Share and personalize your Google Goggles experience with Goggles 1 4

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

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

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

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

Share a result by sending a link to your friends.

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

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

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

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

Call or add the person directly as a contact

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

Posted by Jacob Smullyan, Software Engineer

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Snapchat CTO and co founder Bobby Murphy to appear at Google Cloud Platform Live on March 25

Bobby Murphy, CTO and co-founder of Snapchat, will be joining Google Senior Vice President Urs Hölzle on stage during the keynote of Google Cloud Platform Live. Bobby will be sharing his experience building one of the world’s most popular apps on Google Cloud Platform.



Snapchat’s users share over 400 million snaps everyday.



Google Cloud Platform Live is taking place 3 weeks from today. Bobby will be joining a great line up of other speakers, including Google Senior Fellow Jeff Dean. We’ll announce new features, take a deep dive on tips, tricks and technology, and share our vision for the future of cloud computing.



We are nearly at capacity in all our locations, but for people who are still interested in attending you can request an invitation to join us in-person in San Francisco or attend a livestream of the keynote at Google New York City, Google Seattle or Google London. And for those who can’t make it in person, you can always tune in online.



-Posted by Greg DeMichillie, Director

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Announcing Google Maps Navigation for Android 2 0

(cross-posted on the Official Google Blog)

Since 2005, millions of people have relied on Google Maps for mobile to get directions on the go. However, theres always been one problem: Once youre behind the wheel, a list of driving directions just isnt that easy to use. It doesnt tell you when your turn is coming up. And if you miss a turn? Forget it, youre on your own.

Today were excited to announce the next step for Google Maps for mobile: Google Maps Navigation (Beta) for Android 2.0 devices.

This new feature comes with everything youd expect to find in a GPS navigation system, like 3D views, turn-by-turn voice guidance and automatic rerouting. But unlike most navigation systems, Google Maps Navigation was built from the ground up to take advantage of your phones Internet connection.

Here are seven features that are possible because Google Maps Navigation is connected to the Internet:

The most recent map and business data
When you use Google Maps Navigation, your phone automatically gets the most up-to-date maps and business listings from Google Maps — you never need to buy map upgrades or update your device. And this data is continuously improving, thanks to users who report maps issues and businesses who activate their listings with Google Local Business Center.

Search in plain English
Google Maps Navigation brings the speed, power and simplicity of Google search to your car. If you dont know the address youre looking for, dont worry. Simply enter the name of a business, a landmark or just about anything into the search box, and Google will find it for you. Then press "Navigate", and youre on your way.

Search by voice
Typing on a phone can be difficult, especially in the car, so with Google Maps Navigation, you can say your destination instead. Hold down the search button to activate voice search, then tell your phone what you want to do (like "Navigate to Pike Place in Seattle"), and navigation will start automatically.

Traffic view
Google Maps Navigation gets live traffic data over the Internet. A traffic indicator light in the corner of the screen glows green, yellow or red, depending on the current traffic conditions along your route. If theres a jam ahead of you, youll know. To get more details, tap the light to zoom out to an aerial view showing traffic speeds and incidents ahead. And if the traffic doesnt look good, you can choose an alternate route.

Search along route
For those times when youre already on the road and need to find a business, Google Maps Navigation searches along your route to give you results that wont take you far from your path. You can search for a specific business by name or by type, or you can turn on popular layers, such as gas stations, restaurants or parking.

Satellite view
Google Maps Navigation uses the same satellite imagery as Google Maps on the desktop to help you get to your destination. Turn on the satellite layer for a high-resolution, 3D view of your upcoming route. Besides looking cool, satellite view can help you make sense of complicated maneuvers.

Street View
If you want to know what your next turn looks like, double-tap the map to zoom into Street View, which shows the turn as youll see it, with your route overlaid. And since locating an address can sometimes be tricky, well show you a picture of your destination as you approach the end of your route, so youll know exactly what to look for.

Since theres nothing quite like seeing the product in action, we made this video to demonstrate a real-life example:



The first phone to have Google Maps Navigation and Android 2.0 is the Droid from Verizon. Google Maps Navigation is initially available in the United States. And like other Google Maps features, Navigation is free.

Click here to learn more and browse a gallery of product screenshots. Take Google Maps Navigation for a spin, and bring Internet-connected GPS navigation with you in your car.

Posted by Keith Ito, Software Engineer

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Google hires ear piece clad security officers to guard company buses in San Francisco

Google has been the subject of some protesting ire in San Francisco in recent times, something that resulted in one company bus being vandalized via slashed tires and a rock being thrown through a window. It seems the tech giant has responded to this in the form of bus stop-located security guards, which keep roost at employees bus stop in San Franciscos Mission District area, and possibly others.

Google has declined commenting on the matter, but reports have surfaced regarding men wearing plain clothes and ear pieces standing at one of the bus stops where Google employees board the company shuttle. These individuals reportedly dont board the shuttle, but instead remain present as the other company buses show up.

Witnesses have reported seeing one bus driver wave to one of the individuals, receiving a wave back, and another has been seen writing notes on a yellow pad. The men were approached and asked if they are security guards for Google, at which point one requested to see the askers badge, and the other said no, though would not say who he was or where he worked.

It wouldnt be surprising to find Google has send out security detail at bus stops in light of the protests that have taken place in the city. In a statement to Reuters, the executive director of Corporate Security Services Inc., Ron Roth, said: "If they are having security at the bus stops it’s probably only eyes and ears, and to act as liaison to the police, and probably not to take any action."SlashGear

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Google Earth now available for the iPhone

(cross posted with the Google LatLong Blog)

The world just got a little bit smaller. Google Earth is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing you to fly to the far reaches of the world from the palm of your hand. Since we launched Google Earth for the desktop in 2005, weve had over 400 million unique downloads, and people from around the world have used it to view their house, research travel destinations, learn how to make the world a better place, find local businesses, and view geo-located photos. Now, with a free download from the iTunes App Store, you can fly through the same 3D immersive world of Google Earth youve come to love, without having to fire up your desktop computer.


Check out this video tour to see Google Earth for the iPhone in action:



Not only is having Google Earth on your iPhone convenient, but the touch interface is a very natural way to interact with the Earth. Just swipe your finger across the screen and you fly to the other side of the globe; tilt your phone and your view tilts as well. You can pinch to zoom in or out, or just double tap with one finger to zoom in and two fingers to zoom out. We also integrated the My Location feature, so with a touch of a button, you can fly to where you are in the real world on your phone. In addition, we have over eight million Panoramio photos, which are geo-located photos of places, and you can view any and all of them from your iPhone. Besides being beautiful, high-quality pictures, theyre specifically of places, so you dont have to see some guys family on vacation in Thailand--you can see the beaches, the temples, all the things that give you a real sense of the place. Here is a nice shot of the Grand Palace that I found on my virtual tour of Bangkok.


All versions of Earth include search, and the iPhone version is no exception. You have access to the same great local search that you get with Google Maps, so you can search for places, businesses, and landmarks. With Google Earth you get to the full detail page for businesses, so you can get reviews, photos, user content, business hours, and other useful information. We also added a "search near me" feature, so with one touch you can find businesses near your location, without having to navigate there first or type in the name of the city. Looking for a good cafe when youre in Trento, Italy? Its a snap:


To get Google Earth on your iPhone, visit the App Store in iTunes or your iPhone, and search for "Google Earth."

Posted by Peter Birch, Product Manager, Google Earth

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Live webinar for businesses on 9 23 Google Apps for mobile

(Cross-posted on the Official Google Enterprise Blog.)

With the rapid adoption of Internet-enabled mobile devices, employees increasingly seek access to their email, documents, and other corporate data from their mobile phones. In addition, employees are bringing their personal smartphones to work or carry multiple devices creating new challenges for IT administrators.

Join me next week for a live webinar where we will share our vision of enabling mobile workers with easy access to information anywhere, anytime. You’ll also learn about the various mobile applications and recent innovations. We’ll also highlight support for Google Apps on mobile devices and also discuss the various tools that are available for IT administrators to manage Google Mobile products for businesses.

Register to attend the live webinar on 9/23 @ 10am PST / 1pm EST / 5 pm GMT. We hope to see you there.

Posted by Mayur Kamat, Google Apps Product Manager

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How to Keep Strangers From Emailing You Via Google

We are not sure how many times you have wanted to email someone but didn’t have their email address. We also don’t know if that person you wanted to email was on Google+, and you knew that but still didn’t have their email address. So to fix that problem, Google has updated Gmail, adding a couple features to both mobile and PC versions. This may be old news to you but one of which, is the ability to send emails from your Gmail, to anyone in your G+ circles. The thing is, this means anyone can just add you to their circles, and then send you an email, without having to know your email address. Well there’s a fix for that, if you want it.

The added feature seems to be a great one, unless you are the type who doesn’t like to have complete strangers coming to you for whatever reason and fill your inbox. If that doesn’t bother you, than it works great so you won’t have to ask someone for their email address and wait for a response, instead you can just email them and wait for a response. that the feature would receive mixed feelings from users of both Gmail or G+ or both, Google gave options, just another one of the many reasons we love Google.

If you don’t want to use this feature or want to customize it to an extent, just go into your Gmail account, get into your settings menu and stay in the “General” tab. Look through the options and you will find there is a new section called “Email via Google+”. That’s where you will find that you can select exactly who can email you using your G+ account.

The options vary as you might be used to if you have messed with your G+ settings, or even put a G+ account together. The available selections are: No One, Circles, Extended Circles, or Anyone on Google+. So see people who may have been worried about their fragile Gmail inbox, there is hope for you yet. We have already asked what you think about this new feature, but with the newly discovered settings option, has your feelings changed? Or do you still feel the same?

The post How to Keep Strangers From Emailing You Via Google+ appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.

via AndroidHeadlines.com | http://www.androidheadlines.com/2014/01/how-to-keep-strangers-from-emailing-you-via-google.html

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Moto G Google Play Edition Is Here! 179 and 199 Respectively

Google just dropped another new device in the Play Store. Well it’s not really new. But the Moto G is now available on Google Play as a Google Play Edition device. What’s strange is that Google is calling this a Google Play Edition, but we’re left wondering what is actually different from the normal Moto G? Since the Moto G is basically stock Android, in fact I don’t think there’s any Motorola tweaks in the Moto G like there is in the Moto X.

The Moto G Google Play Edition is on sale now for $179 for the 8GB version and $199 for the 16GB version, which is the same price as it is at other retailers, like Best Buy, and Amazon, and even Motorola’s site. This is a pretty surprising move from Google. On the Play Store Google is describing it as “a 4.5″ HD display, quad-core speed, all-day battery, interchangeable backs and the latest version of Android from Google starting at less than $200.” Remember the Moto G is featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core processor, with quad-band HSPA+, so it’ll support T-Mobile and AT&T’s network. But it only supports HSPA+ 21mbps network, and not T-Mobile’s 42mbps. It’s also got a 4.5-inch 720p HD display. Along with Android 4.4 – KitKat, which it already had.

Now this puts just about every OEM with a Google Play Edition device. HTC, Samsung, LG, Sony, and now Motorola. So perhaps, this is one way that Google is helping manufacturers get the latest version of Android on their devices sooner? It’s rather strange, especially putting the Moto G as Google Play Edition. We’re going to have to check out the differences here, but it looks like the only difference is the wallpaper, so far. As updates do still come from Motorola.

How many of you are thinking about rocking a Moto G for a little while? Let us know in the comments down below.

The post Moto G Google Play Edition Is Here! $179 and $199 Respectively appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.

via AndroidHeadlines.com | http://www.androidheadlines.com/2014/01/moto-g-google-play-edition-179-199-respectively.html

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