However, Google Voice isn’t coming to Google Talk, at least for now, because the focus was on the web integration. SMS is available in Gmail as a Labs feature, but isn’t part of this integration. It’s not rolling out in Google Apps today, but it will in the near future.

It’s not clear if Google Voice will be changing, or whether this new service is a completely separate offering. The user interfaces appear the same—for example, the same icons are used to label missed calls or placed calls — but Google Voice is not a VoIP service. Users of the new chat/phone call service aren’t required to have a Google Voice account, and calls placed to U.S. or Canadian numbers will be free, with discounts on international calls as compared to standard rates.

To get this new feature working, you’ll need to download install Voice and Video plug-in. Free calling is available for U.S. nationals to the U.S. and Canada for the rest of the year at least. Users based in U.S. can make calls to the U.K., France, Germany, China, Japan and many more countries at very low rates like $0.06/per minute (Rs. 2.80 approx.) right from their Gmail interface.

Google adds Phone Calling Option to Gmail; How it Works?

We wonder if this feature would be made available to Apple devices that use Gmail’s HTML5 based web interface. Google has already faced a cold war with Apple over Google Voice and we’re sure that all Android phones would be the first ones to get this feature.

According to the Gmail Blog, everyone should now be able to activate multiple accounts by heading to your Google Accounts page. Now, you can visit google.com/accounts and click the link next to “Multiple sign-in.” After you sign into your first account, you can sign in with up to two additional accounts from the new accounts menu in the upper right hand corner of Gmail, then easily toggle back and forth between them. You can even open multiple Gmail tabs — one for each of your accounts.

However, there are 3 caveats that Google quickly warns about, though:

1) Not all Google services support multiple account sign-in yet. For the services that don’t support it (like Blogger and Picasa Web Albums), you’ll be defaulted to the first account you signed in with during that browser session. So if you click a link from Gmail to Blogger, for example, you’ll be logged into Blogger with the first account you signed in with, even if you clicked the link to Blogger from your second Gmail account.

2) We’re still working on making Gmail and Calendar work offline with multiple sign-in. If you rely on offline access, you probably don’t want to enable this feature quite yet.

3) Multiple account sign-in only works on desktop browsers for now, so if you use Gmail on your phone’s browser you won’t see this option yet.

Since Google Apps customers can already sign in to their accounts at the same time as their personal Google Accounts, we won’t be adding this new feature to Google Apps until the new infrastructure is in place.

This is expected to boost company adoption of Google Apps because Gmail login had been a drawback. This has been a much-requested feature in Google products for some time. Most of us have at least two active Gmail addresses, especially those of us who use Gmail for both our work and personal lives. Previously, the only ways to access two accounts at once conveniently were to use a desktop client for e-mail, calendar events and feed reading (all of which partially defeat the purpose of using web apps in the first place) or to resort to browser extensions like the Google Account Multi-Login Greasemonkey script, which hacks this feature into Gmail.

This stop motion film by Google explains (in a rather fanciful way) how Google Street View really works. It features a cute little robot puttering around town, taking film photographs and painting over license plate numbers with a marker. The video is part of an effort to make the practice appear less invasive of individuals’ privacy.

A Behind the Scenes Video from Google Street View labs.

While Google Street View is really neat, what I’d like to see more than anything is using these photos to enhance driving directions, as it’s often easier to spot an exit or street to turn on based on what it looks like rather than rely on tiny little green signs. Considering that the data has come from video footage, a quick highlight reel of turns wouldn’t be so bad either. At any rate, do you see Google as a Hungry Beast, which takes away your Privacy?

Google Wave was one of Google’s most prominent new services. Now it is one of its most prominent flops. The reason for it is quite obvious – not enough takers. Let’s be honest here, many users who have used Wave didn’t know why and what to use it for. Sure, it has some advantages but apparently not enough for an average consumer to see.

At the time of launch, Google described the tool as “how e-mail would look if it were invented today“. Google Wave combined e-mail, instant messaging and features that allowed people to collaborate on documents in real-time. Users could see edits and comments written by other “Wavers” as they were typed. As an avid Wave user, I would say that it was a powerful collaborative tool and was very good at what it did and I can think of many people and organizations who are going to miss Google Wave when it is gone.

“We don’t plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product, but we will maintain the site at least through the end of the year and extend the technology for use in other Google projects.” — the official blog post read. The product was created by two brothers Jens and Lars Rasmussen, who were also behind Google Maps.

Unfortunately, many people who tried Wave complained that it was too hard to use or that they did not understand why they would use it. May be, Google wave was trying to do many things in a new way that people weren’t accustomed to. And while it may it have been great as a productivity tool, I don’t think Google pitched it well when they introduced it.

However, here is some consolation if you liked using Google Wave. “The central parts of the code, as well as the protocols that have driven many of Wave’s innovations, like drag-and-drop and character-by-character live typing, are already available as open source, so customers and partners can continue the innovation we began. In addition, we will work on tools so that users can easily “liberate” their content from Wave.” — the post went on to say.

So are you going to miss Google Wave — Google’s own collaborative tool that had so much of potential in it and yet ended up being a flop?

It may seem like a small change, but YouTube is perhaps testing the waters before dropping this video length limitation, altogether. Who knows? “Without question, the number one requested feature by our creators is to upload videos longer than 10 minutes. We’ve heard you, and today we’re pleased to announce that we’ve increased the upload limit to 15 minutes,” informs YouTube’s blog.

The main reason why YouTube added a 10 minutes limitation back in 2006 was that a lot of users uploaded full-length movies and TV shows. Now that YouTube uses a content identification software and Viacom lost the case against YouTube, Google’s video site can safely remove this arbitrary limitation. YouTube is cautious, so it will release incremental improvements.

This new ability to upload longer (yet safer) videos has been “without question, the number one requested feature” from users, Joshua Siegel, product manager for upload and video management at YouTube, wrote in a blog post. To celebrate the increased upload limit YouTube is inviting users to make a video of your ‘15 minutes of fame‘.  If you have a video ready, upload the video and tag it with “yt15minutes“. The deadline is August 4, 2010. The selected videos will be featured on the YouTube homepage in a future spotlight.

If you’re uploading a video on YouTube that was previously rejected for being too long, you’ll have to go into “My Videos” and delete it before attempting to upload it again. Thanks and happy uploading!

Android has already made a big impact in the mobile phone industry and it’s looking to do the same for tablets. Fortunately, for Android, more and more manufactures are unveiling plans for tablets and the vast majority are choosing Android (sans HP with their Web OS tablet). If you weren’t aware of non-phone Androids, then here is the time. Below we’ve rounded up everything we know at this point about ten most discussed upcoming Android tablets and why they can be the iPad Killers.

Acer Tablet:

The Acer tablet looks strikingly similar to Acer’s LumiRead e-book reader that was announced at the same event back in May. Not much details have been revealed about this much awaited tablet but we do know that it will feature a 7-inch (800×400) color display, will run Android, and has a likely Q4 release date.

Archos 7:

The Archos 7 has in fact been launched and it features a 7-inch (800×400) color display, a whooping 8GB of internal storage along with a micro SDHC slot (for additional storage) and an ARM Cortex A8 processor. The Archos 7 has been available since March and it comes for $199.99.

Cisco Cius:

Cisco Cius was revealed last month when the networking giant made it’s plans clear to join the tablet arms race. The Cius will pack a 7-inch screen, a 720p webcam on the front and a 5 megapixel camera on the back. No firm launch date has been declared yet, but Cisco has stated that they’re shooting for early next year.

Dell Streak:

The Streak is actually closer to a large cell phone than a tablet. The streak will feature a 5-inch display, 5 megapixel camera, and integrated social media apps such as Twitter and Facebook. No solid release date has been announced for the Streak, but its unlocked price is expected to be somewhere around $500.

Google Tablet:

Details are still blurred on the rumored Google Android Tablet. There have been reports that Verizon and Google are working together on a tablet, but at this point we don’t even know if Google’s Tablet will run on Chrome OS or Android.

ICD Ultra:

ICD’s follows up its 15-inch Vega tablet with the ICD Ultra, a smaller Android-based device. The ICD Ultra will feature a 7-inch touchscreen display, a NVIDIA Tegra T20 chipset, and integrated 3G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Pricing and a final release date are yet to be known.

Notion Ink Adam:

The Adam will be the first tablet on the market to feature the Pixel Qi display. The 10-inch transflective LCD display offers 3 different modes for viewing including a reflective e-paper mode for low power viewing even in bright sunlight. The Adam is expected to be released in Q3 of this year in selected countries. And if you are an Indian, we must tell you that this iPad competitor is being developed in India.

Pandigital Novel:

The Pandigital Novel can be classified as an eReader but since it features a web browser and media player we think it crosses into tablet territory as well. The Novel will features a 7-inch color 800×600 touchscreen, an SD card slot for adding storage, and will integrate with the Barnes & Noble eBookstore. It will be priced at $199 and is slated to go on sale this month.

Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000:

Samsung unveiled a picture of its upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab last month and it certainly  looks like the Apple iPad’s smaller twin. It will feature a 7-inch AMOLED display, Android 2.2, 16GB of internal storage with a microSD expansion slot, and will be powered by a 1.2GHz A8 processor. The Galaxy Tab is expected to launch sometime this summer and a larger 10-inch tablet from Samsung has been rumored to follow.

Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet:

Velocity Micro will step away from its luxury gaming throne to dabble in the emerging Android tablet market with the release of their Cruz Tablet this summer. It will feature a 7-inch touch-screen, 4GB of built-in storage, and will accept SD cards for additional storage. The Cruz Tablet will release this summer at a surprisingly low price of $300.

Also Read: Top 10 Best Tablet Alternatives to the Apple iPad!

Let me present you today with some of the most wonderful Android apps that can help make your Android-powered phone even smarter than it is. As a sweet bonus, these apps are also FREE to download and use.

This way, you need not spend hours on searching the huge pool of Android apps marketplace in an attempt to find the best of all apps and games in Android Market, which are Free to use too. All these apps that I’m going to present below are hand-picked and are excellent at what they are supposed to do. So with out further ado, let me present the Top 10 FREE Android Apps available in the marketplace today. These 10 free Android apps should be any Android owner’s Day One installs…

Fill your Google mobile with today’s finest free Android apps

1. Seesmic:

Though there are already numerous Twitter apps in the Android market, even more are being introduced everyday. The most discussed of all is the Seesmic, which is probably the best right now with its excellent set of nice features. This app gives you a home screen widget which keeps you updated with the new tweets (so that you get to see every new tweets as they are tweeted in real-time). Also, Seesmic supports multiple accounts and it designed for professionals in a professional way.

2. AppBrain Market Sync:

If you use Android, unfortunately there is no way you can download your apps on the PC and transfer them later to your Android phone. Enters AppBrain Market Sync to your rescue! This app is solution to this issue as it lets you do the forbidden act. By help of AppBrain you can send your Apps (that you downloaded on the PC) to the Android phone. Isn’t that too cool for an App that is available for Free?

3. Task Manager:

If you come from a bit of a hardcore PC background, you’ll find Android’s lack of a blue X to close apps a bit of a worry. Which is why you need a good manual override tool to shut any persistent apps. It may help you save battery life, but most important is the feeling of control and empowerment you get from one-click closing apps. For this purpose, download this Task Manager app form the Android Market. This will make the task of closing any running app that you don’t need to run anymore very easy and simple.

4. Sketch Online:

This is an interesting game that involves gaming as well as socializing with fellow Android users. A user draws something and the other players try and guess what is drawn. Yes, it is as simple as that! Right now, a beta version is available and it is free of cost. Later, one might have to pay for enjoying the ad-free version of this game, though.

5. Google Maps Navigation:

If you are reading this article then you have probably already heard about Google Maps and this free Android app is amazingly brilliant. It guides you through the map turn by turn and with the help of voice navigation. With the help of charger, dock and accessories, you can make it your permanent navigator. It calculates the route in the very beginning of your tour so that data transfer is minimal and no difficulty is faced during the trip even if the signals drop. Isn’t that simply awesome?

6. Google Sky Map:

This is another Google application that gives you precise positions of the stars, using your phone’s orientation. In fact, the app is so good at its work that you will be taken by surprise. Pointing your Android phone towards the sky is all that you have to do, and this app will show you the visible stars and planets etc. on your screen. Point phone at sky, then learn what constellations are visible and if that’s a UFO or just Venus. Even works indoors, if you’re not keen on getting cold. A must have Android app for every star gazers and astronomy enthusiasts.

7. Swype:

This cool app is not yet available in the Android market but the good news is that you can still download it directly from the maker’s site. The idea is superb and helps you get rid of the conventional ‘tapping’ of keyboards. Now, you have to swipe your finger through the letters of keyboard according to the spellings e.g. put your finger at ‘A’, swipe it through the alphabets to ‘I’ and stop at ‘R’; you have just written ‘AIR’ by swiping your finger. This app also suggests words if there are typos.

8. Brain Genius Deluxe:

This is a great learning game that tests your knowledge as well as helps you in expanding it. You can choose from daily exercise, single exercise and bonus games. The game revolves around Observation, Memory, Calculation and Reasoning. This is a nice game to play, especially if you are someone who likes games involving problem solving and deduction.

9. Skyfire 2.0:

The USP of the Skyfire browser is that it supports Flash content, popping up a little window when it detects something like an embedded YouTube video. The actual Flash business is handled by Skyfire’s server, which does all the computery stuff – then sends the file to your handset. It also makes recommendations for media content for you according to your choice smartly. You can easily share what you want with only one click. Other features include pinch to zoom, choice between full desktop web pages and mobile optimized pages, anonymous browsing and multi-tab browsing. A bit clunky on slower Android phones, but works like a dream on models with faster processors.

10. RAC Traffic:

With this app in your Android phone, you don’t need to listen to radio for any news updates regarding traffic incidents. An official production of the motoring organisation, the app is dead simple – it guesstimates your location via the mobile signal, then pops up the current traffic alerts for your area. Much better than having to listen to the radio for the odd update about arterial blockages. Isn’t it? This is what I call as “intelligent computing“!

So here we go. Top 5 famous smartphones of recent days: (clears throat)

1. Apple iPhone 4

The name itself speaks for itself; ain’t it? Apple iPhone 4! They did some hard work this time and have managed to bring in many of the iPhone wishlist features. And what users get is a magnificent GSM cell phone which is first of its kind. This 4th generation device from Apple has 1 GHz chip and 512MB of RAM, two cameras, HD video and the most discussed Retina Display- the highest resolution screen we have seen ever on a GSM phone. There are even more. Apple has introduced iOS4, which comes with some degree of cool multitasking capabilities, which is new compared to its older iOS counterparts.

The Dark Side: Oh yeah! The dark side. Terrible hardware design, which has created enough of iPhone 4 haters already, micro SIM card, FaceTime video call possible only with WiFi, Poor loudspeaker performance etc can play the spoiler here. Did I forget to mention about the signal failure flaw  in iPhone 4 and how Apple has admitted it finally and bringing a software update to fix it soon?

2. Samsung I7500 Galaxy

We have recently seen a dozen of new handsets from the manufacturer Samsung. Samsung I7500 Galaxy is one of the most discussed phones of all. It’s said to be a Google experience phone with a 5 MP camera in it. Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate and turn to mute are one of the best features, this gadget has on its cards. Internal memory is pretty high as 8GB with an external storage-micro-SD support.

The Dark Side: Lack of smart dialing feature, outdated camera features, lack of video calling, absence of multi-touch gestures and lack of availability of 3rd party software pulls the device back.

3. HTC Aria

It’s similar to HTC HD mini in design and runs Android 2.1. It comes with HTC Sense user experience, 5MP camera, supports BlueTooth, GPS and a lot more features than what you’ll probably need to just dial a phone. Summing of the Pros; lots and lots of features, nice layout, fast web browsing, good camera quality, real quick processor are to name a few.

The Dark Side: The dark side for this phone is At&T; they restrict the user from non-android marketplace applications. And yes, the camera doesn’t come with a flash.

4. Motorola Milestone

It’s really a Milestone in the world of Android cell phones; and a menace for its competitors. This device runs with Android OS v2.0 with kinetic scrolling and pinch zooming. Motorola claims to provide the slimmest Side Slider with full QWERTY keyboard till date. 5MP autofocus camera, Wi-Fi, GPS (with A-GPS), microSD slot, bundled 8GB card, accelerometer and proximity sensor makes the device perfect.

The Dark Side: This lacks Divx and XviD video playback, voice dialing, flash support for web browsers and FM radio (Radio; If you really need it in 21st century)

5. Sony Ericsson Vivaz

Camera lovers; this is for you. You don’t believe me? This is a kind of Smartphone which can challenge a professional camera. This gadget comes with 8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, face and smile detection, geotagging and touch focus. The cell Phone come with microSD card (comes with 8-16GB card in the Box), built in accelerometer, Turn-to mute, TV-Out, Stereo FM Radio, Office document viewer and a lot more.

The Dark Side: LED flash is not so powerful to fulfill the camera’s desire, no office document editing (without a paid upgrade), no stereo speakers, No DivX or XviD support goes against this otherwise great smartphone.

Also Read: Top 5 Best Smartphone Alternatives to the iPhone. And follow the latest mobile phone news and releases with Dial a Phone. Their blog features all the biggest gossip in the mobile phone world!

On Tuesday when the Internet search giant Google opened the doors to Google Voice, its new communications service that links one phone number to multiple devices owned by the account holder, little did they know that they were soon going to get sued for launching it! The free service provides a new phone number which directs incoming calls to your mobile, home and office numbers.

Additional features include voicemail text transcriptions, which can then be sent to you via email or text message, free outbound domestic calls, super low-cost international calls, and free conference call setup. Google Voice began as a service called GrandCentral, which the web giant bought in 2007.

Google Voice Goes Public, Gets Slapped With a Lawsuit

Though with all the fanfare, it’s natural that not everyone is happy about the announcement. In that group? Frontier Communications Corp., who is suing Google over “a patent application for its invention that allows its customers to be reached on multiple lines from a single number“. Frontier claims that Google Voice infringes upon one of its patents, and is demanding that Google shut down the service and pay unspecified damages. Frontier operates phone, Internet and some television services in Elk Grove and parts of southern Sacramento County.

The complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, said that Google’s deliberate infringement of the patent significantly and “irreparably” damaged Frontier. The Stamford, Connecticut-based company provides phone, Internet access, and satellite TV, and has seen a 1.5-percent drop in market value this year alone.

The patent in question–number 7,742,468 and entitled “Systems and methods for providing enhanced telephone services” — describes the Frontier invention as one that allows a subscriber “to be reached on multiple telephone lines from a single dial-in number.” Indeed, the description resembles Google’s new service.

Also Read: Local Class Action Complaint Filed Over Google Buzz

But for hopeful Google Voice users, there’s probably not too much to fear. Google acquired Grand Central, the company that’s provided the basis of Google Voice, back in 2007 and took two years to rebrand it as Google Voice in 2009. It’s taken another year for Google to decide the service was ready for public consumption, so surely that’s given them plenty of time to plan for whatever potential challenges may arise.

“We believe these claims are entirely without merit, and we’ll defend against them vigorously,” said Andrew Pederson, a spokesman for Google, via e-mail.

To get a better sense of how Google Voice works, check out this two-minute video from the company:

1. Find the ‘Last Account Activity’ Section in Your Inbox:

2. Check for the login sessions for your Gmail account:

Clicking on the Details link next to the Last account activity line at the bottom of Gmail inbox page displays information about recent activity in your mail account.

Recent activity includes any time that your mail was accessed, using a regular web browser, through a POP client, from a mobile device, etc.

It gives the detailed information about,

- How it was accessed (Browser/mobile etc)
- Where exactly the IP address is (So you can do some further digging)
- When it was accessed

3. Don’t be afraid, if you see your IP from various countries:

If you use any 3rd party services which hook-up to your Gmail account, they will almost certainly show up in your activity log.  To do your own investigation, you can use various freely available DomainTools to identify the IP address. This will help you to identify any suspicious activity if your Gmail account is being hacked.

4. Suspicious Activity Monitoring by Google:

Google also does it’s fair share of monitoring, and will also alert you if it sees suspicious activity both in your inbox, as well as your recent activity log.  When this happens, and the IP addresses look suspicious, it is advisable to play it safe, assume your Gmail account has been hacked, and change your passwords immediately.

5. Avoid Mistakes. Log out from all Gmail sessions:

If you are worried you did not sign out of a public computer, you can ‘sign out all other sessions’.  This won’t fix any hacked Gmail accounts, but it will resolve any careless mistakes. This is also useful if you happen to lose your mobile phone and you want to ensure your email is not read by others.

What to do if your account has been really hacked?

Immediately change your Password and security question at the first place. Opt for the most secured choices. Follow tips from Google for the same. For example in the case of security questions:

- Choose a question only you know the answer to – make sure the question isn’t associated with your password.

- Pick a question that can’t be answered through research (for example, avoid your mother’s maiden name, your birth date, your first or last name, your social security number, your phone number, your pet’s name, etc.).

- Make sure your answer is memorable, but not easy to guess. Use an answer that is a complete sentence for even more security.