Google released an update to their search UI specifically for tablets last Friday, and MobileMammoth approves.

The user experience on iPads and other tablets, and specifically the ‘touch’ experience that causes issues for some of us, is quite different from both PCs and smartphones, and Google recognizes this. They obviously also recognize the huge surge in iPad users and need to cater to that audience as well, but it’s good to see that Google does not seem anywhere near resting on it’s laurels in search.

For pure web searching, this is another reason Google will be that much harder to ‘touch’ anytime soon.

The new Google+ social network includes a group texting service called Huddle.

One of several features of Google+, Huddle allows users to start texting with groups within their Google+ network.

I have always seen group texting as a feature as opposed to a product, and this Huddle group texting feature could be a serious threat to services like GroupMe. Do you agree?

Google recently announced a new video chat capability to be rolled out to Android phones over the next several weeks and months, offering an alternative to the popular FaceTime capability on the iPhone.

Also available over a computer using Google Talk from GMail, the new functionality will first be launched on the Nexus S phone before being rolled out to other handsets running Android 2.3.4 or later. The Google Talk update will only available to those phones running on 3G or 4G networks.

Read more about it here.

With Google Latitude now supporting check-ins at local businesses, combined with the pending release of a daily deals service called Google Offers, the Internet giant is setting itself up to compete more directly with the likes of FourSquare and Groupon, among others.

It seems that Groupon’s snubbing of Google’s $6 billion buyout offer perhaps created a steely resolve within the Googleplex to beat Groupon at it’s own game. Now Google is clearly integrating many of it’s services to make checking in, finding friends, and getting deals at local businesses as easy as possible.

We love upstart companies with great ideas, but Google is really good at making things seamless for the end user (see Google video below), and with the Android handset shipments blowing away all other platforms, this could get interesting.

Groupon founder Andrew Mason is clearly a smart guy, but could anyone explain to me again why he turned down a deal that valued his trendy, 2 year old company higher than the likes of Versign and AMD?

Not sure where to vote in the 2010 mid-term elections? Google to the rescue.

Google recently released a mobile website that will show you where to find your polling location so you can cast your vote on November 2.

Not sure who to vote for? Google can help with that too.

The mobile election guide site includes descriptions of the candidates in your district. We are assuming those descriptions are objective, of course.

You can access the mobile website at m.google.com/elections.

Now get out and vote. No excuses!

Google announced this week they have updated Google Finance for mobile, which is available as a mobile website or an Android app.

Google Finance now provides more consistency across all its platforms in both functionality and in look and feel. There are still some complaints with it however, as evidenced by the user comments in their post.

What do you think? Has Google Finance overall finally surpassed Yahoo Finance in functionality and ease of use?

Google recently announced it’s Voice Actions app for the Android platform. (If you have an Android phone, and you drive, please continue reading…)

Using Voice Actions, users can send email and text messages, call contacts, surf the web, get directions, create a note to self, and even listen to music simply by speaking the commands into your Android 2.2 (Froyo) powered phone.

Of course, no Google app release is complete without a video from one of their engineers:

Google Voice Actions will come pre-installed on the Verizon/Motorola Droid 2 phone, and other phones running Android 2.2 can download it from Android Market.

Read all the details from their blog post here.

MobileMammoth strongly encourages any Android user who might occasionally text and drive to go download and use this app today. Please.

Google announced this week that it is extending invitations to it’s App Inventor tool to the general public. App Inventor, which can be considered an Integrated Deveploment Environment (IDE) for Android applications, was previously only available as part of a test program that Google was managing in schools.

The tool is certainly geared towards those new to programming in general, and the idea behind it is to get more people comfortable building and deploying Android apps.

The brief video below shows how easy it is to build a quick Android app using App Inventor. There’s a more complete video here.

Ready to start building your Android App? You’ll still have to apply by filling out this form.

Have you built an Android App using a different tool? Let us know how your experience was by commenting below!

Google is set to announce the Nexus One smartphone today, the first ever phone designed by the company. The Nexus One will run on Google’s Android platform, and is said to be the first real threat to the iPhone.

According to rumors, the phone will be available from T-Mobile for $180 (with a 2-year plan), or $530 unlocked.

Judging from their 404 pages, look for more information at google.com/nexusone after the announcement.

Follow today’s Nexus One news by following us on Twitter.

Google open sourced their Android mobile platform yesterday, and despite the stock market tanking yet again today, the mobile world is abuzz over Android. So, if you haven’t gotten around to writing that mobile multi-player action game for the Android platform just yet, get your feet wet first by checking out Google’s Android resources we’ve collected below.

(Did you notice how many different Android sites Google itself is hosting? Would you believe it’s 100??)

Well, it’s not quite 100 – yet. But here are the first several they have started:

Android SDK Site
This Google site provides educational information about the mobile operating system, including plenty of videos, and links to FAQs, documentation, and of course, the SDK itself.
There are two important sections within this site to point out. First, this Android overview is a great starting place to understand the platform. The second section of note is the one covering the Android emulator. A solid, working emulator is critical to Android application development and testing.

Android Market
Just Open today! With roughly 50 Android applications currently available, that number is expected to skyrocket next week when Google starts allowing developers to upload their applications. There will be a one-time charge of $25 per person, which will provide clear ownership regarding of the submitted applications. Once that fee is paid, those individuals can upload as many applications as they want.

Google Mobile – Android
Download Google Mobile Apps for your Android phone.

Android – The Open Source Project
Download the source code, read the docs, subscribe to mailing lists, contribute code, participate, and chug the Android Kool Aid.

Google Highlights the first Android Phone, the T-Mobile G1
Does this mean they’ll have a new page for each Android phone?

Android Developers Blog
Live since November 12, 2007!

Open Handset Alliance
This is not new, of course. In fact, MobileMammoth readers have known about the Open Handset Alliance for almost a year now.

YouTube Android Channel
The Googlers have posted quite a few videos already, and I must say they are informative.

Like this one:

That’s it for now! What other Android resources do you use?