Time for another excellent Google chart, but this one might not be as fun as the Google charts in years past. This time around Google takes a look at how much money your state made, then how much it stopped making over the past ten years. You can check out your area and of course break it down as many ways as possible. The chart also allows you the ability to take a look at how much debt your state is in, so… Yeah. Go ahead and have fun with that.

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Come on, who doesn’t already talk to their computer? Although cursing at it is probably not the intention of productivity Google had in mind when they implemented ‘text to speech’ in the new beta of Chrome 11. Yes, that’s right! The day after Mozilla released its brand new speedy Firefox 4, Google came back with Chrome 11 with text to speech. Sure, it’s only a beta, but with Chrome beta’s are just as goes as the stable release…mostly.

Get a full rundown and download the latest from Google
Source

Snap!! Life just got a whole lot more interesting, in particular if you happen to be a Sprint subscriber with a Google Voice account. At one time, Google Voice, the application that gives users their own phone number, voice mailbox and texting all for free, was thought to be the beginning of the end for cell carriers. No doubt carriers felt the same way, hell, Google Voice simply showed everyone that the service of phone calls and texing can be done without charging folks to do it. But companies have to make money, so the smarter ones will adopt, or opt into the Google idea.

The first smart company on the docket is Sprint. Sprint and Google have announced that they are teaming up to bring subscribers Google Voice, allowing users the ability to port their Sprint number to GV, or their GV number to Sprint for no charge.

First, Sprint customers will be able to use their existing Sprint mobile number as their Google Voice number and have it ring multiple other phones simultaneously. So now, calls to your Sprint mobile number can easily be answered from your office or your home phone, or even your computer through Gmail. Calls from Gmail and text messages sent from google.com/voice will also display your Sprint number. This basically gives Sprint customers all the benefits of Google Voice without the need to change or port their number.

Alternatively, Google Voice users can choose to replace their Sprint number with their Google Voice number when placing calls or sending text messages from their Sprint handset. This feature works on all Sprint phones and gives Sprint users all the benefits of Google Voice without the need for an app.

In both cases, Google Voice replaces Sprint voicemail, giving Sprint customers transcribed voicemail messages available online and sent via email and/or text message. International calls made from Google Voice users’ Sprint phones will be connected by Google Voice at our very low rates, and Sprint customers will also have access to the rest of Google Voice’s features, like creating personalized voicemail greetings based on who’s calling, call recording, blocking unwanted callers and more.

SWEET!! There is no word other than “coming soon” as to when the new plan will take affect. But there is little doubt that this will be the wave of the future, and it’s very interesting to see Sprint take the lead on this one.

Google

So if you’ve been following the saga of the Xoom, the Super Bowl commercial that mocks the iconic 1984 Apple commercial, the first ever Honeycomb 3.0 Android OS, and the rockin’ specs that could give the iPad a very serious run for her money, then some of the questions you’ve had have been answered today.

But word out on the street now is that this rockin’ tablet is going to sell for $800 when it hits Best Buy and Verizon store shelves. 800 what? $800? Are you friggin’ kidding me? So much for taking on the iPad.

Not only is the purchase price completely insane, but early word is that buyers will have to purchase a Verizon data plan ($30-$80) before they can walk out with the Xoom. This means that if you don’t want or need Verizon’s network, you’re screwed because you need it to use it. Yeah, weak, I agree.

However, these are early speculations that have a 95% chance of being real. Let’s hope that 5% wins out and contains a much more reasonable asking price, with the ability to own a Xoom without being owned by Verizon.

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Okay Chrome fans, things just got a tad bit cooler for you. Brand new today is the coming of HTML5 in full effect… for Gmail notifier that is. Now, instead of having the logo in your menu bar or system tray, you can enjoy up to the second pop-up messages that show you your new mail and new chat messages from Gtalk. At the moment it only works in Googles Chrome browser, but the development API is out there to bring it to a browser near you.

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The beginning of the end of paying for or needing a plan to make local calls began today. Google has unleashed number porting on Americans with a Google Voice account. What does this mean? Well, simply put, all that free calling and texting you’re already enjoying through your given GV phone number, can now be enjoyed from the number you’ve owned forever. The ‘porting’ link is now available under the ‘phone settings’ tab. Now, the thing you have to know is as soon as you port your number into GV, you have ended your term with your carrier, and if you are still on contract you’re going to be charged the early termination fee. And then there’s the whole data thing to think about, so move forward with caution, but know that if you’re using your phone for calls and text only, the cost of an ‘ETF’ will pale in comparison to the savings by using GV.

It will cost you $20 to port your number GV, and you can only do so if you are a current GV account holder. New accounts will be able to access the feature in the coming weeks.

Nowadays it seems like everything is in 3D, but there maybe no place where 3D could be more called for and useful than Google Maps. For years now, Google Maps has been the staple, it’s now a household phrase, and according to Google it is used by over 100 million mobile users. As of today, any of those users with a Android device will be treated to some 5.0 goodness.

Google:

Explore maps in 3D
Until now, Google Maps has always downloaded the map as a set of small, square images that we stitch together to form the map you see. (You’ve probably seen those gray squares getting filled in, block-by-block, as the images load over the network.) Starting today, we’ll use vector graphics to dynamically draw the map on your device as you use it, allowing you to interact with it in new ways:

* Tilting: Drag down with two fingers to tilt the map. Tilt while zoomed in on one of the 100+ cities around the world with 3D buildings to see a skyline spring to life.
* Rotating: Twist with two fingers to rotate the map. After tilting to see 3D buildings, rotate around them to gain a new perspective from any direction.
* Smooth zooming: Slide two fingers together or apart, and see the map and labels continuously scale to any zoom level, stopping when your fingers stop.
* Compass mode: Center the map on your location, and then tap the compass button in the top right corner. The map will flip into 3D mode and start rotating to match your perspective, while still keeping all the labels upright and readable.

But the goodies don’t stop there. Google has re-tooled the cache ability to make your makes accessible even if you lose your internet connection, something all AT&T subscribers will rejoice over. Google calls it “Proactive Cache” by where the Maps you were using when you lost connection, have been saved onto your handset, allowing you the ability to call them up and get to where you were going.

Google has also added “Rerouting”. If you lose your connection while using Navigation, the magic cache ability will still get you there, even if you made a wrong turn because AT&T dropped your signal. Yes, I’m picking on AT&T.

“Android 1.6+ devices can get Maps 5.0, but 3D and offline features require Android 2.0+, and some features may not be supported for all devices or countries.”

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I for one have been waiting for this for what feels like an eternity. The ability to edit docs in GDocs on Android devices running Froyo, and iPhone 3.0 is finally here! This means that any document created with or imported into GDocs, can be edited on your device that meets the minimum requirements, a feature that has been sorely missed.

With Google Docs, we’re always trying to make you more productive—and part of that means making it possible for you to get things done from anywhere, at anytime. That’s why we’re excited that the new documents editor now supports editing on your mobile browser. We’re rolling this out over the next few days.

That means that…

* You can work on that important memo…while on the bus or train to work.
* If you’re behind on a group proposal, but really want to make it to the ball game tonight, your whole team can work on it from the bleacher seats.
* You can take minute-by-minute notes at a concert so you’ll always remember the setlist. And your friends can jealously follow in real-time at home.
* …and the list goes on!

Google says they are rolling out the new feature over the next few days, so do a refresh to see if you’ve been given the update!

Google

If news on the go is very important to you, there is little doubt that you’ve checked into Google News on your handset. Since going mobile Google has worked on making the experience better for the end users, today they’ve taken another step. For Google users using a Android device, iPhone or Palm Pre, Google News and your HTML browser will now play much nicer together.

Last November, we redesigned Google News for mobile access on smartphones including Android, iPhone and Palm Pre. Today, we’re globally rolling out new usability and visual enhancements that we hope will make browsing news on your smartphone easier.

We expanded the story space to make tapping on articles easier and more accurate. Tapping anywhere on an article headline or snippet opens it up, and clicking on a section heading opens up that topic section on your screen.

In addition, the default view of stories is now collapsed, to reduce scrolling time. You can ‘expand’ a story by tapping ‘More sources’, which brings you to related stories from other sources.

Sorry, you still can’t go in and select the only news organizations you want to read, but maybe Google will brings us that sometime in the future.

Google

If you’ve ever wanted to use Wifi on a flight, but didn’t want to pay for it, now is the time to hit the skies and email someone you love, or hate, from 35,000 feet up. Google has announced a sweet little Christmas present for every would-be traveler traveling the American ski-way. Starting Nov, 20th, passengers on a Virgin America, AirTran or Delta flight, can get some free wifi action courtesy of Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi. So give grandma a call and tell her your coming, then while you’re up there, email grandpa and tell him you just went online and bought tickets to the game. Priceless!

Not too long ago, flying home for the holidays meant disconnecting for several hours until you touched down at your destination. Today, Wi-Fi technologies allow us to stay connected even at 30,000 feet above the ground, so we can read the news, browse the web (to beat the long-haul boredom) and send that last-minute planning email before the family reunion. This holiday season, there will be more connected flyers than ever before.

On the Chrome team, we’re big fans of innovations that make our lives on the web and in the browser better—and it all starts with more ubiquitous access to the Internet. So for this holiday season, we’ve teamed up with AirTran, Delta and Virgin America to offer free Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi on every domestic flight from November 20, 2010 through January 2, 2011.

We were excited by the response from last year’s free holiday Wi-Fi program, and thought that this would be a perfect holiday gift to help you stay connected to your loved ones as you head home. You can find out more about this partnership at www.freeholidaywifi.com. If you haven’t tried Chrome yet, remember to download the browser before you take to the skies, or try it when you’re back on the ground.

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If you’ve been using Google to do searches on your desktop or laptop lately, then you must have notice Google Instant Mobile. While typing in the search box for Motorola Droid, the name comes up as you type ‘Motor’ so that your search can be selected before you have finished typing, it’s instant. If you’ve been wondering when that great feature would be coming to your Android mobile phone, the wait is over, Google has brought the feature in beta form for Android OS users.

Like the desktop version of Google Instant, when you type on your mobile device you’ll see predictions of what you might be searching for. If you type [anse], for example, you should see [ansel adams] along with other predictions. Results for the first prediction appear automatically, and tapping on the other predictions will display those results. Pressing the enter key or the search button skips the predictions and will display results for exactly what you’ve typed. With Google Instant on mobile, we’re pushing the limits of mobile browsers and wireless networks. You will probably notice a big improvement in speed when you search thanks to a new AJAX and HTML5 implementation for mobile that dynamically updates the page with new results and eliminates the need to load a new page for each query.

Google Instant for mobile works best on 3G and WiFi networks, but since the quality of any wireless connection can fluctuate, we’ve made it easy to enable or disable Google Instant without ever leaving the page. Just tap the “Turn on” or “Turn off” link.

Happy Instant searching

It’s not going to bring you coffee in the morning, nor will it read your mind and send emails before you can even type them, but the newly updated version of Gmail will be easier to use for iPhone Mobile Safari users. Speed of scrolling and scrollbars that stand on screen. Take a look at the new digs from the mouth of Google.

From Google:

Go to gmail.com from your iPhone and you’ll notice two improvements we’ve rolled out over the past few weeks. First, scrolling is snappier: the speed of scrolling reflects the speed of your swipe gesture. This is helpful for long conversations where a few quick flicks will get you to the information you need much faster than before. Second, the toolbars stay on screen while you’re scrolling rather than moving down into view after each scroll. Being able to access your toolbars from any point on the page should make it easier to triage your email and move around the app.

If you use Gmail in your mobile browser a lot, you may have noticed that we recently tried several different variations of these buttons. We‘ve iterated on the design and made improvements based on your feedback. If you have more suggestions, please post them in our forum, or if you use Twitter, mention #gmailmobile and we’ll take a look. If you’re a developer and are interested in learning about the Javascript and HTML techniques we used to do this, we’ll post an article to code.google.com/mobile in the coming weeks.

You can see these improvements by visiting gmail.com from the browser of iPhone and iPod touch devices running iOS4 (English-only for now). And if you like Gmail in mobile Safari, make getting to it easier by tapping the “+” at the bottom of the screen and then “Add to Home Screen.” (Don’t see the new changes yet? Try clearing your cache and refreshing the page.)

Google

And so it was, the little tablet poised to take on the world is now geared up, priced up and ready to take on the world. But first it’s going to need to deliver a knock blow to a heavy competitor, the iPad. The Samsung Galaxy Tab will be for sale on the Verizon network this coming November 11th. Potential buyers will need to be ready to plop down $599.99 to walk out of the store Tab in hand.

Then there’s the whole 3G data connection thing. Oh you want to get online with that Tab? Get ready to read the tiered data pricing charts which start at 1GB a month for $20. If you go with the cheap one, don’t watch too many videos with the included VCast app, just take your expensive emailing device and like it.

Can you tell I’m not a fan of tiered data plans?

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One of the recurring themes around here at Morninpaper is ‘Stop Using Internet Explorer’. I’ve made it my personal quest to get folks who are tied to IE, to loosen the knot and take a look at any of the other far more superior browsers out there. If you want to see the internet the way it’s being provided by webmasters and the like, if you want to browse the internet with less concern for safety, and take some of those resource clogging and hogging “ANTI’ software apps off your computer, close IE and open Firefox. Or give Safari a shot. Why not take a look at Chrome? Hell, have a look at Opera for God’s sake.

Well, I can’t say I’m here to take any of the credit, but I’m happy to report that folks seem to be getting the message, because a recent Statcounter report, backed up by Softpedia, shows that Internet Explorer is on the way out and Chrome is now the fastest growing browser on the net. It’s not only arguably the fastest browser, but it’s market reach has hit an all-time high of 11.54 percent in it’s very young life.

Firefox usage remains the same at a 31.5 percentage of use, but that just means Firefox and Chrome have chipped away at IE. The Proof? IE has dropped below 50 percent to 49.87 percent, a number once unthinkable from the browser king.

Remember folks, just because it comes preloaded, it doesn’t mean you have to use it. There are better options, much, much better.

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The web browser that Google made has entered the terrible two’s. Except, it’s not actually terrible and instead of uttering the word “NO” incessantly, Chrome is saying “yes.” Yes to a more streamlined look – if that were possible, a slightly improved color scheme, and a boost in speed, of which Google says makes the little browser that could – 3 times faster than it was yesterday. All this and a lot more comes tied by a birthday gift because the browser turns the mighty two today.

Today, we’re releasing a new stable version of Chrome that is even faster and more streamlined. Chrome is now three times faster than it was two years ago on JavaScript performance. We’ve also been working on simplifying the “chrome” of Chrome. As you can see, we took the already minimalist user interface and stripped it down a bit more to make it easier to use. We combined Chrome’s two menus into one, revisited the location of the buttons, cleaned up the treatment of the URL and the Omnibox, and adjusted the color scheme of the browser to be easier on the eyes.

Sliding back into Doc Brown’s DeLorean and setting the dial ahead by a few months, we have more in store for Chrome. As always, we’re hard at work on making Chrome even faster, and working on ways to improve graphics performance in the browser through hardware acceleration. With the Chrome Web Store, we hope to make it much easier to find and use great applications on the web. We also ratcheted up the pace of our releases so that we can get new features and improvements to everyone more quickly.

If you haven’t tried Chrome recently, we invite you to download our new stable version today at google.com/chrome. For those of you who have been using Chrome, thanks for a great second year! We hope that Chrome has made your life on the web even better, and look forward to the next year.

The Pinata busting will be announced later.

Google

Have you been dying to be your old self again? Well look to Google to help you make it happen. The Internet giant has teamed up with Chris Milk and the band Arcade Fire to bring you the interactive experience of “The Wilderness Downtown.” Right there in your little ol browser, you can walk down the streets where you grew up, taking a look at windows you broke and the house where the first girl to break your heart used to live. You can do this all with the integrated Google Maps and music provided by the band Arcade Fire.

What would a music experience designed specifically for the modern web look like? This is a question we’ve been playing around with for the last few months. Browsers and web technologies have advanced so rapidly in the last few years that powerful experiences tailored to each unique person in real-time are now a reality.

Today we’re excited to launch a musical experience made specifically for the browser. Called “The Wilderness Downtown”, the project was created by writer/director Chris Milk with the band Arcade Fire and Google. Building this project on the web and for the browser allowed us to craft an experience that is not only personalized, but also deeply personal for each viewer. “The Wilderness Downtown” takes you down memory lane through the streets you grew up in. It’s set to Arcade Fire’s new song “We Used to Wait” off their newly released album The Suburbs (which you may be familiar with, especially if you were one of 3.7 million viewers who live-streamed Arcade Fire’s concert on YouTube earlier this month). The project was built with the latest web technologies and includes HTML5, Google Maps, an integrated drawing tool, as well as multiple browser windows that move around the screen. “The Wilderness Downtown” was inspired by recent developments in modern browsers and was built with Google Chrome in mind. As such, it’s best experienced in Chrome or an up-to-date HTML5-compliant browser. You can launch the project and learn more about it on our Chrome Experiments site at www.chromeexperiments.com/arcadefire.

Point Chrome or your HTML5 browser HERE and have a look!

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iPad Gmail users should be pleasantly surprised the next time Gmail is opened on the iPad. Google promised that they would continually bring the updates, and it looks as though they are living up to the promise. The update brings ‘Stacked Cards’ to the interface. Now selected conversations from the toolbar will be stacked on the right side of the screen in useful little cards, making keeping track of who you’re emailing a lot less confusing on the iPad. In fact, I like the look and idea so much that I hope they bring it to the desktop version.

Note to anyone living outside of the United States. It’s not yet available for you. Sorry.

In April 2009, we announced a new version of Gmail for mobile for iOS and Android. Among the improvements was a complete redesign of the web application’s underlying code, which allows us to more rapidly develop and release new features that users have been asking for, as explained in our first post. Today’s topic for the The Iterative Web App, a series where we continue to release features for Gmail for mobile, is the Stacked Cards Interface on the iPad.

When we announced our new interface for Gmail on the iPad, we requested feedback on how we could improve this experience for tablet devices. In June, we responded with a new compose screen. Today, we’re addressing the top feedback by launching a new “stacked card” interface for selecting and managing multiple conversations.

In the past, performing actions on selected conversations was awkward. There were two similar toolbars on the screen: one on the bottom left and the other on the top right. The former affected the selected conversations, while the latter affected the currently open conversation. Since the toolbars’ buttons looked similar, it was easy to mistakenly use the wrong toolbar. Sound confusing? It was.

In the new interface, selected conversations are displayed stacked on the right panel for easy organizing, archiving or deleting. The second toolbar is gone so it’s always clear which conversations you’re working with.

This new interface has also been an opportunity for our team to experiment with CSS3 transitions, which give mobile web applications a similar look and feel to native applications. More details on the implementation are posted on the code blog.

To try the Gmail webapp on the iPad, just go to gmail.com in Safari. For quick access, create a homescreen link. Please note that the new interface is only available in US English for now.

Google

Google has unleashed some wickedly cool apps in the last day, so if you’re a Android Device user and you’re stuck with anything less than Android 2.2, the pain will be even tougher. Android 2.2 users can now search the phone and the web by voice command. The new Voice Action will also allow users to send text and emails by voice, the one feature the iPhone 4 had over Android and Froyo.

The new fun doesn’t stop there, Google also dropped Send To Chrome, a app that after downloading the extension for Chrome and the app for the handheld, will allow users to send pages, text and numbers straight to the phone from a computer browser.

Voice Action

Speak any of these commands to perform a Voice Action on your phone:

* send text to [contact] [message]
* listen to [artist/song/album]
* call [business]
* call [contact]
* send email to [contact] [message]
* go to [website]
* note to self [note]
* navigate to [location/business name]
* directions to [location/business name]
* map of [location]

And of course, you can still conduct a Google search using your voice.

Send To Phone

Here’s some great news! If you can’t use Chrome, or you just simply don’t like it, Send To Phone provides the same service for Firefox users.

Google
Sendtophone

If you opened your Gmail account in the last few hours you may have notice it looks a little different, and that’s because it is.  Google has updated it’s Gmail service with a few inbox integrated upgrades.  Take a look at your upper left hand corner and you’ll notice that ‘Contacts’ and ‘Task’ are now underneath ‘Mail’.  When either button is click, a Gmail styled window opens inside of the Gmail app.  This makes your Contacts and Task much easier to get to.

Google has also worked on ‘Contacts’ a bit, allowing for last name sorting if you’re in to that sort of thing.  it is also much easier to add and create groups.  You will also notice that ‘Compose Mail’ is no longer a link for you to click on.  The link has been abandoned for ‘Compose’ button that is easier read and find.  I’ve probably sent a few hundred thousand emails and I’ve had to search for that link each and every time.

For this avid Gmail user the new look and features are extremely welcome.  If you haven’t check it out yet,, have a look, I’m betting you’ll be presently surprised.

You win some you lose soon, and when it comes to Google, they mostly win. But when it comes to Wave, Google most likely felt a bit like Microsoft feels, behind the curve ball while trying to reinvent the wheel. What does that proverbial Wheel look like? Facebook, the Social Networking site that just keeps rolling along. Google was hoping to take their innovation and drown Facebook with their sea of participants, all of whom would presumably vacate Facebook for Wave.

But alas it was not to be. The above is a photo of the MP Wave, and I can only imaging that this is how a lot of others looked. Too bad, it was a nice idea, but Google should know, when someone has done it right, it’s best to do something else completely different. Heck they’re the poster child for that valuable lesson to Microsoft on a yearly basis. The difference is, Google knows when to cut their loses, so Wave is going bye-bye.

Google says they learned a lot from the experience and that some of the innovations developed through Wave, will see their way to already popular and functional Google products. That sounds intriguing, I’m looking forward to seeing how Google implements Wave into, oh let’s say GMail.

Unless you are an avid tech blog reader, odds are you’ve never even heard of the Nexus One, the phone that Google built. Okay Google didn’t actually build it, the device was built by HTC with Google’s own special sauce poured over it’s own OS, Android. Google put together their on store to sell the device unlocked for around $549. That’s wasn’t going so hot so they went to the regular venders, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

They all bit but sells were so low on T-Mobile,m the first carrier to carry it, that the rest began to have second thoughts. Then Google shut the door on the Nexus One Store. Soon after the other three carriers drop their request for sales. With about 135,000 units sold, Google is ready to through in the towel on the Nexus One experiment.

This week we received our last shipment of Nexus One phones. Once we sell these devices, the Nexus One will no longer be available online from Google. Customer support will still be available for current Nexus One customers. And Nexus One will continue to be sold by partners including Vodafone in Europe, KT in Korea, and possibly others based on local market conditions.

It was a nice try, but there was very little advertisement outside of web Google Ads and Blog discussions so the device never took off.

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If you’ve ever used YouTube Mobile then you know it kinda… well, sucks. After 10 minutes on the mobile site I find myself shrugging my shoulders and saying “eh, I’ll watch it when I get home.” But it looks like that’s about to change because Google’s in a fix it mood. Google has introduced a brand new version of YouTube Mobile that actually looks like it belongs in the year 2010. Not only is the UI cleaner and far more sleek, but the mobile site is much faster. Check out a clip of the newness in action and read up on all the new goodness.

It’s well known that the mobile internet is huge and growing fast; what’s surprising is exactly how fast. According to a recent report, within 5 years more users will connect to the internet via mobile devices than desktop PCs. YouTube consumption on mobile devices has also grown considerably — playbacks were up 160% in 2009 over the previous year. And we’re excited to announce that YouTube Mobile now receives more than 100 million video playbacks a day. This is roughly the number of daily playbacks that YouTube.com was streaming when we joined forces with Google in 2006.

We launched YouTube on mobile devices in 2007 with about 1,000 videos available on the mobile site (m.youtube.com). While this suddenly opened up the possibility to access videos on the go, our site, mobile browsers and the hardware had limitations that prevented the mobile experience from keeping up with YouTube on the desktop. Today, more than ever, we know that you want to be able to find and access your favorite videos wherever you are. That’s why we’ve been working hard to roll out an updated version of the mobile site.

Here’s what’s new about the new mobile site:

* It’s really fast.
* The new user interface incorporates larger, more touch friendly elements, making it easier to access videos on the go.
* It incorporates the features and functionality you’ve come to expect from the .com site, like search query suggestions, the options to create playlists,the ability to designate “favorite,” “like,” or “unlike” videos directly from your device.
* As we make improvements to Youtube.com, you’ll see them quickly follow on our mobile site, unlike native apps which are not updated as frequently.

As the world continues to go mobile, we think this is a great improvement for users who want a more consistent YouTube across many devices, no matter where they are. We’re launching in English only today, but will be rolling it out in other languages in the coming months. You can access the latest YouTube mobile site from your iPhone or Android browser. To learn more, visit m.youtube.com to check out the latest improvements and take a minute to watch this demo video:

Google

This is a nice touch and something I’ve been looking forward to from Google for some time now. Google has officially introduced a much snappier way to view your Google Docs on your handheld device, Google Docs viewer on Mobile Browsers.

Now, here’s the bad news. Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm and Symbian owners need not apply, yet. Unfortunately this release follows in a long line of releases that do not go cross platform instantly. The new Docs Viewer is only available to iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad and Android users. But rest assured, Google won’t make you wait too long if you don’t already fit into that very small usage category.

Last week, we announced that the Google Docs viewer supports .doc and .docx attachments. Today we’re also releasing a mobile version of the Google Docs viewer for Android, iPhone and iPad to help you view PDFs, .ppt, .doc and .docx files you’ve uploaded to your documents list, without needing to download the file.

With our mobile viewer you can switch quickly between pages and pan/zoom within a page. On your iPhone and iPad, you can pinch to zoom in or out.

You can try it out by going to docs.google.com on your Android-powered device, iPad or iPhone and select any document in these formats that you’ve previously uploaded. Let us know what you think in the Mobile Help Forum.

Google

You’ve been waiting your whole life for this…. Okay, maybe it’s only been year, but I’m sure it has been a very long year waiting to get in on all of the Google Voice goodness. Well the wait is over, Google has announced that Google Voice is now open to anyone in the United States who wants to join. Now free sms, another phone number and voicemail box awaits you, so you waited to long to wait any longer now get going!

But first check out a clip!

Google

If you’ve been using your GMail account on your new iPad you know that it works, but you also know that it’s a tad bit smaller than one would like on that large beautiful screen. When writing an email, the split screen can be a little cumbersome. Those days are over. Goggle has been hard at work making their email app work better on the hot selling iPad. Now that split screen tiny compose window is full screen, making it easy to read while you type.

Now Google needs to get on Docs, Calendar and the rest.

In April 2009, we announced a new version of Gmail for mobile for iOS and Android. Among the improvements was a complete redesign of the web application’s underlying code which allows us to more rapidly develop and release new features that users have been asking for, as explained in our first post. We’d like to introduce The Iterative Web App, a series where we will continue to release features for Gmail for mobile. Today: New Compose Interface on the iPad.

Today we’re happy to announce an improved experience for writing emails on Gmail web interface for iPad. When you write an email you’ll now get a big full screen compose window instead of splitting the screen between your inbox and the compose view. More text is visible at once and there are no more distractions with messages on the side. We’ve also fixed problems that prevented scrolling on long messages. Thanks to everyone who reported the issue via the ‘Send feedback’ feature at the bottom of the screen.

We’re continuing to experiment with the large touchscreen and tablet form factor so send more feedback if you have suggestions. To try out Gmail on the iPad, just go to gmail.com in Safari. Please note that the new interface is only available in US English for now.

Google

Additions are always coming to Google Mobile Search, some we’ve been anxiously waiting for, some we’re completely surprised by and some we didn’t know we need. The latest falls to the latter. Now, aside from coming to the MorninPaperStore to grab any and all apps you need for your mobile device, a search in your mobile browser will show results for any app you may be searching for.

As mobile apps continue to proliferate in stores like Android Market and the iPhone App Store, finding relevant information on the web about these apps is becoming more important to help you decide which apps to download. In addition to helping you find the mobile app information you’re looking for, Google Search for mobile now also makes it easier for you to get the actual apps themselves while you’re searching.

As of today, if you go to Google.com on your iPhone or Android-powered device and search for an app, we’ll show special links and content at the top of the search results. You can tap these links to go directly to the app’s Android Market or iPhone App Store page. You can also get a quick look at some of the app’s basic details including the price, rating, and publisher. These results will appear when your search pertains to a mobile application and relevant, well-rated apps are found. For example, try searching for download shazam on your Android-powered device or bank of america app on your iPhone.

Mobile app search results are available today in the US, with other countries and devices planned for the future.

Google

You’ve been waiting for Google’s browser to leave the beta condition and rock your Mac in the stable world. Well folks, that day has come. Chrome is now stable and ready for prime-time on your MacOSX or Linux machine. Users who have been using the beta will automatically update to the new stable version. If you want to give the lightweight speedy browser a go for the first time, grab it here.

Enjoy the web, faster!!
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No it’s not Android on your TV box, but it is Google. Meaning, search and all of those fun things that are Google on the web, will be on your television. Google TV aims to bring the web and the Google way to the big screen in your house. Yes, Apple did do this with Apple TV, and no, it hasn’t been going to well. But this is Google, and bringing you what you want and need is what they are known for and trusted with by millions of users a day, so their plight with web and tv in your home will probably be a little different.

Google.com/tv

This is very slim on real details, but the latest tech rumor to hit the streets is a “Tablet” computer from the bowels of Verizon. Verizon is in talks to bring a Google powered Tablet computer to the market to compete with the Apple iPad. But the new Tablet wont be running Google OS, word is it will be running Android OS.

Sound strange? It’s not. With the iPad tied to AT&T with a $30 data fee for anyone wanting to be free to roam with the device, Google is smart to go after Verizon to run a competing Tablet with their competing OS.

However, me thinks this closes the door on the Verizon iPhone rumors, even though we now know that the iPhone is tied to AT&T to 2012. Still, with Steve’s recent tyrannical rule, hearing that Verizon will be working closely with Google, is going to make him awfully stingy with his precious.

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I guess this should come as no surprise to anyone, unless you were really waiting on Google’s finest to come to your neighborhood Sprint store. If that’s the case then, SURPRISE! The Nexus One isn’t coming to Sprint. Sprint has decided to let the Nexus One pass on by in favor of the bigger, badder HTC EVO 4G. Sorta makes you wonder why Google worked with HTC to make the Nexus instead of the EVO, heck, or the Droid Incredible.

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Okay now we’re talking. Googles new Goggles just became useful so now there may be a reason to use it on your mobile device. Goggles translation is the newest feature of goggles, enabling the ability to translate on the fly anywhere you are in the world–provided Google is accessible to your fingertips. Goggles is now at Goggles v1.1, and translation is the new feature, but there are improvements to other features of goggles that should make you smile as well. Have a look at how Google describes it:

Here’s how it works:
Point your phone at a word or phrase. Use the region of interest button to draw a box around specific words
Press the shutter button
If Goggles recognizes the text, it will give you the option to translate
Press the translate button to select the source and destination languages.

The first Goggles translation prototype was unveiled earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and could only recognize German text. Today Goggles can read English, French, Italian, German and Spanish and can translate to many more languages. We are hard at work extending our recognition capabilities to other Latin-based languages. Our goal is to eventually read non-Latin languages (such as Chinese, Hindi and Arabic) as well.

Every new release of Google Goggles contains at least one new feature and a large number of improvements to our existing functionality. In addition to translation, Goggles v1.1 features improved barcode recognition, a larger corpus of artwork, recognition of many more products and logos, an improved user interface, and the ability to initiate visual searches using images in your phone’s photo gallery.

Computer vision is a hard problem. While we are excited about Goggles v1.1, we know that there are many images that we cannot yet recognize. The Google Goggles team is working on solving the technical challenges required to make computers see. We hope you are as excited as we are about the possibilities of visual search.

Google Goggles v1.1 is available on devices running Android 1.6 and higher. To download, please go to the Android Market app on your phone and search for “Google Goggles”. See our help center for more information.

Google

You may have noticed in the last few hours, your Google search looks a wee bit different. But you may not know that Google Mobile Search has received a face-lift as well. Those who go to mobile search will get a breath of fresh air from a brand new look and more features.

When you go to Google.com in the US on your iPhone or Android-powered device, and enter a search, you can now tap on the button to the left of the search box on the results page to see a new search options menu. Then, selecting any item in the menu will refine your search. For example, if you are looking for recent results for “Mother’s day gift”, simply tap the “Past week” option.

You may notice that when the menu expands, the search results slide off screen to the right. Note that you can still interact with them and see them in full just by panning to the right. Also, there are some additional menu options, like “News” and “Products”. In the weeks to come, we will be supporting more devices and locales, and expanding the number of options available.

Google

Searching for images on your Android device or iPhone/iPod Touch, just got a a whole lot easier. Was it really difficult before? No. But Google, always looking to simplify, has improved on the way images can be found ad viewed in the mobile browser.

The thumbnails are square to maximize the number of images we can get on the screen at one time so you can scan them quickly
You can swipe to see the next or previous page of results, or tap the large, stationary ‘Next’ and ‘Previous’ page buttons
We optimized for speed so that the images appear quickly when you browse
When it comes to viewing the images, we now make them as large as possible by introducing a special image viewing page:
The black background emphasizes the image and the buttons fade after a few seconds so you can just see images with little distraction
Easily browse through the images by swiping from picture to picture

Check out a clip of the search in action.

Google

This should make a lot of folks very happy, those that love their Buzz. Google has now introduced Google Buzz Layer for desktops, bringing the popular mobile application to the home computer. It’s a point of “about time” for some, and meh for others.

Users will have to travel to Google Maps on the desktop and click Buzz from the “more menu.” Then users can view what others are saying about that Adult Book store that’s right down the street from you, the one you’ve been wanting to visit since you moved there.

Unfortunately, users wont be able to tell of their personal Adult Book store impressions from the comfort of the home computer, that can only be done for the mobile app.

With Google Buzz for mobile, you can choose to post publicly and include your location, providing context for your followers and allowing others to see what you have to say about a place on a map. We’ve received a lot of requests to make the Google Buzz layer available on desktop Google Maps, and today we’re doing just that.

Now you can use Google Maps from the comfort of your computer to find out what people are saying about places near and far. If you’re new to the public Google Buzz layer, check out some tips for exploring the Buzz layer on Google Maps for mobile to see a few of the fun ways people have already been using it on their phones, sharing everything from breaking news to restaurant recommendations.

To view the Google Buzz layer from your computer, go to Google Maps in your web browser and select Buzz from the More… menu in the top right corner of the map. Find an interesting area like your neighborhood and select any available icon to see what’s going on there. In the post’s window, click on the name to see the author’s public profile, the timestamp to comment on the post, or the place to see it in Maps. The Google Buzz layer is available for maps.google.com in all currently supported languages.

The desktop layer is view-only, however, you can post using Google Buzz for mobile from the web app (buzz.google.com) on your phone, Google Maps for mobile, the Android widget, and more.

Google

I’m sure Windows Mobile and Symbian owners can sometimes fell like Google has forgotten their device platforms exist at all. But give them enough time and they’ll get around to hooking it up for everyone. Speaking of which…

Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 owners can now take advantage of ‘Search By Voice’ in Google Maps 4.1.

We understand that typing on phones isn’t as easy or fast as talking into them. As a result, we’re big fans of letting you search in Google Maps for mobile in the most natural way possible — with your voice! Not wanting the BlackBerry and Android folks to have all the fun, today we’re happy to announce Search by voice in Google Maps 4.1 on Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 phones.

Search by voice lets you easily search for anything by simply speaking your search terms instead of typing them. Just open Google Maps, press your phone’s “call” button, and clearly speak your search term like “Park Plaza.” Search by voice works with all the kinds of searches Google Maps for mobile already supports, including places, addresses (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway), specific businesses (The French Laundry), or types of businesses (sushi restaurants new york).

You may also notice a few other additions, including a redesigned settings page with Search by voice language choices. Choose your preferred language from the supported options, including multiple English accents and Mandarin Chinese. Also, if you find a problem with any information in Google Maps, you can use the “Report a problem” option to let us know.

Click the m.google.com/maps link to download the latest, and start talking your way to where you want to go.

Google

Same as it ever was! Now things are getting down to normal, the Google Mobile App is now available for use on the brand new Apple iPad. If you’re already a user of Google Mobile Apps, this will feel very familiar. Scratch that, it will no different at all. However, you will have a GM icon on your iPad icon screen.

We’re pleased to announce that a new iPad-friendly version of Google Mobile App is now available in the App Store worldwide. By “iPad-friendly”, we mean that this new version has been designed to show neatly on the iPad’s screen, and that the usual features of Google Mobile App for iPhone, like search by voice and My Location, work well. From the Apps tab, you can also easily navigate to Google’s web-based apps, such as Gmail, which was recently optimized for iPad.

While this first version of Google Mobile App for iPad is essentially the same app we’ve built for iPhone, we’re working on improving Google Mobile App so that it takes advantage of iPad’s features. Stay tuned as we continue to make it and other Google products even better on this new type of device.

To download Google Mobile App to your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch (requires OS 3.0 or higher), search for “Google Mobile App” in the App Store or just visit

Google

This is just a rumor at the moment folks, a rumor that starts from someone saying they overheard a conversation at a party in Los Angeles, so the odds of it not being true, or never actually happened, are pretty good. Word is, Eric Schmidt was overheard waxing poetic about a new Tablet to bare the Google name. Not the one they’ve been working on, (pictured above) a brand new tablet that runs the Android OS, not Chrome concept.

It seems Google wants to be in-step with Apple when it comes to releases lately. There is no word on the particulars we all would like to know, what, where, when and how much? But as rumors go, at least this is a fun one.

REad

If Googles new Social Networking attempt, Buzz, is your thing, then you’re in luck because Google has made it easier to use on your mobile device. Google recently made a separate application for Buzz users, but they have now integrated it into their mobile gmail app, making it easier to stay on top of your mail and buzzed friends.

When Google Buzz for mobile launched in February, we created the mobile web app at buzz.google.com so you could post buzz on the go. Depending on your inbox integration settings buzz gets sent to your Gmail inbox when people @reply you, comment on something you’ve posted, or comment on a post after you.

With the latest iteration of Gmail for mobile, we’ve worked to integrate buzz with your mobile inbox. Now, you’ll see buzz in your inbox on your phone just like you do in the desktop version of Gmail, complete with the little Google Buzz icon. When you open a buzz post from your inbox, you can perform all the standard functions, such as liking the post or commenting, just as you can from the desktop Gmail inbox.

To try this out, simply go to gmail.com in your iPhone or Android browser.

Alex Kennberg, Software Engineer, Google Mobile

Google

Wouldn’t you know it, of all companies, Google is the one on the waiting list. Sure, you get ta emailing now by going to gmail.com, where you’ll get a experimental interface on your iPad or other tablet computing device. But all those Google goodies you know and love aren’t accessible yet. Read the full details from Google:

While surfing the web on your iPad, we expect many of you will want to check your Gmail. If you go to gmail.com in your browser, you’ll see something different than what you’re used to on the desktop. We’re releasing an experimental user interface for the iPad built on the Gmail for mobile HTML5 web app that we launched last year for the iPhone and Android devices. Those devices have large screens compared to other phones, and tablets like the iPad give us even more room to innovate. To take advantage of the iPad’s large display, we’ve created a two-pane view with your list of conversations on the left and messages to the right.

To try this new interface, go to gmail.com in your browser. We recommend adding a homescreen link for easy access. As this interface is experimental, expect changes as we continue to develop and optimize. Also, please let us know any ideas or feedback that you have. You can also access Gmail on the iPad through the native Mail app using the IMAP protocol.

Additionally, the iPad ships with a number of Google services pre-installed. As with Mac computers and the iPhone, you’ll find Google Search in the top right corner of Safari. The YouTube app for iPad is built-in, so you can watch HD videos and read and write comments. The new Maps app on iPad takes advantage of high-resolution satellite and Street View imagery, includes a new terrain view, and lets you search for local businesses and get directions. Just like on the iPhone, you can also go to the App Store to download Google Mobile App with search by voice. Of course, Google Mobile App was originally designed for the iPhone’s screen dimensions, but we’ve adapted it to work on the iPad and we’re looking into new ideas to make the app even better.

As you use Google’s web-based applications on iPad, you’ll notice that you sometimes see the desktop user interface and other times you see the mobile interface. We’ve evaluated the behavior of each Google web app using the iPad Simulator, and we are serving the interface we feel works best. If you’d like any help using our products on iPad, please click the ‘Help’ link within the product.

We’re particularly excited by how tablet computers create the opportunity for new kinds of user interaction. Here on the mobile team, we often talk about how mobile devices are sensor-rich: they can sense touch through their screens, see with a camera, hear through a microphone, and they know where they are with GPS. The same holds true for tablet computers, and we’re just starting to work through how our products can become even better on devices like the iPad.

Update on April 4, 2010 @ 12:30 AM: The new Google Mobile App for iPad is currently not yet available in the App Store. The version that you can download now is the iPhone/iPod touch version.

Let’s hope this moves quickly!

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Android, iPhones/iPods, and Palm WebOS users and owners can try out a much loved Google desktop function right there on the mobile device. If you’ve searched for something and starred that search, if and when you look it up on your mobile device, that starred search will be the very first page hit you get. Synchronization is the name of the game here, keeping you, your handheld and your desktop all on the same page.

Earlier this month on the Official Google Blog, we announced how stars make search more personal by allowing you to mark and rediscover your favorite content. Today, we are extending this feature so that you can get to your favorite content on your phone, anytime, anywhere. For example, if you previously searched for “car reviews” and starred a few sites that were useful while researching cars on your computer, searching for “car reviews” on your phone will allow you to rediscover your starred items. If there are additional results that you want to star while on mobile, simply click the star marker beside the result, and you will be able to see it later when searching from your computer or phone.

To try this yourself, go to google.com on your phone’s browser, sign in to your Google Account and do a search. Star a few results and then do the search again to see your starred items appear at the top of your results. To see the same starred items between computer and phone, make sure you are signed in to the same account. The stars in search functionality is currently supported on Android phones, iPhones/iPods, and Palm WebOS devices in the US.

Google

Android owners who are really getting to know and love Google’s new Buzz, can now get to now and love it on their Android powered device. Google has introduced a new widget to place the Google powered social networking site right there on the home screen for quick easy use.

Since we launched Google Buzz for mobile, we’ve been working on ways to make it quicker and easier to share your thoughts and experiences while you’re out and about.

Today, we’re excited to release a Google Buzz widget for Android phones that lets you post text and photos with a single tap. Like other mobile access points for Google Buzz, the widget lets you choose to tag your post with the location or place from which it was posted. You can post buzz about a great meal you had and share photos of the new restaurant. To save time, your posts will upload in the background, letting you get back to your scrumptious dessert without a wait.

The widget is initially available in English for Android phones running v1.6 and later. Search for ‘Google Buzz’ in the Android Market to download it now. Once installed, you can add it to your home screen: tap “Menu” while on the home screen and select “Add > Widgets > Google Buzz”

Google

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BAMM! The Nexus One, the phone Google made is now officially carried by all four major US carriers. AT&T just announced theirs yesterday, Verizon announced it’s coming to VZW, T-Mobile kicked it off and now Sprint what’s the world to know they’ll have it too. Sadly just like Verizon, Sprint declined to give up a date, or even an approximation. Also, after word has come that Sprint will announce the WiMax wielding HTC Supersonic, it will be interesting to see which model gets more Sprint attention. Looks like we have some fun days ahead!

Nexus One from Google Coming to Sprint; Availability Date Announced Soon
Nexus One(TM) is planned for the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network with twice the network coverage of AT&T and ten times the network coverage of T-Mobile, both by square miles; Expands Sprint’s Android(TM) portfolio
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Mar 17, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Nexus One, the first wireless phone sold through Google(TM)’s web store, is planned for Sprint’s 3G Mobile Broadband Network. Sprint (NYSE:S) will announce pricing and an exact availability date soon. Nexus One will benefit from Sprint’s 3G network with twice the coverage of AT&T and 10 times the coverage of T-Mobile, both based on square miles.1
Sprint currently has America’s largest voice calling area of any carrier reaching more than 307 million people in the U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands with a Sprint phone and plan that includes roaming. PC World recently said no one has a more reliable network than Sprint in a 13 city 3G performance test.2 Customers can check the quality of network coverage with street level mapping at sprint.com/coverage.

“Nexus One is a powerful device that belongs on a powerful network. This is another step in our continued partnership of innovation with Google,” said Fared Adib, Sprint vice president of product development. “Sprint customers already have the option of two amazing Android devices with Samsung Moment(TM) and HTC Hero(TM). It is a natural fit for us to add Nexus One to the list of choices available for Sprint customers who want the best value in wireless with the best in Android.”

Google’s online consumer channel was created to provide an efficient way to connect online users with selected Android phones. Nexus One will not be available in any Sprint retail channels. It will be available directly from Google at google.com/phone. The online experience of Google’s web store is designed with a focus on simplicity allowing consumers to match a phone with the service plan that best meets their needs.

“While a pricing plan has not yet been determined for Nexus One, we are confident that it will be consistent with Sprint’s commitment to deliver more value than our competitors and keep pricing simple,” Adib said. “Right now, our Sprint Everything Data 450 plan with Any Mobile, Anytime(SM) gives customers unlimited calling with any mobile phone in America, unlimited text and unlimited Web for just $69.99 per month – the same price AT&T and Verizon charge for just unlimited talk. Our Everything Data plans include unlimited GPS Navigation at no extra charge and annual phone upgrades with Sprint Premier.”

Nexus One runs on Android 2.1, a version of the platform’s Eclair software, which offers advanced applications and features including:

Google Maps(TM) Navigation: offering turn-by-turn driving directions with voice output.
Email: multiple Gmail(TM) accounts; universal inbox and Exchange support.
Phone book: aggregate contacts from multiple sources, including Facebook(R).
Quick Contacts: easily switch between communication and social applications.
Android Market(TM): access to more than 30,000 applications.
Hardware features of Nexus One include:

Display: 3.7″ AMOLED 480×800 WVGA display
Thinness: 11.5mm; Weight: 130g
Processor/Speed: Qualcomm Snapdragon(TM) 3G QSD8250 chipset, delivering speeds up to 1GHz
Camera: 5 megapixel auto focus with flash and geo tagging
Onboard memory: 512MB Flash, 512MB RAM
Expandable memory: 4GB removable SD Card (expandable to 32GB)
Noise Suppression: Dynamic noise suppression from Audience, Inc.
Ports: 3.5mm stereo headphone jack with four contacts for inline voice and remote control
Battery: Removable 1400 mAh
Personalized laser engraving: Up to 50 characters on the back of the phone
Trackball: Tri-color notification LED, alerts when new emails, chats, text messages arrive
In addition, Nexus One offers new functionality and software enhancements including:

Enter text without typing.
Use a voice-enabled keyboard for all text fields: speak a text message, instant message, tweet, Facebook update, or complete an email.
Tell your phone what you want it to do.
Search Google, call contacts, or get driving directions by just speaking into your phone.
Take personalization to the next level.
Dynamic, interactive, live wallpapers react to the touch of a finger.
More widgets and five home screen panels allow for further device customization.
Capture camera-quality pictures and video with your device.
5 megapixel camera includes LED flash, auto focus, zoom, white balance and color effects.
View pictures and Picasa Web Albums(TM) in the new 3D Gallery.
Record Hi-Res MPEG4 video, and then upload to YouTube(TM) with one click.
Read your voicemail messages.
Get transcribed voicemail with Google Voice(TM) integration, without changing your number.
For more information on Nexus One, please visit www.Google.com/phone. Follow Sprint on Twitter @sprint to keep up with news on Nexus One for Sprint’s 3G Mobile Broadband Network.

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March seems to be the month for Windows Mobile and Nokia S60. Last March, Google introduced YouTube for both mobile platforms, effectively ending the long shut out Googly Youtube goodness for both OS users. It’s March again, and wouldn’t you know it, there’s a brand new version available for both. Version 2.1 brings some new changes to the UI and an increase in speed.

We strongly believe that faster is better. The YouTube Mobile app is designed to be the fastest way to find and play a video on your smartphone. In the initial release we minimized the number of features and focused on speed for things that matter – app startup, finding a video, and starting playback.

In today’s release we have added search query suggestions, ‘My Account’ support, and a new homescreen user interface that is optimized for larger screens. Now when you log into your YouTube account on our phone, you can view your favorites, subscriptions and playlists from wherever you are. Let’s say you have recently found an amazing basketball shot video and favorited it on your desktop PC. When you’re at the basketball court with your friends all you need to do is launch the YouTube app and go to your “Favorites” to show it to them.

Google

Buzz: How and why am I using this?
Buzzed: Not sure, but I can’t stop
Buzz: Me neither, need help, it’s affecting my tweets!

You don’t know why you gave it a shot but you did and now you’re hooked. Only problem is, you’re still a little confused and you’ve yet to unlock the full fury of the Buzz on your iPhone or Android device. Well, Google Mobile Blog to the rescue!

Here are five more tips on how to Buzz like you know what you’re doing:

1. Post buzz with your voice.
You can post your public buzz simply by speaking it. From the Google Mobile App for iPhone or Quick Search Box on Android, select the voice search icon, say “post buzz” followed by the text you’d like to post, and watch your words appear. Before your post is sent, you’ll be able to edit it or change its tagged location.

2. Filter the Nearby tab for a specific place.
From the Nearby tab, you can easily filter buzz by a specific place, such as a sushi restaurant you’re about to walk by, to only see posts from that place. Open the menu showing nearby places, for example “Tartine Bakery and 20+ other locations nearby,” and then select a specific place from the list. Now, you’ll see all the public buzz anyone’s ever posted from that place or you can quickly create a post that is tagged with the place. To go back, just open the same menu and select your current location shown with the blue dot. You’ll once again see all the recently posted buzz around your location.

3. Search!
As you’d expect from any Google product, Google Buzz for mobile has a powerful search feature that lets you search all public buzz for topics that interest you. Open the menu or just select the magnifying glass icon to see the search bar. You can also search specifically for nearby posts by checking the “Search nearby” box before submitting your search (it’s already checked if you’re in the Nearby tab). Now you can find out what people around you are saying about the closest pizza spot or a traffic jam.

4. Post from your city-level location.
Tagging a post with your location is easy and adds context to your buzz posts. Sometimes, your post isn’t about a specific place or you’d rather not share your exact location. You can easily show your city-level location, so your post has a general city location tagged and will be browsable in the Nearby view and Maps Buzz layer. When posting, just select the “>” in the location box, scroll down, and select the city-level location option.

5. Refresh your location.
On the other hand, sometimes you really want your location to be exact. When you visit the Nearby tab or want to tag your post with a location, Google Buzz will try to get your location using your phone’s GPS. If you’re not happy with the location accuracy, you’re moving, or you’re just stepping outside to get a GPS signal, hit the ‘refresh’ icon to tell the Google Buzz web app to get your location again. You can also learn more about troubleshooting location problems.

If anyone thought Google wasn’t all that serious about it’s cloud, get ready to enter the MarketPlace. These days, when a company opens a app store for exclusive content, it means they mean business, and that’s what it’s about for Google.

Business owners using Google Cloud can now purchase apps for the Google Apps Marketplace to help the team run more efficiently.

In recent years, many talented software providers have embraced the cloud and delivered a diverse set of features capable of powering almost any business. But too often, customers who adopt applications from multiple vendors end up with a fractured experience, where each particular application exists in its own silo. Users are often forced to create and remember multiple passwords, cut and paste data between applications, and jump between multiple interfaces just to complete a simple task.

Today, we’re making it easier for these users and software providers to do business in the cloud with a new online store for integrated business applications. The Google Apps Marketplace allows Google Apps customers to easily discover, deploy and manage cloud applications that integrate with Google Apps. More than 50 companies are now selling applications across a range of businesses, including:
Intuit Online Payroll: A small business application that offers business owners a new way to efficiently run payroll, pay taxes and let employees check paystubs all within one integrated online office environment.
Manymoon: The company’s free work and project management application for Google Apps makes it simple for businesses and teams to organize and share information including tasks, projects, documents, status updates and links with co-workers, customers and partners.
Professional Services Connect (PS Connect): This new cloud-based offering coming soon from Appirio, pulls contextually relevant information on people, projects, customers and transactions from a user’s domain and surfaces it directly inside a Gmail message so services professionals can make more informed, real-time decisions.
JIRA Studio: A hosted software development suite from Atlassian enables software developers to flow naturally between Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and other design and development tools in order to better track and manage project issues and workflow.
Once installed to a company’s domain, these third-party applications work like native Google applications. With administrator approval, they may interact with calendar, email, document and/or contact data to increase productivity. Administrators can manage the applications from the familiar Google Apps control panel, and employees can open them from within Google Apps. With OpenID integration, Google Apps users can access the other applications without signing in separately to each. The Google Apps Marketplace eliminates the worry about software updates, keeping track of different passwords and manual syncing and sharing of data, thereby increasing business productivity and lessening frustrations for users and IT administrators alike. That’s the power of the cloud.

googleblog

If you have yourself a iPhone, Android device, or Palm Pre, you can now click on an ad that includes a phone number and call the company in question. Google rolled out Click-To-Call on Android devices and is now bringing the useful service to a few more platforms. Now advertisers across the country can opt-into adding a number at the bottom of the ad for potential customers to contact them directly, killing the need for 411 connect.

Recently we announced a new feature that allows advertisers to add a clickable phone number to their mobile ads, making it easy for customers to connect with the local business they’re looking for directly by phone. This week, we’re expanding click-to-call phone numbers for national advertisers. Now advertisers can add a national phone number to the last line of ad text for any existing or new campaigns, making it easy for customers to connect with the business by phone directly from the ad, regardless of their location.

This can be especially helpful when you’re trying to connect with the business call center rather than a specific business location. After searching for a travel services, for example, you might want to call to discuss trip planning with an agent. Or after searching for car insurance, you might want to call for a quote. Now, if you’re using an iPhone, Android device, or Palm Pre, you can just click the phone number to call the business without needing to navigate to a new page.

Goggleblog

This is just a rumor at the moment, but man ‘o’ man is it a juicy one! Word on the street, or more accurately, at Neowin, is the Nexus One, the phone that Google made, will be showing up on the Verizon network no sooner than March of this year. And since March just started today, all eyes will be Verizon and Google glued awaiting an official word of hay or nay from either or both companies.

A CDMA strapping Nexus One could be a contender to the Droid throne. Odds are against it, but it does have a fighting chance. At the moment, the only way to get a Nexus One without shelling out $529, is to get it subsidized on T-Mobile.

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Android device owners now have a new way to use their handhelds and shop. The devices camera is the “eye on the prize” by using the camera or speaking the title, Google Shopper will recognize the product and provide the best price and the best place to purchase it.

We’re happy to announce a new Android application called Google Shopper. Shopper lets you find product information quickly by using your phone’s camera. It can recognize cover art of books, CDs, DVDs, and video games, along with most barcodes. You can also speak the name of the product you’re looking for. Use Shopper to make smart decisions about what to buy, what price to pay, and where to buy it. You can star items for later and share them with friends. Shopper also saves your history so you’ll always have product and price information at your fingertips, even when you don’t have a signal.

To download Google Shopper to your Android-powered phone, scan the QR Code below, or search for “Shopper” on Android Market. You’ll see a green icon for Shopper by Google. Click install and happy shopping!

Google

The Nexus One has had its share of issues since launch, but no one can say that HTC and Google hasn’t been on top of getting it right. In fact, they’re so on top of it that sometimes they won’t even tell you that there is a fix. If that makes any sense. Word is, there’s a new ROM floating around that takes care of radio issues some Nexus One owners are still suffering from. The ROM is said to further help getting HSPA to settle down a let users get to know it. It’s also said to bring Google Maps 3.4 to the fold, even though Google has already released 4.0.

If you’re interested, you can check it out here!

Though it is still not yet available for users still on Tiger, Google’s Chrome Beta is really beginning to shape up on the Mac. Now the browsing beta built by Google includes the new extensions afforded to Windows users a few weeks ago. If you’ve had the chance to use them on the PC version, you will definitely want to give them a go on your Mac.

Since we released Chrome for Mac in beta last December, we’ve been busy adding new features. Today, after some incubation in the developer channel, we’re happy to make some of these features more widely available. The new beta release of Chrome for Mac offers extensions, bookmark sync, and more.

With this new version, you’ll be able to install any of over 2,200 extensions (and counting!) currently available in Chrome’s extensions gallery. Extensions can add useful, informative, fun, or quirky functionality to the browser. You can manage your extensions by clicking on the Window menu and choosing “Extensions.”

For this release, we remained focused on providing a snappy, safe, and simple browsing experience on the Mac. If you haven’t tried Chrome on the Mac yet and are curious about its features, this video will take you on a brief tour:

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