It looks like Google is once again ignoring the iPhone by blessing its favorite Android child first.
After releasing priority inbox to the Gmail faithful, it looks like my Droid lovin’ friends will now receive this feature thanks in part to an official Gmail app.
As you scroll through a conversation, your most important message actions will now stick to the top of the screen, one click away, no matter how long the email is. [...]
Finally, this updated version of the Gmail app has limited support for Priority Inbox. If you’ve enabled Priority Inbox via the desktop version of Gmail, you’ll see an “Important†label that shows all messages flagged as important. You can even add a shortcut to “Important†to your home screen. (Official Gmail Blog)
Even though iPhone lovers have a similar feature (if you consider the “Important” folder a feature), truth be told Google will undoubtedly improve upon their Gmail app, unlike Apple (who will only update it app when it deems necessary).
Thus far the Gmail app is only available to Android phones boasting Froyo (aka Android 2.2) and is being sold by Google at the affordable price of free.
After being thrashed by Google’s Instant search, it looks like Microsoft has come up with a new strategry in order to subplant the search engine king.
With Twitter growing to more than 145 million accounts, finding interesting people to follow can be difficult. People Recommendation on Bing Social helps you discover interesting and relevant Twitter users based on your searches. Whether someone is “Influential†and helping shape the conversation or “Popular†like a celebrity, the new Twitter User Recommendation feature helps to identify Twitterers related to your query. (Bing Community Blog)
Excluding the fact that Twitter already has a similar feature on Twitter.com, Bing’s tweet recommendation feature could help Microsoft challenge Google for search supremacy (the latter who owns the web).
A few users however may not enjoy have Bing! play tweet match maker based on search queries (as it does sound kinda creepy to have a search engine company “know” your tweet preferences).
Bing! has not indicated whether they will port this feature upon Yahoo! (which they recently assimilated), although as of right now there is no word on if they will include Facebook in the near future (which would give Bing! one leg up over its Google foe).
Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Why on Earth would Facebook launch a phone with Microsoft jumping in the fray and HP attempting to resurrect Palm in order to take on Apple and Android.
Apparently Micahel Arrington from TechCrunch fame received a tip from a credible source saying that Facebook is about to launch its own mobile phone.
Facebook is building a mobile phone, says a source who has knowledge of the project. Or rather, they’re building the software for the phone and working with a third party to actually build the hardware. [...]
Specifically, Facebook wants to integrate deeply into the contacts list and other core functions of the phone. It can only do that if it controls the operating system.
Two high level Facebook employees – Joe Hewitt and Matthew Papakipos – are said to be secretly working on the project, which is unknown even to most Facebook staff. (via TechCrunch)
Some people are already claiming that this rumor is a farce, with public denials from Jaime Schopflin (Facebook’s spokesperson).
Despite the the apparent absurdity of a Facebook phone (at least to those within the geekosphere), a Facebook phone could potentially threaten both Apple and Google’s reign in the smart phone world (key word is “potentially”). More →
In their never ending battle with hackers attempting to gain access to corporate accounts (whether for fun or for profit), Google has announced a new feature for Google App users.
Instead of asking clients to create hard to remember passwords or rely on silly quiz’s to authenticate who they are (which hackers can easily obtain through social engineering), Google is instead drafting mobile phones in their war against hackers.
Today we are changing that with the introduction of a more secure sign-in capability for Google Apps accounts that significantly increases the security of the cloud: Two-step verification. [...]
Two-step verification is easy to set up, manage and use. When enabled by an administrator, it requires two means of identification to sign in to a Google Apps account, something you know: a password, and something you have: a mobile phone. It doesn’t require any special tokens or devices. After entering your password, a verification code is sent to your mobile phone via SMS or generated on an application you can install on your Android, BlackBerry or iPhone (coming soon) device. This makes it much more likely that you’re the only one accessing your data: even if someone has stolen your password, they’ll need more than that to access your account. (Google Small Business Blog)
Currently this is limited to Google App users, although Google does plan on rolling this feature out to “the rest of us” (which should help make Gmail more secure).
Even better, Google has announced that they are open sourcing this feature, which means other companies (like Yahoo! and Microsoft) can easily implement it for their own users.
Hopefully Google provides a third option for users who lack a mobile phone (as some people have given up cell phones due to the recession), although for now this feature will hopefully make it harder for hackers to access sensitive accounts.
Despite receiving rave reviews by numerous tech geeks, it looks like Windows 7 Phone will not shake the mobile-sphere this October (and unlike rivals it has nothing to do with their app store).
Rather it looks like Microsoft will be facing the same dilemma as the Blackberry Torch, whose sales were “okay,” albeit still underwhelming.
Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile-phone carrier, won’t sell handsets with Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Phone 7 operating system when it debuts this year, a blow to the software maker’s efforts to reach a broad market.
Verizon Wireless won’t offer a device at the planned fall introduction or at any point this year, Brenda Raney, a Verizon spokeswoman, said today in an interview. The carrier plans to support the new operating system and will probably release a phone in 2011, she said. (Businessweek)
Thus far it looks like AT&T will be the only carrier launching Windows 7 Phone, which means that Microsoft will be pitted against the mighty iPhone, dooming it from the start.
Although other carriers will probably pick up Windows 7 Phone later on in 2011, Microsoft’s attempts at gaining market share could be thwarted if Apple releases a Verizon iPhone this January (or even one across all carriers).
While Windows 7 Phone could be the greatest thing since sliced bread, unless they can find someway of increase the “cool factor,” they may have to settle for the bronze (behind Apple and Android, respectively).
After allowing users to upload longer videos to YouTube, Google has announced to the world that they will be testing out a new video service which has the potential of (once again) disrupting an entire industry.
Today and tomorrow, tune in as we open a new chapter of YouTube live streaming. Starting at 8:00 a.m. PT, we will begin a limited trial of a new live streaming platform in conjunction with four of our partners: Howcast, Next New Networks, Rocketboom and Young Hollywood.
This new platform integrates live streaming directly into YouTube channels; all broadcasters need is a webcam or external USB/FireWire camera. Included in the test is a “Live Comments†module which lets you engage with the broadcaster and the broader YouTube community. For the purpose of the trial, this offering will only be available today and tomorrow. (Official YouTube Blog)
After receiving hints about an October launch date, it looks like Microsoft will be launching its much blogged about smartphone less than 30 days from now.
Multiple sources familiar with the matter have confirmed to Pocket-lint that Microsoft will launch its new mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7, on 11 October 2010.
Pocket-lint has learnt that the Redmond-based company will use New York as the global stage for the launch, which will be beamed around the world.
Although none of our sources were prepared to be named, all are senior figures within the industry that we know and trust. (Pocket Lint)
With Apple and Google carving up the mobile landscape all to themselves, Microsoft will have a difficult time matching the success of its rivals (let alone surpassing them).
Unfortunately it looks like Microsoft is making the committing the same mistake as Blackberry by launching the phone on AT&T (who holds exclusive rights to the iPhone in the US).
Unless the company launches with a vibrant app store, Windows 7 Phone may not attract much interest from consumers (even if it does indeed launch with FaceTime).
It wasn’t enough for the search engine giant to perfect real time search (making Twitter’s tweet stream useful for the first time) as it looks like the boys and girls at Google have once again redefined search while at the same time burying their competition.
Our search-as-you-type demos were thought-provoking—fun, fast and interactive—but fundamentally flawed. Why? Because you don’t really want search-as-you-type (no one wants search results for [bike h] in the process of searching for [bike helmets]). You really want search-before-you-type—that is, you want results for the most likely search given what you have already typed.
As you can imagine, searching even before someone types isn’t easy—which is why we are so excited today to be unveiling Google Instant. Google Instant is search-before-you-type. Instant takes what you have typed already, predicts the most likely completion and streams results in real-time for those predictions—yielding a smarter and faster search that is interactive, predictive and powerful. (Official Google Blog)
Despite the fact that Google already rules the search universe, it looks like the Mountain View giant’s latest innovation makes Bing! almost irrelevant, despite the latter’s assimilation of Yahoo! earlier.
If Google is able to successfully port this feature over to the mobile-verse, Bing! could be even further marginalized by Google who right now dominates the mobile map market as well as commands over 98% of the mobile search market.
Unless Microsoft has a secret weapon of some kind (perhaps the upcoming Windows 7 Phone?), Bing!’s attempts at dethroning Google just went from difficult to near impossible.
After causing controversy throughout the world for exposing classified information, it looks like Swedish police have begun raiding buildings in search of servers hosting Wikileaks as well as The Pirate Bay.
The Swedish police had raided the premises of the host PRQ of Sweden in Solna in Sweden. This “host activist, who advocates a radical conception of freedom of expression, including the servers hosting the download site The Pirate Bay or sites advocating pedophilia. It is also the host of Wikileaks, the site specializes in the publication of confidential documents made public this summer tens of thousands of reports of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. (Le Monde.fr Technologies)
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was previously accused of rape by Swedish officials earlier, although the charges later on were dropped do to lack of evidence.
Although the current raid thus far appears to be part of an on going investigation that (according to the article) started years ago, the Swedish’s government is probably being pressured to take a harder stance against Wikileaks by its allies (especially those in the intelligentsia).
The site thus far still seems to be fully operational (as Wikileaks probably has numerous servers located all over the world), although it probably will not be surprising to see more raids conducted against Wikileaks who seems to have earned the scorn of international governments everywhere.
After introducing the Gmail masses to Google Voice, it looks like the search engine giant now will send you an email anytime you miss a call.
Google Voice lets you take charge of your telephony experience, giving you one number that rings all your phones. But what if you’re not around to answer any of them?
Starting today, whenever you miss a call, you can see a notification in your Google Voice inbox, or receive an email notification, or both. (Google Voice Blog)
Users can log into Google Voice in order to adjust their settings, although they may want to make sure incoming Google Voice emails are marked as “important” (for those of you who have embraced Gmail’s priority inbox).
While Android users will probably have no need for this, iPhone lovers will probably appreciate this feature due to the fact that El Jobso has banned Google Voice from the app store.
Although this feature does not in any way help convince Skype lovers to ditch the VoIP king for Google (as Skype already emails me whenever I receive a voicemail), it should help Google remain somewhat relevant for users of the service.
It looks like Google is once again ignoring the iPhone by blessing its favorite Android child first.
and Matthew Papakipos
