Google Maps Navigation will be available on Android powered devices sporting the 2.0 (”Eclair”) update. This currently only concerns mobile phones. As a result of the specific targeting of mobile phones, Google is able to do something with their navigation software that most companies can’t rely on. They can pretty much count on internet connectivity to power their software. When you decide to navigate to an area, everything is sent to you via that internet connection. Your search results come from the internet. Your maps come from the internet. Your points of interest come from the internet. Anywhere you can access your phone’s data service, you can access Google Maps Navigation.

Google has assured users that the maps program caches several minutes of data, so that service that fades in and out should go unnoticed. The benefits of relying on internet access are numerous, however. For instance, with my TomTom navigation unit, I currently have to sync it to my PC every time I want to update it. With the Google service, it uses the Google Cloud to keep the program up to date. Because Google already has a bazillion different services, it already has the data it needs. It can pull POI (Points of Interest) data such as gas stations, restaurants, businesses, etc from their directories. It can pull it’s maps, satellite views, street views, and traffic data from their respective services.

Google also uses it’s voice search capabilities, which are already present on it’s android devices, to allow users to search for places. You can search by address, by business name, or by a vague description that may be well known on the internet (Such as, “Navigate to the museum in San Francisco with the King Tut exhibit”).

In the end, Google ties everything together with a package that is going to put GPS navigation device makers on their heels. Everything works together very well. Users can place different “layers” over their maps (Such as showing satellite imagery in order to get a better look at the actual layout of your surroundings). They can do searches in the middle of their route (To find gas or food, for example). The options are virtually endless, and exceed all but possibly the most expensive GPS devices on the market.

If the situation wasn’t already bad enough, Google plans to offer this service with the typical Google twist: For Free. Most GPS devices are also free after you buy the device. But you generally have to pay premiums for map updates anytime they become available. My TomTom runs about $70 per map update, with subscriptions available to slightly reduce the price, for example. In addition, some items (such as Traffic and Gas data) cost additional fees, and sometimes require additional devices to work.

Google has a hit on their hands, and the initial stock hits that Garmin and TomTom took show that. For the moment, the only relief exists in the fact that the service is limited to Android based phones. But given Google’s relationships with the iPhone and other devices, that likely won’t last long. My only question in this situation is, How do the phone providers feel about Google stealing their navigation service business? My Sprint plan includes Sprint Navigation, but other providers sell their services at a premium.

The presentation is a bit long, and it gets a little techy. But you can get a great picture of some of the ideas it presents. And you will not want to miss the last couple minutes of the presentation for just one great example of the potential it has.

With hundreds of vendors and thousands of visitors, the expo hall was crowded. One major exception was Adobe, who late last year decided to pull out. A large empty space at the front of the south hall was noticeably vacant. The footprint was familiar and Adobe-shaped, but that didn’t stop people from doing crazy stuff to win prizes.

The most visible of the giveaways was Peachpit Press. The contestants just needed to be spotted wearing bunny ears. The catch was that prizes were given away every hour, so no rest for the wicked or the freebie whore, and among the included prizes were iPod Nanos and iPhones. The entire week was nothing but bunny ears, and even other vendors were wearing them. This type of giveaway was the most extreme, however most prizes were won by raffle. Easy enough. Walk by a booth (maybe more than once) and pick up a raffle ticket that cute young girls and guys were handing out as fast as they could. Show up later at a predetermined time, and (hopefully) if they call your number, claim your prize . Last year everybody was giving out prizes, but this year it was slim pickins.

The most popular raffle-style prize-givers were Speck (makers of iPod/iPhone cases), Elgato (EyeTV – DVR for the Mac), Microsoft and FileMaker Pro (Database software.) The last two allowed audience members to have a chance to win hourly after each product demonstration.

MacWorld was not just about new software and the latest iphone case; vendors often targeted the tired and weary user. From ‘Brain Tonic’ to a glorified back brace, users found everything they always knew they never wanted. It was all about getting bodies in the booth. That could was done by showing off intriguing devices, walking around the show floor advertising, or even having a Rock Band contest to win prizes.

For a description of the photos, check out the gallery bellow.

The iPhone does not have built-in voice recognition, but that is the beauty of 3rd party apps. Vlingo is actually very accurate, especially for free. The Home screen has a great layout. At the top-left is a ‘Settings’ button, and on the top-right is an info button. Settings include content filtering, choosing either Google or Yahoo! as the default search option, turning on auto dial, and adding social sites. The info page lists tutorials and has a link to Vlingo FAQs.

The middle part of the main screen has a button that takes the user to the What You Can Say tutorial page. This page lists the simplest ways to get the most accurate results from Vlingo. The middle section also has a large Press + Speak button. This button can be either pressed and held or pressed before and after speaking.

The five tabs along the bottom are Home, Maps, Search, Phone, and Social. From the Home screen, the user must preempt the request with a command, such as “Call John Smith mobile.” Whereas, on the Phone screen, all one has to say is “John Smith mobile.”

The Maps screen works a little differently. After the user verbalizes the command, a Map It button pops up, and when tapped, it sends the results directly to the Google Maps App. Likewise, the results on the Search page are shown in the app, but when clicked, the user is taken to Mobile Safari. On the Social page, the user can select Facebook, Twitter or both. All results can be edited manually if needed.

Vlingo is really fun to use. Speaking requests instead of manually typing requests for Google or to get an address in Google Maps is faster, and I’ll admit it is also cooler too. I tried other voice recognition apps such as VoiceBoxDial and Google Mobile App with lesser results.

As of this writing, Vlingo is aware of a bug in the current 1.0.1 version, where about every 24-hours you must clear and re-enter your Facebook account information or get an error message asking you to do so. Since this is a known issue and it is all done within Vlingo, I have just become accustomed to doing it. If you have already spoken your status update when you get the error message, Vlingo will save your update on the Social page until you return.

Listed in the FAQ is a question pertaining to SMS and Email support. Vlingo states that these features will be released in future updates. Imagine being able to dictate email or speak a text message reply – all for free!

In order for Vlingo to be so accurate, the first time you use Vlingo it uploads the contact names from your address book. According to their privacy policy, they never use the info for anything else and just the names, not numbers or addresses are uploaded. Check out their privacy policy here and their explanation in the FAQs here. Although this process is quick and easy, some people have expressed concern for privacy.

Get Vlingo for free here.

Version 1.0.1 reviewed
iPhone software 2.0 or above required
Only the iPhone and iPhone 3G are officially supported
(iPod Touch 2nd Gen w/ external mic might work though)

In a word – No.

Oh it has web searches down pat. It even does voice-recognition for nearby searches fairly well. That’s all fine and dandy, but what about the Google “Apps” portion of the mobile software? Even though Gmail, Calendar, Docs, and more are all listed, they are actually just links to Google’s website. That’s right Mobile Safari is really handling all these Google “Apps.”

And some of them are pretty much useless too. Here’s why:

Gmail – add Gmail right to the mail app on your iPhone; there is no need to use the web version.

Calendar – you can only see one day at a time – no full month view for you.

Docs – sure, they’re viewable, but not editable.

Maps – are you kidding me? There is a Google Maps app built in.

YouTube – are you seeing a pattern?

I know Google is a Web-based product, but at least make it useful.

The Google Mobile App is separated into 3 sections: Search, Apps, and Settings. The Search section is pretty self-explanatory. There is a search box at the top that allows for text input. Planted on the left-side of that box is a spotlight icon that acts as a drop-down menu and allows the user to choose from these items: iPhone & Web, maps, images, news, shopping or Wikipedia. To the right of the search box is a button with a microphone icon. This allows the user to speak queries into the microphone rather than type them. What’s even cooler is that the Google Mobile App uses the iPhone’s proximity sensor. This senses that the phone is up to your cheek and shuts off the screen so nothing is pressed accidentally. Funny thing is: use of this sensor is supposed to be on Apple’s “no-no” list. I guess it pays to be Google.

The Apps section includes all of Google’s popular web apps. In addition to those listed above, it includes Talk, Reader, GOOG-411, News, Notebook, orkut, Translate, Earth and Blogger.

The third section is for settings. It allows preference changes for search, start screen and screen rotation. Normally, this would be rather lackluster and forgettable, but alas there is an Easter Egg. On the Settings screen, scroll down past ‘About.’ Try scrolling quickly – like you’re trying to get a half-page of extra screen from the bottom – and Voilà! You have an extra secret setting: ‘Bells and Whistles.’ Under this selection, the user may change the theme color, change the default sound to either ‘chicken or monkey’, or turn on ‘Live Waveform’ or ‘Open Links in App.’ Changing the theme color is fun because it opens up a color well for specific color choice. Neither of the new sound options are inviting or interesting. Who cares if you can see the ‘Live Waveform’ when you speak – you are busy speaking anyway. “Open Links in App’ only refers to searches – a nice feature nonetheless.

Overall the Google Mobile App is just a shortcut to their suite of web applications. The good thing is that it’s free, but the bad thing is that we have come to expect a lot more from Google. Check it out here.

Version 0.3.114 reviewed
For voice searches iPod Touch 2nd Gen required (with external microphone)
Price: Free