1. Search your Android phone with written gestures
As mobile phones become increasingly powerful and can store more data, we've introduced new methods of search to get you to your content faster, such as search suggestions or search by voice. But sometimes, typing to get to the right search suggestion takes too long, and you may be in a quiet environment where speaking a query is inappropriate. Today we're pleased to announce Gesture Search, a new Google Labs application for Android-powered devices running Android 2.0 or above in the US. Gesture Search lets you quickly find a contact, an installed application, a bookmark or a music track from hundreds or thousands of items, by simply drawing alphabet gestures on the touch screen.

Say you want to call your friend Anne. Just open Gesture Search and draw letter “A”, and Gesture Search returns a list of items that have words starting with “A”. If your handwriting isn't all that neat, that's okay. If the "A" you draw looks a bit like an "H", as seen in the bottom left corner of the screenshot, "H" results will be brought up as well. If needed, you can also erase a query by crossing it horizontally: left to right erases the entire query, and right to left removes the last letter or space in the query. Now you can either scroll down the list to find Anne or write more letters to refine the search.



Additionally, Gesture Search improves search quality by learning from your search history, so Anne's contact info will jump to the top of the list the next time you write "A".

To download Gesture Search, search for it in Android Market. You can get more information on our Google Labs page. And as this is a Labs launch, we are particularly eager to get your thoughts and feedback in the comments below!

Update 2:19pm Pacific Time 3/4/2010: Gesture Search only supports English letters, but is now available for download in all countries.

Posted by Yang Li, Research Scientist




Posted on 4 March 2010 | 6:45 am

2. 5 tips for using Google Buzz on your phone
A few weeks ago we released Google Buzz for mobile. There are many ways to access Google Buzz from your phone, but the web app (buzz.google.com) provides the most complete viewing and posting experience on an iPhone or Android 2.0+ device (more platforms are coming soon). Today, we'd like to share some tips on how to get the most out of the Google Buzz web app on your phone.

1. Search for a place to post from
Tagging a post with your location is easy and fun. You can just tap the location box in the posting screen to add a place name or an address. Or, you can search for a place. Click ">" in the location box and scroll down a bit to find the search box. This will allow you to search for places nearby and tag your post with that location.

2. Learn more about a tagged place
When you see a location tag and the little red pin attached to someone's post, you might want to learn more about that place. Click 'Show map' to see the address of that place and a small map, which you can tap to see a bigger, fully functional map. You can also click the place link to view business details, reviews, photos, and more.

3. Choose to share privately or publicly
The Google Buzz web app provides options to share your post publicly on the web or privately with the groups you select. To create a new group to share privately, you'll need to visit Buzz in Gmail or google.com/contacts from your computer. Your location is attached to your post by default, either as an address or a place. If you don't want it attached, you can simply tap the 'Remove location' link. Next time you post, we will remember your choices for the sharing option (public or private) and for the location tagging option (whether or not to include location).

4. View mobile profiles and follow new people
You'll often find interesting public posts or comments made by people you're not following yet. If you'd like to start following them, simply tap on their name to visit their mobile profile page, click the 'Buzz' tab, and tap 'Follow'. The 'Contact Info' tab includes info pulled from their public Google profile that they've chosen to share and any additional info you may have about them in your contacts, making it easy for you to contact them with one click.

5. Auto-finish @reply
When you want to include someone in a post or comment, you can use the @reply feature. On mobile devices, simply type "@user", which will be automatically expanded to "@user@gmail.com" for you. This will save you time typing on the phone.

Stay tuned for more tips, and visit our Help Center to learn more. We also love to hear your feedback in our forum and your suggestions on the Mobile Product Ideas page!


Posted by Alex Kennberg, Software Engineer, Google Mobile




Posted on 4 March 2010 | 4:02 am

3. Click-to-Call Phone Numbers in Mobile Ads for National Advertisers
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.
If you're an advertiser and would like to learn more about how to add a clickable phone number to your mobile ads, check out this post on the Inside AdWords blog for more details.

Posted by Surojit Chatterjee, Product Manager, Mobile Ads




Posted on 2 March 2010 | 11:58 pm

4. Barcelona: Mobile First
Last week at Mobile World Congress, where more than 55,000 people gathered in Barcelona to see what the coming year holds for mobile phones and computers, Eric Schmidt had the unique opportunity to reflect on achievements in the mobile space, and to discuss what lies ahead - both for the industry and for Google. With the continued growth of smartphone usage -- increasing by more than 30% year over year, with mobile web adoption proceeding at a rate that is eight times faster than the equivalent point ten years ago for the desktop, with more than half of the new Internet connections coming from mobile devices -- it's clear that we're experiencing a fundamental shift in how we access information.





So how did we get here and what's in store?



Back in December, I pointed to the convergence of three trends: computing, connectivity, and cloud computing. Eric described these in more detail last week. Basically, devices are getting smaller, faster, cheaper, and more powerful; the same is true of processors. Today, roughly 700 million public servers are connected by the Internet, and this pervasive connectivity is being driven further into our daily lives, as evidenced by individuals, companies, and even the US Embassy in Beijing increasingly relying on services like Twitter to constantly share information. Finally, cloud computing not only is essential for storage of sophisticated amounts of data, which can be accessed by multiple devices, but also is paving the way for a new generation of applications and powerful, interlinked systems. These three waves are not new, nor is their intersection. What is new, however, is that the point of intersection is now a phone - a phone that's blazingly fast, is connected to the Internet, and leverages the power of the cloud. Comparing today's possibilities with what was possible 25 years ago, and then thinking ahead 25 years from now, it's incredibly exciting to imagine what we might be able to do.

Clearly, the mobile phone is the iconic device of the moment, and we're encouraging a new rule: Mobile First. When we announce new services for desktop computers, such as real-time search, we will debut an equally powerful mobile version. We will take advantage of this new class of smartphone, which is more sensory, acts as an extension of you, is aware of location, and can hear you, speak to you, take pictures and return information in a matter of seconds. We opened the year with a new model for purchasing a mobile phone, and since then, we've also made it possible to see a list of nearby businesses from google.com, developed a web app for Google Voice, made ads more useful by including a clickable local phone number, let you attach location to your Buzz posts, and we're just getting started. You can look forward to seeing support for more languages in Google Search by voice - German is coming soon. We're working to make it possible to take a picture of text and translate it to any of the 52 languages supported in Google Translate, and we have lots of other ideas up our sleeves.


We're proud to be part of this shift and excited to broaden expectations for what's possible on a mobile device.

Update, 5:16PM 3/1/10 - This video has been updated to include an introductory video that played before Eric's speech.

Posted by Vic Gundotra, Vice President of Engineering, Mobile




Posted on 26 February 2010 | 1:37 am

5. Google Earth now available for Android
(Cross-posted from Google LatLong)
As we hinted at last month, we knew Nexus One was going to be a great platform to showcase the rich (and technically demanding!) features of Google Earth. With a 1GHz processor, advanced 3D graphics, and Android 2.1, Nexus One packs a lot of performance in a thin package. Ever since we got our hands on one, we have been putting it through its paces, drawing complex scenes of 3D imagery, terrain, roads, and other layers, and Nexus One never misses a beat. Now that we have put the final touches on the app, we are happy to announce that the latest member of our family is ready for the world -- Google Earth for Android. This is our fastest mobile version of Google Earth yet, with a smooth framerate and a beautiful 800 x 480 screen.

With the release of Google Earth for Android, we are also introducing the Roads layer, a very popular feature of the desktop version of Google Earth. Now you can get a better sense of where you are with road labels drawn on top of the satellite imagery.


In addition, we have taken advantage of the integrated voice recognition capabilities of the Android platform to provide the best Google Earth experience yet -- a pocket globe that responds to your every command. Try speaking "Eiffel tower" or "best burrito Mission district of San Francisco." Maybe you're trying to find some nice lodging for an upcoming getaway to Lake Tahoe. Just say "romantic getaway Lake Tahoe." With Google Earth for Android, we have brought together the convenience of Google Search by voice with the power of Google Local Search to make it easier than ever to navigate the globe and find whatever you are looking for.



As with other versions of Google Earth, you can also browse photos, places, and local businesses, whether it is in your local community or on the far side of the globe. Click on an icon to see photos, videos, and read about prominent places in the world. You can easily customize your version of Google Earth to display the layers that most interest you.

In addition to Nexus One, Google Earth will be available in Android Market on most devices that have Android 2.1 or later versions. So as devices such as Droid get updated to Android 2.1, others will also be able to fly to the far reaches of the globe with a swipe of their finger.

Download Google Earth for Nexus One today by searching for Google Earth in the Android Market.



Posted by Peter Birch, Product Manager





Posted on 23 February 2010 | 12:06 am

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