Google to launch online store for Android tablets

While Apple is enjoying huge levels of success with the new iPad, Google has recorded dissapointing sales of tablets running Android OS. In order to boost sales Google is reportedly planning to rollout an online store by the end of 2012, the store will sell tablets running Android OS.

According to The Wall Street Journal  the internet search giant’s plans are similar to the short-lived online sales model of the company’s 2010 Nexus One handset only much more similar to the online portion of the Apple Store.

It is not known when the store will officially make its debut, and the sources are unclear as to which Android tablet makers will be taking part in the endeavor.

What do you think, will an online store be able to save the dwindling sales of Android Tablets?

Google Brings iPad Support To Google Translate For iOS

Google has updated its popular Google Translate app for iOS today, introducing native support for the iPad. Instead of running in a small window in the center of screen, the app will now take advantage of your iPad’s large display to make text translation easier on the go.

Version 1.3.0 of the Google Translate app hit the App Store earlier today, and as usual, it’s completely free to download. The app allows you to translate text between 63 languages, either by typing or speaking; listen to translations out loud; and save translations for easy access, and for viewing offline.

Other than support for the iPad, however, the latest Google Translate release offers nothing new. What’s more, you may find the iPad support a little disappointing; it’s literally the same app you get on the iPhone, only larger. Nevertheless, it’s still an incredibly useful app.

Google Books for iOS updated!

Google has updated the Google Books application with half a dozen bug fixes and two new features. The updated universal binary with version number 1.1.0.2247 is now available from the App Store and it added convenient landscape reading mode on iPads and the find feature that shows all matches in the book as you scroll down.

The full list of features from the App Store and a couple of more screenshots are right below the fold…

• Read Google eBooks in Landscape mode on your iPad
• “Find” feature shows all matches in the book as you scroll down
• Tapping “Get eBooks” signs into Google eBookstore with the username used to login into the app
• Added a clear no-network error message alert
• Removed magnifier

Google “Tilt” on your iDevice and see what will happen!!!

This is pretty funny, the guys at Cultofmac.com posted this funny tidbit!

Grab your iDevice, open Safari, and use the Google search box to search for “tilt”.

Your search results are… tilted like the image above!

Apple iPhone alone would be a top 10 global company!

When companies such as Apple reach a certain size and value, financial analysts start to discover interesting facts, one such company is Stock analysis firmTrefis. Trefis looked at Apple and their product mix and came to the conclusion that the iPhone line accounts for about 53.5% of Apple’s stock value, this compared to Macs which account for a mere 18.3%.

The company then assigned a price estimate of $418 a share to AAPL. Through applying these assumptions to the information above they concluded that the iPhone would account for $209 billion of the estimated $391 billion value for Apple.

TUAW compared these numbers to the financial figures of other companies and found out that $209 billion… puts just the iPhone product line at Apple ahead of consumer giants like Coca-Cola ($138 billion), tech heavyweight Google ($204 billion).

While we don’t see Apple creating an iPhone Inc. anytime soon, we still think that these figures are very interesting.

Edit Google Docs on the iPad and other iOS devices!

Back in September, Google announced that it would be bringing the ability to edit Google Docs on the iPad and Android platforms.

Finally the company has followed through on that promise, bringing Google Docs editing to iOS devices running iOS 3.0 or later, they have even included support for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Google released a press release which says:

With Google Docs, we’re always trying to make you more productive – and part of that means making it possible for you to get things done from anywhere, at anytime. That’s why we’re excited that the new documents editor now supports editing on your mobile browser. We’re rolling this out over the next few days.

We hope to have a more thorough review within the next few days, if you have tried Google Docs, feel free to leave us a comment below.

Apple named most valuable brand by Forbes

If you thought the problems with the antenna would cause cracks in the image of Apple then think again, Apple tops Forbes Most valuable brand list, beating rivals such as Google and Microsoft.

According to Forbes “This is a company that has faced setbacks before and bounced back to become the world’s most valuable brand–worth $57.4 billion”. In a list dominated by tech brands–Apple  passed  longtime nemesis Microsoft, worth $56.6 billion, and Google, which came in fifth on the list with a brand value of $39.7 billion. Steve Jobs’ creation is among a number of resilient brands, including corporate ones, that have thrived despite business troubles or setbacks.

Apple shows just how a brand can survive and thrive even when a parent company stumbles. Apple’s sales in the late 1990s plummeted 46% over a four-year stretch while the company lost money seven times over eight quarters. The stock was trading for less than $4 (split-adjusted) in 1997 before company cofounder Steve Jobs, who had been ousted, rejoined Apple.

Read more at Forbes.com

Jobs put the iPad on pause to produce the iPhone!

While most people believe that the iPhone was first created and then after its successful implementation, the iPad was created, however as Steve now confirms, his first comment when he saw an early version of the iPad was “My God, we can build a phone with this.” He then adds, “we put the tablet aside and we went to work on the iPhone,”

Jobs also revealed during an interview Tuesday during Wall Street Journal’s D8 technology gathering, that he initially had the idea of a glass display which would allow people to to type with their fingers, and within six months, Apple engineers had designed, created and tested the display.

There are several interesting facts that surround the iPad, such as the fact that Apple has recently confirmed that they sold one million iPads in 28 days, a milestone that took the iPhone 74 days to reach, and that they have sold more than 2 million copies in less than 60 days.

During the interview, Jobs also said that as the iPad and iPhone become more and more popular, especially among the gaming community, they will start to invest more and more in these areas. The Game section of the App Store is also the largest growing, and Jobs said the company will strive towards making the approval process for iPad apps as fast as possible, he hopes they can do it in under seven days.

In other news, Steve Jobs commented on the growing rumors that Apple and Google are in a fierce competition, he answered that they have no plans of removing Google Maps on the handset and doesn’t intend to create its own search engine to battle Google anytime in the near future.

Dragon Search comes to the iPhone!

This post will be of special interest to the readers who are fans of voice search on the iPhone.

Those of you familiar with s Dragon Diction app from Nuance might be interested in checking out their new program “Dragon Search” while the program is very similar to the Google Mobile app in the way that, you simply tap a button then clearly say your search term. Wait a few seconds while the search is completed, and Nuance’s servers, promptly spits back the applicable results.

Where Dragon Search differs from Google’s efforts is it can easily extend its search beyond just Google results: it will also search iTunes, Twitter, Wikipedia, Youtube, Yahoo and Bing.

If you’re interested, then you can download the app for free right now, however the owners say this will only be the case during the introduction period, so you might wanna move fast.