At first Google Goggles sounds like a tongue twister, but in fact it is was of the cleverest applications available. The app was first designed for Google’s android Operating System (OS) for its mobile phones. But as the popularity grew in this app it became available on Apple software with future hopes for it being on Blackberry smartphones in the near future.
It was released in October 2010 and straight away it impressed. This app lets you take a photo of something like a famous landmark and then it will search Google of what it is. So if you take a picture of Big Ben it will then recognise what the picture is of and then search Google to tell you what it is about. It can act as almost a portable tourist information centre which can come in extremely useful. The beauty of this app is that it doesn’t just work on landmarks it works on just about everything. It acts as a barcode scanner so you can scan the barcode of a pack of crisps then it will perform a Google search and come up with all the information about the product; to think of how many products there are in this world it is truly amazing. It can also scan the logos of products and then it could bring up the company website just like that. The app also features a QR code scanner. QR codes are basically a different form of barcodes but these carry more information. The app allows you to use these to get contact information of your friends so you do not have to manually type it in. As well as this it can be used on products to get information on products like barcodes but it can also be used to gather just about any information if it has a QR code.
Goggles also features a translator which is like no other. You can scan a menu which may be in French and then the menu will appear in English on your screen so you do not end up order the wrong thing. This works with all the major languages and can help you with directions as well so you don’t get lost. It can be used for practically anything making the app one of the most helpful apps when you are exploring.
In December 2011 Google Goggle announced a partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This partnership enabled Goggles to scan the artwork around the museum and come up with the information about each painting. Each painting sent a user to a direct link on the MMAs actual website so you were instantly receiving reliable information about what you are looking at. This showed that there are no limits to this app. At the same time the app allowed you to scan DVD covers, CD covers and most 2D images to get the information about whatever you are scanning. So if you scan a CD it may come up with the tour dates of that artist and then let you book tickets.
When the app was updated they included something new that made the app even cleverer and this surprised many people. The app now allows you to solve a Sudoku puzzle. All you have to do is allow the app to scan the puzzle and then it will do the rest on screen and come up with the results. This allows you to pretend that you are a hidden genius.
If your phone can have the app installed it is definitely worth installing as it is revolutionising the way you become a tourist. This app can also be used just to give your general knowledge that you may not have already had.
James S. Doughty wrote this article with the assistance of website optimisation specialists Williams Commerce. The company have an in-depth knowledge of their industry which really helped James while he wrote.