Voice Search for Chrome Searches and Fills Input Boxes with Your Voice

Chrome only: Got a microphone? Got a knack for talking faster than you type? Even if you don't, you might enjoy trying out Voice Search, an experimental Chrome add-on that uses your voice as text input, just like on Android.

The extension's maker notes up-front that voice input is fairly experimental at this point, and that it may require adding a switch of --enable-voice-input to your Chrome shortcut (a process detailed in our power user's guide to Google Chrome). But when it works, it feels like magic.

Android Market Hits 200,000 Apps Milestone

Approximately five months ago we told you that the Android Market was hosting close to 100,000 applications and now, at the end of 2010, the same market is home to 200,000 applications. 

Simple math shows that there were around 20,000 apps added to the Android Market on average per month, a huge number compared to Windows Phone 7 apps that are added at an average rate of around 3,300, currently counting over 5,000 in total. Taking into consideration that a year ago, the market offered less than 20,000 applications, it's an incredible growth that testifies for both maturity and popularity of the Google Operating System. 

HTC EVO Shift 4G headed for a January 9th launch at $150, according to RadioShack leak

HTC's worst kept secret (this side of the Thunderbolt) has popped up online again, this time as part of some RadioShack promo materials, which list its price, launch date, 4G capabilities, and screen size. Earlier indications had this Android slider launching on January 9th at a $150 price point with a two-year contract and now, lo and behold, both data points seem to have been confirmed. $450 is the price for the EVO Shift 4G sans any carrier obligations, though you'll probably want to stick with Sprint to make use of that WiMAX radio contained within. Bring on 2011 already!

via Engadget

Dell "Looking Glass" Tablet Appears Online

Dell's long rumored Looking Glass tablet has surfaced in the website of the US Federal Communications Commission, where it has gone for approval.

The company is expected to unveil the device at the Consumer Electronics Show next year in January but certain hardware specifications have been revealed ahead of time.

The documents, which were filed by Dell with the FCC on December 17th, reveal that the 7-inch tablet device will come 3G capabilities that are supported by both AT&T and T-Mobile, Wi-Fi ready, a microSD card & SIM card slot and Bluetooth capabilities.

It is still not clear whether Dell will allow users to make voice calls or not, but voice calling is available on the Dell Streak tablet device.

The main selling point of the tablet device is that it will be one of the first of its kind to run on a powerful Nvidia Tegra 2. It is likely to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Tab and run on Android OS.

The Streak, which was launched earlier this year, came with a 1Ghz Qualcomm processor, 3G and a 5-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen.

via ITProPortal

Angry Birds creator praises iPhone as a platform, talks Android fragmentation

Angry Birds creator, Peter Vesterbacka, in a recent interview had some fairly positive things to say about Apple and the opportunities they have created for developers with the iPhone and iOS platform. He also gives a short explanation for the price tag for the iOS version versus the free Android version.

Apple will be the number one platform for a long time from a developer perspective, they have gotten so many things right. And they know what they are doing and they call the shots. Android is growing, but it’s also growing complexity at the same time. Device fragmentation not the issue, but rather the fragmentation of the ecosystem. So many different shops, so many different models. The carriers messing with the experience again. Open but not really open, a very Google centric ecosystem. And paid content just doesn’t work on Android.

iPhone 4 Antenna Issues and Ping Rank Among Top 'Tech Fails' for 2010

CNN has put together its list of the Ten Biggest Tech "fails" of 2010, highlighting the technology and Internet products and features that failed most spectacularly during the year.

In what may be a bit of a surprise considering how little we've heard about it over the last several months, CNN ranked the iPhone 4's antenna issues, known informally as "Antennagate", as the top tech fail of the year. In fact, even CNN acknowledges that "fail" is "a pretty relative term" considering how successful the iPhone 4 was and continues to be.

Make a DIY IKEA iPad Stand for $3

Maybe you consider the iPad expensive or maybe you consider it a good deal, but there's no question that buying an iPad stand is a very overpriced purchase. Instead of dropping upwards of $30, just spend $3 on IKEA parts.

All you'll need for this simple stand is an EKBY VALTER bracket, one dowel, and two screws. You just need to turn the bracket upside down, replace the bottom screw with a longer screw, and then screw the dowel to make a deep lip for the iPad to rest on. It's a far cheaper alternative to the stands you can buy and works well for all iPad orientations.

via Lifehacker

Windows Phone 7 Marketplace Now Has 5,000 Applications and Games

As far as milestones go, reaching a certain number of applications in your digital storefront is one of them. And when you reach 5,000, at a pretty breakneck pace no less, that’s certainly something for any company to celebrate. As we’re sure that the Windows Phone 7 team at Microsoft is doing, with news that the Marketplace is reaching that milestone by the end of the day on Tuesday, with 5,000 applications and games available for purchase.