforehand and act accordingly even before you tell it to:

Going out for your 6AM jog before heading to work? Your handset launches a music player as soon as you start running
Driving a car to work? The phone switches to speakerphone mode and launches that podcast your pre-loaded
Riding a train to your office and like to catch up on the news during the trip? The browser, with local, business and global news pages open, is already running when you take the phone out of your pocket.
Just got into the office? Put you handset on the table and the messaging app with all your work voicemails and messages is loaded as you boot up your PC and settle into the chair.

If Google ever translates these ideas into an actual product and gets things wrong, such device capabilities might become mighty annoing and intrusive.

But if this approach is implemented well, your handset may become a very smart and personal device. And get smarter the more you use it, as it learns about your habits more and more.

Actually, after a while, it might become very hard to abandon your current handset for a new one, which you will have to train again all along.

And it makes a pretty nice way for a company/brand lock-in, if some vendor makes old training profiles exportable only to his own devices

Similar Posts:

Google Sync Beta available for Symbian S60

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 20 May 2009 22:39:09 +0000

Google Sync for mobile is now available in a Beta version for Nokia’s Symbian S60 smartphones (only the S60 3rd edition ones for the moment).

The service provides “two-way, over-the-air contacts and calendar synchronization”, meaning that your Google Contacts and Google Calendars can be synced with your S60 device.

So, when you make changes to contacts and calendar from your phone or from the desktop Google account, these changes appear both on the Web and on the phone, within minutes.

Note that, in order to use Google Sync on an S60 phone, you need to have the latest version of Nokia Mail for Exchange installed.

If you do have it, follow these steps to configure Google Sync Beta.

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google Product Search now available for iPhone, Android

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:30:49 +0000

If you use Google Product Search on a regular basis and have an Android smartphone or an iPhone, you should be happy to find out that the feature is now available for both mobile platforms.

According to Google, Product Search for mobile provides users with the same product info that they would get via their PC or laptop. So when you’re in a store, buying something, you can quickly search the Web for additional info about the products you’re interested in.

To use Google Product Search for mobile you don’t have to download anything – just point your Android or iPhone browser to google.com, tap on the “more” tab and then on the “shopping” tab.

The video below should give you a better clue on why you should use the feature:

Unfortunately, Google Product Search for Android and iPhone is currently available only in the US and the UK.

Via the Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

T-Mobile G2 may be named “G3″, “myTouch 3G”, “Genius 3G” or “Prism 3G”

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:08:37 +0000

The release date of T-Mobile’s second Android smartphone still has a big question mark above it, and now it looks like its official name is in the same situation.

While almost everyone thinks the new Android handset will be called T-Mobile G2 (logically, since it comes after the G1), the device might actually have a different moniker.

And no, that’s not HTC Sapphire and neither HTC Magic – the latter name is probably for Vodafone only.

Some leaked snapshots, unveiled by T-Mo News, show us the following possible monikers for the upcoming smartphone:

T-Mobile G3
T-Mobile myTouch 3G with Google
T-Mobile Genius 3G with Google
T-Mobile Prism 3G with Google

OK, so what’s with the G3 moniker? Is there a yet-unseen G2 that’s not the HTC Magic and will be released via T-Mobile too? Hard to tell.

Anyway, assuming the new smartphone will not be dubbed T-Mobile G2, what name from the above-mentioned ones would you choose?

Similar Posts:

Gmail and Google Calendar for iPhone and Android updated

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:43:15 +0000

Google announced that it has updated Gmail and Google Calendar for mobile – more exactly, for iPhone and Android.

The new Gmail for mobile uses browser technologies like HTML5 and Gears, thus it’s “a lot faster” when it comes to opening emails, searching and navigating. Also, even though your network connection is slow or non-existent, Gmail still lets you compose messages and open recently-read emails.

Other enhancements include a “new look and feel of messages” and a “floaty bar” that lets you quickly archive or delete messages.

The updated Gmail supports all Android smartphones and iPhone / iPod touch OS 2.2.1 or above. To access it, simply point your mobile browser to gmail.com.

Here’s a short video demo with Gmail for mobile:

Google also updated its web-based Calendar for iPhone and Android, so now you can edit Google Calendar directly on your handset.

The new Google Calendar can be found at google.com/calendar/gp and it’s available for all Android devices and iPhone / iPod touch OS 2.2.1 or above (only in English, for the moment).

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

New Google Image Search results available for Android, iPhone

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:00:18 +0000

Google has announced the introduction of a new Image Search results page for the Android platform, iPhone and iPod touch.

Available for users in the US, UK and Japan, the new Image Search results bring a set of enhancements that should (obviously) make image searching on your handset easier.

For example, users can now scan up to 20 images on a search results page, with the possibility of getting detailed info on the image they’re interested in. Also, you can filter search images “by style” (faces, clip art, photo content etc), thanks to a feature that Google brought to mobiles from its desktop Image Search page.

To try out the improved Image Search results, just go to google.com via your Android phone, iPhone or iPod touch, and select the Images category.

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Vodafone may ditch Google for Yahoo

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:38:13 +0000

Vodafone currently relies on Google’s services for the default search engine on its mobile phones. But the agreement with Google expires this year, and Vodafone might ditch the big G and choose Yahoo instead.

According to Bloomberg, sources familiar with Vodafone’s plans say that the giant mobile carrier is in talks with Yahoo, although no contract is signed for the moment.

If you remember, Yahoo has already won a contract with T-Mobile, back in 2008, and it also has an agreement with O2. If it manages to strike a deal with Vodafone as well, it will provide mobile Web search services for quite a big number of handsets across Europe.

In case Yahoo and Vodafone do reach a final agreement, it will be interesting to see how Yahoo’s mobile search engine works on HTC Magic, since the smartphone runs on Google’s Android OS.

Anyway, it’s better if we wait for something official about this to come up.

Similar Posts:

Google sets up Android development team in Taiwan

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:32:28 +0000

Android is mainly associated with smartphones, but that doesn’t mean Google won’t try to bring the OS to other platforms.

The Mountain View giant has just set up an Android team somewhere in Taiwan, with the said purpose of providing technical support to local hardware manufacturers that want to develop products based on Android – including (apart from smartphones) netbooks and embedded systems.

The info comes from Google Taiwan’s president, Chien Lee-feng, so it’s semi-official.

Unfortunately, further details are currently missing.

However, we can speculate a bit and assume that even Nokia might be involved in Google’s plans, since the Finnish company is rumored to develop Linux netbooks with Taiwanese partners. And we all know Android is based on Linux.

So, could it be that we’ll have a Nokia Android netbook sometime in the near future?

Via DigiTimes

Similar Posts:

HTC’s 3G smartphones may be banned in Germany due to alleged patent infringement

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:51:58 +0000

With a population of 82 million and a 123% mobile penetration rate, Germany is a very important market for most of the major handset makers, including HTC.

But HTC seems to have some problems lately.

The German website Handeslblatt reports that the Taiwanese manufacturer has lost a patent violation suit in favor of IPCom GmbH. The latter company claimed HTC has to pay license fees for some UMTS patents used in its Windows Mobile and Android handsets.

On February 27, a German court confirmed that HTC infringed the “100 series” patents, which IPCom reportedly bought from Robert Bosch GmbH in 2006.

Moreover, IPCom has also filed a complaint against Google, since the big G is involved in the making of HTC’s Android devices.

Bernhard Frohwitter, director of IPCom GmbH, said that if they won’t reach an agreement with HTC, the Taiwanese company may be forced to stop selling UMTS smartphones in Germany, including the T-Mobile G1 and the yet-to-come HTC Magic.

We’ll have more on the matter as soon as new details emerge.

Via the:unwired

Similar Posts:

Google’s own slider smartphone patent app

Staska — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:14:16 +0000

Google’s ambitions (and their limits) in mobile space are pretty well known by now.

Google wants to have one of the major mobile OS’es out there. Android 1.0 is a good start, but Google is looking forward for Android 3.0 release next year to really get going.

And by now it should be clear that big G will leave the hardware side of the business to others.

So what the heck Google is doing, patenting it’s own smartphone designs?

Yep, while browsing through patent databases I stumbled on a Google patent app called “Electronic device with hinge mechanism”, filed in August of 2007 for a mobile slider handset:

I guess this Google phone design could be the result of some enterprising Google engineer spending 20% time on his own projects. Or it might be representation of Google efforts for a phone reference design before they decided to stay on the software side of business. Or something else.

Looking at the drawings of this Google smartphone device I can’t find anything very interesting, or even things that have not been implemented already in one way or the other.

But the patent app shows the design work and ideas from 2006 – early 2007. A mobile device with multi-directional sliding keyboard, big display to easily browse the Net, and peruse Google services, was the thing big G was probably looking for.

And, maybe, felt the need to step in, because there weren’t many such devices back then.

Similar Posts:

Android apps over $200 not accepted by Google; I Am Richer app costs that much, does nothing

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:32:55 +0000

Last week, paid apps begin to be sold via Google’s Android Market, offering Android users a wider range of applications to choose from and bringing the Market closer to Apple’s App Store (where both free and paid apps are available since the beginning).

Well, it didn’t take long for a really expensive app to appear. It’s called “I Am Richer” and costs $200 – much more than the regular $1 to $25 prices.

What does I Am Richer do? Nothing, actually. So it highly resembles the $1,000 I Am Rich app launched for iPhone back in the summer of 2008 and eventually banned by Apple.

The author of I Am Richer, Mike DG, has described the application as follows:

“Prove your wealth to others by running this app and showing them the mesmerizing glowing crystal. Only those with the wealth and sense can show the world their glowing crystal.”

I find the description ridiculously funny, but, hey, some might like it and even buy the app.

Mike DG would have probably asked more for his work of art, but it looks like $200 is the highest price Google allows developers to charge for their apps. And that’s a good thing, I guess.

Source: CNET

Similar Posts:

Google Mobile App for Windows Mobile is here

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:59:19 +0000

Only one day after Yahoo unveiled its brand new Yahoo! Mobile for smartphones and Web, Google has also announced that its Google Mobile App is now available for Windows Mobile devices.

First of all, the WM app will let you access Google Search faster – with about 50% faster, according to Google, since you don’t have to open a browser in order to start a search.

Moreover, you’ll get easy access to your favorite Google applications (Gmail, Google Docs etc), directly from your handset’s Today screen.

Unfortunately, for the moment Google Mobile App is available only for WinMo devices in the following countries: US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

Google Mobile App for Windows Mobile is obviously free and, in order to get it, all you have to do is visit http://m.google.com from your WinMo handset.

A video demonstration of the app can be seen just below:

Similar Posts:

Google Docs spreadsheets now editable from your handset

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:00:13 +0000

Those of you who use Google Docs spreadsheets on your mobile phone(s) will probably be happy to find out that the big G has just made things easier for you.

And what I mean is that you can, from now on, edit the spreadsheets while on the go.

More exactly, Google Docs for mobiles has been improved so when you open a spreadsheet you can: add new rows, edit old or new cells, filter by terms and sort by columns.

For the moment, the spreadsheets can be edited only on Android (T-Mobile G1), Symbian S60, iPhone and iPod touch.

If you want to experience the new improvements of Google Docs for mobiles visit this link, or go to m.google.com/docs directly from your phone’s browser.

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google intros AdSense for mobile search

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:46:45 +0000

Google has just unveiled the availability of a “new AdSense product for both mobile network operators and mobile website owners across the globe”, namely Google AdSense for mobile search.

Following the 2007 launch of AdSense for mobile content, the new Google offering comes to provide a simple way, for both carriers and mobile publishers, to include Google search boxes in websites and portals for mobiles.

So, what mobile users will basically get, is quick access to Google’s search engine, via the websites owned by the carriers and publishers that want to participate to the program – everything being optimized to fit the small screens of phones, of course.

Needles to say, carriers and publishers that embed AdSense for mobile search on their portals will share the ad revenue with Google.

Via the Official Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Microsoft My Phone and Google Sync mobile cloud services announced

Staska — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:30:19 +0000

2009 is shaping to be the year when Mobile Internet/Web/Cloud services really started going

After success of Apple, everyone and their grandma is lunching their own mobile app stores. Music and games delivered to your phone via operator’s data connection is a nobrainer for most of the mobile players. And let’s not get started about Mapping/Location based/Social thing. .

The next frontier is creating a cloud service for all that data on your smartphone and syncing it, so it’s safe, up to date and accessible from anywhere. Nokia tries to do this with OVI, Apple has Mobile.me. Now Microsoft and Google is joining the fray.

Microsoft will be launching the beta version of it’s MyPhone service for syncing information between mobile phone and the web during MWC 2009 in Barcelona next week.

Microsoft already has a preview site running and says that the the new service will allow you to “…back-up and restore phone’s information to a password protected website, access and update appointments through the web and share the photos on your phone with family and friends…”

For now service is free and works only with Windows Mobile handsets. But these things will probably change in not too distant future.

Careful wording on MyPhone site – “…we do not charge for the My Phone service at this time” suggests that there may be a paid offering in the future. Probably with basic free version and more advanced paid one.

I also have it on pretty good authority that the exclusivity of Windows Mobile phones on this service is not a permanent thing. Microsoft will open My Phone to third party/OS handsets through ActiveSync Exchange as soon the service is ready.

Google today also announced their own synchronization service – Google Sync (beta) for iPhone, WinMo and SyncML phones.

iPhone and WinMo phone owners can sync their contacts and calendars with GMail and Google calendar. All the data will be updated via push technology over the air, using two way connection. So your data on the phone and PC will be always fresh and synchronized, without the hassles of manual updates or wired connections.

Unfortunately other phones with SyncML support are not so lucky and will not get calendar sync just yet. Only contact updates are available for them.

For now Google Sync service seems rather limited compared to offerings from Microsoft, Nokia and Apple. But everyone appears to be moving in the same direction with their mobile cloud services, and the clash between the big players in this field seems imminent.

My guess is that this year all of them will continue rolling out and integrating various mobile/cloud offerings, with the real showdown and fight for the user attention starting sometime next year, probably around MWC 2010.

Similar Posts:

Google brings books to Android, iPhone. Boasts about its OCR tech

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:12:33 +0000

Google has just announced the release of Google Book Search for Android and Apple’s iPhone, which means that you can now access and read more than 1.5 million public domain books via any of the two said platforms.

The mobile editions of the books are optimized for small screens, so that you can read them as easily as you’d do it on a computer.

In order to make the books readable on mobile devices, Google uses OCR technology (Optical Character Recognition), extracting text in such way that it can be viewed on your iPhone or Android phone like the text from a normal Web page.

Although text extraction is a “difficult engineering task”, Google says that it managed to overcome most of the difficulties, thanks to OCR and some smart computer algorithms.

You can check out how good it all works by visiting the mobile Google Book Search website from your iPhone or Android handset.

Via the Inside Google Book Search blog

Similar Posts:

Google Maps’ new Latitude feature lets you easily locate your friends

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:16:24 +0000

Google Maps for mobiles has just been improved with the addition of a new feature called Google Latitude.

Coming as an extension to the My Location service, Google Latitude allows users to share their current location, as well as to see their friends’ location (as long as they’re willing to share it, of course).

Available in 27 countries and no less than 42 languages, Google Latitude currently supports Android, Symbian S60, Blackberry and Windows Mobile handsets. Support for Apple’s iPhone will be added later this year.

What’s cool is that you can use Latitude even when you don’t have a mobile phone around: as long as you have a PC or a laptop, you can access the feature through iGoogle.

To get Google Latitude on your phone or on your computer, you must visit this link.

Here’s a video explanation of how Latitude works:

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google adds voice search to Android

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:02:59 +0000

Since Android is Google’s mobile platform, it’s only natural for the big G to continuously add new features to it.

And the latest one comes to help T-Mobile G1 users to easily and quickly search stuff on Google, by using voice commands. That’s right, you won’t have to type your queries anymore if you don’t feel like it.

The voice search feature is not yet available, but it will be, after the next Android update comes (which should happen starting this week).

Using the new feature is simple, since it will be integrated both in Android’s home screen and in its Web browser. Just push the microphone button next to the box search and, after the “speak now” prompt is heard, you can say the terms you want to search for.

Initially, voice search on Android will only be available for G1 users in the US.

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google Maps for mobile updated: find businesses easier

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:37:01 +0000

Google Maps for mobile just got a nice update that comes in help of those who want to find businesses while on the go.

Reportedly, users can now get directions to stores, restaurants and various other points of interest (POIs), just by entering the desired names in the start or end point.

Previously, when you entered a business name (like “starbucks”), Google Maps had searched for an address that contained the word starbucks, instead of the nearest location for the famous coffeehouse.

If you don’t have Google Maps installed on your phone, you can get it bi visiting google.com/gmm or m.google.com/maps (directly from the phone).

In case you do have the application installed, you don’t need to download any update, since Google has operated the changes on its servers and not on the mobile client.

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Paid Android apps confirmed for this month

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:49:04 +0000

Although, for the moment, T-Mobile G1 is the only available smartphone to run on Google’s Android OS, the open source mobile platform has already gained a cult following.

Android Market, the place where you can find all kinds of apps for Android, is also highly popular, so it’s no wonder that Google wants to introduce paid applications to it.

Currently, only free apps are distributed via the Android Market, but starting mid-January, paid ones will also be available (in some countries, at least).

According to TG Daily, Eric Chu, Google’s Android Market manager, has confirmed himself the arrival of paid apps.

The US and the UK will be the first countries to benefit from the paid apps. After that, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Austria, Italy and Spain will follow.

Moreover, starting this month, new European countries (like the Czech Republic) will be able to access the Android Market. Also, an Android Market website dedicated to publishers will be launched, allowing developers to better target their products.

Similar Posts:

Google optimizes search results pages for iPhone and Android

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:00:41 +0000

For all of those who Google a lot from their iPhone or Android phone (i.e. the T-Mobile G1), the big G has announced that its search results pages are now optimized for said devices.

Google mentions that all the search options for iPhone and Android are formatted to fit the handsets’ screens perfectly. Also, the results load faster and there are “touchscreen-friendly buttons and expandable maps for local business results.”

For the moment, the optimized search result pages are only in US English. And, in case you have an iPhone or an iPod touch, its firmware must be 2.x in order to benefit from the improvements.

Of course, if you want to view the results like on a desktop PC, you can always click the “Classic” link found at the bottom of any Google mobile page.

Via Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Google launches AdWords for iPhone, Android and other smartphones

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:37:50 +0000

Apple’s iPhone, the T-Mobile G1 and any other handset that features a full HTML browser can now display AdWords ads like on a desktop PC, Google says.

The Google mobile ads team has launched a new campaign that enables AdWords advertisers to place their ads exclusively on the iPhone and G1.

The new ads have most of the features found on the standard ads, including mobile-specific calls-to-action delivery.

Advertisers who want to target their ads for iPhone and G1 must go to the campaign settings tab in their AdWords account, then pick “iPhones and other mobile devices with full internet browsers” from the “Device Platform” option.

Here’s a video that better explains the new AdWords ads that Google is offering:

Via The Official Google Mobile Blog

Similar Posts:

Kogan Agora, Australia’s first Android smartphone, is now official

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:14:23 +0000

That $199 Australian Android handset that we were telling you about some time ago is now officially announced by Kogan, the company that manufactures it.

The smartphone has two versions, Kogan Agora and Kogan Agora Pro, both of which are sold unlocked. The first one costs 299 Australian dollars (~ 192 USD), while the Pro version costs 399 AUD (~ 256 USD).

The devices can be purchased right away, not only by Australian customers, but also by international buyers (although they’ll have to pay an extra shipping tax of around $30). Unfortunately, even if you do place the order now, the products will get to you only after January 29, 2009.

Anyway, let’s see what this Kogan Agora is all about.

First of all, the smartphone is nothing like the iPhone, despite Kogan’s previous announcement which said it would have a design similar to the one of Apple’s handset. The Agora looks more like a mix between a Motorola Q, a Samsung BlackJack and a BlackBerry:

The mains specs and features of the Kogan smartphone are:

2.5-inch TFT touch screen display with 320 x 240 pixels and 262K colors
Full QWERTY keyboard.
Quad-band GSM/EDGE connectivity (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz)
Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA connectivity (850 / 1900 / 2100 MHz)
Built-in GPS (only for Kogan Agora Pro)
Wi-Fi (only for Kogan Agora Pro)
One-touch Google Search
Web browser
Email with attachment support for documents, images, videos and music
Customizable Home Screen
Easy access to YouTube, Google Maps
Music Player
Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
2MP camera (only for Kogan Agora Pro)
MicroSD card support
624 MHz processor
256MB ROM and 128MB RAM
Talk time: up to 400 minutes
Stand by time: up to 300 hours
130 grams
108 x 64 x 14.8 mm

All in all, the Agora and the Agora Pro are not too bad, considering the prices Kogan is asking for them.

You can buy the Kogan Agora from here and the Kogan Agora Pro from here.

Similar Posts: