Google rolls out Google Instant

These days you can find what you're looking for on Google pretty fast. But Google thinks it can be faster, so today they introduced what they call Google Instant. Instant will show search results as you type; no longer will you have to type an entire word then press enter to search, you can find what you're looking for before you finish. Google predicts it will save users 2-5 seconds per search. Suggestions are still there, so when searching Google you will now see predictions under the search bar then the normal search results page under that updating as you type. Google Instant is available right now for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and IE 8 for all users in the US, and will be available internationally shortly.

What will you do with all your newfound time? Google hopes you don't use it to check out Bing.



[Google Instant]

Google adds voice to Gmail; free calling to any number in the US

Today Google officially made use of their Gizmo5 acquisition by introducing free voice calling in Gmail. You'll be able to call any number in the US or Canada for free, and you can also make calls internationally pretty cheap. For those calls that do cost you some moolah, you can buy some credit with Google Checkout.

Not only will you be able to make calls from Gmail, but Google is making Google Voice, but Google is making Google Voice phone booths at an airport and a couple of universities.

Google introduces Voice Actions for Android

Today Google introduced Voice Actions for the Android Voice Search app, which brings naturally-spoken voice commands to the Android OS. This is a feature that iPhone owners have been using for a while, but Google has taken things a few steps farther with their app. With Voice Actions on Android, you can send text messages, listen to music, get directions, make calls, send e-mail, go to websites, and of course make a voice memo. The thing that really sets Google's app apart is that you can search by voice not only on your phone, but it searches the web as well. So if you're searching for music, it not only searches your local library, but will also search and open music in apps like Pandora and Last.fm.

The only downer is that it's only available for Android 2.2 and higher, so it doesn't look like older versions of Android will be getting the awesomeness.



[Google Mobile Blog]

Google Wave gets canned

Oh Google Wave, we hardly knew thee. Google announced today on their official blog that there won't be any more development for Wave, and the service will be shut down towards the end of the year. Wave, which Google thought would revolutionize internet communication, didn't see the user adoption that Google was hoping for. It was an innovative service for sure, but in our experience the service was just too complicated and unorganized for the average user. That being said, a lot of the technology was great, and Google says they hope to use bits and pieces of wave in other technologies they're working on. So long Google Wave, we'll pour one out for you.

Google adding multiple account sign-in

If you have more than one Google account, it's time to rejoice! Google Operating System has reported that Google is rolling out the ability to sign into multiple accounts at once. This will be a welcome feature for Google power users, as they won't have to constantly log in and out to check on their multiple accounts anymore. The ability is currently only works in Gmail, Calendar, Sites, Reader, Voice, App Engine, and Code.

To enable the feature, go to your Google accounts page, and there you'll see the option for multiple sign-in. Once enabled, when you're in your account you will have a drop-down menu to access your other accounts.

There are a few drawbacks at the moment; multiple sign-in isn't available for mobile, the Calendar widget won't work right in Gmail, and you can't use offline mode in Gmail and Calender.

It's not available for everyone yet. As of right now it's still not enabled for our accounts yet, but word is that it's coming soon.

[Google Operating System]

Now anyone can create an Android app

Google announced this morning that they have released a beta version of a tool called App Inventor. With this tool anyone, even non-developers can create apps for the Android OS visually, with no coding knowledge required. It looks pretty powerful, in App Inventor you'll have access to the phone's dialer, GPS, and it will also connect with services like Twitter. So go ahead and head to App Inventor here, and get busy working on those fart apps.