You Can Now Access Gmail in 71 Languages

Google is adding 13 additional languages to Gmail, bringing its total language count to 71, the company announced on Monday.

Gmail — which now covers languages spoken by 94% of the world's Internet population — can now be formatted to Afrikaans, Armenian, Azerbaijani (Azeri), Chinese (Hong Kong), French (Canada), Galician, Georgian, Khmer, Lao, Mongolian, Nepali, Sinhala and Zulu.

Users can switch to any one of the 71 languages, regardless of where they live. For example, if you're trying to learn Spanish or want to brush up on your Canadian French, Gmail lets you make the change.

To do so, visit the Settings option in Gmail and it's the first option under the "General" tab.

Google representatives said in a blog post that the company worked closely with linguists to make sure the tone and style for the additional languages were on point — all languages have their own nuances.

"For example, both Hong Kong and Taiwan use traditional Chinese characters," the blog post reads. "However, you’ll notice that Gmail’s new Chinese (Hong Kong) language uses 收件箱 for “Inbox” instead of 收件匣, which is a word more common in Taiwan."

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Google Launches New Platform to Connect Businesses With Customers

Google wants to create a better business directory and, this time, they mean business.

On Thursday the tech giant launched Google My Business, a one-stop way for merchants to manage their presence on a variety of the company's properties including search, maps and Google+.

Business owners that had been using Places for Business or Google+ will be transitioned to the new platform. There is also an Android app that can be used to manage business information and respond to customer reviews.

"The Internet is connecting more businesses with their people every day. However, our users tell us that finding these loyal customers can be complex and time-consuming. We believe it shouldn’t be," Google posted in a blog entry.

Google lauds the program as a way for businesses to better understand their customers and cater to their needs. The new system will integrate with Google's AdWords platform and provide businesses with data about customers and engagement.

The program is a simple way for Google to compile accurate business information that its various properties can then use to improve its other properties. Having a directory of accurate and easily referenced business data should be particularly helpful for mobile and contextual search, which heavily relies on combining user data with search results to provide better results.

Users already tend to ignore search results past the first few items. One study found that the first three returns of a search receive about 60% of the traffic.

Mobile search is an important part of the future for Google, which made its name as a search engine. Desktop search is expected to decline as mobile search grows — a trend that has already had an impact on Google's revenue.

Google isn't the only tech company to try to embrace businesses. Yahoo has also made moves to bolster its mobile search offering, partnering with Yelp to provide information that will be similar to the data compiled by Google My Business.

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Google and Intel Unveil a New Generation of Powerful Chromebooks

Google and Intel announced several new Chromebooks from Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba at a press event in San Francisco Tuesday.

Google also said Chromebooks will soon have Google Now integration and the ability to play Google Play movies and TV shows offline.

"Our strategy is about computing and ensuring any device that computes does it best with Intel," Navin Shenoy, Intel vice president and general manager of the mobile computing group. "We will embrace multiple operating systems."

Chromebooks are laptops that run Google's Chrome OS and are similar to netbooks in that they're usually less powerful than a typical laptop. The Intel chips that power this next generation of Chromebooks are more powerful than in most previous models.

Most of the new designs include Intel Celeron processors based on Intel's "Bay Trail" line, whose efficient design enables a battery life of up to 11 hours.

Intel also showed off a pair of "high performance" Chromebooks with the latest Intel fourth-generation Intel Core i3 processors. The Dell Chromebook 11 and Acer C720 Chromebook are variations of existing models with the new chips.

Accer's C270 will start at $350 and will be available "early in the back to school season," and the Dell will be available "later this year" and will start at $349. While Dell has targeted schools and students with its previous Chromebook offerings, the company said the new high-performance model will target small and medium businesses.

Asus announced two new models: an 11.6-inch C200 and 13.3-inch C300, both of which will go on sale this summer.

Additionally, LG's new Chromebase, the Chrome OS-powered desktop computer, will go on sale later this month in the US for $349. HP's Chromebox, a similar product, will go on sale in the US in June.

Lenovo showed off the N20 and N20p Chromebooks, which the company is billing as the company's first consumer Chromebooks.

All of Intel's new Chrome devices will be powered by the company's first conflict-free microprocessors, Shenoy said. The minerals used in the chips — tin, gold, tantalum and tungsten — only come from mines that are certified "conflict free," which means they don't benefit armed groups within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or neighboring countries.

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Google Hints It May Toss Long URLs From Chrome

Google Chrome may eventually hide long URLs from the address bar. That is, if a recent update to Google's experimental browser is any indication.

A recent update to Chrome's publicly available Canary browser added a feature that hides long URLs. Instead, when users view webpages, the browser only reveals the website name and domain, not the entire URL.

If this sounds familiar, this is similar to the mobile version of Safari, which already hides the full URL in iOS 7 by default. In the Safari app, the address bar only displays the website name and domain, e.g. yahoo.com, not the entire URL— regardless of where on the website you navigate to. To view or select the full URL, users must tap the address bar.

Similarly, if the new feature in Canary is enabled, users can only see the entire URL by clicking on the domain name, what's technically called the "origin chip," which brings up the full URL for users to view or edit.

Canary is Google's experimental version of Chrome. The Chrome team updates it daily with new features, many of which have not been previously tested. Google often uses it to test new features and builds before even rolling them out to the Chrome Dev Channel.

Given its experimental nature, seeing this URL tweak in Canary doesn't necessarily mean this is a feature Google is considering for the full version of Chrome but should Canary's small user base react positively, it could get a full launch.

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Google Glass Field Trip App Now Has Voice Command

The Field Trip app for Google Glass was updated Tuesday with new voice commands and personalization features.

Google Glass Explorers can now activate the exploration and discovery app with a voice command and tailor the information they see to their interests.

Field Trip, which first came to Google Glass last summer, is essentially a virtual tour guide. As you walk around an area, the app surfaces cards about locations nearby. The app has partnered with hundreds of publishers to reveal information about thousands locations.

With the latest update, users can now activate Field Trip by saying “Okay Glass, Explore Nearby.” The app also now allows users to personalize the cards that appear based on categories that interest them, including architecture, art, history, food and cool stuff.

If you are interested in art, for example, you may get a card alerting you that you are near the subject of a well-known painting.

Field Trip was the first project of Google's Niantic Labs team, who also developed Ingress, the augmented reality game.

Leif Wilden, one of Niantic's engineers who developed the Glass app said the team is already looking ahead to consider how Field Trip could be integrated into other wearable devices like smartwatches.

"The wearable devices like glass and the watch that's going to be coming out soon, they work really well with field trip," he told. "When we started Field Trip there was no Glass, this is something we're really excited about."

Field Trip is available for iOS, Android and Google Glass.

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Google Glass Update Adds iPhone SMS Messaging and Calendar App

Just a week after Google made Glass available for purchase to the entire public for one day, it unveiled a new software update for the wearable computer.

The latest software update adds SMS messaging for the iPhone, and includes a Calendar Glassware app.

Scheduled to be released over the next few days, the update will allow Google Glass users to view texts from their iPhone by turning on the "show notifications" option in the Bluetooth settings on iOS. The feature is already available for Android devices.

However, users will only be able to receive texts, not send them, due to what the Glass team calls "limitations with iOS." So while reading texts on the device might save you a bit of time, until you can reply to them using Glass, the feature will be less than ideal for frequent users of the wearable device.

Also included in the update will be the Calendar Glassware app, which allows users to view their appointments, as well as modify times, dates and locations.

Image: GOOGLE

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Google Smart Contact Lenses Move Closer to Reality

Google’s plan to bring smart contact lenses to diabetes sufferers inched closer to reality as the company secured two patents last week for the cutting edge, biometric sensor technology.

Known among scientists as “Ophthalmic Electrochemical Sensors,” these contact lenses will feature flexible electronics that include sensors and an antenna. The sensors are designed to read chemicals in the tear fluid of the wearer’s eye and alert her, possibly through a little embedded LED light, when her blood sugar falls to dangerous levels.

According to the patent:

“Human tear fluid contains a variety of inorganic electrolytes (e.g., Ca.sup.2+, Mg.sup.2+, Cl.sup.-), organic solutes (e.g., glucose, lactate, etc.), proteins, and lipids. A contact lens with one or more sensors that can measure one or more of these components provides a convenient, non-invasive platform to diagnose or monitor health related problems. An example is a glucose sensing contact lens that can potentially be used for diabetic patients to monitor and control their blood glucose level.

Google’s project is one of a number of in-eye wearable sensor technologies currently under development at universities and research facilities around the country. However, with two patents in hand Google’s project may have a leg up on the competition.

The patents also offer a rare opportunity to see how Google and its research partners envision the Smart Contact lens fitting on the human eye.

For example, Google intends to both communicate and power the electronics-embedded contact lens with a pair of antennas, though the patent notes that these two functions could be embedded within one antenna.

As for how the eye can see past the thinner-than-a-strand-of-hair electronics, the patent notes that the substrate is too close to the eye to be in focus and it’s positioned away from the center of the eye and, thereby, away from where light is transmitted to the retina. It also notes that the substrate can be made of transparent (read: “see-through”) materials.

Google, which announced the project in January, still has to get FDA approval before anyone starts wearing smart contact lenses. Still, it’s clear that glucose level detection is merely scratching the surface of the potential for these lenses. If Google can effectively build free-standing, communication-ready electronics in a transparent device roughly the size of a standard contact lens, there’s no telling what other kinds of smarts the lens will eventually be able to support. Could Google Glass Contact Lenses be far behind?

It's still unclear how long before Google plans on commercializing the smart contact lens research project. Mashable has contacted Google and will update this story with its comments.

Image: Google

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You Can Now Try Google Glass at Home Before You Buy It

For those curious about trying Google Glass before shelling out $1,500, Google is launching a free try-it-at-home pilot for the high-tech specs.

First spotted by 9to5Mac, the Reddit user clide posted an email and various photos of the kit he received in the mail from Glass as part of a new trial the company is offering.

Hello Potential Explorer!

You told us you’re interested in purchasing Glass, but wanted to wait until we had frames for Glass. We have some good news for you. We recently introduced the Titanium Collection — four feather-light titanium frames that are designed to fit with your prescription and personal style. And even more good news — you’ve been selected to participate in a free home try-on pilot, to help you find the frame style and Glass color that fits you best before you purchase.

The email also encouraged him to "try out all the styles, show your friends and family, and decide which frame and color suits you best."

The Redditor said he called Google customer service several times to disclose different bits of personal information, including his billing information for a $50 hold on his credit card.

In return, he received a try-on kit with Glass in all frame styles and four colors, as well as prepaid labels to eventually return it.

The news comes just a few days after Google launched a one-day public sale for anyone to purchase Google Glass. The Internet-connected specs are not commercially available yet and only Google Glass Explorers (a limited group of developers, testers and early adopters) have the ability to buy them.

"We were getting through our stock faster than we expected, so we decided to shut the store down," a Google spokesperson told, following the one-day public sale. "While you can still access the site, Glass will be marked as sold out. We are leaving the site open so Explorers can still get any accessories they need."

Image: CLIDE, REDDIT

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Google Releases Android Camera App With Selective Focus

Google has released a standalone version of its stock camera app for Android— and it's a significant improvement on its predecessor.

The new app, called simply Google Camera, features a new user interface with revamped shooting modes, as well as the ability to selectively focus the camera.

Rumors of the new app first surfaced earlier this month after it was reported the company was testing a new camera app that would be released independently of the upcoming Android 4.4.3 update.

Google also unveiled Lens Blur, a brand new effect that enables users to shoot with a shallower depth of field to selectively focus on certain portions of a particular image. This is the first time Google has included the feature in its camera app.

"Achieving this optical effect has traditionally required a big lens and aperture, and therefore hasn’t been possible using the camera on your mobile phone or tablet," wrote Google software Engineer Carlos Hernandez in a blog post explaining how Google's research team created Lens Blur.

"Lens Blur replaces the need for a large optical system with algorithms that simulate a larger lens and aperture," he added. "Instead of capturing a single photo, you move the camera in an upward sweep to capture a whole series of frame."

The camera's panorama and portrait sphere modes have also been improved with higher resolution. Google Camera is also the first time the company has made portrait sphere, a shooting mode that that enables 360 degree panoramas, available to non-Nexus devices.

The app also features an enlarged shutter button and viewfinder, so what users see in the viewfinder will be what comes out in the shot.

Google Camera is available in the Google Play Store and is compatible with devices running Android 4.4 (KitKat).

Image: GOOGLE

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Google Remote Desktop for Android: Control Your PC via Smartphone

Good news for Android users: You can now access your PC desktop computer directly via your smartphone or tablet.

Google announced the launch of Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android this week, which lets you access files sitting on your home PC or Mac even when you're nowhere near it.

The move builds off its Chrome Remote Desktop app launched in 2011, which let users remotely access a desktop from another laptop or computer. The service is free — a stark contrast with costly remote-desktop software such as Parallels Access.

After downloading the Android app from Google Play, you'll need to install the Chrome Remote Desktop extension in a desktop's Chrome browser to connect the two systems. Then, grant access for the remote connection to work and set up a PIN code for the PC.

The PC name will then appear in the Chrome Remote Desktop page (and need to be selected) before plugging in the same PIN code within the app. Then, you're good to go.

Microsoft also has its own remote desktop app client, as does Amazon Workspaces, which lets employees access work computers from their personal devices.

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No Transparency on Google Glass Sales

Google shut down its online Google Glass store Wednesday, but the tech giant isn't sharing details on how many units it sold.

The company sold Glass to the public on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, which was the first time consumers could buy the device without having to apply to Google's Explorer program. The site will remain active so interested customers can purchase accessories, should they choose, but no more Glass units will be sold, according to a Google spokesperson.

Google was selling Glass for $1,500 a pair.

Although the store shut down, it doesn't appear that Google actually sold all of its Glass. Visitors to the site will see "Out of Stock" labels on each color, but Google is simply marking them that way — not necessarily confirming they are sold out.

"We were getting through our stock faster than we expected, so we decided to shut the store down," a company spokesperson wrote in an email to press. "While you can still access the site, Glass will be marked as sold out. We are leaving the site open so Explorers can still get any accessories they need."

When Google sold out all white pairs of Glass (referred to as "Cotton"), the company included an update on its Google+ page. Google did not mention any additional colors as being sold out before announcing the store would close.

The sale was the first big test to see how popular Glass might be with the general public. The price tag remains steep, and developers are still building out products for the device, which means interested consumers may want to wait for a better, cheaper product down the road.

Image: GOOGLE

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Gmail Makes Sending Mobile Photos Much Easier

Google users who back up their smartphone and tablet photos on Google+ will be able to add them to Gmail messages much more quickly.

Now, you can insert an assortment of pictures or photo albums directly into email, resize them within the message and make sharing with friends and family less of a time-consuming process overall.

The catch, of course, is that you have to use Google+'s Auto Backup feature for photos.

Google launched a new feature on Monday within the "Insert Photo" button on the bottom of Gmail messages that brings up photos backed up from mobile devices.

After selecting the button, a grid of photos pops up that allows you to select photos or entire albums to add to emails.

You can also resize images while creating a message by dragging the corners to find the size you want.

Not everyone has the new feature yet, but Google said it's rolling out to all accounts on Tuesday. If you aren't backing up photos via Google+ or you don't use the platform at all, this might actually be a good reason to take the platform and tool out for a spin.

Image: GMAIL

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Google Glass Today Becomes Available to Everyone: How to Buy It

Today at 9 a.m. ET, everyone in the U.S. will be able to buy Google Glass.

Google announced the plan last week. "Every day, we get requests from those of you who haven’t found a way into the program yet, and we want your feedback too," the company wrote in a blog post.

Google Glass is not commercially available yet; it's been available only to Google Glass Explorers — in other words, only through a very limited beta-testing program.

Now, Google is opening up the program and folks in the U.S. will be able to get the Glass for $1500 + tax. Google has apologized to everyone else, saying it's "just not ready yet to bring Glass to other countries."

The price is steep, but at least Google will throw in frames or a shade of your choice.

To get the Glass, you need to be 18 years old, and you need to be a U.S. resident with a U.S. shipping address. Then, go to this address today, April 15, at 9am ET. Be fast, as the number of spots available is limited. You can also sign up for a reminder at the same address.

And, if you're wondering what Glass is good for, well, you can browse the web with it, you can create stop motion videos with it, take sneaky photos — hell, you can even have sex with it. Just don't be a Glasshole.

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Google Glass Available to Anyone in the U.S. — for One Day Only

Next week, anyone in the United States will have the chance to become a Google Glass Explorer, but only for a brief time.

Google announced a plan on Thursday to expand its Explorer program with a special one-day promotion allowing anyone in the U.S. to purchase Google Glass. The device is not yet commercially available; the official retail release of Google Glass is expected to come later this year.

"Every day, we get requests from those of you who haven’t found a way into the program yet, and we want your feedback too," Google wrote in a blog post. "So in typical Explorer Program fashion, we’re trying something new."

The offer, which will begin on April 15 at 6 a.m. ET, includes a free set of frames or shades. People can sign up now to receive a reminder when Glass is officially available.

The news comes hours after rumors of the proposed expansion first surfaced on The Verge, which published a slide, reportedly from an internal Google presentation, detailing the company's plans. The Verge reported the public availability would last about one day.

Google said spots in the program are limited but did not reveal exactly how many people might be able to join the Explorer program.

IMAGE: FLICKR, TED EYTAN

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Google Glass Just Became an Excellent Way to Live Stream

Google Glass Explorers have a new way to live stream events through Glass.

Livestream.com launched its first app for Google Glass, which app allows users to broadcast events to others through Glass in real time.

The app is much simpler than its existing iOS and Android ones. While Livestream's mobile apps let users upload text and photo updates to events and add filters to videos, Livestream's app lets users share what they're looking at in real time. The app also displays viewers' comments to the wearer.

To begin broadcasting, users simply pair Glass with an event and say, "OK Glass, Livestream," and tap the side of the device to begin recording. Viewers can tune into live broadcasts via the web or the company's smartphone and Roku apps.

Google already has its own live streaming platform for Glass with its Hangouts app, but Livestream's app is the first third-party live streaming app to come to Glass.

Livestream first launched its broadcasting platform in 2007 under the name Mogulus. The company rebranded as Livestream in 2009 and released its first iOS and Android apps in 2012.

IMAGE: LIVESTREAM

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Nest Finds Flaw in Smoke Detector, Halts Sales

Silicon Valley darling Nest, the home appliance startup snapped up by Google in January for $3.2 billion, has discovered a flaw in its second product, the Nest Protect smoke detector — a flaw big enough for Nest to halt sales Thursday.

The flaw in question has to do with a feature called Nest Wave, which allows users to turn off the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm by waving their hands in front of it. Nest has discovered that the feature could be activated by accident.

SEE ALSO: The Eye in Your Home: Google, Nest and the Rise of the Physical Graph

"During recent laboratory testing of the Nest Protect smoke alarm, we observed a unique combination of circumstances that caused us to question whether the Nest Wave could be unintentionally activated," wrote Nest founder and CEO Tony Fadell in a blog post. "This could delay an alarm going off if there was a real fire."

Fadell stressed that he was halting sales "until we fix this issue" out of an abundance of caution. "We identified this problem ourselves and are not aware of any customers who have experienced this," he wrote, "but the fact that it could even potentially happen is extremely important to me and I want to address it immediately."

Customers who've already bought a Nest Protect are not being asked to return them. Rather there's an automatic update that will disable Nest Wave within the next 24 hours. Any users who don't have their Nest connected to a Wi-Fi network are being asked to discontinue using their Protect. Those who want a full refund will be given one.

Fadell anticipates that it will take "two to three months" to fix the Nest Wave issue, at which time it will be automatically turned back on. What wasn't clear was how fast Nest could ship new versions of the product.

The company's original and better-known gadget, the Nest thermostat, was unaffected by the issue.

Image: NEST

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Google Tries to Trademark 'Glass'

King tried to trademark "Candy," Apple tried to trademark "app store" and now Google is trying to trademark "Glass."

The tech giant wants the trademark, of course, for its Google Glass eyewear. It already has the trademark for "Google Glass," but is seeking an additional trademark for the word "Glass" by itself, styled in the futuristic font Google uses in its packaging and marketing.

According to The Wall Street Journal, however, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is putting a kink in the company's plans. The Journal posted a letter [PDF] from the USPTO to Google, which outlines some of the problems the office has with the request.

The first issue is that the Glass trademark might be too similar to other glass trademarks or pending trademarks since, as it turns out, Google's not the first company to apply for a glass trademark. It's not even the first computer software/hardware related glass trademark application on file. The letter from the USPTO includes various approved or pending applications for design marks such as "glass," "looking glass," "iGlass," "smartglass" and "teleglass."

The second issue is that even if Google got a trademark on Glass — distinctive font and all — the USPTO doesn't think glass is a term that can be trademarked under federal law, which says that you can't trademark words that describe a product. It also sees "glass" as "merely descriptive."

Naturally, Google disagrees. The company reportedly filed a response to the USPTO arguing that a Google trademark of Glass would not be confusing because of how much publicity surrounds the Google Glass product.

Google also takes issue with the idea that Glass is descriptive, because Google Glass itself doesn't actually contain any physical glass.

Although King, the company that made Candy Crush Saga successfully got a U.S. trademark for the term "Candy" in mid-January, the company filed to abandon the trademark just a month later. King still retains an EU trademark on the word candy.

When Apple tried to apply for a trademark over "app store" in 2011, several courts blocked Apple's attempts to sue companies such as Amazon for trademark infringement.

No word on whether Google will apply for a trademark of the word "Glasshole" next.

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Google Launches Project Tango, a 3D Sensor-Enabled Smartphone

Google announced an experimental Android-powered smartphone with powerful 3D sensors called Project Tango on Thursday. The phone is the latest project out of Google's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group.

"The goal of Project Tango is to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion," Johnny Lee, ATAP's technical program lead, wrote in a Google+ post announcing the project.

The 5-inch phone will run Android and be equipped a series of 3D sensors capable of taking more than a quarter of a million measurements each second. Google envisions these sensors will have a number of applications from gaming to indoor navigation.

The phone is still in early stages of development, and the first prototypes will only be available to a limited group of developers. The first 200 prototypes, which Google expects to be distributed by mid-March, will go to a group of developers hand-picked by Google.

Google says many of those first devices will go to companies focusing on creating gaming, data processing and navigation and mapping application, but some units have been set aside for "applications we haven't thought it yet," Google said. Interested developers can sign up on Project Tango's website for a chance at getting one of the early prototypes.

Project Tango, though experimental, will likely play a big role in the upcoming Google I/O Developer Conference, which will take places from June 25 to 26.

Image: ATAP

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