5 Fabulous New Features Google unveiled

Google is holding a major demo event at the Computer History Museum today and unveiled a number of incredible new features. It was the kind of event that restores a person's faith in Google as a major innovator.

From voice search and translation, to location and visual search, here are the five most impressive technologies unveiled so far.

The demos are all being done by Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering for Google.

Near Instant Voice Translation

A new prototyped product allows not just search by voice, but near instant translation between English and Spanish in the cloud, via your mobile phone. Gundotrpha spoke a paragraph's worth of words into his phone and within seconds the phone recited a translated version back in Spanish. It was amazing. Google hopes to have support for all the world's major languages completed sometime in 2010.

Customized Suggest Based on Location

Google Suggest is a very smart, if under-appreciated, feature. The feature will soon make use of location information when searches are performed on mobile devices. Gundrotrpha demonstrated on one phone that believed it was in Boston and one that believed it was in San Francisco. Upon typing the letters "RE" the Boston phone suggested searches for Red Sox, the local baseball team. The San Francisco phone suggested a search for REI, the outdoor gear outfitter.

Google Product Search Combined With Inventory Feeds from Local Retailers

Local mobile product search will soon tell you where the nearest store with a product is and whether that product is in stock.

Near Me Now

Next: Google Launches Real-Time Search Now

Google.com on mobile, starting today on Android phones, will offer top-level search categories like restaurants or stores on the front page. Click that button and you'll see the closest-by search results ranked by user rating.

Google Goggles

Visual search. Take a photo, click a button and Google will analyze imagery and text in the photo for your search query. Pretty exciting. 1 billion images are included in the index today but Google says it has made the decision not to include facial recognition until privacy concerns are figured out.

Sony's PlayStation 3 Got Sales Boost From Final Fantasy XIII

Sony's PlayStation 3 got a boost from last week's launch of "Final Fantasy XIII" as Japanese consumers snapped up special-edition consoles to give the PS3 its best week since a relaunch several months ago, according to data released on Friday.

Sales of the PS3 totaled 237,086 units in the week of Dec. 14 of which about 92,000 units were a "Final Fantasy XIII" special edition offered by Sony, said Media Create. "Final Fantasy XIII," the latest installment in the long-running Final Fantasy series, launched on Dec. 17 so the figures cover its first four days on sale.

The weekly sales easily outpace those of recent weeks and are higher than those of early September when Sony relaunched the PlayStation 3 in a slimmer case and with a lower price tag. The PS3 sold 152,000 units during its relaunch week, according to Media Create.

The relaunch helped breath new life into the PlayStation 3 platform and push sales higher in the last three months. The PlayStation business remains a money loser for Sony but the company has targeted 2010 as the year it will return its gaming operations to profitability. The launch of games like "Final Fantasy XIII" plays an important role in this plan.

The "Final Fantasy XIII" software scored a major success for Square Enix with sales of just over 1.5 million copies over its first four days, said Media Create.

Sony is also attempting to widen the console's appeal.

Services such as movie rentals are being added to the PlayStation 3 and will be expanded next year with the addition of TV shows and other content. Sony has also pledged to offer a software update that will bring the capability to play back 3D content on Blu-ray Disc.

Sony's chief rival in the Japanese market, Nintendo, scored second place for the week. In the software chart its "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" ranked with 567,890 copies sold while the Wii console chalked up sales of 191,915 units, said Media Create.

Media Create estimates game software and hardware sales from point-of-sales system data gathered from around 3,000 retailers across the country.

Apple Tablet Finally Arriving in January?

With the news that Apple has rented a stage at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco for a major January announcement comes renewed speculation that the debut of the long-awaited Apple tablet device is at hand.

It doesn’t take much to get the Apple rumor mill spinning at full tilt, especially when it comes to hints and suggestions over the company’s long anticipated, never-officially-confirmed tablet device. While speculation has grown (and peaked, and subsided, and grown again) over the past couple of years, Apple has managed to successfully suppress any official details of the supposed tablet. However, the news that Apple has rented out a stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco has generated speculation that Apple is gearing up to announce a tablet-like device.

The report in the Financial Times blog quoted unnamed inside sources that said Apple rented the stage for several days toward the end of January, in preparation for “a major product announcement” on January 26, a Tuesday. Other recent reports, including a research note by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who said there is a 75 percent likelihood that Apple will have an event in January and a 50 percent chance that it would be held to launch the Apple Tablet, and a report in The Wall Street Journal which said Apple is briefing major media companies like CBS and Disney on a tablet-like device, suggest Apple may release the device during the first quarter of 2010.

Earlier this year, Munster issued a report suggesting that the tablet would feature a 7- to 10-inch screen and retail for between $500 and $700, effectively filling a strategic gap for Apple between the iPod Touch and its low-end Mac desktops. Munster wrote, "We believe an Apple tablet would be priced 30 to 50 percent below the $999 MacBook, and would offer best-in-class Web, e-mail and media software. In other words, we believe Apple's tablet would compete well in the netbook category even though it would not be a netbook."

Munster suggested that an Apple tablet's operating system would resemble either the iPhone OS, with multitasking capability and applications designed specifically for a device with a larger screen, or else a multitouch-enabled version of Mac OS X. However, he wrote, "We expect Apple to build on the multitouch technology built into the iPhone and iPod Touch along with the App Store ecosystem, with an OS more comparable to the iPhone's, not the Mac's."

Apple may also integrate a mobile data feature such as 3G wireless into the device, and could even subsidize the device through a wireless carrier, Munster added. He cited the trend toward subsidized netbooks, for example Verizon's partnership with Hewlett-Packard to carry the HP Mini 1151NR. The Apple tablet could also challenge Amazon.com's Kindle e-reader if Apple accompanies the device with a push to sell digital books through the iTunes store.

OLPC unveils slimline tablet PC

In Pictures: Designing the OLPC

The group behind the $100 laptop has revealed the design for its latest computer aimed at connecting children in the developing world.

The XO-3, as it is known, is a slim-line touchscreen tablet PC.

One Laptop per Child (OLPC) said it would be "available in 2012" and would cost "well below $100".

The new design replaces the proposed XO-2, a foldable e-book that was first shown off in 2008 but has since been scrapped by the organisation.

The XO-3 will eventually replace the original XO laptop that first went into production in 2007.

The innovative machines, which have been designed for use in remote and harsh environments, were designed for use by school children and featured a sunlight readable display and open source software.

'Bigger appeal'

OLPC originally aimed to sell the low-cost laptops in lots of one million to governments in developing countries for $100 each.

However, the non-profit organisation had difficulty getting governments to commit to bulk orders. The machines - which are able to run both Linux and Microsoft Windows - are now offered in single units and cost around $200.

The XO-2 has been scrapped in favour of the XO-3

So far the XO has been distributed to more than 1.4 million children in 35 countries.

The high-price has not however put off all governments. Uruguay and Peru are have bought a computer for every one of their school children.

Walter de Brouwer, CEO of OLPC Europe said that these "saturation projects" were the future of the organisation both in the developed and the developing world.

"I'm talking to three four countries in the EU at the moment," he told BBC News. "Once one says yes, the others can't say no."

The organisation believes the new design will cost significantly less.

Mr Brouwer said that because of the pace of technological change and the ever decreasing prices of electronics he could imagine the design selling for "50, 60 or 70 euros".

He said governments could pay this back over a number of years, allowing pupils to have a laptop for less than one euro per month.

"This is very realistic," he said.

The concept shows a touchscreen, a camera, induction charger, and a carrying ring on one of its corners.

Its inner workings - including a chip form UK firm ARM - will come from an interim design - the XO 1.75 - set for launch in 2011.

The 1.75 will merge elements of the current machines with technologies - such as a touchscreen - intended to be included in the XO-3.

OLPC recently said that the organisation would just focus on promoting the organisations concepts and educational aims, rather than manufacturing laptops.

"We are not a laptop company," said Mr Brouwer. "Manufacturing a laptop is not such a big deal. The bigger appeal for us is deploying them and integrating them with education systems to transform a society."

Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of the group, said that he hoped that industry would now copy the design for XO-3

First Solar opens utility-scale power plant

First Solar opens utility-scale power plant

First Solar employees work on the solar power station in Blythe, Calif.

Solar module maker First Solar on Monday opened the largest photovoltaic solar power station in California, which the company plans to replicate in order to expand its utility business.

The plant in Blythe, Calif., which First Solar purchased from energy developer NRG, will have the capacity to generate 21 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power about 17,000 homes. It will supply electricity to Southern California Edison under a 20-year purchase power agreement.

It's one of a number of projects that First Solar is pursuing as it seeks to expand in the utility-scale solar business. A deal to build a 48-megawatt plant in California to supply Pacific Gas & Electric was approved last week. "The development, project finance and construction of this solar plant demonstrate First Solar's capabilities in utility scale projects," Bruce Sohn, president of First Solar, said in a statement.

First Solar's panels, which use thin film solar cells made from cadmium telluride, are considered the lowest cost solar panel in the industry. The company's relatively low cost and the technology's track record make it attractive to utilities that need to meet the California renewable energy mandate.

Automotive X Prize contestants power up

Top performers

If this is the future of green motoring, sign us up. The electric hybrid eVaro, developed in Canada by Future Vehicle Technologies of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, can accelerate to 60 miles per hour in around 5 seconds, and drives at least 165 miles on the equivalent of a US gallon of fuel.

The eVaro (pictured) is one of the contenders in the Automotive X-Prize contest starting in May. At stake is a share of $10 million, to go to the best-performing cars to maintain at least 100 miles per US gallon (42.5 kilometres per litre) or the equivalent in electricity usage.

More than 40 teams from around the world are set to compete in a number of performance trials, culminating in a stage race across the US in June or July. The contestants include small custom shops, well-known start-ups such as Tesla Motors and Aptera, and the giant Indian car maker Tata. No major US or European manufacturer is competing.

The contest features two classes. Mainstream cars must carry four passengers on four wheels and have at least 10 cubic feet (280 litres) of space for groceries. Alternative entrants, of which the eVaro is one, can have fewer seats and wheels, and need not have any carrying space.

Futuristic concept cars and one-offs need not apply. The X-Prize Foundation, which is organising the competition, stipulates that the vehicles must be capable of being mass-produced at the rate of 10,000 units per year by 2014. Expect to see one coming up fast in your rear-view mirror soon.

Intel: New graphics, 'Core' chips coming

Intel: New graphics, 'Core' chips

coming

Intel on Thursday previewed new Core processors and graphics technology that will become the pillar of its mainstream chip offerings.

As reported previously, Intel said it will roll out new Intel Core i processors on January 7 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, including the new i3 chip. These will be based on 32-nanometer technology for the first time. The smaller the geometry, the faster and more power-efficient the processor. Intel's main CPU processors are currently based on 45-nanometer technology.

Intel will introduce 17 new processors in all.

And the chipmaker restated the Core i series lineup. The i7 is its the top-of-the-line processor, the i5 is the midrange, and the new i3 will be the low end.

Intel also discussed its upcoming integrated graphics technology for laptops, which has been referred to as "Arrandale." This will be the first mainstream Intel laptop processor to integrate two processor cores and a graphics function in a single chip package, to deliver better overall power efficiency.

The graphics silicon is based on 45-nanometer technology for the first time, Intel said. The technology will also support Blu-ray playback, and Intel claimed that it is capable of "mainstream gaming."

Intel's integrated graphics chip technology is a focus of the Federal Trade Commission's complaint filed on Wednesday.

Intel is also moving its "Turbo Boost" technology into more Core i5. Turbo Boost speeds up and slows down individual cores to meet processing and power-efficiency needs, respectively.

iPhone beats Windows Mobile in market

share

Apple's iPhone has topped Microsoft's Windows Mobile in U.S. market share of smartphone operating systems for the first time, putting it in the No. 2 spot, according to a report from ComScore released Thursday.

In February, 5.2 million respondents to ComScore's survey reported using Apple's iPhone, while 6.8 million reported using phones running Microsoft's Windows Mobile, according to a report on FierceDeveloper. ComScore, a market research firm, averages results in a three-month period.

In May, Apple's number rose to 5.7 million, then 6.6 million in July, and finally to a high of 8.9 million for October, the most recent period for which results are available. In comparison, Microsoft rose in May to 7 million, dropped in July to 6.6 million, and went back up in October to 7.1 million.

The highest market share numbers in the survey go to Research In Motion's BlackBerry. It registered 9.6 million in February, 12.2 million in May, 13 million in July, and 14.9 million in October.

It's interesting to note that Palm's number rose from 2.3 million to 2.8 million in 2009, and Google's Android operating system rose to a high of 1 million by October.

The survey asked U.S. mobile subscribers, who had to be over the age of 13, what type of phone they use. ComScore then figured out what operating system they were using and calculated the data for the report.

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This illustration shows how the newly discovered planet may look orbiting its nearby star, which is smaller than Earth's சன்

(CNN) -- Astronomers announced this week they found a water-rich and relatively nearby planet that's similar in size to Earth.

While the planet probably has too thick of an atmosphere and is too hot to support life similar to that found on Earth, the discovery is being heralded as a major breakthrough in humanity's search for life on other planets.

"The big excitement is that we have found a watery world orbiting a very nearby and very small star," said David Charbonneau, a Harvard professor of astronomy and lead author of an article on the discovery, which appeared this week in the journal Nature.

The planet, named GJ 1214b, is 2.7 times as large as Earth and orbits a star much smaller and less luminous than our sun. That's significant, Charbonneau said, because for many years, astronomers assumed that planets only would be found orbiting stars that are similar in size to the sun.

Because of that assumption, researchers didn't spend much time looking for planets circling small stars, he said. The discovery of this "watery world" helps debunk the notion that Earth-like planets could form only in conditions similar to those in our solar system.

"Nature is just far more inventive in making planets than we were imagining," he said.

In a way, the newly discovered planet was sitting right in front of astronomers' faces, just waiting for them to look. Instead of using high-powered telescopes attached to satellites, they spotted the planet using an amateur-sized, 16-inch telescope on the ground.

There were no technological reasons the discovery couldn't have happened long ago, Charbonneau said.

The planet is also rather near to our solar system -- only about 40 light-years away.

Planet GJ 1214b is classified as a "super-Earth" because it is between one and 10 times as large as Earth. Scientists have known about the existence of super-Earths for only a couple of years. Most planets discovered by astronomers have been gassy giants that are much more similar to Jupiter than to Earth.

Charbonneau said it's unlikely that any life on the newly discovered planet would be similar to life on Earth, but he didn't discount the idea entirely.

"This planet probably does have liquid water," he said.

The best video games of 2009

-- Now that video game sales have eclipsed Hollywood box office revenues and sales of music CDs, you can bet your bitmaps some extraordinarily good games were released in 2009.

In fact, therein lies the problem. With more than 1,500 games released each year -- for computers, consoles and handheld devices -- it's hard to narrow them down to a "Best of" list, let alone choose one as a holiday gift.

Video game trends for 2009 included sequels (which isn't a bad thing in the gaming world), co-op play (working together rather than against one another), social games (though the music/rhythm genre is getting saturated) and of course, the growth of handheld gaming.

But how do you know which games are worth getting blisters over and which ones will quickly become drink coasters?

Fortunately, you've come to the right place.

The following are the top picks for the best video games of the year (each of which cost $59.99 unless otherwise specified), divided by genre for your convenience.

Best shooter

Activision's "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" (for Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, PC; rated M) is a gripping near-future military shooter that challenges you to face off against a Russian terrorist organization in locations such as Afghanistan, Rio de Janeiro and Washington. Along with the single-player campaign are a handful of cooperative and competitive multiplayer maps and modes that give this first-person game plenty of replayability.

Runners-up: Valve/EA's "Left 4 Dead 2" and 2K Games' "Borderlands."

Best action/adventure

"Uncharted 2: Among Thieves," from Sony's Naughty Dog studio, provided the most memorable adventure in 2009. This outstanding PlayStation 3 sequel (rated T) once again stars Nathan Drake as he searches for a legendary jewel with extraordinary power. With excellent dialogue, huge set pieces and plenty of action (including multiplayer modes), this cinematic third-person tale makes you feel like the star of an interactive movie. It also just won game of the year at Spike TV's Video Game Awards.

Runners-up: Ubisoft's "Assassin's Creed II," Warner Bros./Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum" and Electronic Arts' "Brutal Legend."

Best platformer

For kids and kids at heart, Nintendo's "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" ($49.99; rated E) reinvents the classic "side-scroller" -- whereby characters run, jump and battle from the left side of the screen to the right -- by letting up to four gamers play at the same time. Collect coins, don special suits and discover hidden passages as you race to save the kidnapped princess. This Nintendo Wii exclusive is simply one of the year's most fun party games.

Runner-up: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's "Scribblenauts."

'Battlefield Heroes' tops 3 millon players

A scene from the free-to-play shooter 'Battlefield Heroes.'

CAPTION

Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts' free-to-play military shooter Battlefield Heroes has reached 3 million registered players, the publisher has revealed.

The game is part of EA's Play 4 Free model, where players can download the browser-based shooter for free and spend small amounts on upgrades such as weapons or outfits.

As part of the announcement, EA and Battlefield developer DICE have released a new map called Sunset Showdown.

Launched last summer, Battlefield Heroes is a simpler take on the franchise's multiplayer component, featuring cartoonish graphics and a handful of maps and weapons. Read our preview for more details on the game.

Readers, are you still playing Battlefield Heroes?

Microsoft brings Bing to iPhone, RedLaser tops $1M in revenue

Microsoft's search engine, Bing, now has its own application on the App Store that allows voice search, location finder, maps access and more; and the popular RedLaser app has earned more than $1 million in revenue.

Bing arrives on iPhone

The Redmond, Wash., software giant announced the new application's release on its Bing blog. Much like the browser-based Bing.com, the application shows the image of the day and clickable hotspots that include trivia.

It offers search of images, movies, maps, businesses, news and directions. Users can even check their flight status on the go.

"Make decisions and get where you need to go with Bing," the official description reads. "See the Bing daily image and related trivia on the home screen. Search maps or the Web with your voice -- even say an address. Use Image Search and flick through previews. Download Bing today to find stuff nearby and get there fast."

Initial response to the Bing application has been positive, as 191 of 247 reviewers have given the software five stars. It has an overall score of 4 and a half stars.

The free application (iTunes link) is a 1.9MB download that requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.

Bing is the third application on the iPhone and iPod touch from Apple's rival to the north. Its previous releases are Tag Reader, an application that reads barcode-like Microsoft Tags, and Seadragon, which allows easy zooming and panning of large images.

Microsoft has tried for years to gain a strong presence in the online search business. The market is currently dominated by Google, which has its own iPhone application: Google Mobile. Last year, the software was updated to allow its own voice searches.

RedLaser's App Store success story

Occipital, a development team with just two employees, has managed to earn more than $1 million from the success of its $2 iPhone application RedLaser. The software uses the iPhone's camera to scan the barcode of an item, and then searches online to find better deals for the product.

After a slow start with no publicity, RedLaser (iTunes link) became one of the best-selling applications on the iPhone by the end of September. Currently, according to MobileCrunch, the software is selling about 6,000 copies per day, and has earned well over $1 million in revenue from more than 750,000 downloads. It has been consistently in the top 5 paid applications of the App Store for the last three months.

"Co-Founder Jeff Powers says that though the app hit the market in May, it wasn’t getting any traction," the report said. "After releasing an update to the app which made it 'actually work,' according to Jeff, they saw a dramatic increase in sales. This was despite the fact that they did nothing different upon the re-launch and got almost zero press pickup when they updated the app. The hypothesis is that this came entirely from word-of-mouth sales, which is probably a good bet. Who wouldn’t want to show off to their friends the cool new barcode-scanning price-checking app on their phone?"

This week alone, the application has been featured on Martha Stewart Living and in The Wall Street Journal. Occipital plans to release more App Store software in the future.