Translate the real world with Google Goggles

Traveling to another country can be an amazing experience. The opportunity to immerse yourself in a different culture can give you a new perspective. However, it can be hard to fully enjoy the experience if you do not understand the local language. For example, ordering food from a menu you can not read can be an adventure. Today we are introducing a new feature of Google Goggles that will prove useful to travelers and monoglots everywhere: Goggles translation.

Here’s how it works:

• Point your phone at a word or phrase. Use the region of interest button to draw a box around specific words
• Press the shutter button
• If Goggles recognizes the text, it will give you the option to translate
• Press the translate button to select the source and destination languages.

Google Goggles in action (click images to see large version)

The first Goggles translation prototype was unveiled earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and could only recognize German text. Today Goggles can read English, French, Italian, German and Spanish and can translate to many more languages. We are hard at work extending our recognition capabilities to other Latin-based languages. Our goal is to eventually read non-Latin languages (such as Chinese, Hindi and Arabic) as well.

Every new release of Google Goggles contains at least one new feature and a large number of improvements to our existing functionality. In addition to translation, Goggles v1.1 features improved barcode recognition, a larger corpus of artwork, recognition of many more products and logos, an improved user interface, and the ability to initiate visual searches using images in your phone’s photo gallery.

Computer vision is a hard problem. While we are excited about Goggles v1.1, we know that there are many images that we cannot yet recognize. The Google Goggles team is working on solving the technical challenges required to make computers see. We hope you are as excited as we are about the possibilities of visual search.

Google Goggles v1.1 is available on devices running Android 1.6 and higher. To download, please scan the QR code below or go to the Android Market app on your phone and search for “Google Goggles”. See our help center for more information.

Alessandro Bissacco and Avi Flamholz, Software Engineers

comScore Reports March 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

Samsung, Motorola and LG in Dead Heat in OEM Subscriber Market Share

RESTON, VA, May 6, 2010 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month period ending March 2010 compared to the preceding three-month period. The report ranked the leading mobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and mobile operators in the U.S. according to their share of usage by current mobile subscribers age 13 and older, and reviewed the most popular activities and content accessed via the subscriber’s primary mobile phone. The March report found Samsung, Motorola and LG separated by a mere fraction of a percentage point of market share among handset manufacturers, while Verizon led among mobile operators with 31.1 percent market share.

OEM Market Share

In the 3 month average ending in March, 234 million Americans age 13 and older were mobile subscribers, with device manufacturer Samsung ranking as the top OEM at a 21.9 percent share of U.S. mobile subscribers, inching out Motorola by a fraction of a percent. LG (21.8 percent share) ranked closely behind them, with RIM (8.3 percent share) and Nokia (8.3 percent share) rounding out the top five.

Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2009 Total U.S. Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Dec-09	Mar-10	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Samsung	21.2%	21.9%	0.7
Motorola	23.5%	21.9%	-1.6
LG	21.9%	21.8%	-0.1
RIM	7.0%	8.3%	1.3
Nokia	9.2%	8.3%	-0.9

Mobile Operator Market Share

In a ranking of the top mobile operators in the U.S. during the 3 month average ending in March, Verizon led the market with 31.1 percent of mobile subscribers. AT&T ranked second with 25.2 percent market share, up 0.2 percentage points from the period ending December 2009. Sprint narrowly grabbed the #3 position with 12.0 percent market share, closely trailed by T-Mobile (12.0 percent), while Tracfone gained 0.3 points to capture 5.1 percent of the market.

Top Mobile Operators 3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2009 Total U.S. Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Dec-09	Mar-10	Point Change
Total Audience: 13+ yrs old	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Verizon	31.2%	31.1%	-0.1
AT&T (Cingular)	25.0%	25.2%	0.2
Sprint	12.1%	12.0%	-0.1
T-Mobile	12.1%	12.0%	-0.1
Tracfone	4.8%	5.1%	0.3

Mobile Content Usage

In an average month during the January through March 2010 time period, 63.7 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 0.6 percentage points versus three months prior. Browsers were used by 30.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 2.6 percentage points), while subscribers who used downloaded applications made up 28.6 percent of the mobile audience (up 2.6 percentage points). Access of social networking sites or blogs continued to increase, posting gains of 2.8 percentage points to 18.7 percent of mobile subscribers.

Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2009 Total U.S. Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of U.S. Mobile Subscribers
	Dec-09	Mar-10	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Sent text message to another phone	63.1%	63.7%	0.6
Used browser	27.5%	30.1%	2.6
Used downloaded apps	26.0%	28.6%	2.6
Played games	21.6%	21.8%	0.2
Accessed social networking site or blog	15.9%	18.7%	2.8
Listened to music on mobile phone	12.1%	13.2%	1.1

WWDC 2010 Sells Out In 8 Days

Apple has updated their WWDC website to indicate that the event has sold out. The event took only 8 days to sell out after being officially announced last week.



WWDC 2010 will take place June 7-11 and is expected to focus intensively on the iPhone OS platform. Apple is widely expected to introduce its new iPhone hardware during a keynote address at the event, although the device has already received considerable publicity since Gizmodo published details on one lost by an Apple employee in a California bar.

Smartbooks have been delayed by Flash issues, says ARM

NEWS

Smartbooks have failed to materialise due to delays in Flash optimisation, a lower-than-expected uptake of Linux on netbooks, and the sudden emergence of tablets, ARM's marketing chief has said.

ARM dominates the mobile phone chip design market and has since 2008 been trying to get into the subnotebook market as well. The plan was to do so through Linux-based, ARM-powered 'smartbooks' that would provide an instant-on, longer-life alternative to x86-based netbooks but, according to ARM's marketing vice president, Ian Drew, events have conspired to stall this plan.

"We thought [smartbooks] would be launched by now, but they're not," Drew told ZDNet UK on Tuesday. "I think one reason is to do with software maturity. We've seen things like Adobe slip — we'd originally scheduled for something like 2009."

ARM and Adobe signed a partnership in late 2008 that was intended to see Flash Player 10 and Air — both rich web platforms — optimised for ARM-based systems. That work is only likely to come to fruition in the second half of this year, when an optimised version of Flash comes out for Android smartphones. As Apple's Steve Jobs recently pointed out, Flash was originally supposed to ship for smartphones in early 2009.

"Our target is mostly internet machines — it becomes sort of a requirement that they run the internet," Drew said. "[The delay in optimising] Flash has stalled it".

Drew suggested that solving the issue of Flash optimisation had involved "lots of heavy lifting" but once the new version of Adobe's rich media software is in place for smartbooks, that would be "very powerful" for ARM.

In March, another ARM executive suggested that more than 50 ARM-based tablets would be released later this year. According to Drew, the sudden explosion of interest in the tablet form factor had "confused" some manufacturers that had been considering ARM-based smartbooks, which tend to resemble laptops, thus further delaying smartbooks' advent.

"Some of it is also related to there not being many Linux [netbooks] out there either," Drew added, pointing out that ARM's architecture cannot support x86-based applications from the PC. "We've only got Linux. If you look at forecasts for Linux netbook sales last year, not as many were sold."

However, Drew said he was "far from disappointed" with ARM's smartbook development experience thus far. "I actually think we're a lot stronger because of it," he said. "We now know what we didn't know two years ago. It has taught us a lot about how we work with software companies."

"I am disappointed that you can't go down to PC World and buy a smartbook at the moment, but I'm convinced something will happen," Drew said.

Asked if the smartbook delays had anything to do with performance relative to Intel's netbook-dominating Atom chipset, Drew said he had "not seen that one come up once" in discussion with manufacturers.

Drew's comments came as Intel detailed its Moorestown chipset, a version of Atom that is tailored for smartphones and tablets. Moorestown's arrival later this year — around the same time as smartbooks hit the market — will ensure competition between ARM and Intel in each company's stronghold: respectively, the smartphone and the subnotebook.

OCZ Enyo USB 3.0 Portable Solid State Drive

Portable SSD / SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface / 64GB - 256GB

The OCZ Enyo USB 3.0 Portable Solid State Drive features all the performance and durability advantages of an internal SSD, but delivers portability with an external storage solution for on-the-go users sharing files between various PC systems.

Enyo SSDs offer an array of state-of-the-art features for prosumers looking to take advantage of the SuperSpeed 5Gbps port. In addition to cutting-edge performance, this portable SSD offers superior power management and lower CPU utilization far surpassing the capabilities of external hard drives. With up to 260MB/s read and 200MB/s write capabilities, OCZ makes storage ten times faster than USB 2.0 speeds, while also being backwards-compatible with legacy ports.



Enyo USB 3.0 SSDs cut the time it takes for fast transferring of HD video, graphics, and music and are plug-and-play without additional external power requirements. Furthermore, the Enyo features background garbage collection to help maintain “like-new” performance throughout its lifespan. Designed with ultimate portability in mind, the Enyo features a sleek, anodized aluminum housing and will be available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities.

• Available in 64GB, 128GB, 256GB capacities
• USB 3.0 Interface
• Backwards compatible with legacy USB ports (2.0)
• MLC Flash
• 64MB Onboard Cache
• Background Garbage Collection
• Blue LED indicators
• Anodized Aluminum Housing
• Seek Time: < .1ms
• Slim, lightweight Design 87.7g
• 56mm x 120mm x 10mm H
• Operating Temp: 0°C ~ 70°C
• Storage Temp: -45°C ~ +85°C
• Low Power Consumption: 2.4W in operation,
  1.1W idle
• Shock Resistant up to 1500G
• MTBF: 1.5 million hours
• 3-Year Warranty

64GB Max Performance

• Read: Up to 225 MB/s
• Write: Up to 135 MB/s
• Sustained Write: Up to 40 MB/s

128GB Max Performance

• Read: Up to 260 MB/s
• Write: Up to 200 MB/s
• Sustained Write: Up to 150 MB/s

256GB Max Performance

• Read: Up to 260 MB/s
• Write: Up to 200 MB/s
• Sustained Write: Up to 150 MB/s

Included

• 3' White USB 3.0 (A to Micro B) Cable

Qualifications

• 

Part Numbers

• 64GB - OCZSSDU3-1ENY64G
• 128GB - OCZSSDU3-1ENY128G
• 256GB - OCZSSDU3-1ENY256G

Downloads

• Enyo 64GB Spec Sheet
• Enyo 128GB Spec Sheet
• Enyo 256GB Spec Sheet

Potato gun, lightning, and sonic magic: Unconventional speed tests for the browser

Yesterday, we released a new beta for Chrome, and teamed up with a few creative minds to bring Chrome’s speed to life with an early preview of a series of fun, unconventional speed tests for the browser. As promised in my blogpost, here’s a follow-up video of the full results!



(Watching web pages load at 2700 frames per second reveals unexpected artifacts. If you're interested in the technical details, read on in the video's description drop-down in YouTube).

Next iPhone to Record 1280x720 HD Video?

One of the many new features provided to developers in iPhone OS 4 are new APIs that give developers full access to Video capture data. This could open the door to some interesting apps including Video Capture/Editing and more robust Augmented Reality apps when iPhone OS 4 finally becomes available to the public.

The iPhone 4 Beta SDK, however, also reveals the ability to capture video at higher resolutions than the current standard 640x480 ("VGA") resolution. These preset values suggest that a future iPhone will be able to capture at 720p (1280x720) resolution:

AVCaptureSessionPreset640x480
AVCaptureSessionPreset1280x720

The next iPhone has been pegged to use a 5 Megapixel camera, though the video capabilities of the hardware are unknown. The next iPhone revision has been also rumored to be dubbed the "iPhone HD" which would fit well with this new 720p video recording capability.

Apple is expected to introduce the new iPhone at the Worldwide Developer's Conference which takes place between June 7-11th in San Francisco, CA.