Think you are good at Sudoku? Try the new Google Goggles Sudoku solver. Watch the video and become the next Sudoko king…
Download Google Mobile app in iTunes and just snap the Sudoku puzzle with the camera and you’re ready to go!
While there is no official announcement yet (in the next few hours), but Google has activated the traffic status with information streamed from Land Transport Authority. When you go to Google Maps Singapore, you will notice a new tab – “Traffic” which will show you either a Live traffic update or a predicted traffic status, based on past records. You can also plan your route with public transport information included (not sure if this is new though).
This new feature also shows up on the Maps app on your iPhone, although with a smaller feature set as the Desktop browser version. where the options to travel by car, public transport or walking is available. If you select to travel by public transport, you can set Departure or Arrival time and the routes will be suggested accordingly. For both – green symbolises smooth traffic, yellow moderate and red as slow traffic.
Hopefully coming up after this, is the launch of Google Maps Navigation for iPhone.
Try it on your iPhone now and let us know whether it matches the traffic situation where you at! Between Google Maps now and gothere.sg, we’ll have plenty of good choices in route planning for our small island!
See attached screen shots on the various settings available.
Google has extended the features of the mobile Google Docs by giving editing capabilities to spreadsheets stored in there.
Last night, we launched new capabilities to Google Docs for your phone that allow you to add new rows, edit existing cells, sort by columns, and filter by terms. Now you don’t have to wait until you get to your computer to update a spreadsheet, whether it’s your expense tracker, time sheet, or your wine rating spreadsheet.
Though the screen real estate is already limited when you activate the keyboard, Google still managed to format the display of the spreadsheet, making it easily editable.
Hopefully, the editing feature is extended to Documents and as and when Apple decides to put in Cut & Paste, the iPhone can easily replace the laptop for the mobile workers.
Google just announced a beta version of Google Sync that will let you sync over the air your Gmail Contacts and Google Calendar with your iPhone. Google Sync uses Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to allow updates (except Gmail) to be pushed between your Google account and your iPhone.
Instructions on setting up can be found on the Google Support page but do take note on a few points. As it is still beta, it is best that all data on the iPhone is fully backed up and your Mac’s AddressBook and iCal are updated.
Some additional points:
Watch a video introduction from Google about Google Sync:
One item from Philnote which I didn’t touch much on was the announcement of the new unibody 17-inch MacBook Pro that comes with the new in-built battery that Apple claims can run up to 8 hours and takes 1,000 charges. With it shipping only after 4 to 6 weeks, we still won’t know how much mileage Apple’s claim goes.
But they have announced the cost of replacing the battery should it fail. AT US$179 (pre taxes), which comes up to something between S$270-S$300 for the battery to be replaced. So just hope those “claims” are somewhat close, or it will be expensive to replace them.
If you are a QuickSilver user on the Mac, you will be familiar with Google’s new Quick Search Box. Quicksilver allows you to search, launch applications and many other functions via a few quick key-presses, all within a small window that pops up when you activate it. Quick Search Box, now currently at beta, works similarly. Hit a key combi and a small window pops up over all other window on your Desktop and you can key in search terms to look for items on the web, or applications on your Mac.
The similarities are not surprising as Nicholas Jitkoff, of QuickSilver fame, is part of the team behind this new project from Google Code. As it is still in beta, do try it at your own risk and help develop it by contributing to the app’s Discussion Group. Download here
Weeks back we constantly read reports about Apple dismissing applications for iPhone apps that replicate apps made by Apple, eg Podcaster, Opera web browser.
But just the past week, new web browsers appeared in the App Store – Incognito, Edge Browser, WebMate and QuickSurf – each appeared to provide web surfing functions like Safari.
Besides the basic web surfing, some apps attempted to differentiate themselves with features not available in Safari, with less hits than misses. For example, to key in the URL for Edge Browser, you’d need to exit the app, go to the Settings section to fill the URL, just to get full screen browsing. Or Hot Browser comes with a “shake” the iPhone to get a randomly hot site.
There will definitely be more such browser apps coming up but if it ain’t free, I don’t see any reasons to switch from Safari.
Here’s a look at what’s interesting that have been announced in the first day at Macworld 2009.
Google released a Mac version of Picasa that helps you manage and edit your photos which you can upload to the Picasa Web Albums. Prior to that, Mac users could only upload via an uploader or an iPhoto plugin. This new app will pitch itself against iPhoto which comes with every copy of OS X. However given that iPhoto might be updated after tomorrow’s keynote address, it will be tough fight for Picasa.
You can read up some first looks at – TechCrunch, LifeHacker, Ars Technica, CNet.
Currently still at beta, Picasa for Mac is available for free now (download) and also note that it only runs on Intel Macs only.
BusyCal is like iCal but on steroids, with integrated calendar sharing and synchronization with Google Calendar, across LAN with other BusyCal users via Bonjour and also with your iPhone via iTunes or MobileMe. It can also allow multi-user editing and offline editing, support for ToDos to help in your GTD process. Plus other fanciful things like adding graphics, live weather and sticky notes.
BusyCal is available in Spring 2009 for US$40 per computer and the Beta will be released soon. Or if you’re a BusySync user, you can upgrade to BusyCal for just US$10.
Toast has reached version 10 and Roxio’s still pumping in much features and goodies into it even though with hard disk media cost dropping and the growth of digital media, not many are actually burning CDs or DVDs. Although OS X has Disc Utility that helps you to easily burn data or iTunes to burn music into CD/DVDs an, Toast’s easily to use interface makes backing up fast and fuss-free. Burning movie files into DVD is also pretty much plug-and-play.
New features in Toast 10 includes extracting clips from DVDs, saving streaming web videos and audio and then converting them for playing offline on TV or your iPhone and iPod Touch. Toast also extended its streaming capabilities of videos to your Mac or your iPhone and iPod Touch and many more.
There is a Standard version at US$79.99 and also a Pro version at US$129.99 that has added tools like SmartSound Sonicfire Pro to create custom soundtrack, BIAS SoundSoap SE for cleaning up of audio files, FotoMagico to create HD photo slideshows and LightZone to enhance your photographs.
Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard
I’ll update this when more announcements are made, while tomorrow will probably be focused on the keynote address.
