Windows Mobile Louisville

The internets are a-buzz about Google Buzz!  Buzz shows that Google is very serious about social media, and is going for the juggler with Facebook and Twitter.   If you have Gmail, you will see a link to Buzz show up just beneath Inbox.  If you don’t see it, expect it to show up soon.

There is an app for the iPhone and Android (available by going to Buzz.Google.com) and soon, for Windows phones, Symbian and Blackberry devices.  In the meanwhile, Google Maps for Windows phones has been updated to version 4.0 and now contains a Buzz layer.  

When you Buzz from your desktop PC, you have the option of choosing if the update will be available to the public or just to select people in your contacts.  It appears that is not an option if you Buzz via Google Maps.  I’ll bet the app on the iPhone and Android has a lot more such capabilities, including the ability to post images.

In the few minutes I have been playing with the Buzz layer, it quickly became obvious that I could see Buzzes of all sorts around the city!  Check it out - this is just a random guy Buzzing out in the East End!

Here is the detail of his Buzz:

This has literally just come out of the gate, so expect to see and hear a lot more about this latest Google release!

Goosync has announced that it will discontinue its free service effective October 19, 2009. 

Goosync is an app that syncs your Google calendar & contacts with your Windows phone.  Goosync offers a premium service for an annual fee that allowed for multiple calendar syncs, contact backups, and tasks.  The free version, which was basically limited to contacts and calendar sync, will be replaced with a lower cost service, Goosync Lite that will have the same functionality.  

Goosync Premium will run $32 annually, $48 for a two year commitment or $64 for a lifetime subscription.  Goosync Lite will run $10 annually and will have a seven day trial period.  No word if lifetime pricing will be available for Goosync Lite.

Source: WM Experts

About two years ago, Google purchased Grand Central. They have now turned it into Google Voice, which will be free, and it could be a game-changer.

Users of Google Voice would provide the numbers for all their phones (mobile, work,  home, etc) and be assigned a new number.  Then, any call made to this new Google number will cause all the other phones to ring simultaneously.  Check out the features:

• Call screening - Announce and screen callers
• Listen in - Listen before taking a call
• Block calls - Keep unwanted callers at bay
• SMS - Send, receive, and store SMS
• Place calls - Call US numbers for free
• Taking calls - Answer on any of your phones
• Phone routing - Phones ring based on who calls
• Forwarding phones - Add phones and decide which ring

Google voicemail - Voicemail as easy as email, with transcripts

• Voicemail transcripts - Read what your voicemail says
• Listen to voicemail - Check online or from your phone
• Notifications - Receive voicemails via email or SMS
• Personalize greeting - Vary greetings by caller
• Share voicemail - Forward or download voicemails 

Voice features - More cool things you can do with Google Voice 

• Conference calling - Join people into a single call
• Call record - Record calls and store them online
• Call switch - Switch phones during a call
• Mobile site - View your inbox from your mobile
• GOOG-411 - Check directory assistance
• Manage groups - Set preferences by group

Read all about it over at Google Voice.

Google Mobile App gives you faster searching on your Windows Mobile device, with easy access to your favorite Google applications from the Today screen. There’s no need to wait for a browser to open to begin a search, and with search history available to reduce typing, you can get your search results with fewer clicks than before. For an even speedier experience, you can add the Google Mobile App to the start menu or configure a hardware key to provide easy access from within any application on your phone.

Check out more highlights of Google Mobile App on Windows Mobile in this video:

I know that Microsoft is on the cusp of announcing and releasing some very cool mobile stuff, but Google is certainly turning on the heat lately as well.  Let the race continue, for we all win when there’s competition going on! 

From the Google Mobile Blog:

Until today, you’ve only been able to view Google Docs spreadsheets on your mobile devices.  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.

To check out these new capabilities, just go to m.google.com/docs in your mobile browser and log in.  If you are a Google Apps user, go to docs.google.com/a/your-domain.

Pretty cool.  I have several Google Docs “out in the cloud”, and up to now, I saw no compelling reason to pull them up on my Diamond, since all I could do was look at them.  This changes the game considerably.

UPDATE:  I just went to some of my spreadsheets on my Diamond, and they are still showing in the same, boring HTML format.  I think that Google has made this feature available only for the iTurd and Android devices…  more later…

Google Latitude has been released and I think it is very cool!  With Google Latitude, you can

• See where your friends are and what they are up to
• Quickly contact them with SMS, IM, or a phone call
• Maintain complete control over your privacy
• Enjoy Google Latitude on your phone, PC, or both.

From your Windows Mobile device - View your friends’ locations and status messages and share yours with them. Get the app for your device here.

From your computer - View your friends’ locations and status messages on a full screen even without a compatible phone or data plan. Click here to see your friends from your PC. 

I know there are some other apps that do the same thing, but I like how it’s integrated into Google Mobile Maps, and, as you can see in the screenshots below, it is available in a widget if you use iGoogle!

The screenshot on the Touch Diamond was snapped while I was driving down the road last night!  One thing I haven’t tested yet is whether you could actually see someone in motion on the map! If Ian had been watching his map while I was zipping along at 60mph, would he have seen that?! That would be cool! 

You have full control over who can see your position, and there’s even an option to manually enter your location, so privacy paranoid folks can rest easy…!  :)

Today Google launched a server-side change that makes it easier to get directions to businesses. You can now get directions to restaurants, stores, and other points of interest by entering their names in the start or end point. 

Until today, if you tried to get directions and entered a business name, “starbucks” for example, as the end or start point, Google Maps for mobile did not understand that you meant Starbucks the business. Rather, Google Maps for mobile would search for an address with “starbucks” in it.

Google Maps for mobile now recognizes when your end or start point is a business and not an address. Try setting “starbucks” or “mcdonald’s” as an end point when getting directions, and you’ll quickly see how it works.

If you’ve already got Google Maps on your device, you don’t have to download anything to start using this new feature. That’s because the update was made on Google’s servers, not the Google Maps for mobile client.

But if you don’t already have Google Maps for mobile, visit google.com/gmm on your phone to download it today.

Windows Mobile devices finally get Street View in Google Maps for Mobile.  Google’s Android, Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry platform have been enjoying this useful feature already, which offers street level imagery in supported locations. 

Go to http://www.google.com/gmm to download version 2.3 of Google Maps.

[Source: JKonTheRun]

I’m sure glad WM device owners (and developers) don’t have to deal with this!

Just like the Apple with its iPhone, Google is looking to keep its Android phone programs under tight reins
The news that Apple’s iPhone had a kill switch built in that could destroy users apps that they had bought and paid for was at first met with incredulity.  When users discovered that the rumors were indeed true, they reacted with shock and anger.  Now Google has a similar situation brewing after it was revealed that its G1 phone which features its Android OS has a similar kill switch.

The tidbit was gleaned from the user contract terms of Google’s Android Market, which it uses to sell software, similar to Apple’s App Store.  The terms stated that Google can remotely kill your programs, describing, “Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement … in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion.”

While the G1 phone from T-Mobile does not go on sale till October 22, many have been lent to reporters, so detailed information is becoming available.  While some may be angry at Google’s decision, others are saying Google is treating the issue in more of a sensitive manner than Apple.  Google is acknowledging the kill switch for Android at the time of release.  Apple, critics point out, only acknowledged that a kill switch existed when a developer discovered it and loudly pronounced its existence to the internet community.

Also Google says that it will try to refund users for any deleted Apps.  While this sounds common sense, iPhone users have yet to discover if they will get anything back if Apple deletes their Apps.  Google, on the other hand, says it will make “reasonable efforts to recover the purchase price of the product … from the original developer on your behalf.”  It will recover as much as it can from the developer and if it cannot offer a full refund it will redistribute whatever it collects to give a partial refund.

The kill switch also makes more sense as Android is decidedly more dangerous when it comes to applications.  It does not pre-screen its applications like Apple — anything can be sold on its market.  This raises the possibility of malicious applications.  Google has given no indication that it will delete or prevent the release of applications that overlap its products, something Apple has actively done.

Google is also kind enough to provide users with a 24-hour satisfaction guarantee, where unsatisfied users can return their application in this timeframe for a full refund.  Android Market users also get access to an unlimited number of downloads for their purchased programs, helpful in the case of phone loss or failure.

Injecting a bit of humor, Google also added that “no robots were harmed in the making of this product” and that further, “None of the products are intended for use in the operation of nuclear facilities, life support systems, emergency communications, aircraft navigation or communication systems, air traffic control systems or any other such activities in which case the failure of the products could lead to death, personal injury, or severe physical or environmental damage.”

Source: DailyTech

GooSync has released multiple device support,  available exclusively in the GooSync Premium subscription.

GooSync now offers the ability to add up to 4 devices to a single GooSync account. Finally you can get all of your devices and other PIM repositories synchronized to your Google or GooSync data with a single account.

GooSync Premium Subscribers get this at no additional cost. Simply add your additional devices here.