Google Mobile App: Google in your Pocket

The boffins at Google have put together a lovely little treasure here for the iPhone user. Pulling out all of the stops, you aren’t left with just a simple search app… You’re left with an incredible search app. My favourite feature of this app is the fact that the camera app holds countless possibilities. I’m going to throw a scenario your way. Picture this: you’re sitting in a café in France, and you can’t read or speak a single word of the language, but you really fancy something from the menu. Don’t know what the menu says? Worry not, my linguistically challenged friend! Simply take a quick snapshot of the text, and Google will work it’s magic to translate the text. Google calls this ‘Google Goggles’, and it is able do more than translate the 6 languages it currently can. The image recognition technology picks out objects, images, and text from the snapshot, returning more relevant search results. Perfect for when you don’t have enough time to type. It is an excellent app to use when scanning barcodes, too. The app is able to use Google’s ‘Products’ function to help you find the cheapest price within your local area. Nifty!

Along with that key feature, you can expect a fairly responsive voice search with support for a range of different dialects (see the in-store app description for more details). If you allow Google to access your location, you can get detailed weather for your area, and search results closer to your current locality. You are also able to search through your phone contact list using this app, too!

This app, with its easy to use interface, and abundance of functions, is a must have for anyone on the go. I would have rated this higher if the apps ran from within the Google Mobile app, as opposied to swapping into Safari as they currently do.
4th generation iPod touch users should note that, as it currently stands, there is no goggles functionality for their product. I imagine Google will sort this out, but don’t hold me to that!