Vote for new Google mobile product features

Have you ever left a comment on the Google mobile blog about a new feature or platform that you really wanted supported? Have you ever wanted to cast a vote for another reader's comment to make your opinion heard? Well now you can.

While we do read your comments on the mobile blog and help forum, we're happy to announce our new Product Ideas page that will give you a more collaborative way to get your product ideas heard not only by us, but by others as well. The new page, built on Google Moderator, allows you to submit ideas that others can view and rate so you can see what other Google mobile users think about it, too. This way some ideas will be voted up and others will be voted down.

From this we'll be able to see more clearly what's important to you and we'll take it into consideration as we move forward with developing our products. The Product Ideas team will pop in from time to time to see what you have to say, and we'll be offering periodic updates on what we see and what ideas make it into your favorite products in our Product Ideas blog.

To get started, visit the Product Ideas for Google mobile page and sign in, then let your voice heard!

Posted by Beverly, Ethan, Courtney, Sze-Jun, Product Ideas Team

Our 100th post -- What about MY phone?

We don't always say this, but thank you for reading the Google mobile blog.

When we launched last year, we realized that we needed to better communicate what the Google mobile team was up to. Since then, we've been working hard to provide you with timely and useful information. We've also sought to keep our posts personal and engaging by introducing you to the Googlers behind our products, incorporating video, and enabling comments.

While we're thrilled that our readership has continued to grow, we want to make the mobile blog even more useful and interesting to you in 2009. We invite you to tell us how we can improve. What else do you want to see on the mobile blog? Are our posts too long or too short? What phones do you most want to read about? Please fill out this quick survey to let us know what you think.

In celebration of our 100th post, we're going to attempt to address one of the blog's most frequent comments: "What about MY phone?" This comment always seems to be tinged with such angst and passion. Trust us, as users we know your pain. But we also know the difficulty of developing software for disparate phones.

We've put together a video that gives you a behind-the-scenes glimpse of our "Sky Lab" that contains over 800 phones for developing, demonstrating, and testing purposes. Although we have so many phones, we currently can't make all of our products work on all of these phones -- we face the same challenges that every developer faces in the mobile industry: we have to choose. So this video also reveals two very different approaches for choosing devices in this industry... If you have any better ideas, let us know!



Of course, if you've been following our blog you may have noticed some patterns. We do like phones with good browsers and flat-rate data plans. Stay tuned to the Google mobile blog for more on this in the new year.

Posted by Lawrence Chang, Product Marketing Manager, Google mobile team

Track Santa with Google Maps for mobile!

Santa's making his list, the Elves are working around the clock, the sleigh is being prepped - Christmas is almost here! As they have since 1955, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) will be tracking Santa's journey this Christmas, and Google will again enable you to follow his trip in Google Maps, Google Earth, on YouTube, and with the NORAD Tracks Santa iGoogle Gadget. This year, we're happy to announce that you can keep tabs on Santa with Google Maps for mobile. Now, no matter where you are, you can track Santa and his Reindeer, directly from your mobile device.

Getting started is easy, just open Google Maps for mobile, and search maps for 'norad santa'. Once the tracking begins, you will be flown to Santa's most current location, according to NORAD radar. Try it out on your T-Mobile G1, iPhone, BlackBerry, Nokia S60, or Windows Mobile smartphone. Note that you'll have to re-issue your query to see Santa's updated location.

For the moment, Santa is in his home at the North Pole, but after he takes off, his whereabouts will be updated every few minutes as he zips around, delivering his gifts. By the way, if you need an excuse to end a conversation with that relative that is trying to make up for not calling you in 15 years, this may come in handy - "Sorry, I'm going to have to let you go - I need to find out where Santa is!"

Santa doesn't take off until 12/24 at 3:00am PT, but there is plenty to learn about NORAD Tracks Santa between now and then at www.noradsanta.org. The video below has a few highlights from last year's trip - enjoy and happy holidays from the mobile team!


Posted by Bruno Bowden, Software Engineer

Happy Holidays from the Google Mobile Team!

We hope you have a safe and happy (and mobile!) holiday season. To wrap things up, here are some final holiday Mobile Tricks. 

Ted Smolsen shows how he does last-minute shopping using Google Docs and Google Maps for mobile...

George shows how he keeps in touch with far-off relatives with a cameraphone, Picasa Webalbums, and a WiFi-enabled picture frame

and after your holiday meal, try ChangChangYall's Full-O-lator to understand what your relatives are saying.


From the Google Mobile team, search for recipes on your phone, use mobile YouTube to keep antsy kids at the dinner table, and remember to search for local times to wish your far-off friends a happy new year. 

Posted by Effie Seiberg, Google Mobile Trickster

Administrative management of non-employee contacts now available

Premier Edition administrators can now add contacts that aren't employees of their own company to the contact list that each user can access in the new standalone contact manager. These shared contacts are managed with the Shared Contacts API.

Editions included:
Premier Edition

Languages included:
US English

How to access what's new:
Administrators can learn more about how to manage shared contacts that aren't employees of their own company through the Shared Contacts API documentation. (See link below.)

For more information:
http://code.google.com/apis/apps/shared_contacts/gdata_shared_contacts_api_reference.html

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Standalone contact manager available

Administrators of all editions can now allow users to access their contacts outside of Gmail with the new standalone contact manager. Premier Edition is required for the standalone contact manager to include shared contacts from outside of the organization.

Editions included:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages included:
All languages supported by Gmail

How to access what's new:
To enable the standalone contact manager, sign in to the control panel, click 'Add more services', and enable the 'Contacts' service. A new 'Contacts' link will then begin to appear for users in the row of links at the top left of each application.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=134378

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Optimized search results pages for Android and iPhone

Whether you're using Google search through the search widget on the Android home screen, the built-in search box of the iPhone's Safari browser, or google.com on either device, you'll now end up with search results optimized for your phone. In some situations, you've already been seeing the new search results pages. Now, all Google search options for Android and iPhone lead to results that load faster and are formatted to fit the screen so you don't have to zoom or scroll side-to-side. We've also added touchscreen-friendly buttons and expandable maps for local business results.


The optimized search results pages are currently available in U.S. English for Android and for iPhone and iPod touch devices with firmware 2.x. If you prefer, you can always view desktop search result pages by selecting the "Classic" link at the bottom of any page.

Posted by Steve Kanefsky and Rob Stacey, Software Engineers, Google mobile team

The gift of Mobile Tricks

'Tis the season of giving... and we've got Mobile Tricks to help you navigate your way through it.

Terrence Diggle checks out new watch styles....

momola90404 shows off a whole new twist on a mobile headset...

and pizzazzery finds a friend in the mall.

And from the Google Mobile team, check out tips on seeing stores before you get there, and checking store stock. Remember to send us your video tips and tricks through the Mobile Tricks YouTube channel! We'll continue posting our favorites to this blog.


Posted by Effie Seiberg, Mobile Trickster

Your Maps in Your Hands for the Holidays

Just in time for the holidays I'm proud to present to you My Maps Editor by Google, now available for download in Android Market! In just four months of my 20% time and with a little help from the 20% time of my coworkers this application has gone from an idea in my head to a full application ready for you, really demonstrating the ease and power of developing on Android.

With this application you can create, edit, share, and view personalized maps on your Android powered phone synchronized with the My Maps tab on Google Maps. Create a map on your desktop computer using Google Maps and then take it with you on the go and update it on location. My Maps Editor by Google supports full editing functionality for markers, lines, and shapes on maps, plus the ability to mark your location using GPS or attach a photo directly from your phone. Your maps are automatically synchronized with your My Maps on the web. Check out this tour of Google Mountain View that I just created on my phone:



There are plenty of ways to put this to good use during the holiday season:

• Plan out your holiday shopping. Create a map on your computer with markers for all of the stores you need to visit. Color code the markers according to importance, category, or sales. Then as you visit each store, change the icon to indicate that you've been there and list what items you were able to get in the description. If you find a store you didn't think of, you can quickly add a marker for it to help future planning.
• Make a map of holiday decorations and displays that you see. Every time you see an interesting holiday display, use the Mark My Location feature to create a marker, then edit the details and add a photo of the display right from the phone's camera. Share your map with your friends and family to show them the best holiday displays in your area. Just go to the maps list, tap and hold on your map, and select Share Map to share it right from your phone.
• Keep track of your travels. You can map out your travel plans and take them with you wherever you go. Add markers while you travel to mark interesting places, and take lots of pictures and attach them to the markers. Then when you get back, you can share the map with your friends and show everyone what your did on your vacation with a map and pictures to help them really visualize the trip.

The fun doesn't stop once the holidays are over. The possibilities are endless when your maps are in the palm of your hand (try making a map of running routes to keep yourself to your New Years resolution!). Don't take my word for it, go download My Maps Editor by Google from Android Market (currently available on the T-Mobile G1) and see for yourself!

Posted by Brian Cornell, Software Engineer

Gmail adds fast PDF attachment viewing right in the browser

Gmail now lets you view PDF attachments right in the browser if you prefer not to download the file to your computer.

Editions included:
Standard, Premier, Education and Partner Editions

Languages included:
US English

How to access what's new:
When you receive a PDF attachment, just click the 'View' link to the left of the 'Download' option.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/messaging.html#mail

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Google Calendar adds 'undo', event reminder options and more

Google Calendar now supports several new features:
– You can now undo the last change you made to your schedule.
– You can now disable reminders for events that you haven't accepted.
– Events now show a visual indicator when all other attendees have declined.
– Event creators can now allow guests to modify the details of an event.

Editions included:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages included:
US English

How to access what's new:
To undo your last action, click the 'undo' link in the change confirmation that appears near the top of the screen.

To turn off reminders for events you haven't accepted, click 'Settings', go to the 'Automatically add invitations to my calendar' section, and choose 'Yes, but don't sent event reminders until I have responded'.

To let guests modify events that you create, open the details of your event, go to the 'Guests can' section, and check the box for 'modify event'.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/messaging.html#calendar

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Street View on Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile? Check.

(cross posted with the Google LatLong Blog)

In case you hadn't noticed, the Google Street View team has been busy photographing France, Italy, Spain, and Australia. Given the international focus of recent Street View launches, it's time we make Street View accessible on phones that are especially popular in those countries. We're excited to announce the availability of Google Maps for mobile version 2.3 with Street View on Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile. Street View was previously released on Google Maps for Android, BlackBerry, and iPhone.

Street View lets you access street level imagery to help orient yourself when looking for places, businesses, or getting directions. Say you're going to meet with friends at an unfamiliar restaurant. Now you can search for it in Google Maps for mobile, click on "Street View", and see what the place and surrounding area look like. Similarly, say you need to get to a shop in a part of town you don't know. Find it using your phone, get directions to it, and see how to get there with full-screen panorama images of every step along the way.

While Street View is not yet available everywhere, we'll continue rolling out support across other geographies in the coming months.

Check out this demo of Street View (albeit on a BlackBerry) to get an idea of how things work:


Besides Street View, the new version of Google Maps for mobile also has a bunch of other new features: request walking directions (in addition to driving and public transit) to get anywhere on foot, receive transit alerts from participating public transportation authorities, and see what other people think of a place by reading reviews directly on your phone. We've also overhauled the entire user interface to make the app more responsive and easier to use.

So if you have a Nokia S60 or Windows Mobile smartphone, go ahead and download the new version of Google Maps by visiting google.com/gmm on your phone. Enjoy the (street) view!

Posted by Flavio Lerda, Software Engineer

Mobile Tricks... Holiday Edition!

You've seen our useful Mobile Tips for the holiday season... now how about some fun Tricks? Mobile Tricks, our YouTube channel celebrating all things cellular, has dressed up for the holidays with some new themed videos. How do you use your phone to get through the season? Show us in a video, and submit it on our channel. We'll post some of our favorites in this blog each week. Here are a few videos to start spreading the holiday cheer. It appears Santa is pretty handy with his phone!







And as before, we got together to give some tricks of our own, from looking up store hours without needing to type, to tracking packages. We're sure you do even more interesting, fun things though, so show us!

Posted by Effie Seiberg, Mobile Trickster

New AdWords options for iPhone and G1

Today, the Google mobile ads team is announcing a new campaign-level option that allows those of you who are AdWords advertisers to show your desktop text and image ads on the iPhone, the T-Mobile G1, and other mobile devices with full (HTML) Internet browsers. The ads can point to desktop landing pages so you don't need to create mobile landing pages or ads in mobile formats. The ads will have many of the same benefits as our standard mobile ads, such as the delivery of mobile-specific calls-to-action and reaching mobile users that are searching with their phones more than ever -- especially during the holiday season.

You may have seen ads running on the iPhone and G1 already. That's because Google Search on these devices used to show desktop results pages modified for these phones. Recently, the Google mobile team launched new results pages formatted specifically for the iPhone. Now, advertisers will be able to display ads exclusively on these mobile devices, create campaigns for them, and get separate performance reporting. If you prefer not to show your desktop ads on these phones, you can opt out and show ads only on desktop and laptop computers.

To target ads for G1 and iPhone, go to your campaign settings tab in your AdWords account. Then for the "Device Platform" option under "Networks and Bidding," select "iPhones and other mobile devices with full internet browsers." As additional devices that use full browsers enter the market, your ads will show on those phones, too. You can visit the AdWords Help Center for more detailed instructions and watch my video below for a quick demo. If you currently have an AdWords campaign running, by default your campaign will show ads on desktop and laptop computers, as well as iPhone and G1.

Note that if you're currently running our mobile ads, this new option for desktop ads does not affect your campaign. You can still create mobile ads that show up on other mobile devices like before. For a refresher on our mobile ad formats, check out my past posts on the Google mobile blog and past videos on the mobile blog YouTube channel.



Posted by Alexandra Kenin, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads team

Count down to 2009 with Google Mobile Tips

Whether you're shopping or traveling, entertaining or keeping in touch, let Google mobile make your life a little easier this holiday season with Google Mobile Tips.

From now through January 1, 2009, we'll post one new tip each day on our Google Mobile Tips microsite. You can also view the tips on your phone by simply entering your phone number on the microsite and clicking "Send". You'll receive an SMS text message with a link that leads to a tip on a mobile web page.

Today's tip is on voice search. Many of you may know that we recently launched Google Mobile App for the iPhone with voice search. However, did you know that you can tap the green highlighted text in the search bar to see alternative predictions of what you've spoken? If the voice recognition for a query is close but not perfect, try tapping this text to see if your desired query is in the list. If it is, then just tap the list item to see your search results. Voice search can come in handy when you're looking for that perfect gift -- whatever that may be.

Make life even easier by taking a look at this countdown to 2009 for tips about other Google products like Product Search, Checkout, Maps, and more. There's even a gadget that you can add to your iGoogle page -- read more on the Official Google Blog.

Posted by Lawrence Chang, Product Marketing Manager, Google mobile team

Got Questions? Try the new Google Mobile Help Forum

We know that with many Google products launching on an array of mobile devices, you're bound to have questions. And with all your experience using those products and devices, you're also likely to have some knowledge to share. Even though we've tried to make our help center as up to date as possible, you'll likely have even more questions that we haven't addressed yet. We can't talk to everyone -- there are millions of you! -- but we've been working hard to provide you with better ways to express your views and discuss our products. To that end, we're very excited to invite you to a housewarming party as our help community moves from Google Groups to a brand new platform: the Google Mobile Help Forum.

The new platform was built from scratch to offer you some exciting new features:

• Q&A format to help you find answers quickly
• Improved search and integration with the Google Mobile Help Center
• Better spam detection and prevention
• Public recognition of Top Contributors and frequent posters (with more posting privileges as you make your way up)
• Ability to subscribe to ask questions and receive answers via email

Naturally, we're pumped for the move. We've got a dynamic system of levels to reward your contributions, and a profile that you can personalize. You can subscribe to the forum (or to individual discussions) by RSS feed. You can even vote on which responses answer the question best and mark a best answer to a question you asked.

The new forum is just one step in our quest to build better products and connect you with one another, so stay tuned for more. As part of this transition, we'll archive the current Google Help Group, as well as the Google Mobile Community. We hope you'll use the Forum not just when you need help, but also to share your enthusiasm and give tips and tricks to the whole mobile community. So stop by to introduce youself, and stay to ask and answer a few questions.

Posted by Alden and Robin, Google Mobile Help Forum Guides

More Google Calendar features launched

Google Calendar now supports several new features:
– Google Calendar recognizes the locations of your events and lets you view where events take place in Google Maps.
– You can transfer ownership of an event to a different Google Calendar user.
– Google Calendar now does time zone auto-detection to help you view your calendar in the right local time zone when you're traveling.
– You can now report event invitation spam.
– Events between two people now show the other attendee's name in the event block on your calendar.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
To view where an event takes place in Google Maps, view the details of the event and click the 'map' link. This works when the event owner has entered a location recognized by Google Maps.

To transfer ownership of an event to a different user, view the details of the event and choose 'Transfer Event...' from the 'Calendar' selection menu. You'll be prompted sent a notification to the new event owner.

To report event invitation spam, click the event on your calendar, and then click the 'Report Spam' link.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/messaging.html#calendar

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Google Maps for iPhone adds Street View, public transit, and walking directions

(cross posted with the Google LatLong Blog)

I waited in line on launch day to buy my first-generation iPhone, and ever since then it has never left my side. The best part is that it keeps getting more useful with every software upgrade Apple puts out. This time around, Apple has improved their version of Google Maps by putting even more Google features in your pocket.

The most eye-catching one is Street View: Apple's silky-smooth implementation makes it a joy to pan around the world. You might wonder why you'd want to look at panoramas of the world while you're already out in it, but I've found it handy for getting an idea of what to look for when going somewhere new. In somewhere like New York, it's also a great way to get your bearings when you pop out of a subway station in an unfamiliar part of town.



Speaking of subways, my favorite new feature is the addition of Google Transit and walking directions. In a time of congested roads and fluctuating gas prices, driving isn't always the best way to get from A to B, so why limit your options? Now when you get directions, you can switch between driving, walking, and public transportation directions (where available) with a single tap.

Google Maps has schedules for transportation systems in more than 100 cities worldwide, including New York, Tokyo, Montréal, Zürich, and Perth — and now it's easy to get that information on your iPhone. As more transportation agencies decide to share their schedule information, their routes will be available on the iPhone the instant they appear in Google Maps on the web.




Finally, in the latest version of Google Maps for iPhone, you can email information about a location to your friends, which can be a great help when coordinating a get-together.

To get these new Maps features on your iPhone, you'll need to update your phone's software through iTunes. I hope you'll find these new additions as useful as I have. And don't forget that even if you don't have an iPhone, Google Maps for mobile is available for many other kinds of phones, including BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian Series 60, and Android — visit www.google.com/gmm for more details.

Posted by Joe Hughes, Mobile Maps Software Engineer

Contact sync for BlackBerry now available

BlackBerry users can now synchronize their BlackBerry's built-in address book with their Google Apps contacts. Two-way sync happens automatically over the air.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
To use Google Sync or upgrade from the older version, visit m.google.com/sync from your BlackBerry browser.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/mobile/blackberry/sync.html

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Google Sync for BlackBerry: Now with contacts

You asked for it, so here it is. We're happy to announce that in the latest update to Google Sync for BlackBerry, we've added two-way contacts synchronization. This new functionality will enable you to sync your handheld's built-in address book with your Gmail contacts. This all happens in the background and over the air, so your information is always up to date, no matter where you are or what you're doing.

Once you've installed Sync, all your information will be safe in your Google account. If you ever lose your phone or buy a new one, getting your address book and calendar to your new device is as easy as installing Sync. Current and new Google Sync users can try Google Sync today by visiting m.google.com/sync from their BlackBerry browser.

Posted by Marcus Foster, Product Manager, Google Mobile

Google Mobile App for iPhone now with Voice Search and My Location

The new Google Mobile App for iPhone makes it possible for you to do a Google web search using only your voice. Just hold the phone to your ear, wait for the beep, and say what you're looking for. That's it. Just talk. Once the App is on, you don't have to push any buttons to search. Check out the video below to watch engineer Mike LeBeau explain how this works.

After you speak your query, Google Mobile App will return search results formatted for your iPhone.

And if you're doing a local search, there's no need to specify where you are because Google Mobile App now has Search with My Location. Search for "movie showtimes" or "Mediterranean restaurant" and you'll automatically see results based on your current location. For this to work, Location Services must be enabled on your iPhone and you have to opt-in to let Google Mobile App use your location.

To get the latest Google Mobile App for iPhone or iPod touch, go to the App Store and look for "Google Mobile App." Note that the voice search feature is currently available only in U.S. English and for the iPhone. Read more about other features of Google Mobile App.

Watch this video to see what Googlers from Chicago, London, New York, and Mountain View are searching for. Then consider sharing your most interesting voice search query by submitting a video response.



Posted by Dave Burke, Engineering Manager, Google mobile team

"No logo" default option available for Google Sites

Google Apps administrators can now specify that all new user-created Google Sites will not display a logo at the top of each page.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
Sign in to the administrative control panel, click 'Domain settings' and then 'Appearance'. Un-check the box for 'Show this logo in all sites that users create', then click 'Save changes'.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/collaboration.html#sites

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Google Calendar now available in Hebrew and Arabic

Google Calendar users can now access their accounts in Hebrew and Arabic, including a complete right-to-left user interface.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
Hebrew and Arabic

How to access what's new:
Sign in to Google Calendar and click 'Settings' to change your language preferences.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/support/calendar/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=37032

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New Google Search results pages for iPhone

Starting today in the U.S., when you go to google.com on your iPhone and do a search, you'll see search results that are better optimized for your phone. You'll still get the full comprehensiveness and quality of regular Google Search results, but laid out in a more efficient and user-friendly arrangement.

Results are formatted to be neatly displayed on the mobile screen, so there's no need to scroll side to side. Local search results now include easier-to-press "Get Directions" and click-to-call links. Maps are shown by default in the case of a single listing or accessible by the "Show map" link for multiple listings. For those of you wanting to access the classic desktop search results format, it's only a click away, with the "Classic" link near the bottom of each page.

For now, the newly formatted results pages are available only in U.S. English and for iPhone and iPod touch firmware version 2.x. Over time, we intend to make the newly formatted results pages available through other search entry points on the iPhone, on additional devices, and in more language and country combinations.



Posted by Steve Kanefsky and Rob Stacey, Software Engineers, Google mobile team

Browser-based voice and video chat available in Gmail

You can now have voice and video chats with your contacts for free within your browser's Gmail window.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
From Gmail, open a chat session with a contact, click on the 'Video & more' menu at the bottom of the chat window, then select 'Start video chat' or 'Start voice chat'. The first time you use this feature, you'll be prompted to download and install a small plugin.

For more information:
http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2008/11/gmail-voice-and-video-chat.html

Updates to Google Maps for mobile for enterprises

We recently released new installation packages for Google Maps for mobile in enterprises. These new packages allow IT managers to make Google Maps for mobile, with new features such as Street View and transit directions, available to corporate BlackBerry users.

While this blog tends to focus on consumer applications of Google Mobile products, many of our products are used by business people to find information essential to their jobs. Perhaps you use a BlackBerry issued by your company. If you do, hopefully you search the web with Google and get directions using Google Maps. Your BlackBerry is likely administered by IT managers who whitelist what software you can install on the device. In many cases, IT managers haven't whitelisted Google Maps for mobile or other Google Mobile applications.

If you are an IT manager, visit http://mobile.google.com/enterprise to learn how to give your staff Google Mobile applications. The new installation packages allow you to place the Maps for mobile binaries on an internal server, or push the application to your employees via BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

If you don't manage information technology at your company, consider asking your IT department to deploy Google Maps and Web Search on all the company phones.

Posted by Ryan Pollock, Product Marketing Manager, Google Mobile

On Mobile and Elections

It's election day! Once you've found where to vote and made your voice count, you'll probably want to see how the rest of the nation's vote is shaping up. Now, on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or T-Mobile G1, Google News for Mobile has a summary of the popular and electoral votes, updated every few minutes. For all phones, the Elections section on Google News for Mobile (just go to http://www.google.com/m/news?topic=el on your mobile phone) can keep you updated on today's stories on the go. 

It's very exciting to see the role of mobile in an election. The Obama campaign famously unveiled the Democratic VP nomination via SMS. Nonpartisan groups such as Rock the Vote are sending SMS election updates to their subscribers. News organizations are more aware than ever that they need a mobile site so their stories are directly available to their readers on all platforms. Mobile phones have been making an impact internationally as well. In Senegal, for example, the increasing prevalence of mobile devices has reduced the opportunity for election fraud. Locals were able to spread district voting results before they bubbled up for the final national count because of mobile connectivity.  Officials at the highest levels were thus unable to manipulate the national figures. So tell us... how are you using your phone this election day?

Posted by Effie Seiberg, Mobile Citizen

Google Analytics for Google Apps

Google Apps administrators can now link their Google Analytics accounts to Google Apps, providing administrators with usage data for Google Docs and Google Sites.

Editions impacted:
Premier and Education Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
Sign in to the administrative control panel, go to the 'Advanced Tools' tab, click 'Setup Google Analytics' and enter the profile ID number from your Google Analytics account to begin collecting usage data. Sign in to Google Analytics to view and analyze the data.

For more information:
http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2008/11/google-analytics-for-google-apps.html

New capabilities for the Google Docs API

The Google Docs API is now capable of updating the actual content of documents, sharing documents, and moving documents into and out of folders programmatically.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
Visit the Google Documents List Data API overview site to get started. (See link below.)

For more information:
http://code.google.com/apis/documents/overview.html

OAuth for APIs available with Premier and Education Editions

Premier and Education Edition administrators can now use OAuth authentication to access GData feeds for users on their domains. Using OAuth, administrators can act on behalf of end-users without any end-user involvement.

Editions impacted:
Premier and Education Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
Premier and Education Edition admins can enable OAuth in the 'Authentication' section of the 'Advanced tools' tab of the Google Apps administrative control panel.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=61017

SLAs available for Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Sites and Google Talk

Google Apps Premier Edition now includes a 99.9% uptime guarantee for Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Sites and Google Talk.

Editions impacted:
Premier Edition

Languages impacted:
All

How to access what's new:
This uptime guarantee is available to all Premier Edition customers.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/terms/sla.html

Voting tools for volunteers on the go

With the U.S. elections less than a week away, voting drives are ramping up. Political parties and non-partisan groups alike are sending out volunteers to encourage citizens to vote on November 4. To make sure these volunteers have the same voter info tools available to them on their phone as on their computer, we've now launched a mobile voting locator tool on m.google.com/elections. (Click here to send this to your phone.)

Now, volunteers can type in the home address of any registered voter and find his or her voting location, whether they're in an office making phone calls, are working from a booth set up outdoors, or are going door to door. While on the go, they use Google Maps for mobile to find their next address or display directions to voting locations.

Of course, between talking to potential voters, volunteers can check out the Elections section in Google News for mobile for the latest updates (go here on your phone), or just search for a nearby coffee shop to stay warm.




Posted by Steve Kanefsky and Jerry Morrison, Google Mobile engineering

New Google Calendar features launched

Google Calendar now supports several new features:
– When scheduling appointments, you can now automatically find the next available time that works for all attendees and resources like conference rooms.
– You can add a secondary time zone to see when events take place if you frequently travel between time zones or work with people in other time zones.
– Meeting reminders can now be customized more granularly between zero and five minutes before an event.
– Google Calendar supports more keyboard shortcuts now.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
To have Google Calendar find the next available time for a meeting, click 'Create Event' and then 'Check guest and resource availability'. Add the invitees and resources (like conference rooms) you want to invite, set the duration of your meeting, and click 'Find next available time'.

To add a secondary time zone, click 'Settings' and then 'Show an additional time zone' to make a time zone selection that will appear on your calendar alongside your primary time zone.

Granular meeting reminders can be set per-event by clicking 'Event details' and adjusting your preferences.

To see a list of keyboard shortcuts, enter "?".

For more information:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/messaging.html#calendar

Google Labs applications now available

Organizations using Google Apps can now start using Google Labs applications. The first three new apps are:

Google Moderator – Manage Q&A sessions from the smallest video conference to the largest all-hands company meeting.

Google Code Reviews – Collaborate with others to catch bugs in software you're developing.

Google Short Links – Create easy-to-remember links for both your internal and external web pages.

Stay tuned for more Google Labs applications from Google and other software developers.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
Visit the Solutions Marketplace (see link below) to learn more about Google Labs and select the new applications you want to use in your organization.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/viewVendorListings?vendorId=1012

Google Earth now available for the iPhone

(cross posted with the Google LatLong Blog)

The world just got a little bit smaller. Google Earth is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing you to fly to the far reaches of the world from the palm of your hand. Since we launched Google Earth for the desktop in 2005, we've had over 400 million unique downloads, and people from around the world have used it to view their house, research travel destinations, learn how to make the world a better place, find local businesses, and view geo-located photos. Now, with a free download from the iTunes App Store, you can fly through the same 3D immersive world of Google Earth you've come to love, without having to fire up your desktop computer.


Check out this video tour to see Google Earth for the iPhone in action:



Not only is having Google Earth on your iPhone convenient, but the touch interface is a very natural way to interact with the Earth. Just swipe your finger across the screen and you fly to the other side of the globe; tilt your phone and your view tilts as well. You can pinch to zoom in or out, or just double tap with one finger to zoom in and two fingers to zoom out. We also integrated the My Location feature, so with a touch of a button, you can fly to where you are in the real world on your phone. In addition, we have over eight million Panoramio photos, which are geo-located photos of places, and you can view any and all of them from your iPhone. Besides being beautiful, high-quality pictures, they're specifically of places, so you don't have to see some guy's family on vacation in Thailand--you can see the beaches, the temples, all the things that give you a real sense of the place. Here is a nice shot of the Grand Palace that I found on my virtual tour of Bangkok.


All versions of Earth include search, and the iPhone version is no exception. You have access to the same great local search that you get with Google Maps, so you can search for places, businesses, and landmarks. With Google Earth you get to the full detail page for businesses, so you can get reviews, photos, user content, business hours, and other useful information. We also added a "search near me" feature, so with one touch you can find businesses near your location, without having to navigate there first or type in the name of the city. Looking for a good cafe when you're in Trento, Italy? It's a snap:


To get Google Earth on your iPhone, visit the App Store in iTunes or your iPhone, and search for "Google Earth."

Posted by Peter Birch, Product Manager, Google Earth

Gmail for mobile adds features and support for 40 interface languages

Users of J2ME-supported and BlackBerry phones can now check email across multiple accounts (including both Gmail and Google Apps email accounts), compose messages without a signal, return to the inbox while mail sends in the background, undo recent actions, and work quickly with shortcut keys. The interface is also now available in 40 languages.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (UK), English (US), Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

How to access what's new:
Go to m.google.com/mail in your mobile browser to download the new Gmail for mobile for your phone.

For more information:
http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2008/10/introducing-gmail-for-mobile-20.html

Introducing Gmail for mobile 2.0

As an engineer on the Gmail for mobile team, I use the Gmail client on my mobile phone all the time. Because of this, I'm always looking for ways to make it faster, more robust and easier to use. Today, we're thrilled to introduce Gmail for mobile version 2.0 for J2ME-supported and BlackBerry phones. Our focus for this version was to make the experience faster and more reliable. We rearchitected the entire client to push all the processing to the background, greatly improve the client-side caching scheme and optimize every bottleneck piece of code we came across.

So, what does this all mean for you?

• Overall performance improvement: You should experience significant raw speed improvement, smoother scrolling, and no freezing.
• Multiple accounts management: If you have both a Gmail and Google Apps email account, you can easily switch between them quickly. You will no longer have to use two different mobile apps to access personal and work emails.
• Multiple mobile email drafts: You can save multiple email drafts in your mobile phone, so that you can pick and choose what you would like to send later.
• Powerful shortcut keys: If you have a QWERTY phone, you can use shortcut keys. Hit 'z' to undo, 'k' to go to a newer conversation, and 'j' to go to an older conversation. See Menu/Help in the app for more shortcuts.
• Basic offline support: Can't get a signal? Not a problem. You can compose and read your most recent emails even when there is no signal. Also, any outgoing messages will be saved in the outbox on your phone and sent automatically when you're back in coverage.

Also, Gmail for mobile 2.0 is available in over 35 languages now. Please note, though, that not all features are available for all phones.

Go to m.google.com/mail in your mobile browser to download the new Gmail for mobile for your phone.



Posted by Derek Phillips, Software Engineer, Google mobile team

Google Sites now supports 38 languages

Google Sites has always supported user content in any language, but the interface itself has been English-only. With this release, the application interface is available in 38 languages.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, US English, English (UK), Filipino, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

How to access what's new:
Sign in to Google Sites, click 'My sites' and then 'User settings' to change your interface language preferences.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/collaboration.html#sites

Google Sites adds new preferences and interface improvements

Google Sites now includes the following enhancements:
– New user preferences for interface language, change notification options, time zone and location
– Ability to set how list pages are sorted when viewed
– Ability to set how embedded list gadgets are sorted when viewed
– Simplified form embedding
– Ability to customize the URL when creating new pages in a site
– New top-of-page placement for the editing toolbar

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
To change your user preference, sign in to Google Sites, click 'My sites' and then 'User settings'.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/collaboration.html#sites

Improved contact manager features in Gmail

Gmail now automatically adds people that you corresponded with to 'Suggested Contacts'. You can move people you correspond with regularly to 'My Contacts'. Gmail's address auto-complete feature works for all of your contacts, whether they're in 'My Contacts' or 'Suggested Contacts'.

Furthermore, to ensure that only the right contacts are synced with your mobile device in the future, Gmail is moving previously auto-added contacts in 'My Contacts' back into 'Suggested Contacts'. Only contacts that you've moved to 'My Contacts', edited, imported or added to a group will remain in 'My Contacts' for syncing.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
Sign in to Gmail and click 'Contacts' to manage 'My Contacts' and 'Suggested Contacts'.

For more information:
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=12867

My Location now with Wi-Fi

One of our goals here on the location team is to keep shrinking that magical blue circle that shows you where you are. In fact, just a few weeks ago, we released new optimizations for My Location that helped us calculate location even more accurately.

Today, we're taking another step toward that goal, with the release of My Location with Wi-Fi, which will provide even greater accuracy when you use a device with Wi-Fi. The premise is similar to what we do with cell tower information: information transmitted by nearby Wi-Fi access points is used to pinpoint your location. Since the range of a Wi-Fi access point is smaller than that of a cell phone tower, this often results in a much more accurate position.

Wi-Fi-based location is available in many major cities around the world, but coverage and accuracy will vary. We expect it to improve over time as more people use it.

So how can you start enjoying this Wi-Fi goodness? If you have a Wi-Fi enabled BlackBerry, please download the latest version of Google Maps for mobile. Maps for other mobile platforms, including Android, will get Wi-Fi location soon.

Wi-Fi-based location is also now available through the Gears Geolocation API, bringing more-accurate location information to the browser on your phone or laptop, including Search with My Location.

Enjoy the smaller circles!

Posted by Adel Youssef and Arunesh Mishra, Software Engineers, Google mobile team

Google on Android: Gmail and Contacts

On September 23, T-Mobile announced the world's first Android-powered phone, the G1. The phone comes preloaded with Search, Maps, Gmail with Contacts, Calendar, Google Talk, and YouTube. The applications are easy to use, fully synchronized with the web, and work together in new and innovative ways, as explained in our first post in the blog series: 'Google on Android'. Over the next couple of weeks, we will put the spotlight on each one of the Google applications for Android. Today: Gmail and Contacts. -- Marc Vanlerberghe, Product Marketing Director.

As an engineer on mobile, part of my job includes testing multiple phones. Having to add and update contacts whenever I get a new phone is one of my least favorite things to do. Switching phones is such a hassle in no small part because manually adding my friends' contact information takes so much time.

In the early days of developing Gmail and Contacts for Android, the team set a clear goal to make this problem disappear once and for all. We envisioned a world where your various computers and phones would always be in sync without needing discipline, USB cables, Bluetooth, and synchronization software.

It occurred to us that the best way to synchronize these various pieces of information is to let the device do it on its own while you're not looking, so you never have to think about it. Once you've logged into your Google account on an Android-powered phone it automatically synchronizes all your contacts and Gmail information so everything is always available, regardless of where you are and whether you have cell coverage. Since all your contacts and mail are backed up to the network, they will still be available if you get a new phone or just have multiple phones.



You will also find that Gmail on Android preserves all the nice functionality that you are used to on your desktop, such as starring, archiving, assigning and reading labels, and the conversation view that makes reading email on Gmail so pleasant. You can also configure which labels you want to synchronize to your phone and how much data you want there. More than ever, you are in control of the data that you want to find on your phone. Gmail even syncs your drafts so you can begin a message on the phone and send it from the web, or vice versa. With push email, Gmail offers real-time, two-way synchronization of your email, notifying you of new e-mails even when you're using another application.



Of course, your contacts list in Gmail also syncs to the phone, and any changes you make on the phone sync to your contacts list on the web.

Because this synchronization works in both directions, you can add a contact on the web and almost immediately use it to call the person from your phone. Once you get used to automatic synchronization, you'll wonder how you could ever live without it. We certainly became addicted to it, and we hope you will too!

To learn more about Gmail on the world's first Android-powered phone, visit the Gmail blog

Posted by: Fred Quintana, Software Engineer, Android Team

Google on Android: YouTube

On September 23, T-Mobile announced the world's first Android-powered phone, the G1. The phone comes preloaded with Search, Maps, Gmail with Contacts, Calendar, Google Talk, and YouTube. The applications are easy to use, fully synchronized with the web, and work together in new and innovative ways, as explained in our first post in the blog series: 'Google on Android'. Over the next couple of weeks, we will put the spotlight on each one of the Google applications for Android. Today: YouTube. -- Marc Vanlerberghe, Product Marketing Director.

Whether it's the infectious laughter of "Dad at the Comedy Barn" or Randy Pausch's uplifting "Last Lecture," YouTube on Android can bring news and entertainment to you in an immediate, personalized way. Let me tell you about my favorite YouTube features and how I use them.

I walk into the local coffee shop to get a dose of caffeine -- double espresso is my drink of choice. The Formula 1 race in Singapore was two weekends ago, the first night race F1 has ever held. I wonder if there are some highlights on YouTube. I slide open the keyboard and type "Formula 1 Singapore" and sure enough, there's a video with some footage from the first practice session. The cars look fantastic under the lights. I wonder if my friend Ken has seen this video. I click on the "Menu" button, select "Share," and up pops the email application - I know Ken will appreciate the video as much as I do.

When the video is done playing, a bunch of related videos pop up.

This is great because I can simply choose from any of them to see more F1 racing footage. This feature makes it easier to find more videos that interest me.

While I am busy watching the F1 video, my wife emails me a link to a YouTube video of the San Jose Taiko company. She's a big fan of taiko drumming and is asking if I want to go with her to the concert on Sunday. I tap the link in the email message and watch the video. Wow, I can't wait to see the concert. I hit the back button to take me back to the email conversation and reply to my wife, "Yes -- let's go!"

In addition to the tight integration with Gmail and other applications that are already on the device, I find it really cool that YouTube on Android exposes its search functionality to other Android apps through the open application framework, giving applications like the built-in music player the power to quickly find relevant videos. All I have to do is long-press on the artist, song name, or album to do a search on YouTube for a related video. I'm really looking forward to seeing how developers will integrate YouTube features into their own applications.



Posted by David Sparks, Technical Lead, Android Team

Google on Android: Maps

On September 23, T-Mobile announced the world's first Android-powered phone, the G1. The phone comes preloaded with Search, Maps, Gmail with Contacts, Calendar, Google Talk, and YouTube. The applications are easy to use, fully synchronized with the web, and work together in new and innovative ways, as explained in our first post in the blog series: 'Google on Android'. Over the next couple of weeks, we will put the spotlight on each one of the Google applications for Android. Today: Maps. -- Marc Vanlerberghe, Product Marketing Director.

When we designed Google Maps for the T-Mobile G1, we set out to create a great mapping application that took full advantage of the G1's hardware, like the touch screen, accelerometer, and GPS, as well as the deep system integration made possible by the Android platform.

One of my favorite things to do with Google Maps on Android is to explore new and favorite places. You can pan around and zoom in and out easily using just your thumb on the touchscreen -- a big plus for all those times when that other hand is unavailable. And if I want to see a restaurant or building up close, I can switch to Street View and view a panorama from street level. I can even turn on Compass mode to let me look around the panorama by moving my phone up, down, and to the side. It's like popping up a virtual periscope anywhere you want to check out what's there with your own eyes. Check out the video below for a quick demo. Note that Street View on Android is only available in the US at this time.

When I'm in a new city or just a new part of town, I like to turn on My Location. It can use GPS or just the nearest cell tower to tell me where I am and re-center my position in the middle of my screen when I approach the edge. When I'm walking or in a taxi in a dense city, like New York, I zoom in to street level and turn on GPS for the highest accuracy.

And as I wander the city, I can search for nearby businesses (like restaurants), and use Android's integrated Map features to save search results to my contacts. For instance, if I find a restaurant that I like, I can save it to my contacts and then later on call it or Map it with one touch. In the future, when I do another search with Maps, I might even see this contact again as a suggested search result along side past queries.

Maps is also integrated with email, IM, and the web on Android. For instance, street addresses that appear as plain text in these apps become touchable zones that you can click on to take you straight to Maps. Something similar happens when a Google Maps link is pasted into an email, IM or placed on a web page. When I touch it, I can choose whether to view the map in the browser, in Google Maps, or in any other application that's built to handle what's known to Android developers as an "intent." Or, I can make the choice once and save it as my default map-viewing application (Google Maps, in my case).

Perhaps best of all is that most of the resources, flexibility, and functionality in Google Maps are available to any application written for Android. Cab4me and Locale are both Android Developer Challenge winners that used the Android platform to build compelling applications with maps and location at their core. Any developer can use Android's MapView and location APIs to build location-aware mobile applications like these. While the team is proud of Google Maps on Android and other cool applications we've seen to date, we're equally excited to see what new kinds of maps and location-enabled applications developers create in the coming months.



Posted by David Conway, Product Manager, Android Team

Google Spreadsheets adds full-screen mode (Ctrl+Shift+F)

Google Spreadsheets now lets you view more of your work on-screen. Ctrl+Shift+F toggles between three modes: hide header, hide header and toolbar, and show all.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
Ctrl+Shift+F toggles between the three display modes when you're viewing a spreadsheet.

For more information:
http://docs.google.com/support/spreadsheets/bin/answer.py?answer=66280

Streamlined user interface launched for Google Spreadsheets

Google Spreadsheets now uses a simplified toolbar that makes it easier to find the most commonly used formatting tools. Spreadsheet features can now be found in the new menus, which resembles the interface you're already familiar with in Google Documents and Google Presentations.

The blue 'Share' button lets you give users viewing rights, add collaborators who can edit your spreadsheets with you, or publish your spreadsheets to the web.

This release also includes speed and performance enhancements for Google Spreadsheets.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
Sign in to Google Docs, and open a new or saved spreadsheet to access the new user interface.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/collaboration.html#docs

New Google Calendar features for the iPhone

Google Calendar users in the US can now add new events, invite attendees, and see daily and monthly views of their agendas from the iPhone. This release also includes speed improvements for the iPhone interface.

Editions impacted:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages impacted:
US English

How to access what's new:
Visit http://www.google.com/m/a/example.com from your iPhone's browser, but remember to replace 'example.com' with your actual domain name. Then switch to the 'Calendar' tab.

For more information:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/mobile.html#iphone

Google on Android: Search

On September 23, T-Mobile announced the world's first Android-powered phone, the G1. The phone comes preloaded with Search, Maps, Gmail with Contacts, Calendar, Google Talk, and YouTube. The applications are easy to use, fully synchronized with the web, and work together in new and innovative ways, as explained in our first post in the blogseries: 'Google on Android'. Over the next couple of weeks, we will put the spotlight on each one of the Google applications for Android. Today: Search. -- Marc Vanlerberghe, Product Marketing Director.

Google's mission is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." Android-powered phones are designed to support the second part of that mission -- universally accessible and useful -- by making Search an integrated, easy-to-use, and platform-wide feature.

We've integrated Search with applications in a variety of ways, in order to make it universally accessible. Every searchable application includes a Search menu option. Some applications (like Maps) support type-to-search. Just start typing, and Maps will automatically open the Search UI for you! Some applications (like Android Market) have Search buttons, while others have Search widgets (like the home screen). Finally, on the T-Mobile G1, there's even a dedicated Search key on bottom row of the keyboard. Just press it and start typing your query.

We've made Search easier to use by providing suggestions. As you type, the list of suggestions refines itself, and you'll immediately jump to that search with a simple touch. There are two types of suggestions on the T-Mobile G1. Google web searches use Google Suggest technology to offer relevant, up-to-date suggestions. Other applications, like YouTube or Gmail, suggest queries you've previously made so that it's easier to find and share results that you've found before. I've even used recent query suggestions to start a search without any typing at all.

Also, we've integrated search across the platform so that applications can even share search capabilities with each other. For example, as Marc noted in his blog post, the music player can use other apps, like the browser or YouTube, to search for artist info, more music, or even music videos.

Finally, we've made it easy for third party developers to incorporate search into their applications, too. We've provided an easy-to-use API, documentation, sample code, and everything else a developer needs to implement basic searchability -- with recent query suggestions -- in their apps. What's more exciting to me is that developers can improve upon search as well. Maybe someone will find and provide new sources of searchable knowledge, or serve "mind reading" suggestions, or display search results in a more informative and beautiful way? I can't wait to see what developers come up with!

To see Google search on Android in action, check out this video:



Posted by Andy Stadler, Software Engineer, Android Team