SnapTell
Latest
Google Goggles image recognition debuts on iPhone
Android users have been enjoying Google Goggles for a while; now, the image recognition feature has made it over to the iPhone. The first hints that GG would make the leap to iPhone came back in August, and we're glad to see it here now. Google Goggles delivers the kind of visual product search and recognition features found in SnapTell (now owned by Amazon) and Kooaba. While it's a separate app on the Android Market, on iPhone it's bundled in with the existing Google Mobile app. As the video shows, with Google Goggles (not to be confused with other, similar sounding technologies), you can use visual recognition to search for information with your iPhone's camera -- even translate text from other languages into English on demand. The service works best on copy, logos, book covers, landmarks, wine labels and other easily recognized images; it doesn't do so well with organic shapes like animals, people or food. Note that since it requires an auto-focusing camera, Goggles will only work on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. If you update your Google Mobile app, you'll see a new camera icon in the top bar. The first time you tap it, you'll have to clear several screenfuls of instructions and accept a new version of the Google mobile usage agreement. You can, at your option, have your image capture history saved to your Google account. More details are available on Google's blog. Get Goggling!
Snaptell for iPhone goes 2.0
One of my favorite apps in the early days of the App Store, SnapTell Explorer, has recently updated to version 2.0, and while they've dropped the "Explorer" part and were purchased by Amazon earlier this year, the app still offers the same impressive functionality: take a shot of a book, DVD, or album with the iPhone, and have it pull up ratings, information, and prices on the item in question. Despite the Amazon buyout, it still offers prices from elsewhere, though the Amazon mobile store in the app is the best-looking choice. The app now also lets you share "snaps" (you can email a found item to a friend for, say, a holiday wishlist), and it has a few reporting options for incorrect matches, to make their system even better. I'm still amazed by this app and how it can pull up an object from almost any picture -- more than a few times I've been in a bookstore or music store, and pulled up the app to snap an item, only to find it cheaper somewhere online. The app is a free download, too -- I can't think of a more must-have app for serious comparison shoppers.
