Wireless News

Google Voice was a very interesting offering when it launched and proved to be so popular that Google quickly ran out of numbers for the users who wanted to get into the beta. That left a long waiting list of people wanting to use Google Voice.

The service had some missing features that many users wanted to see included to allow for dialing of contacts from an address book. Google has announced that a new Google Voice application is now available for Android and Blackberry devices that adds the ability to make calls from their device and have their Google Voice number show up.

The app will also allow users to view a transcribed copy of voice mails within the application without having to go to the web browser to view the text. Google says that it is working with Apple now to get an iPhone version of the app approved.

Google’s Android OS got off to a slow start with its share of bugs on the T-Mobile G1. Many of the major mobile phone makers played a wait and see game with Android and once the teething problems that surfaced on the G1 were fixed, we started to see more Android-powered smartphone hit the market. One of the most recent Android phones announced is the Samsung I7500.

The I7500 won’t be the sole new Android phone on the market. According to the New York Times, there are no less than 18 new Android-powered handset coming to the market this year alone and the number could be as high as 20 new handsets. According to Google’s Andy Rubin, the devices will be produced by eight or nine different makers.

According to Rubin, Android phones will hit the market at a slower pace in the U.S. than they will in Europe. The reason for that is that the domestic mobile market is very competitive and mobile phone makers want to launch very distinctive handsets in America.

Rubin says that there are three methods that a mobile phone maker can use to get android on their devices. The first is the obligation-free method where the maker simple downloads the free OS and installs it on their handsets. The second option requires a signed distribution agreement with Google and will include some Google software. The second option is the option most manufacturers choose because it allows for customization of the Android OS by the makers.

The third option puts all the features of Android onto a mobile phone along with the full Google software arsenal and allows the inclusion of a Google logo on the phone. The third option also requires open access to the Android market. Of the 18 or so handsets coming this year, Google expects five or six of them to use the third option.

Google, not ones to lag behind, announced the second version of their mobile Gmail application for BlackBerry phones and J2ME-supported phones.

Google described their efforts as follows: “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.”

Additional features include the ability to have more than one email in draft form, the ability to manage more than one email account at a time, the addition of shortcut keys, offline support and more. If you want the update, point your mobile browser to m.google.com/mail to download the update.

An updated version of Google Maps was launched that provides Street View images right on your mobile device. You will now be able to get the same “street-level imagery” that you do on your standard desktop computer on your cell phone.

This is really pretty convenient, because you are given the opportunity to see storefronts and locations. After all, how often have you been 100% certain that a particular shop was an old favorite based on its name and general location, only to find out you’ve never been there before!

Also built into Google Maps for your phone are business reviews and walking directions, which was just released on the desktop version as well. This update should also provide a speedier experience, greater accuracy and more. You can download it now for your BlackBerry or any phone with Java enabled. Google says they’re working to bring this function to other platforms as well. Check out a video of Google Maps mobile with Street View below.

T-Mobile officially announced their G1 smartphone this morning, the first handset to use Google’s Android platform.  The G1 is a dualband UMTS, quadband GSM slider with a full QWERTY keyboard, trackball and 3.2-inch 320 x 480 HVGA capacitive touchscreen for navigation; it also has GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and a 3.2-megapixel fixed-focus camera.  Our sibling site Android Community were on hand to get some hands-on pictures and video.

G1 talktime is estimated at up to 350 minutes WCDMA or 406 minutes GSM; standby at 402hrs or 319hrs for WCDMA or GSM respectively.  The battery, unlike that of the iPhone, is removable.  However HTC have used their own mini-USB connection rather than giving a normal 3.5mm headphone socket, so you’ll need an adapter (apparently not supplied in the box as standard) if you want to use your own cans.  Internal memory is a mere 256MB ROM and 192MB RAM: all storage is via microSD, with a 1GB card included and up to 8GB supported.

From left to right, the Apple iPhone 3G, T-Mobile G1, BlackBerry Bold and Samsung Instinct.  The G1 is narrower than all of them, but longer and certainly thicker.

The T-Mobile G1 will be priced from $179 with a new two-year contract.  Two new data plans are on offer, in addition to your normal voice plans: one, for $25, offers unlimited data and a set amount of bundled messages, while for $35 you get unlimited data and messages.  However T-Mobile don’t seem keen to stress out their new 3G network – the data cap is apparently a mere 1GB.  The G1 will be available on October 22nd.