The Chrome OS notebook pilot program is in full swing, to the point that several applicants have received their laptop. I’ve looked through a bunch of the application videos, but this unboxing by Ed Albro from PC World seems to be the most thorough and clear so far. Check it out.

We’ve been waiting a long time to actually get a look at the Nexus One successor, and it’s finally here. The Nexus S, yes, based on Samsung’s Galaxy S, will on December 16th. The phone will be available unlocked for $529 or attached to a T-Mobile contract for $199. From what early reports are saying, this is the Android device to have.

The phone sports all the usual hardware – 1GHz processor, 5MP camera (720p capable), front-facing camera, hi-res display – but the real ‘Google experience’ is in the software. As with the Nexus One, the Nexus S comes with a ‘clean’ Android install (Gingerbread 2.3 on this one), meaning it’s unadulterated by the manufacturer or third-party vendors.

The Nexus S is also the first phone to market with built-in NFC support. Near-field communication isn’t such a big deal now, but it could easily become the way we handle quick transactions in the near future. It’s also a nice, fast way to send information between two NFC-enabled devices.

Google is about the only company that can make me sad to be an iPhone owner. Any time Google rolls out a spiffy new app for the mobile market, I die a little inside, knowing I probably won’t get to use it any time soon. Take Google Goggles, the service that allows you to search by what the camera on your phone can see. It debuted last December for Android users, and it has just now made its way to the iPhone.

Despite the long wait, the app is as cool as ever. Google built the new function into the standard Google Mobile app, which already allows you to search by text and voice. Here’s the official word from the Google blog:

In the new version of Google Mobile App just tap on the camera button to search using Goggles. Goggles will analyze the image and highlight the objects it recognizes — just click on them to find out more.

Though Goggles is still technically a “Labs” feature, Google says it works well for things like landmarks and logos, and that it will continue to improve for objects like animals and food.

It’s been more than a year since Apple pulled the original Google Voice app from the App Store, claiming that the product “duplicated existing functionality.” Some third-party GV apps have since made their way to the App Store, thanks in part to Apple’s decision to release app guidelines to the public. If TechCrunch is right, it sounds like the official Google Voice app may already be approved, marking the triumphant return of one of the most anticipated applications to the iPhone.

Here’s what TC had to say:

The App Store review office at 1 Infinite Loop has officially frozen over: we’ve gotten word that the official Google Voice application is on its way to the iPhone in the next few weeks. In fact, we’ve heard from a source close to Google that it’s already been approved — Google just needs to revamp the application to work with the iPhone 4 and iOS’s multitasking capabilities. If you’re a Google Voice user and you’re on an iPhone, this is great news.

No word from Google, but I’m hoping it’s only a matter of time.

Eric Schmidt made an appearance on “The Colbert Report” last night to talk a little bit about his company’s algorithms, what it’s like to be a billionaire, and his “Want privacy? Change your name!” joke that no one on the planet seemed to get. It’s a funny, sort of awkward interview.

Google unveiled its latest product this week at the Google Search event in San Francisco, Google Instant. Instant works by listing search results as you type – think of it like the recommended searches but beefed up with actual results right away. It’s really cool, and something that’s been in the works for quite a while. What’s going to make it truly great, though, is browser integration.

Google’s Marissa Mayer said it will be coming in the next few months. You have to imagine that Chrome will get it first, seeing that it’s a Google product. It will be interesting to see how Google handles the current Omnibox situation, because users can both search and type addresses there. My guess is that it’ll stay the same, which should work fine. It’s rare that I’m visiting a bunch of sites I’ve never visited before just by typing, so when I type the first two letters it accurately autocompletes. I’d guess instant search wouldn’t hinder that process too terribly.

It seems like I get asked this question nearly every time a tech challenged person sees that I have an iPhone. “Do you have that app that lets you look stuff up by taking pictures of it?” The first few times it took a while to figure out what the inquirer meant. Now, I answer before the sentence is done – Google Goggles? Sadly, no.

It’s not that I want GG all that badly. From a functionality standpoint, it’s not all that great. It does have great wow factor, though, so I was thrilled to find out that the camera-powered search would be coming to the iPhone this year. The app has been Android-only since release, but Google will be developing a proprietary app for the iPhone, not just some crappy port.

From here, it’s just a matter of getting it to work all the time.

Google unveiled a new Android product today that is bound to make all of the wannabe app developers in the world happy (that’s not meant to be disparaging – I’m a wannabe myself). It’s called App Inventor, and it’s basically a GUI for designing Android applications.

For the best idea of what this thing is, check out the video below. While “hellopurr” may not be the most creative use, I’m sure the creatives of the world can come up with some pretty cool stuff. This thing alone makes me wish I had an Android phone. I love the iPhone, and the iPhone 4 has been really good to me unlike many others, but the way this opens up the Android platform is really cool. Sure, a lot of the applications that get made will be really, really crappy. But there will be good ones, and who’s to say the good ones can’t get picked up by more prominent developers and given full support?

On the whole, I think this is a great play by Google and will certainly give them even more cred with the nerd world. Nicely done.

Everyone knows Farmville as a Facebook phenomenon, but the people at Zynga are getting to know it as a cash cow. The Facebook game has gotten so much attention that Google has decided to invest more than $100 million in Zynga, supposedly in preparation for the launch of Google Games.

Can Zynga really stand as the cornerstone for Google’s Games operation? Absolutely. The company is projected at $350 million in revenue for the first half of 2010, half of which is actual operating profit. Total profit for 2011 is expected to be over a billion dollars. A billion, people. With a “b.”

Here’s TechCrunch on why Zynga is so important for Google:

Zynga continues to work on high level strategic business development deals. The reason these deals are so attractive to companies like Yahoo and now Google is this – Zynga allows them to rebuild the massive social graph, currently controlled by Facebook. For whatever reason people love to play these games and get passionately addicted to them, coming back day after day. That’s helped Facebook become what it is today. Google, Yahoo and others want some of that magic to rub off on them, too.

Who knew a silly social game could make such a huge impact.

If you haven’t had your dose of the absurd for the day, get this – a California woman is suing Google for its Maps walking directions after being hit by a car, claiming the directions put her in unnecessary danger.

It’s actually difficult for me to write this without employing a constant stream of expletives but I’ll try. Laura Rosenberg wanted to walk from one place to another in Utah, the quickest route for which was apparently Utah state route 224, a rural highway. Rosenberg then gets drilled by a car, which sucks, but her response is to sue the company that gave her one of many possible routes, routes that she has the power to modify with a simple drag/drop, for the injuries.

The part that scares me, though, is that Google’s disclaimer – “Walking directions are in beta. Use caution — This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths.” – is not visible on mobile phones. I’d like to trust a judge to tell Miss Rosenberg to consider a lobotomy alongside her reconstructive surgery, but if history tells us anything it’s that ridiculous litigation has a home in the good old US of A.

Photo from fOTOGLIF