Google Goes Real Time (too); Adds Wild New Features

Not satisfied with scouring the dusty corners of the Internet to quench your search thirst, Google (news, site) goes up-to-the-second with Real Time Content.

Gotta Google 'Em All

These days it is hard to impress people with search engines. 'Relevance', 'federation' and other terms are bandied about, but users get the picture. So, to try and jazz things up a bit (and stay ahead of the curve), Google now adds results from Twitter, news services and other source to your results. Now, you can leap on to the forefront of news, technology, gossip, hot sales and so on.

You can take a look at the new feature in action on the video below, but it is really best to try it out for yourself and see where the results come from.

Like Twitter, it uses a Trends page to keep an eye on popular information themes. This it just the latest step in Google's attempts to stem the recent flow of users to Bing and other engines.  

 Google search keeps you up with the (real) times

Taking Search on the Road

Also, as ever more users start using mobile devices for their mainstream browsing, Google has added some new features for Android-toting road warriors.

These include Japanese language support for its Google Voice search feature, location-based results with Google Maps and it is looking to the future with plans for a universal translator that will save bemused geeks from shouting at each other.

Another smart-sounding addition is Google Goggles — take a photo of an object, be it a painting in an art gallery, a monument or product and Google can identify it and provide more information. This is a Google Labs feature and it'll be even cooler when it can translate foreign signage or other baffling things.

Going Where No Man Has Gone Before

The technology is impressive. The potential power of instant translation and image-analysis-driven search is almost hard for us to comprehend.

But we all should try. For tools of this nature bring great power, and with great power comes… yes, yes, yes…great responsibility. Let's keep our eye on that ball too.

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Tags: android, google, google googles, google voice, mobile, privacy, real time search, search, twitter

Not satisfied with scouring the dusty corners of the Internet to quench your search thirst, Google (news, site) goes up-to-the-second with Real Time Content.