New version of Google Goggles solves sudoku puzzles

Google has announced the release of a new version of one of their most innovative mobile apps, Goggles. The new Google Goggles 1.3 is now smarter than ever: it can not only read barcodes faster, but also recognize print ads on popular U.S. magazines and newspapers, and even help you solve sudoku puzzles.

The barcode scanning technology in Goggles has improved a lot in this new version. Hold your phone over any barcode on any product, and in just a second the device will vibrate and display search results related to that product, without requiring any other extra interaction. The print ad recognition feature is also quite amazing. It’s meant to work with ads on all major U.S. newspapers and magazines from August 2010 onwards, and enables you to perform a search about a certain product by simply capturing its image on the ad with Goggles.

But the one feature that has caught my attention is Goggles’s new ability to solve sudoku puzzles. All you need to do is take a clear picture of the puzzle and Google will tell you the solution. Just the kind of technology you need to see in action before you can believe it!

Google Goggles 1.3 is available as a standalone app for Android on the Android Market, and as a module in the Google Mobile App for iPhone.