But now, according to a member of MeeGo's steering committee, the OS is seeing renewed interest from other handset makers, including new committee member LG.

Reuters confirmed that LG joined the MeeGo working group, along with others including ZTE and China Mobile. The handset maker's involvement is a promising move for MeeGo, explained technical steering committee member Valtteri Halla, who spoke at developer conference on Friday about the matter. "It's opening opportunities for the others to come in. Discussions are taking place. You'll see things coming out this year, pretty soon," he said.

However, LG's activity with the MeeGo group doesn't necessarily mean there will be LG-branded MeeGo smartphones anytime soon. Reuters confirmed with a company spokesperson that the company is indeed collaborating with MeeGo, but, the spokesperson said, "LG has no definitive plans to mass produce devices with MeeGo other than car infotainment systems."

LG's Timing Points to Android Concerns?

LG may not want to go on record that it's exploring alternatives to Android for its smartphones, but it's hard to not comment on the timing of this announcement. Earlier this month, Google's Android chief Andy Rubin took to the company's public blog to defend against reports by the press that spoke of how Google's mobile operating system was becoming more locked-down in recent months - a move that's been upsetting Google's Android partners.

Citing nearly a dozen executive-level sources, an article in Bloomberg Business claimed that Google has begun exercising more control over Android, forcing all licensees to submit their plans to Google for approval before being provided with early access to the most up-to-date version of Android. Google now wants to approve all its licensees' plans, said Bloomberg, including those for new partnerships, plans for interface changes, the addition of new services and other code changes.

Google has typically pitched Android as an "open" alternative to Apple's closed iOS mobile operating system, but it seems like now, it's only open to a point. The software's code is open-sourced, but handset makers know that early access prior to the code's public release is key to a competitive strategy.

LG isn't the first manufacturer to place bets outside of Android's ecosystem. Motorola, too, is reportedly considering its own Android alternative in the form of a Web-based OS. In addition, Samsung has a fairly successful strategy with its own bada smartphone operating system.

Image credit: The Nokia Blog

Search On the Go

If you use Google on your desktop or mobile phone, you know how valuable search suggestions can be to finding what it is you are looking for. Driving and searching without a keyboard is challenging as it is, and now search suggestions from the dashboard will make 4-wheeled searches easier to complete. Drivers need only enter in a few letters and results based on their current location will populate automatically.

One of the tricks with navigating to an unfamiliar location is knowing the lay of the land before you arrive. Perhaps a business is tucked away in some strip-mall or parking is in an awkward location. With "pictures at your destination," Google is hoping to make this process easier. The service aggregates visual data, including satellite photos, Street View imagery and creative commons images of specific locations to make them easier to find.

Unfortunately for U.S. drivers, these services have yet to make it state-side, but there are other options available. Ford is doing a pretty good job of integrating various navigation and entertainment systems into its cars with Microsoft's Sync technology, which includes streaming Bluetooth audio and mobile app voice control.

In-Car Safety Concerns?

Google makes a point to note that its improved search suggestions are not just expanding the functionality of ConnectedDrive, but are also making it safer to use the technology while driving. But how much is too much? In an age where TVs, games, and other distractions are flooding our vehicles' dashboards, at what point will government transportation agencies be forced to limit our in-car technology?

Oh no, officer, I wasn't texting while driving! I was performing a Google search and viewing satellite imagery of my destination!

If some states are concerned that fuzzy dice might impair your vision, then they will certainly become increasingly wary of distracting dashboard technology. A promotional video for ConnectedDrive actually says, "On the way home from work I can read the news displayed on the screen, or the stock market quotes. In other words, BMW ConnectedDrive makes driving more comfortable and safer."

Comfortable? Maybe. But safer? Only in the fact that if you find yourself stranded or in an accident, you can use the GPS or emergency call buttons for help. As more tech enters our dashboards, the likelihood of distracted driving increases. Perhaps it's better to focus on making those cars that drive themselves so we can enjoy all that our cars will have to offer us in the future.

If a car suddenly slows ahead of you, the app will detect the approaching vehicle and warn you. It can also detect other cars in neighboring lanes, and can tell when you change lanes. The app can be configured to provide any combination of visual, audio and vocal alerts, and the color of the HUD is interchangeable as well.

It seems that a lot of the application's accuracy depends on your ability to mount it and calibrate it correctly before driving. The app requires the device be level, and asks for information regarding the height of the camera and the width of the car. If you happen to have an extra iPhone 3GS lying around, this could be a great use for it so you don't have to remount your phone each time you go for a drive.

Is this a super cool example of augmented reality? Yes. Will people actually use it? Probably not. At least not with their phones. We do too much on our phones to dedicate the entire device to one function while in our cars.

I have no idea why Garmin, TomTom, Magellan and all the other in-car GPS makers haven't jumped all over augmented reality. Or maybe they have and we just don't know yet. Future generations of GPS units should have cameras on them that capture a view of the road and provide directions and warnings from a dedicated device. People would actually use that because it wouldn't mean awkwardly mounting their phones and anything beats those ugly 2D maps that we deal with today.

For now, however, imaGinyze's app serves as a reminder of the powerful capabilities of the magical pocket computers we all carry around each day.

Earlier today, we got a chance to talk to K. Venkatesh Prasad, the group and technical leader of Ford's Infotronics Research and Advanced Engineering team. Ford unveiled its SYNC AppLink technology for controlling Android and Blackberry mobile apps through Ford's voice-driven SYNC interface last month, but as Prasad told us, the company is obviously also looking at mobile apps that are developed specifically for the car.

Cloud Computing in the Commute

As Prasad stressed when we talked to him, developers have gotten very good at developing apps that work well at 0 mph, but interfaces that also work well at 70 mph are still in their infancy. Apps that run in cars obviously have to overcome a number of issues - especially with regards to safety - that aren't normally an issue for developers of mobile apps.

In order to tap into the creativity of students who grew up with mobile apps and social networks, Ford, together with Microsoft and Intel, teamed up with the University of Michigan and the university's professors and Ford's engineers taught a 12-week course entitled "Cloud Computing in the Commute." The students developed their apps using a Ford Fiesta with a built-in touch screen running. The software platform for these projects was Windows 7 and Microsoft's Robotics Developer Studio. On the cloud side, the students used Microsoft's Windows Azure platform.

Over the course of the semester, these students created six different projects, ranging from a gesture-driven Waze-like app that allows drivers to alert others of traffic jams, accidents and police cars along the road, to a ride-sharing app that taps into Facebook and an app that automatically uploads your fuel economy data to a cloud server. Some of these apps use the natural user interface capabilities of Windows 7 for voice recognition, while others use gestures that drivers can draw on the car's built-in screen.

Caravan Track

From these six app, Ford, Microsoft and Intel chose Caravan Track as the best app. Caravan Track allows clusters of vehicles traveling together to track each other during the drive - which sounds like a great application for anybody who has ever been on a road trip with more than one car. The app uses vehicle telemetry to track each vehicle, maps routes and sends alerts about stops and road conditions. The winning students will take a car that runs Caravan Track on a two-week road trip from Michigan to the Maker Fair in San Mateo on May 22.

Cars: The Next Big Market for Mobile Apps?

Even more so than just these apps, it's exciting to see how cars are finally becoming a part of the mobile app ecosystem. While there are still many user interface issues to deal with, systems like Ford's SYNC and the Windows 7 platform used by the students in Michigan could potentially give developers the same kind of resources and computing power as a modern desktop machine.

Today, most car buyers assume that their experience with the car won't change much over the next few years of ownership. Once we get to the point where a lot of cars can run mobile apps however, we might see regular software updates that could greatly change the user experience at intervals that are currently unheard of in the automobile industry where upgrade cycles are usually measured in years.

Drivers will be able to control AppLink-enabled mobile apps through voice commands that will be routed through the Sync system, as well as from buttons on the steering wheel. The first car to feature this new service will be the 2011 Ford Fiesta. Ford plans to offer AppLink on all Sync-equipped cars next year. Existing Sync users will be able to update their car's software at a later point as well.

Same Apps - Just Controlled by SYNC

From the user's perspective, installing a Sync-enabled app is no different from installing a regular app on their mobile phones. The only difference is that the car will notice when you start a Sync-enabled app and allow you to control the app's function with your voice. This allows Ford to plug right into the existing developer ecosystems and distribution channels for all of these platforms and developers only have to make relatively minor updates to make their apps compatible with Sync.

It's important to stress that these applications are running on the user's phone and not on the car's built-in Sync hardware. Sync only passes the voice commands on to the application but doesn't interact with the app beyond this. In Ford's parlance, these are "brought-in" apps, as opposed to "built-in" apps (like Ford's Vehicle Health Report and 911 Assist) or "beamed-in" cloud-based apps that send traffic information and turn-by-turn directions to the car.

Sync AppLink for Developers

Ford is currently working with a small group of trusted partners and plans to open up the Sync API and software development kit to a broader selection of developers later this year. Ford also announced the launch of a Sync developer community that will give developers a pathway to partner with Ford on Sync-enabled applications.

Domain Task Pages for Cars

Whenever a user searches for cars and car-related topics ("2010 Toyota Camry specs," for example), Bing will now bring up a page will all of the car's specs instead of directing you to another site with this info. This page will also include links to additional images and videos about the car, as well as the ability to restrict the search query by different trims and links to the specs of cars in the same class.

In Microsoft parlance, these pages are called "domain task pages" and chances are that - if successful - the company plans to roll out more of these for additional topics in the near future. The task pages are part of Bing's efforts to provide users with specialized answers for popular queries in verticals like weather. According to a recent job posting, other topics for these pages that Microsoft plans to launch in the future could include "movies, music, games and other high-volume domains." Given that Bing bills itself as a "decision engine," it only makes sense for Microsoft to try to capture as many popular searches as possible and present its users with relevant answers right on Bing.com instead of sending them on to other sites.

Sports Comparison and UI Changes

A small number of Bing users will now also be able to compare the performance of sports teams by simply typing the name of two teams in the search form. As Stefan Weitz, Microsoft's Director of Bing, also told us during a briefing earlier this month, about 0.7% of all queries on Bing are comparison searches and the company hopes to capture more of these in the future and present the right answer in Bing instead of sending users to multiple sites.

The same number of users (about 5%) will now also see a new user interface for the boxes at the top of the page that Bing will often display for popular topics. For searches related to cities and towns, for example, these "Bing boxes" will now include info about local weather, a relevant link to Bing Maps, as well as airfare info from your current location (based on your IP address). For popular artists, these boxes will now also include information about upcoming concerts and other relevant information. Sadly, this concert info is based on chronology and doesn't take a user's current location into account.

Overall, these are interesting updates - not necessarily because Bing now knows a lot more about cars and sports, but because they show the direction the Bing team is going in. As a "decision engine," the Bing team's intend is to give users more information directly on the site instead of just presenting them with a couple of links. While these links can be relevant (and Bing still shows them most of the time, too), the Bing team wants to reduce the number of queries that result in links and increase the number of times the software can present users with direct answers Microsoft has sourced from its own databases or from sources across the Internet.

Using AR to promote vehicles with 3D models is nothing new, but this is one of the first versions to reach consumers on their phones. The automotive industry has been one of the leading areas pushing desktop webcam-based AR experiences that have allowed users to interact with 3D models of cars from their homes. This new promotion from Chevy is unique in that it allows customers to have the same experience on their iPhones.

According to the App Store, AR iPhone application developer acrossair has produced the application for Chevrolet. The interesting thing about this experience is the way it blends the dichotomous features of mobile and webcam-based AR. The 3D model manipulation we are used to seeing on the desktop is wisely mixed with the location-based map info seen in most mobile AR applications. By taking the best of both worlds, acrossair and Chevrolet have opened the door to a new breed of mobile AR advertisements.

Augmented reality isn't the only emerging technology Chevrolet is experimenting with at SXSW; quick response (QR) codes, which are like a technological cousin of AR, are a large part of the company's promotions as well. When investigating Chevrolet's latest cars, users can photograph QR codes placed strategically on the cars to learn more about specific parts of the car. A QR code placed on the hood, for example, will launch information about the car's engine. Christopher Barger, Director of Global Communications and Technology for General Motors, is excited about the future of QR codes and AR for the automotive industry.

"Imagine using Quick Response Codes to download the price and options for a vehicle on a dealer lot right to your cell phone. Or, imagine using augmented reality to virtually preview different colors of the Camaro in your own driveway," Barger says. "We are just scratching the surface of what's possible with mobile technologies and social media applications."

Chevrolet is also teaming up with Gowalla to provide location-based advertisements to people checking in at SXSW. One promotion they are offering is a shuttle ride from the airport in one of their new cars to select users that check in at the airport, so don't forget to fire up Gowalla when you land in Austin. For more information about mobile and desktop AR advertising, be sure to check out our report on the subject coming soon!

Another example is Bag Borrow or Steal, a "Netflix for handbags" where you can rent designer handbags and accessories. The site was created after the founders asked themselves the following questions:

"Why should women have to endure the emotional and financial sacrifices that accompany the endless search for the "right" accessory for every event, wedding, and dinner party? Why should celebrities, fashion editors, and socialites be the only ones allowed to borrow fashion accessories? Why not give everyone access to the perfect accoutrement for every occasion?"

So these sites are examples of the trend of objects as services, which comes about due to objects being able to be tracked and have their status communicated. Kuniavsky said that this represents a "profound shift in our relationships with everyday objects" - how they're designed, consumed, and so on. One example is that if an object is being shared, it can't be personalized. One other issue is that the replacement cycle for shared services tends to be long - which Kuniavsky said may hamper innovation. He used the example of phone companies that used to provide consumers with big bulky phones, to limit maintenance costs and make them last longer. He thinks however that open standards and competing services is an answer to this, as it forces companies to innovate.

Overall, Kuniavsky argued that objects are moving away from an ownership model to a subscription model. The cars and handbags examples above are perhaps an indicator of many other objects becoming services.

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Web Trends

The Next Node on the Net: Your Car!

A new radio system developed in Australia is transforming the vehicles on the street into nodes on a network. The technology, designed by scientists at the University of Southern Australia's Institute for Telecommunications Research, is an application called "Dedicated Short Range Communications" (DSRC). Using a combination of GPS and Wi-Fi, cars can communicate their location data to a central office, but it also enables them to communicate with each other.

Social Network Downtime in 2008: LinkedIn Up - Twitter Down

According to a new report (PDF) from uptime monitoring service Pingdom, Facebook and MySpace, the two largest players in the social networking market, had very little downtime in 2008. Twitter, whose iconic Fail Whale adorned the service far too often at the beginning of the year, got its act together and was only down for 12 minutes in December. LinkedIn, on the other hand, saw an increased rate of outages in the course of the year.

How to Reach Baby Boomers with Social Media

A new report from Forrester Research revealed some surprising information: apparently Baby Boomers aren't exactly the technology Luddites that people think they are. In fact, more than 60 percent of those in this generational group actively consume socially created content like blogs, videos, podcasts, and forums. What's more, the percentage of those participating is on the rise.

Vint Cerf: Despite Its Age, The Internet is Still Filled with Problems

Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google and widely recognized as one of the "Fathers of the Internet", said that the issues facing the Internet today are as complex as they were pre-Internet. Speaking at the SMX Conference in Santa Clara, Cerf discussed his concerns about the current state of the Internet and gave us a glimpse into his hopes for its future.

Black Out Your Twitter Photo: NZ Copyright Law Protest Goes Viral

Social networks are making it increasingly easy to organize and propagate protests. One that caught our eye this week was the New Zealand Internet Blackout, which is using a variety of Internet services to protest against a new law in New Zealand - the Guilt Upon Accusation law 'Section 92A'. This law may have major implications for Internet users in NZ, because it calls for internet disconnection "based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny." This law is due to come into effect in New Zealand on February 28th. The Blackout is in force on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and various websites/blogs.

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A Word from Our Sponsors

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Jobwire

Who's Hiring in Tech? 2009 Numbers So Far

It may be dismal economic times, but some companies are continuing to make new hires in tech and new media. That's what we track on our Jobwire site and below you'll find aggregate hiring numbers for the first 6 weeks of the new year. We last covered aggregate stats in the middle of December and the new numbers are similar to what we saw then. IT and software companies are hiring more than anyone else, but marketing firms are now hiring more than publishing and social media companies, a switch since our last report.

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Web Products

Mobile News: Yahoo Mobile, Skype on Cell Phones, Second Android Phone, and More

This week, the mobile computing world revolved around the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Among some of the highlights were the announcement of the second Android phone, as well as Yahoo's new mobile initiative, and the announcement of a partnership between Nokia and Skype that will bring Skype's VOIP client to Nokia's high-end N97 phone.

Would You Pay $200 for an Android App? Android Market Preps Priced Applications

The Android Market was designed to be the one-stop shop for all G-1 users to download applications for their mobile handsets. As such, it had a great deal in common with the Apple iTunes App Store - save for one specific feature: the ability for developers to charge for their apps. Now, even that feature will be common between the two application stores as the Android Market prepares to release support for priced applications.

Yahoo! Search Turns 5, Has Tech to Show For It

It was 5 years ago today that Yahoo! stopped using Google to power its searches and started using its own search technology, the company wrote today in a blog post. Everyone knows that things aren't looking good for Yahoo! in business terms, and the company's search and advertising market shares look even worse. But you know what deserves some celebration on this 5th birthday? The search team's work on some really cool search related technologies.

Yahoo! Search Monkey, BOSS (Build Your Own Search Service) and Delicious are three big wins for the Yahoo! search team - even if no one has yet figured out how to turn them into money. That's not the only reason why we're all here on the web is it? Isn't it largely for love of innovation? Yahoo! in general, including the search team, deserve applause for their embrace of innovation.

Facebook Launches Facebook Bill of Rights, Reverts to Previous Terms of Use

If you read any tech publication this week, you couldn't have helped but encounter the brouhaha over Facebook's revised Terms of Use. Now, Facebook has decided to return to its previous Terms - dated September 23, 2008 - until it can better determine how to proceed. To help ensure they don't make the same mistakes again, they've also started the "Facebook Bill of Rights," a Facebook group formed specifically to allow people "to give input and suggestions on Facebook's Terms of Use."

ATG Recommendations Aims to Predict Your Next Purchase

In this latest instalment in our series on recommendation engines, we looked at ATG - an e-commerce services vendor which, among other things, provides recommendations technology to retailers such as Tommy Hilfiger and BetterWorldBooks. ATG has a similar "blended" approach to recommendations as richrelevance, whom we profiled last week - in other words it uses a mix of personalization and wisdom of the crowds. ATG's current approach to recommendations is heavily influenced by a product it acquired in January 2008, CleverSet. We spoke to ATG this week, to find out more about their recommendations product and what makes it stand out in (what we're discovering) is a crowded market for recommendation technologies.

See other posts in ReadWriteWeb's special series on Recommendation Engines

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Enterprise

Don't Forget About Security on the PC

Security in the cloud is a hot topic. But when we interviewed Peter Bell, General Partner at Highland Capital Partners, he went out of his way to emphasize the need for security on the PC. He was "sticking to the script," as Highland has a number of investments in this area, which we'll review. Nevertheless, his basic point is valid. There is little point for the data centers that serve your SaaS applications to have excellent security if your PC leaks like a sieve. To all Mac-heads, good choice, but most people still use PCs!

Email us if you're interested in writing for ReadWriteWeb's Enterprise Channel.

SEE MORE ENTERPRISE COVERAGE IN OUR ENTERPRISE CHANNEL

That's a wrap for another week! Enjoy your weekend everyone.

With the DSRC system in place, cars can become nodes on Muni-Wi-Fi networks, Wi-Fi hotspots, and home Wi-Fi networks. The possibilities are nearly limitless for what that could mean. Dealerships can diagnose vehicles cable-free, cars can receive real-time downloads of maps and traffic conditions, they could communicate wirelessly with toll stations, and the vehicles could even automatically download music from home PCs. (Or maybe iTunes Wi-Fi store? We don't see why not.)

In addition the numerous applications that would make a connected car both useful and fun, there's a public safety element to the system as well. Vehicles could alert their drivers of congestion and accidents, could help drivers safely perform maneuvers like lane changes, could help prevent collisions, and much more. As you traveled, the data about what lies on the road ahead could be relayed from car to car so there is no lag between when the tractor trailer overturned and when you, the driver five miles back, is informed of this. "This technology essentially equips vehicles with the ability to see around corners and predict and avoid dangerous situations," said Professor Alex Grant of the ITR project.

Lest you think the connected vehicle is just a pipe dream that won't be realized until sometime in the distant future, listen to this: Cohda Wireless has already completed over than 700 DSRC trials, for 15 distinct DSRC use-case scenarios, in the U.S., Italy and Australia. These trials covered over 10,000 km during which 100GB of random data was transmitted. The results of the trials proved how Cohda Wireless' technology excelled over other in-vehicle Wi-Fi chipsets. The company is now saying the technology will be in wide release by 2012. That's not too distant at all.

For more information about internet-connected objects, see "5 Companies Building an Internet of Things."