Google Phones

First mobile Augmented Reality satellite nav system\n\nKurzweilAI.net, May 24, 2010\nWikitude Drive from Mobilizy transforms an Android smartphone into a mobile navigation system. \n\nGPS driving directions from Navteq appear on screen, overlaid on a live video (from the phone camera) of the street you are driving on.

The Looking Glass will be android based and features 4GB of RAM, 3G, Bluetooth and an optional TV Tuner card. The Streak is the more interesting model being a smartphone that functions as a tablet. We don't know how exactly that will work, but we have word that the Streak might have connections with Amazon, music stores, video stores, newspapers and magazines.

There's some good news for our phans who can't use Google Checkout in their countries (or aren't particular fans of it): PayPal has found a way to incorporate its payments system with Android and will soon be offered as an option in the Android Market. They expect the service to be ready in Q2 2010 (i.e. within a few weeks) and will support several countries starting out, including the United States, Australia, Canada, France, UK, Italy, and the Netherlands.

When Android was being built, many only visualized it as a phone operating system: for a long time, phones were the only things you could find Android running on. Since then, we've seen kitchen appliances, cars, netbooks, tablets, robots - you name it, and Android has probably already seen it.

I think Google has done a great job of implementing USB devices on the Android as it's not just a smartphone OS, it can be extended as any kind of control device for many gadgets.

As it turns out, Google's mobile platform appears to support USB keyboards natively on some stock builds. Of course, you can't simply attach a big, honking external keyboard to your phone and expect it to work. You have to enable USB-OTG, or USB On The Go host mode, and have the proper USB cable, says MAKE. Luckily, Chris Paget's blog shares the steps to make this happen. The whole process reminds me of a similar project that modders got into back in 2008 with the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet. I was scared of the soldering then, and sadly, I'm no closer to having a comfort level.