Google has released a new application for Android called Google Shopper which lets you compare, read reviews and get more info on items by scanning cover art or barcode of movies, books, music and other objects with your Android phone’s camera. You can also search by using Google’s voice search.

You can now just take out your phone and take a snapshot of the cover or the barcode of the book you saw in the bookstore and see if you can get it cheaper online, or just read others opinions on the book itself. You can also tell the application via voice commands to search for the product and Google Shopper will try to find the correct product and list you prices from various web retailers. Ones that use Google Checkout as a payment method will most likely have emphasis.

The results you get not only show you prices, but also reviews, specifications of the item and other images of the product available at Google Product Search.

While this is not the first application to provide scan-based shopping comparison, it sets itself apart from others by searching amongst various web retailers and not just one site like Amazon’s application for Android does. It is also faster than Amazon’s application, because you do not have to sign in to anything and also do not have to snap an actual picture; you can just hover the camera over the product you want to search for and when Google Shopper finds some info on it, it will automatically open up the results page.

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Other than these, Google has also pointed out that touchscreen-friendly buttons have been placed in the search options, and these optimized search results were only available in Androids with American English and iPhones and iPod Touchs with 2.x update installed.

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Android, the open source operating system of Google that has been spreading fastly since the time it has surfaced, now became the choice of Taiwan originated cellphone producer Lenovo mostly known for their desktop and laptop products. Although Lenovo hasn’t given much information about their “Ophone” named phone using the Android operating system, a picture wandering in the internet has given some clues to the outer surface of the product.

Other than that, it is rumored that Android will be used with TD-SCDMA (OMS “Open Mobile System” technology from China Mobile).

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1- Everybody’s gene map will be charted: In 5 years for a really insignificant sum, people’s genetic maps will be charted and their risks of getting diseases and which ones, their body weaknesses, and potential threats to their healths will be identified. This way, personal diets, medication and therapies will be possible.

Will our lives change in 5 years?

2- Voice command system will be used on computers: Thereby allowing for voice searching over Google for what we are typing for as an example.

3- Everybody will have a digital assistant: Everybody will have a personal assistant in their cellphones and they will provide us help with any topic like a real assistant.

4- Forgetting will be a thing of the past: Our house will live with us too. Who we have talked to, where we have put what will be analyzed second by second and will answer any question that will cross our minds instantly.

5- Electricity will be generated from pavements: Asphalt that is used in pavements, paints and other insulating materials that are used at home will capture the sunlight, producing from it electricity. Street lights will be powered using this energy.

Other than these, there are some innovations that are existant in IBM’s 5 year plan that are absolutely mind-blowing:

1- Software for smart automotives: In this context sensor, GPS and satellite receiver technologies will be completely renewed. This way, the autos will recognize each other and drivers will get a new system that will enable them to enjoy their ride. Also, the new system will have the ability for cars to communicate in traffic, preventing circumstances that lead to accidents before they even start to form, like icing and exceeding the speed limit. It will also lessen the traffic jams and solve problems like speed control and lane infractions.

2- Passport for food: IBM will design a passport software for food in its 5 year roadplan. This way the consumer will get information about where the food has come from, how they were cultivated, when they were harvested, how much calories they are and so forth, and will be able to arrange their diets consciously. By the use of second generation barcodes, RFID technology and software that will be used with specialized sensors, the information that will be coded in the barcodes will show what steps the food has gone through from the branch of the tree it was procured from to the grocery stand.

3- Smart electricity counters: Other than the projects above, IBM is also developing a software in its 5 year plan in order for smart electricity counters to be produced. With IBM’s new internet accessible smart electricity counter software produced with Houston CenterPoint Energy, along with energy savings made from household appliances, current subjects like global warming will help be prevented. Consumers will be able to control their household appliances with remote access thanks to the mails and messages sent to their email addresses and cellphones by the smart counter, like the air-conditioner saying “Nobody is at home, I am wasting energy. Would you shut me down?” or the water heater warning “I am using too much energy!”.

Although these may seem like scenes and machinery out of a science fiction movie right now, if we compare now and 10 years earlier, doesn’t it seem to everyone that these should be reckoned as the illusions of a daydreaming mind? Share your ideas in the comments.

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Chrome is being updated constantly without any distinctive version numbers. You can still see the build number and the browser’s permanent system component regularly checks Google for updates. This update check is automatic if you do not have any firewalls running, but if you do have one and you have gone through for some restrictions to Chrome’s Internet access then you can become aware of these regular checks.

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Are you an Android developer looking to test your apps on multiple GSM networks? Are you anyone else, simply looking for an unlocked HTC G1? In either case, Google and T-Mobile will apparently be happy to hook you up. A special “developer version” of the G1 is now available from T-Mobile 100% SIM and hardware-unlocked. The handset can be purchased from T-Mobile’s G1 site and shipping within the US is free. It is also available to be shipped internationally to 18 different regions. There is a catch of course but it’s hardly a big one. Since the unlocked G1 is intended for developers, you will have to register on the Android Market site and pay a one-time registration fee of $25. That brings the grand total of this fully-authorized unlocked G1 to $424 shipped.

[Source: Engadget]

See the devices available for developers.

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Google vice president Sundar Pichai said in a interview that Google’s one and only browser Chrome will be out of beta status in January, heating up the browser battle.

“We didn’t show ourselves much because the software was still in beta, but as soon as we are out of the beta, we will be blowing a tremendous marketing-advertising wind that you will be blown out of your mind,” said Pichai, giving more juicy news: “We will try to make deals with computer manufacturers to make computers with Chrome pre-installed on operating systems come onto the market.”. Pichai also said that they were working on Linux and MacOS versions of the browser.

As you know, Google has a habit of getting into an area after others and dominating it. And again as we know, that Internet Explorer having the 70 percent of the market is only because most of the computer users are using Windows not even knowing what they are doing and Internet Explorer coming bundled with it. Lets see what will happen while IE8 launch is already delayed.

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The games giant Electronic Arts(EA) has announced the games being developed for Google’s Android. The “unworn by time” game “Tetris” is the first game to be published for the open source operating system. Today, Monopoly too become available for purchase for Google G1, the first phone to be using Android.

EA vice president Adam Susmann commented that Android would be an exciting game platform with its touch-operated and motion sensing capabilities for users.

You can take a look at the games on www.eamobile.com. Also we might see a lot of games on this page in the near future.

This anticipated move of Electronic Arts is very logical, because like it was with iPhone, Android is not a operating system written for only one phone. Android can be customized by the phone manufacturers and as long as the core stays the same, the applications that are installed do not need to be rewritten for every phone that uses Android. Because of that, as phones that use Android OS become more popular in next years, the targeted audience for the written application will become larger. That will help easen the job of the manufacturers.

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