By OCI
This is the time of year of sharing and generosity, but Google seems to be going above and beyond the usual holiday spirit this month. You would think releasing a new phone or redesigning the most iconic homepage on the Internet would be enough, but they’ve been doing much, much more lately. Here’s a recap of all of our Christmas gifts from Google so far this holiday season!
1. Nexus One
Of course we have to mention the phone first. We’ve all seen Android released into the wild, but now it’s been confirmed that Google will be releasing its own Google-branded phone, called Nexus One on January 5th, 2010. No one knows for sure what the reason is for them to have their own phone but it will be exciting to see. Also the competition will be good for all the iPhone users out there, too.
2. Homepage Redesign
The next biggest announcement from Google was the simplification of their homepage and the addition of a nice fade. The average user may not have even noticed a difference, but designers with a keen eye will certainly have caught it. It’s not a drastic change, but it’s a nice upgrade.
3. Chrome for Mac
Google’s lightweight browser that has been thrilling PC users has now been released for Macs. We’re all pretty excited about that as a 100 percent Mac shop. Download your copy here.
4. Google Real Time Search
This is a huge change in the results of all of our searches and with it the Internet has officially become time-based. Read our post on it to learn more.
5. Google Suggests Answers
Google Suggests is a great little tool that we’ve all come to love (that drop down list of suggestions when you’re typing in your search terms.) Now Google has added answers into that list. For example, if I type in “Atlanta Weather” I get some search suggestions, but I also get the actual weather! Search over before it began!
Google Suggests Answers!
6. Google Favorite Places
This one is getting started and seems to be Google’s way of fighting against Yelp! and Kudzu. Local business can be listed as a favorite spot and then also display QR code on their windows that can be scanned by iPhones and Androids. Plus one of our clients has already been selected as a Google Favorite Place! (Congrats Strand!)
7. Speed Tracer
This is only for us web dorks, but Google released another new tool that will help web masters quickly optimize their websites for speed! Hopefully this will make a big difference and we’ll see a vastly faster Internet soon. (Not holding my breath, but a really useful tool none the less.)
8. Goo.gl
For some reason Google has launched a URL shortener. Not sure what the intention is, but I’m sure whatever they plan to do with it, it should be interesting. http://goo.gl/
9. Google Goggles
Google jumps into the augmented reality game with it’s visual search function for Android phones. It’s only in the labs right now, but check it out here. It sounds like it’s a program to watch for in the future.
So thanks to Google, we already having a pretty great Christmas season with all of these new toys to play with! Let me know which one is your favorite or what new Google feature I left out in the comments.
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Tags: Goo.gl, google, Google Chrome, Google Favorite Places, Google Goggles, Google Homepage Fade, Google Real Time Search, Google Suggests Answers, Nexus One, Speed Tracer
