Are We on Eve of Donut Rollout?

You smell that?  We’re beginning to detect a hint of donut essence.  We get the feeling that we’re going to be seeing the 1.6 rollout any day now. We received an email from one of our readers pointing out a recent update to the T-Mobile MyAccount application.  He noticed that the app was showing as Update Available today so he decided to see what it was all about.  “Seeing as to how good the app already was I was interested as to how it could get any better.  So I took a look to see what the update was for and it was strictly to support the 1.6 update.” Now we all know the SDK has been available for developers for some time now, and that the ADP1 got its Donut update this week.  The Sprint Hero is due out in a matter of weeks so it would not surprise us to see  all these handsets getting the OS boost  to level things across the board.  Why would T-Mobile push out an update before Android 1.6 was released?  Are they being timed to coincide with each other?  Any one of these things is not enough to say definitively that it’s going to happen tonight or tomorrow, but taken as a whole, we think the stars are aligning. The burning question on G1 owner’s minds of whether or not they’ll get the update will be answered soon enough.  Don’t be surprised if you wake up any day now and find that little notification we’ve all come to love. Thanks Alex!

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Are We on Eve of Donut Rollout?

Surfacing forum posts in search results

Today, we introduced a new search feature that makes it easier for you to find forum posts or discussions related to what you’re searching for. This new addition to Google search results applies to sites that tend to have a large number of posts on a specific topic. When several different discussions on a site are relevant to your query, we indent them under the primary result and include the date of each post. So for instance, if you search for [ getting from rome to florence ] you will see, below the third result, a list of relevant discussions on various ways to get between these cities. It’s always nice to know what others are saying about the best ways to get around (by boat or train) and how recent those comments are — especially if it’s your first time traveling to Italy. We hope this feature gives you a deeper view into the relevant content available on sites throughout the web — even when that content spans multiple pages or discussions. At the same time, the main search results are diverse as always — so if you can’t pinpoint a useful comment there’s a list of relevant sites there to help. Posted by Johanna Wright, Director of Product Management

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Surfacing forum posts in search results

Your mobile and desktop search history now in sync

Sometimes I do a search on my desktop computer, only to find that I need to repeat the same search again later on my mobile phone. Today in the US we’re launching Personalized Suggest for Android, iPhone and Palm WebOS, which makes it really easy to repeat your past searches on the go. For example, suppose that before I depart for the airport, I quickly check my flight status by searching for “american airlines 19″ using google.com on my computer. Later, as I am hailing a taxi in rush hour traffic, I can open google.com on my phone, click in the search box, and choose “american airlines 19″ from the list of search suggestions! To try this yourself, make sure that you are signed-in to the same Google Account on your computer and on your phone when searching. In addition, Web History needs to be enabled for your Google Account. Mobile users can turn on/off history by selecting “Save searches” or “Do not save searches” under Settings on google.com . Posted by Toshi Tajima, Software Engineer, Google Mobile Team

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Your mobile and desktop search history now in sync

2+ Samsung Androids Headed To India This Year

Where are all my Indian Phandroids in the house? I’m sure you all are chomping at the bot waiting for Android Phones to start lighting up your country but you won’t have to wait long thanks to Samsung. The company recently announced their partnership with Tata Docomoto to launch the Samsung Galaxy later this year for Rs 28,990 ($607). But that’s not all. Listen to how assertive Samsung India Electronics GM of Marketing (Asim Warsi) is when discussing the company’s status with Android: “This is first of the block. There would be more this year. Android is a very serious operating system on which we will build more phones.” Notice that word “block” together with “this year”? Yeah… I would normally put a lot of emphasis on this but the words “ portfolio ” and “ suite ” didn’t get us very far so I think I’ll keep my mouth shut. [ India Times via Intomobile ]

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2+ Samsung Androids Headed To India This Year

AT&T Purchases Plusmo (Oh Noes!)

You’ve probably seen a Plusmo Android Application when browsing the Android Market at sometime or another. The company has a long list of sports applications and widgets that provide you instant access to your favorite teams and leagues. Let me refresh your memory: I used to have Pro Football Live! as a homescreen application but now all I can get it to do is close so I’ve moved onto Google Scoreboard. I was hoping that the NFL Live! application on the Sprint HTC Hero would kick butt and I’ll tell you about that in the full review posted tomorrow. In any case, Plusmo has a portfolio of apps not only on Android but also across iPhone, BlackBerry, Symbian and others. And now AT&T has purchased them. Here is one quote from the full press release : The Plusmo platform dramatically reduces development time and costs by enabling developers to create widgets and applications using common web development standards that enable easy deployment across multiple mobile operating systems and devices. Plusmo has formed successful relationships with leading carriers, handset manufacturers and well known publishers. It has also developed a number of popular sports widgets that average more than 100 million monthly mobile page views. “Plusmo’s technology will help us build upon the success and momentum we’re experiencing in mobile local search, which continues to see strong growth,” said David Krantz, president and CEO, AT&T Interactive. “The addition of Plusmo adds a new dimension to our technology prowess through its multi-platform approach. It highlights our commitment to invest in mobile application innovation and search leadership.” I bring this up for a couple of reasons found in the below questions: What will the fate of the Plusmo Android applications become, especially considering AT&T doesn’t even HAVE an Android Phone? Will Plusmo’s assets and team be used to build applications unrelated to their current specialty which, from an Android perspective, seemed to be sports? Will AT&T use carrier filtering to ONLY allow Plusmo apps to be found on devices using their service? Questions we’ll find out in time but until then, AT&T will you please tell your new employees to fix the force close on Pro Football LIVE? [Via MobileRoar ]

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AT&T Purchases Plusmo (Oh Noes!)

Motorola CLIQ Uses MediaSync By NERO

Are you familiar with NERO? They are the company made famous by their butt-kicking software that burned mix CDs. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on who you are and how old you feel, that was a full decade ago. So what is the company up to now? Creating software for the Motorola CLIQ that helps you sync all your media and other goodies to your PC of course! In an article I spotted on ArsTechnica they reveal that NERO makes a product for handset manufacturers called MediaSync that allows users to connect their phones to their computers and enjoy an awesome syncing experience. But is it true? Where are their sources? What is this “MediaSync” you speak of? Knowing you would ask me these questions if I just reposted the same stuff, I went straight into the Dragon’s layer ( Nero.com ). If you check out the section called “Business Solutions” and drill down to the “OEM” section of that page and scroll alllllllll the way to the bottom you’ll find the following blurb about MediaSync on the Nero website (scroll to the bottom): is the first universal, hardware-agnostic platform to offer fully customizable PC applications for mobile handset, netbook, gaming consoles, and ultra mobile PC manufacturers. Designed to allow the management, sharing, and creation of content between the desktop, the portable device, and the Internet, this platform will offer portable device manufacturers a way to differentiate their user experience, increase their revenues via sales and advertising channels to the desktop, and better maximize the PC as the hub of the connected digital home – all without having to make costly investments in desktop application development. Sounds promising! I’m sure Motorola and others enjoy that “customization” part and I couldn’t yean more for the whole “connected digital home” concept easily implemented. Nero actually has a product called Nero Media Home 4 that makes the attempt. But back to the lecture at hand… ( Perfection is perfected, so Im a let em understand ). We’ll have to wait until the Motorola CLIQ is launched to check out the MediaSync software and really make an assessment on its value and integration with the CLIQ but we’re excited to see what it offers. And if you’re interested in reading more, I just found two more write-ups straight from Nero on the topic: Nero MobileSync Splash Page : Bridging the gap between the desktop, the portable device, and the Web Nero has developed a new customizable white label platform for device-to-PC connectivity and content management. Nero MobileSync for smartphones is the first iteration of its universal, hardware-agnostic platform to offer fully customizable PC applications for mobile handset, netbook, gaming console, and ultra mobile PC manufacturers. Nero MobileSync platform is designed to allow the management, sharing and creation of content between the desktop, the device, and the Web, regardless of portable device.Nero MobileSync for smartphones will help both mobile handset manufacturers and network carriers differentiate their user experience by allowing users to easily move PIM, music, videos and photos of their choice between the portable device, the desktop and the cloud. By offering PIM, mobile media management, data management, transcoding, and social networking services a la carte, manufacturers can customize their products to suit users’ needs without minimizing functionality. Nero MobileSync is based on Nero’s decade of experience in providing PC-based solutions to address the digital content needs of consumers worldwide. With its vision of enabling liquid media, a strategy to support the creation and distribution of content anytime, anywhere and on any device, Nero has a track record of platform neutrality and a standards-based approach to development that breaks down the barriers caused by proprietary applications. Nero MobileSync Press Release : Nero Introduces New, Customizable Platform for PC-to-Device Connectivity and Content Management Nero MobileSync bridges the gap between the desktop, the mobile handset, and the Web — unleashing content from device, location and application restrictions Karlsbad, Germany (September 28, 2009) – Nero, creators of liquid media technology, today unveiled Nero MobileSync for smartphones, the first iteration of its universal, hardware-agnostic platform of fully customizable PC applications for mobile handset, Netbook, gaming console and Ultra-Mobile PC manufacturers. While current industry offerings are tied to a specific handset manufacturer, Nero MobileSync for smartphones is designed to allow the management, sharing and creation of content between the desktop, the mobile handset, and the Web regardless of mobile device. Nero MobileSync for smartphones will help both mobile handset manufacturers and network carriers differentiate their user experience, increase their revenues via sales and advertising channels to the desktop, and better maximize the PC as the hub of the connected digital home – all without having to make costly investments in desktop application development. “The ability to easily move content between the desktop, the Web and the handset has the potential to become a source of competitive differentiation in the mobile marketplace,” said Irene Berlinsky, Research Analyst, IDC. “Consumers increasingly want to access personal content across multiple screens –such as the PC, TV, and wireless phone – and Nero MobileSync positions Nero as a player in the fixed-mobile convergence space.” Nero MobileSync is based on Nero’s decade of experience in providing PC-based solutions to address the digital content needs of consumers worldwide. With its vision of enabling liquid media, a strategy to support the creation and distribution of content anytime, anywhere and on any device, Nero has a track record of platform neutrality and a standards-based approach to development that breaks down the barriers caused by proprietary applications. “Nero MobileSync has been created with the understanding that success in the portable device marketplace comes from the ability to quickly and easily unify the islands of digital content that consumers are creating on their various devices,” said Udo Eberlein, CEO, Nero AG. “We are providing the complete infrastructure needed for the seamless transfer of this content between devices. This allows network carriers and manufacturers of handsets, Netbooks, and Ultra-Mobile PCs alike to differentiate their user experience and maximize revenue opportunities while fulfilling our vision for the liquidity of digital content.” By allowing users to easily move PIM, music, videos and photos of their choice between the mobile handset, the desktop and the cloud, Nero is providing an opportunity for distinct financial benefits to select network carrier and handheld device partners. Nero MobileSync allows partners to select from a wide range of components, including customizable User Interface and workflow, that can be integrated into existing applications and that leverage Nero’s core multimedia technologies. This is an absolutely HUGE advancement for Nero as a company and I hope they succeed in their efforts. We’ll keep you posted and make sure to give you an in-depth review of the syncing capabilities and MediaSync software when we review the CLIQ!

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Motorola CLIQ Uses MediaSync By NERO

Translate your website with Google: Expand your audience globally

How long would it take to translate all the world’s web content into 50 languages? Even if all of the translators in the world worked around the clock, with the current growth rate of content being created online and the sheer amount of data on the web, it would take hundreds of years to make even a small dent. Today, we’re happy to announce a new website translator gadget powered by Google Translate that enables you to make your site’s content available in 51 languages. Now, when people visit your page, if their language (as determined by their browser settings) is different than the language of your page, they’ll be prompted to automatically translate the page into their own language. If the visitor’s language is the same as the language of your page, no translation banner will appear. After clicking the Translate button, the automatic translations are shown directly on your page. It’s easy to install — all you have to do is cut and paste a short snippet into your webpage to increase the global reach of your blog or website. Automatic translation is convenient and helps people get a quick gist of the page. However, it’s not a perfect substitute for the art of professional translation. Today happens to be International Translation Day, and we’d like to take the opportunity to celebrate the contributions of translators all over the world. These translators play an essential role in enabling global communication, and with the rapid growth and ease of access to digital content, the need for them is greater than ever. We hope that professional translators, along with translation tools such as Google Translator Toolkit and this Translate gadget , will continue to help make the world’s content more accessible to everyone. Posted by Jeff Chin, Product Manager

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Translate your website with Google: Expand your audience globally

Introducing the new Local Search for Mobile

The mobile search team is always looking for new ways to make searching the world around you as easy and useful as searching the web. Today we’re introducing a redesigned local search experience on your phone that integrates with Google Maps on your computer and includes browseable categories that let you search without typing. Let me tell you how I used these features on my recent vacation to Hawaii. Before I left, I researched places to visit on Google Maps. I signed in to my Google account and starred the places I wanted to go. Once I got to Hawaii, by signing in on my phone, I was able to see the places I starred on desktop Maps under “Starred Places”. I could then click through on place names to visit mobile-optimized versions of Place Pages for Google Maps that include opening hours, reviews, photos, and more. The new category browse feature made it easy to find a place to rent bicycles for a quick tour of the coastline. I just tapped on “Entertainment & Recreation” and then “Bicycles” to execute a search — no typing necessary. When it was time for scuba diving, I didn’t see an appropriate category, so I started typing “SCUBA” in the search box and clicked on a suggestion for “Scuba Tour Agency”. A few hours later, I was petting a white-tipped reef shark! Of course, local search isn’t only useful when you’re traveling — here’s an example of planning a birthday party in my hometown, San Francisco: To access these features on your mobile device, go to www.google.com/m/local , or just click on the Local tab on www.google.com . The product is available in the US and China, with more regions coming soon. Posted by Joshua Siegel, Product Manager, Mobile Local Search Team

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Introducing the new Local Search for Mobile

GooglePlex Android Dog Statue is Stolen

Another Android setback has occurred along with the Cyanogen MODS as the Android dog statue in front of the GooglePlex has been stolen this Summer and is still missing. The dog statue is named Alex by the Android engineers and was the original companion to the Android statue outside the GooglePlex which earlier this year Alexander Muse of Big in Japan told me is called Mike or Droid . Now Droid is flanked by the Android release incarnations of Cupcake and Donut but missing his faithful dog. Google may have released the dog to sic him on other Android MODS that dare to include Google proprietary applications. Else Alex has perhaps left to join the Open Android Alliance ! GooglePlex Android Dog Statue is Stolen Post from: Google And Blog

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GooglePlex Android Dog Statue is Stolen

ODROID handheld gaming device runs Android

Android is starting to turn up on all sorts of devices. While the OS was first used on smartphones it has now started to be seen on PMPs and netbooks. This week we got some more info and the ODROID portable game system that runs Android. The device is available now for pre-order with the system actually launching in November. The price will be about $320. The device will have an 833MHz Samsung processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen. The console lacks integrated 3G but it does include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a mini-HDMI port. The version of Android used is 1.5 and it has an internal 2GB TFlash card for the OS and an 8GB SD card for user data. The consumer version of the ODROID is expected to hit in December at around $250.

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ODROID handheld gaming device runs Android

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