A screenshot of Google Wave
The new iPhone and its 2009 computer cohorts haven’t been unveiled yet, but the Internet is abuzz with news of several other exciting innovations coming soon to a Web browser near you (or better yet, into your hands). A promising search engine, Microsoft’s Bing, and an all-encompassing communication tool, Google Wave, are two of the most discussed.
Google Wave
Google Wave is an as yet unreleased product from the folks who brought you your (likely) favorite search engine and the groundbreaking Gmail. To learn more, look no further than Mashable, which presents lists, guides and analysis on social media topics—the world of Twitter, Facebook, the iPhone and any other tool that helps us communicate digitally.
Seasoned contributor Ben Parr explains that Google Wave, launching later this year, “combines aspects of email, instant messaging, wikis, web chat, social networking, and project management to build one elegant, in-browser communication client.” Read more and see some screenshots here. Then decide for yourself whether Google Wave sounds like a tsunami threat or gentle ocean surf!
Bing
It may call to mind Chandler from “Friends,” but one can assume Microsoft’s new search engine is referring to the sound you hear when someone gets an answer right on “Jeopardy,” or the theoretical sound of a light bulb going off in your head. As Miguel Helft suggests in The New York Times, “bing” may soon be a verb punctuated with a capital ‘B,’ just like Google. That would make Bill Gates “a happy billionaire.”
For those who didn’t know, Microsoft actually has a search engine called Windows Live Search. So is Bing merely a new name, or a new product? It appears to be a new product. In a guided video tour on the site, Bing’s people say, “It’s not just a search engine, it’s a decision engine.” Bing focuses on big topics like health and travel and ensures future users that results are credible and of high quality. Take the guided video tour to find out more. Reuters noted yesterday that Bing hasn’t launched to the public yet. The news source also summed up some early reviews of the search engine from tech heavyweights.
But wait…there’s more
Google and Microsoft are like the Brad and Angelina of the tech world, but this week there were hints of more tech excitement to come (from other companies—companies you may not have heard of). Plastic Logic’s future e-book, a proposed Amazon Kindle competitor, has so far been heard but not seen. But at The Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital Conference in Washington, D.C., the device was unveiled and described as “ridiculously thin” in The New York Times’ Bits blog. Unlike the Kindle, it has a touch screen. It is slated for release in 2010.
For those who aren’t into the iPhone, the Palm Pre is edging its way in as a competitor to both the iPhone and the Blackberry. Palm has been in the shadows for several years, but anticipation of the Pre is hot. TechCrunch reported this past week that the Pre will have an iTunes sync function (only of DRM-free music, however), as well as a Twitter search function. The Pre will also allow you to “run multiple apps at the same time, and integrate third-party apps with other apps on the device such as the calendar. For instance, if you buy a movie ticket through a Fandango app, it can make an entry on your calendar.” The Pre will be available through Sprint starting June 6.
Browse our Web Guide to Technology for sites that will help you find more technology news, research specs and comparison shop products like e-books, smartphones and a host of other gadgets and software.
Liz Colville
Senior Writer
Audience Development
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