Google Friends Newsletter - August 2010

[Google Friends Newsletter]

Greetings to our Google Friends. We hope you enjoy this month’s update
on our products and services.

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POWER TIP

Phone calls from Gmail

Now you can call any phone right from within Gmail. Dialing a phone
number works just like a normal phone—just click “Call phone” at the
top of your chat list, and dial a number or enter a contact’s name. At
the moment, this feature is only for Gmail users in the U.S. Calls to
the U.S. and Canada will be free for at least the rest of 2010, and
calls to other countries will be billed at our very low rates.
http://www.gmail.com/call

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NEW PRODUCTS & UPDATES

New design for Google Translate

Google Translate has a fresh look that makes it easier than ever to
translate text, web pages and documents. The new design also
highlights many of Google Translate’s coolest features, including the
ability to search across languages, translate incoming email in Gmail
or take Google Translate with you on your phone.
http://translate.google.com

Homepage for Realtime Search

Google Realtime Search now has its own homepage, where you’ll find
tools to help you refine and understand your results. We’ve added
geographic refinements to find updates and news in a region you
specify, and a conversations view that makes it easy to follow a
discussion on the real-time web. We also added “Updates” content to
Google Alerts, making it easier to stay informed about the topics you
choose.
http://www.google.com/realtime

Voice Actions for Android

These are a series of spoken commands that let you control your
Android phone using your voice. You can send texts, listen to music,
browse the web, send email and more—just by speaking into your phone.
To use Voice Actions, tap the microphone button on the Google search
box on your home screen, or press down for a few seconds on the
physical search button on your phone to activate the “Speak Now”
screen. Voice Actions are currently available for English speakers in
the U.S., and require Froyo (Android 2.2).
http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/08/just-speak-it-introducing-voice-actions.html

Responding to the floods in Pakistan

Our Crisis Response team has been working to help relief efforts in
Pakistan by making critical information more accessible. We launched a
page in Urdu and English for finding information, resources and
donation opportunities to help flood victims. Person Finder is
available in English and Urdu, as is a tool called Resource Finder to
help with disseminating information around medical facilities.
http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/pakistan_floods.html

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MISCELLANY

Earlier this month we shared a handful of stories from people who have
used Google in interesting ways that helped them solve a problem large
or small. Their stories range from the mundane—finding the
manufacturer of a frying pan, or the composer of a song—to the
sublime: finding a long-lost love, welcoming a brand-new family member
into the world. Enjoy these stories, and if you have a Google story of
your own, share it with us by clicking on the second link below.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/search/label/yourgooglestories
https://services.google.com/fb/forms/sharesuccess/