Yeah, that’s a mobile phone. Well actually it’s a development circuit board for the google Android operating system by Qualcomm. Can you see an iPhone competitor in there?
More info and hardware porn shots at Wired’s Gadget Lab.

Yesterday, Google released the software development kit for its mobile platform called Android. Of course I had to install it and give it a try, it comes with sample code and some standard features like a web browser and a maps application.
The standard graphical user interface looks dull to me, especially since I played around with an iPhone before. The screen resolution of the demo phone is only 320 by 240 and it’s not that snappy, maybe that’s because it’s only an emulation.
Although the iPhone is available since last Friday here in Germany, I didn’t buy one for the simple reason that the iPhone and the contract are too expensive. But if I could get one from the States (over a €100 cheaper!), I would.
So Apple, I’m quite curious to play with the iPhone SDK next February! Bring it on!

‘Google with Miro logo’, oil on canvas, by Valery Grancher.

“Google Emotional Index“, a google image search based on emotions.

There some new features on Google Maps. First, in the ‘Map’ view you can now find 3D outlines of buildings, the poor intern who had to model them all … Second, ‘Street View’ let you browse the streets in a whole different 3D – arrows way, very neat! Of course these new toys aren’t available everywhere yet, but you can try them out in New York.

This is a room with all the thumbnails of a google image search for ‘art’. Some people have too much time on their hands. GOOGLE : ART

“On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris.

No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit.”

This website mixed that movie with google maps. Hell yeah.