Before we begin, here is a point to ponder: even if Google’s Buzz needs changes, do we need the Buzz?

Google’s Buzz social networking tool came out of the blue. It surprised everyone and Google thought that this wonderful new web service will bring delight to many people.

Google was wrong. Just ask Harriet Jacobs, an American woman and a well known blogger. She suddenly found her buzz being followed by an ex-husband simply because she had corresponded with him before.

Now, if this was on Facebook, then the usual internet reaction of face palming and proclamations of “fail” would be justified. But this is Google Buzz. With Facebook, before you do anything, before anyone will even see your profile, you get to decide what appears on your page. Before your account goes public, you customize your visibility. Before anything happens, you are given the almighty power to approve or deny it.

Google gives you nothing at all.

The moment you click the button that brings you see Buzz on your Gmail account, the default settings kick in and anyone in your contact page becomes a follower and you are suddenly following them.

Just imagine the crazy ex; the one who you were still with when you signed up for Gmail. These days, it is almost impossible to have never corresponded through email. Yeah. Now imagine that person following your updates.

Even if you have not posted an update, it abhors us thinking that you need to actually think about editing the settings before doing anything. Not everyone is tech-savvy. This is why privacy settings are force introduced by social networks upon signing up. It is not a given. Only a war veteran would check a quiet open field for mines, a dentist would simply stroll through.

Get more buzz about Google Buzz at Times Online UK.

Here’s the big number: 1gbps.

That’s fast. At the very least, 20 times faster than the fast UK service and around 500 times better than the 2mbps speed that the British government is aiming for. Not to sour grape, but Google’s new service will only be available in the United States and it is still not yet known which areas will actually have it.

So far, reports are stating that the actual service will be made available to only 500,000 communities in the US; though even if this never actually makes it outside the US, as long as Google’s service becomes successful, then other internet service providers might follow suit.

Offering speeds of up to 1gbps may sound impressive, but it is completely worthless unless you are only connected to Google service and it’s very limited content (though sites such as YouTube will be getting a major boost in access speeds). It may also be a platform by which applications that rely on high speed transfers can be launched. So far, Google is still looking for communities to test their services with. Interested communities are encouraged to sign up with Google to process the application.

If this goes well, it would not be surprising to see Google take an even greater role in the field of mobile telecommunications.

Google has done a great job at trying to make itself an integral part of society. While not everyone remembers that it was Google behind plenty of the trends we see today, the search engine has entered OS development for computers and mobile phones (the Chrome and the Android OS). They have also tried social networking recently (not quite successful though), and it is still one of the most comprehensive and trustworthy search engines around.

Learn more about the new broadband service from Google at Times Online UK.

Google just released the new Buzz social networking tool.

Do we really need a new social network?

Microsoft says no, we don’t –before going off to say that they have integrated hotmail into many existing social network tools and applications; though one must wonder whether anyone really enjoys using hotmail accounts in the first place.

Yahoo! says that they have had a similarly named tool that does the same thing, and it has been around for over a year and half. For a service that has been around for so long, this is practically the first time we have heard about it.

So the competition is not giving Google any kudos, that’s to be expected. But more surprising is the fact that even Google users are not too keen on the new tool. So far, it s impressive that the Gmail integrated social networking tool will also have its own mobile version (exclusive to Android versions 2.0 and above only).

But so far, it seems that not many people are into it. I for one just received by Google Buzz tool when I opened my Gmail account this morning and so far, there is nothing much to do with it.

Demonstrations of the Buzz show that you can use it in pretty much the same way as Facebook status updates or Twitter Tweets. You can even place links and videos (integrated with Picasa, Flickr and YouTube of course) on your posts. According to Google, the Buzz will not only wok great as a social networking tool, it can even be used by schools or businesses.

It has been hit or miss thing when it comes to Google services. Some are outright odd and not really that useful like Google Wave, and some are totally amazing, like Google Earth and Google Maps.

Read more about the new Google Buzz on Times Online UK.

Everyone will want to own a Google Nexus One with its extensive features and capabilities provided on the mobile phone.  The phone will have Live Wallpaper that sets the background in your screen.  The interesting part is where the Live Wallpaper makes the background looks as if it was alive with fluid and graphical motion.  The water wallpaper will ripple if you touch the screen.  This is a milestone in the creation of Smartphones and the Google Nexus One is unparalleled for this feature.  In the charger dock, the clock app will run and show the time, weather, and accordingly to the location of the local area.  The clock on the phone diminishes the need to keep an alarm clock as you keep your phone on the charger next to you on your bed.

The settings feature will have a backup overhaul that will keep your profile, ringtones, and other various applications updated.  The noise-cancellation feature should be noted as the microphone concentrates on the voice command rather than the extraneous noises that hinder the ability of the phone to follow user voice commands.  Wind noise and machinery noise will be miniscule, and they are usually the noises that get in the way of call quality and background noises. The phone offers no alternative to the users who like to cradle the phone between their shoulder and neck.  Users who do this will find that the microphone located on the bottom of the phone on the left will be muted on occasions such as this.  Hopefully, Google will create better usability for people who operate a phone without hands in the future.

A car charger via the Nexus One will activate the navigation features that will help you find your way on the road.  The regular charger will make the phone activate the clock feature that will substantially replace alarm clocks.  The phone’s ability to connect to your car and activate the navigation feature makes the Google Nexus One remain the most flawless mobile phone on the market today.

The biggest problem with the phone is the high cost associated with the early termination fees.  If you are planning to buy the phone, be prepared to follow through with the associated fees that are referenced to the plans.  Another problem according to the consumer complaints is the touch screen, which is a pretty vague concept and is undetermined.  Like any phone, there is bound to be complications with some of them, so the downfall is not necessarily unpredicted.  Google will most likely attempt to fix the errors that are concentrated in consumer complaints and be rectified according to the analysis of consumer complaints.  They should focus on the areas that are most complained about.

Even though, the phone is most anticipated, they will have to do something about the fees associated with unlocked and locked phones.  The unlocked version will be available for around €600.  With the T-Mobile plan, the retail is around €250 with a 2-year contract plan.  From this, it is pretty obvious why the complaints are existent when consumers try to weasel their way out of a plan and getting the phone for €200.

The “Super Phone” (Google’s words) has finally arrived or at least has been unveiled. The world finally got a glimpse of the Google Nexus One and by most accounts, it liked what is saw! Prior to this unveiling, there had been a lot of space dedicated to the phone on blogs based all over the world. Some of them included “insider reports” others were pure speculation while still others simply gave it a mention. Now that the phone has been unveiled, people have a lot more to talk about.

Google held a press event on January 5th, 2009 at their headquarters in Mountain View, California. It was an invitation-only press event. However, one night prior to the company’s announcement, several well reputed blogs did release reviews on the phone, including pictures. These were in-depth, factual reviews which matched up with what was released a day later by Google.

Individuals who appreciate Android technology are especially excited about the phone’s release. Almost everyone, Google included, feels like the Nexus One is helping to take Androids to the next level.

The Nexus One looks very similar to the iPhone. It has a number of features which very closely resemble the iPhone as well. This makes sense, considering this is their biggest competition. By and large, people loved the iPhone, so why depart from a proven model? The Nexus One is slim like the iPhone and has a similar shape. It contains a nice sized touchscreen at 3.7 inches, a 5 megapixel camera, GPS, voice recognition and a decent amount of memory.

Google has priced the Nexus pretty high. It is by no means an inexpensive phone. It costs $529 (£331) if purchased directly from Google. Individuals that buy the phone through T-Mobile and who are willing to sign a two year contract with the company qualify for a significant price break. The price falls to $179 (£112).

Everyone knows that Google are a reputable company, and provide great service for free to the public. They produce many great applications including Google Maps, Google Trends, Google Pictures and the classic Google search. All these applications are available directly from the phones desktop, which can be accessed by using the phones touch screen. The phone comes complete with a 5.0megapixel camera. This allows you to take professional looking shots, whilst keeping the whole mechanism in the compact and sleek design of the phone. Once the photos have been taken, you can either transfer them to your computer for editing or sending, or can be uploaded to various websites from the phone itself, providing the site has the capabilities to do so.

Weighing only 133g, the Nexus One can be used effortlessly by you to make calls. The high definition screen allows you to watch movies and TV on the go, so you can keep yourself occupied on long journeys or other times you need to pass the time. When making a telephone call, the built in noise reduction technology will help you to have cleaner and less interrupted conversations. Using compression technology, the system filters out sounds which are in the higher frequencies that do not apply to the phone call, in particular line interference and background noise. The Nexus One is available on Vodafone in the United Kingdom, and T Mobile in the United states. Google have said that the phone is a “a point of convergence where the web meets phone and is an example of what is possible on mobile through Android.”.