google goggles

Google Goggles has received a few updates in its lifetime that have brought improved translation and recognition, but the latest update could be the most fun update yet. Not only has the barcode scanning feature been improved in Android, along with print ad recognition in all Google Mobile apps (including iPhone), but Google Goggles can now make you the best Sudoku player ever.

Solve the hardest Sudoku puzzles just by aiming Goggles at the puzzle, and you'll get the solution in a flash. What would this feature be used for? I don't really know, maybe you're participating in a heated Sudoku competition with your friends? I'd call it cheating, but really, it's another example of the power of Goggles' "brain" power.

Get the updated Google Goggles app in the Android Market, or in the iTunes App store now!

Yes! My favorite, most lusted-after Android app is finally available on the iPhone! Google Goggles is now a feature of the updated Google Mobile iPhone app. The app works by allowing users to take a picture of an object, place, or product and uses that image to perform a search. While the app is still technically a Labs project, it works well with landmarks, logos, and other easily recognizable items. It does not work as well with things like food, animals, or plants (yet!).

To use the Google Goggles function, download or update the Google Mobile app. Then, tap on the camera button to search using Google Goggles. The free updated app works only on iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 models running iOS4.

I'm continually impressed by Google Goggles, the Android application that allows you to identify products, places, and other objects with your phone's camera. Now, it has a new use as a translation tool.

The latest version of Google Goggles reads English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish text and can translate it into many more different languages. Eventually, Google Goggles will be able to read non-Latin languages like Arabic and Chinese, too.

The just-released Google Goggles 1.1 also includes other changes and updates, too. After downloading the new version (or updating your existing one), you'll notice improved barcode recognition, recognition of many more products and logos, an improved user interface, and the ability to perform visual searches using photos stored in your photo gallery. To download Google Goggles 1.1, visit the Google Mobile Blog or search for "Google Goggles" in the Android Market.

We've been able to translate languages with the help of Google Translate for a while now, but this new function within Google Goggles (which I'm already a big fan of) kind of blows my mind. It's still in the experimentation phase, but ideally you can just snap a picture of something you need translated — a street sign, a menu, directional aids — and Google Goggles will send your pic to the server and have a response back to you with translated text in seconds. I don't know about you, but this gets me really pumped to plan another overseas trip! Check out the demo video straight from Barcelona below.

Rarely does a new app blow me away the way that Google Goggles has. Billed as a new way to search for Android phones, the application allows you to search using a photo instead of words. Just take a photo with your phone and upload it to the app. After analyzing the photo with a rather dramatic-looking scanner, Google returns appropriate search results. You can scan just about anything for results — a piece of art, a food label, a logo, the outside of your favorite restaurant.

The app also tells you what's around you. You can stand on the sidewalk with your phone pointed at a restaurant or business and Google Goggles uses location-based searching to show what other businesses or landmarks are nearby. Spin in a circle and they'll change as you point your phone in any direction. Or, take a photo of a business card you'd like to add to your contacts and the app will scan it and add it in for you. I'm only getting started with this app, but so far it's quite impressive. To download, go to the Android Market on your phone and search for "Google Goggles," and check out Google Goggles' site for more details and a how-to video.

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