Mobile tips

(Cross-posted from the Google Voice Blog ) 867-5309 could be one of the most iconic phone numbers of all time, but it�s not the only number that a lot of us remember by heart. Many of us have a phone number that we've shared with family, friends, and contacts over the years and are reluctant to let go. One of the most frequent requests we hear from people who use (or want to use) Google Voice is that they�d like to get all of Google Voice�s features without having to give up their long-time phone numbers. Today, we�re excited to announce that Number Porting is available for all existing Google Voice users. This means you can make the mobile number you�ve always used your Google Voice number, so it can ring any phone you want�or even your computer . To get started with Number Porting, log in to your Google Voice account, visit the Settings page and click on �Change / Port� next to your Google Voice number. Porting your number to Google Voice costs $20 and is usually completed with...

We�d been wanting to build a fun, useful, app-like way to display weather information on our search results pages in the mobile browser. So we pulled together a user experience designer and team of engineers and built a new weather search results snippet that lets you actually play with the results. To try it out, just go to google.com on your iPhone or Android-powered device and search for �weather�. At first glance, you�ll see content that we�d previously shown you before: current conditions and a forecast for the next few days. But by moving the slider over the next 12 hours, you can now see a detailed hour-by-hour breakdown of the changing weather conditions. As you do this, keep an eye on the temperature, wind speed and humidity and see how all these conditions are expected to trend across the day. You may also notice that the background color changes throughout the day. Of course, as you scroll further down you�ll see our regular web search results for your query. This new w...

(Cross-posted on the Docs Blog and Gmail Blog .) Back in April 2010 we announced Google Cloud Print , a service that in Beta allows printing from any app on any device, OS or browser without the need to install any software. Just last month we opened Google Cloud Print to users in the Chrome notebook pilot program . Today we are very pleased to announce the beta launch of Google Cloud Print for mobile documents and Gmail for mobile, which we will be rolling out to users throughout the next few days. Imagine printing an important document from your smartphone on the way to work and finding the printout waiting for you when you walk in the door. Just open a document in Google Docs or an email in Gmail in your mobile browser and choose �Print� from the dropdown menu in the top right corner. You can also print certain kinds of email attachments (such as .pdf or .doc) by clicking the �Print� link that appears next to them. This feature will be rolling out today and tomorrow for English s...

( Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog and Translate Blog . ) When we launched the first version of Google Translate for Android in January 2010, we were excited about the year ahead. For the first time, we were bringing the capabilities supported on Google Translate �like machine translation, romanization of non-Roman scripts and spoken translations�to the Android platform. We also offered voice input to let you speak the word or phrase you wanted to translate instead of typing it in, and SMS translation so you could translate SMS messages sent to you in foreign languages. Today, we�re refreshing Translate for Android with several updates to make the app easier to interact with. Among other improvements, we�ve created better dropdown boxes to help select the languages you want to translate from and into, an improved input box, and cleaner icons and layout. We also want to let you in on an experimental feature that�s still in its earliest stages�Conversation Mode. This is a new i...

We recently released Google Places with Hotpot in Google Maps for Android , and starting now, you can have that same great experience as an iPhone app. We realize the importance of finding places you�ll love while you�re out and about, no matter what mobile device you use. And Places with Hotpot not only helps you find places near where you are, it gives you the best places to go for you by personalizing your search results. In case you aren�t familiar with Google Places , it lets you quickly search for places nearby and personalizes the results based on places you�ve rated. We get you started with a few popular search categories, but you can also tailor the list by adding your own favorite searches. This makes it fast and easy to find the best places for you with little fuss. Use a default search category, save your own, or rate the nearest place quickly. It can be pretty rewarding to discover a new place you love, but we also realize that there are some experiences you just can�t wa...

Today we�re launching a new version of Google Goggles that�s faster and smarter than ever before. The new Goggles 1.3 client for Android can scan barcodes almost instantly. All versions of Goggles can now recognize print ads in popular magazines and newspapers. Finally, Goggles has also learned a fun new trick for Sudoku fans. Barcodes When shopping offline, it�s helpful to be able to learn more about a product by scanning its barcode. With the new Android version of Google Goggles, scanning barcodes is much faster. Open Goggles and hover over the barcode or QR code. Within a second the phone gently vibrates and presents results, without requiring a button press. Simply tap on the result to read product reviews, check in-store availability and compare prices. Print ads in magazines and newspapers We�re excited to take another step in our vision of connecting offline media to online media. The next time you're flipping through the pages of your favorite magazine, try taking a pict...

The past few weeks have been exciting ones for the Android team: we recently released Nexus S and Android 2.3, Gingerbread , and we�ve even had some of our most popular team members take a trip to space . But we haven�t stopped buzzing with excitement: today at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, we previewed Android 3.0, Honeycomb. Honeycomb is the next version of the Android platform, designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets. We�ve spent a lot of time refining the user experience in Honeycomb, and we�ve developed a brand new, truly virtual and holographic user interface. Many of Android�s existing features will really shine on Honeycomb: refined multi-tasking, elegant notifications, access to over 100,000 apps on Android Market, home screen customization with a new 3D experience and redesigned widgets that are richer and more interactive. We�ve also made some powerful upgrades to the web browser, including tabbed browsing, f...