Updated Google Goggles makes for smarter smartphones

Cameras in smartphones powered by Google Inc.'s Android operating system promise to get even smarter, with an updated version of Google's Googles app. The app's Version 1.6 will analyze an image taken by the camera, and provide relevant information if it recognizes the image. "Let’s say that I’m going on vacation, and I decide to use my Android-powered phone as my primary camera. Goggles would identify landmarks, paintings and other interesting objects in my photos. I can share these facts about my vacation with my friends right from my Goggles search history," software engineer Pavel Vodenski said in a blog post. But Goggles can see the photos one takes with the phone camera only if the "Search from Camera" feature is enabled. Vodenski said Google Goggles 1.6 is available for Android 2.1 and newer devices. Goggles is an app that lets a user use pictures taken with a mobile phone to search the Web. It can recognize up to three items at a time but works best with:

• Books and DVDs
• Landmarks
• Barcodes and QR codes
• Logos
• Contact info
• Artwork
• Businesses
• Products
• Text