Put on Your Google Goggles and Visually Search the World [Google]

Google’s breaking news left and right today. Of course the big news is that real-time search is live, but the release of Google Goggles can’t be overlooked. The brand-new addition to Google Labs is an experimental application for Android devices that supports visual search.

How does it work? Just open the app, snap a photo and voilà: Google will process the image and return search results. The photo search functionality eliminates the need to type or say anything on your mobile device, and it adds context to your real-world surroundings.

While the technology is pretty remarkable, Google admits that it is still in its infancy. So while some image searches work brilliantly — think photos of books, business cards, artwork, places, logos and landmarks — don’t be too disappointed if your image searches for food, animals, plants and cars are less than stellar.

Still, the application should prove useful, and we hope to see versions of it made available for other smartphone users as well. For now, though, iPhone users can turn to a number of different augmented reality applications for camera-enabled search functionality.

Watch the video below for a demonstration of Google Goggles.




[Mashable]

Google Replaces Answers.com with Google Dictionary

If your query includes a single word or it's an expression, Google links to the definition in the blue bar that mentions the number of results. Initially, Google linked to dictionary.com, then it switched to answers.com and now it uses its own service: Google Dictionary.


As mentioned in January, Google updated the English dictionary with synonyms, antonyms, pronunciations, detailed definitions and examples from Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary. Google's dictionary lists the most recent 5 searches, you can star words, find related words and definitions from the Web.

In 2007, Answers.com's CEO said that 'there's no deal between Google and Answers.com for the definition links. Google picked Answers.com because it thought Answers.com was a good resource, not because the two companies had negotiated any placement.'


Google Dictionary is not a perfect replacement for Answers.com because it doesn't include information from encyclopedias. Some people might miss Answers.com's reference pages that aggregated information from many reputable sources, but those who clicked on Google's definition links to read definitions and to find synonyms won't be very disappointed.


[Google Operating System (Unofficial Google Blog) via Los Angeles Times]

Android 1.6 SDK Now Available, Donut Possibly Hitting Phones Next Month [Android]

The Android Team released the SDK for Android 1.6 a.k.a. 'Donut' which, among other things, promises CDMA compatibility, screen resolution scaling and support for gestures. Even better, Donut might be available on phones as early as next month.
All the stuff mentioned in the past, such as APIs for text-to speech and translator functionality, plus a revamped Marketplace UI, are included and will give this release some fire power. The universal search looks especially noteworthy, since it will generate points of interest in the results if you search for something generic like pizza, or it will tell you the weather if you include 'weather+[city]' in the search string. But check it out for yourself. [Google via Engadget]