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Google Babble Chat Client to Unify Now Fragmented Messaging Platforms

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by Jason Bracey on
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babble_geekdotcom

Google has been working hard to unify their products. Their latest project, combines its currently fragmented messaging platforms under one powerful and effective service. The new initiative, affectionately called “Babble”, will do just that. Currently, Google is maintaining Google Talk, Hangout, Voice, Messenger, Chat for Drive collaboration, and the pseudo Google Talk for G+. The only two that work even fairly well together are Google Talk for Gmail and G+ and even they can evoke frustration with users from time-to-time.

The Babble cross-platform solution could enable Google to dominate chat services such as iMessage and BlackBerry Messenger. Google is building Babble from the ground up, which may or may not be a blessing depending on how you look at it. On one hand, they will be working from a clean slate and there will be no boundaries as to what they can make the app do. On the other hand, Google will be pushing out another Beta product based on past experiences that may have more bugs than a Louisiana bayou on a hot summer afternoon. We will just have to hope the geeks at Google push out a well polished, well oiled, version of the app on Beta release.  » Read the rest

Trio of Google apps join Google Search and Google Now updates today

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by Jeff Causey on
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A trio of Google’s apps received updates today, joining Google Search or Google Now on Jelly Bean devices. Google Translate received a major update, now providing the ability to recognize Chinese, Japanese and Korean using a device’s phone. The capability is limited to horizontal text only for now, but we can only imagine the ability to translate vertical text must be in the works. Google also added eleven new languages, Afrikaans, Croatian, Czech, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Slovak, Slovenian, Ukrainian, Welsh, to the list that can handle handwritten text. » Read the rest

Best Of Both Worlds For Sprint Customers And Google Voice Thanks To XDA Member

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by Joe Sirianni on
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Not everyone on Sprint is going gaga for Google’s voice integration.  XDA member zikronix had this to say on the subject (unedited):

Ok so I orginally thought the idea of GV integration with sprint was awesome…after fiddling with it. I was very disappointed.

The problems I had with it were…I dont want to use my GV number as my primary. I dont want to change my GV number to my cell number. Each option had issues that I felt needed to be addressed. Changing my GV number to my cell made it to where txt would be comming into my phone via gv app. Yes there is a work around but ita annoying and I dont want my text stored on line.

As a result, zikronix has concocted a little guide for you to have the best of both worlds.  Where would we be without our ever dedicated and hard working XDA developers?  The guide is pasted below for your convenience.  If you have any questions on how the process works, you can hit up the XDA thread here.  Feel free to provide as much feedback to the developer as you’d like. And as always, feel free to drop a comment or two below.   » Read the rest

Google Voice Integration With All Sprint Numbers is Now Live

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by Michael Murphy on
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Sprint and Google have been beta-testing a full integration of Google Voice with the Sprint network over the past several weeks, and today the service has been declared “live.” Sprint customers can now use their Sprint number to run all of their Google Voice services, allowing them to set the phone to ring at multiple locations, or even different locations determined by the caller or time of day. Or if you’d prefer, you can have all outgoing calls go out through your Google Voice service. This brings a lot of versatility, and the process is fairly seamless, though by default it will disable SMS messages from coming into your phone and route them through Google Voice instead. This feature isn’t hard to reverse, and tonight we’ll be bringing you a quick how-to on that, plus any other tips and tricks we find this afternoon.  Catch the video promo after the break, and head to the official site to get started.

» Read the rest

Google Allows Number Porting to All Google Voice Accounts

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by Michael Murphy on
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A few days ago, we discovered that Google allowed number porting into Google Voice on limited accounts, for a very short down. Within hours, however, the service was no longer available. If that’s the one thing you’ve been desperately waiting for to make your Google Voice account everything you’ve ever wanted, you’ll be happy to know that the porting capability has been reinstated.

A word of advice: Porting your number to Google Voice isn’t the easiest, smoothest process ever. You’ll want to talk to your carrier for to ensure that you can do this without incurring charges for breaking your contract. Also, keep in mind that MMS isn’t supported at this time, so make sure anyone who wants to send you picture mail knows to send to your ACTUAL phone number, not your Google Voice number. Also, there’s a one-time fee of $20 for this service. Still, if this is something you’re interested in, be sure and hit the source link, do your homework, and let us know in the comments how you feel about the service.

[via Google Mobile Blog]

Yahoo! IM update brings voice calls to HTC Evo 4G and MT4G

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by Dustin Karnes on
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According to rumor, the Yahoo! IM app for Android is getting an update this month that will allow for both voice calla and landscape video calling. While this isn’t the most groundbreaking update, it’s still nice to see Yahoo! continue to support their IM app the way they should. Hoever, don’t get your hopes up too far, as the features will only be working on the HTC Evo 4G and the myTouch 4G. Why not other front-faceing camera holders, like the Nexus S, Galaxy Tab, or Epic 4G? No news as of yet, but we’re hoping to see it soon.

You can check out the app here, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments!

[via droid-life]

Feel the love from Google as they go Personal with Voice Search

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by Chris Moor on
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Voice search, a relatively new idea of two years, has made major strides. The newest version works with Android 2.2, better known as Froyo. Google’s desires were beyond their capabilities until this moment. Using speech models, Google hopes to identify with its customers on a personal level by accommodating Android enthusiasts around the world regardless of their limitations – whether it be age, race, gender, or even as specific as variations in pitch and pace.

» Read the rest

Samsung Galaxy Tab on AT&T, Rogers, Bell hacked for voice calls

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by Dustin Karnes on
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Remember last week, when some clever hackers at xda-developers got voice calling functional on the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Tab? Well, they’re back with more. It would seem that, with the release of the Tab on AT&T comes the voice call hack for the very same tablet, and xda has the inside scoop on how to get it done for yourself.

Of course, just like last time, this isn’t a one-click trick. But, if you’re ready to don your geek hats and bust out with the nerd voice, hit the break for the official instructions. As always, you can hit the source link for the official thread over at xda, and TalkAndroid cannot be held liable to any damage to your device.

» Read the rest

Google demo slam launches, shows off Android and Droid X

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by Dustin Karnes on
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Over at Google, they’ve launched a new site called “demo slam“. The site lets users send in videos showing off Google’s technology in real life, and puts them up against other user videos doing the same. So, naturally, we’re seeing a lot of Android goodness, and it also seems that everyone is using a Droid X to show off their ridiculousness.

Check the videos out after the break, and let us know what you think in the comments! What did you enjoy more: a pro skateboarder voice searching at 23 feet in the air, or 3 kids shoving marshmallows in their mouths to bursting and voice searching “chubby bunny”?

» Read the rest

Google’s Voice search now supports Russian, Polish, Czech and Turkish

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by Chris Moor on
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I know I’ve impressed a few friends with the voice search feature on my Android phone. Whenever I did such a feat, I always thought to myself “Man, if only my Russian, Polish, Czech and Turkish friends could use this feature in their native language.” I know you probably thought the same thing.

Well thankfully, the big G (No, not the omnipresent being… wait they both are everywhere, know everything. Wait, did I just figure out that Google is God? Maybe God is Google? That’s definitely a topic for another article, lol.) Anyway, Google announced today that they are bringing voice search support for Russian, Polish, Czech and Turkish languages.

It’s important to note that you can’t just go speaking whatever language you want and expect it to automatically figure it out. You’ll have to change the setting on the phone first, but still, seeing Android adopt more languages is great to see.

[via googlemobile]

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