Google released a new updated interface for the iPhone and iPod Touch that lets Google Apps users easily access everything they need in an integrated environment: Google Calendar, Google Docs, Reader as well as Google Apps like Google Notebook, Google News and Blogger.
References:
Google has revealed it has seen 50 times more search requests coming from Apple iPhones than any other mobile handset.
The figures were so high that the search company initially thought they had made an error compiling the data.
"We thought it was a mistake and made our engineers check the logs again", - Vic Gundotra, head of Google's mobile operations told the Financial Times during this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
American iPhone operator AT&T recently said that the average revenue from iPhone users is double that of average users because the of top-up data packages, while in the
The iPhone offers "full-fat" internet with Apple's Safari browser, rather than web designed especially for a mobile phone format.
Does it take too much time to look for something on the internet using your regular way? Now there is a solution with a cool name: Springlets. It places 6 apps on your home screen which you can quickly launch and then perform search instead of launching web browser and looking through Google search results.
So if you use the following websites more frequently then it’s definitely for you. Websites are Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” search, IMDb, Chowhound, and Wikipedia. Think of them as Google toolbar buttons if you use it on PC.
You can also speed dial by typing the name or phone of the person and it will dial automatically, without the need for long contact search and opening phone app. And other great feature is text search which loads text only on browser, and saves time it takes for picture to load. It is especially useful if you have to pay for bandwidth usage.
Just visit http://www.springlets.com/ with your iPhone and get the apps.
The big idea came on a trip: Ted Morgan and Michael Shean used Wi-Fi signals in their travels so often to pick up e-mail; they saw a business opportunity in their future. What if they could figure out locations and directions via Wi-Fi signals instead of the more commonly used Global Positioning System (GPS)?
After discovering that it could work, they left their jobs at e-billing company eDocs and formed Skyhook Wireless in 2003. The Boston-based firm raised $16.8 million and signed up several partners to showcase the technology, including AOL (TWX) and mapping firm Navteq (NVT).
Last week, Skyhook was thrust to center stage courtesy of Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs. He not only demonstrated Skyhook at the Macworld conference here, but also gave a detailed and spirited explanation of how the technology works. "Isn't that cool?" Jobs said. "It's really cool."
Now, users of the iPhone and the iPod Touch (an iPod that can pick up Wi-Fi signals) can find their location and, in conjunction with mapping information from Google (GOOG), get instant directions. The feature is part of a software update that is free for the iPhone and $20 for current Touch owners.
The alliance and plug from Apple are "enormous for us," Skyhook CEO Morgan says. "It's a huge endorsement of the technology."
Morgan won't discuss terms but says Skyhook generally gets a royalty on each device sold, similar to how GPS tech companies work with device manufacturers.
USA TODAY caught up with Morgan and Shean during their Macworld visit. During their time together, they drove around the city to see if the iPhone really could tell if they were near the Golden Gate Bridge, at Fisherman's Wharf or cruising down zig-zaggy Lombard Street.
No wrong turns: Skyhook worked as advertised.
Morgan explained how the technology works: "Every Wi-Fi access point, whether public or private, sends out a signal every second or so, like a lighthouse. We pick up those signals and use our technology to calculate your exact location."
To get the system up and running, Skyhook sent teams of drivers around the USA and Canada to map out hot spots; it now has 70% of North America covered. Skyhook vehicles now are cruising Europe and Asia to add to the database.
Skyhook isn't the only company touting GPS alternatives.
Google introduced its free "My Location" technology in late November, picking up its information from cell phone towers. Google's offering works on a handful of Motorola (MOT) and Sony Ericsson (SNE) phones, smart phones from BlackBerry (RIMM) and "most" Windows (MSFT) Mobile devices, Google says. Apple uses both Skyhook and Google technology on the iPhone. It looks for Wi-Fi signals first, and if there are none, it switches to Google's cell-tower information.
Recently the Wall Street Journal has reported that Google was showing a prototype mobile phone to cell phone manufacturers and cellular service providers.
The search engine giant's entering in the mobile communication's market won't be extremely unexpected. After all, we have a precedent of Apple introducing iPhone.
At the moment the information about the "Google Phone" is just a rumor. But some rumors are quite in a range of possibility and frequently materialize. If this is the case with "Google Phone", we may see in a couple of months.
Personally I do not see a reason why Google could not produce a high class mobile phone. If Apple succeeded in it, why Google should not? Moreover, if we take into account the innovative and sometimes rather wild ideas coming out of the Google Labs, the Google's cell phone may really become an iPhone killer.
Apple iPhone blog is a member of the Blogvasion Family of Blogs and is dedicated to Apple iPhone.
