So if you haven’t heard yet, GMail has launched a new feature called “Priority Inbox”. Its targeted at heavy users of mail and helps sift out the important mail from the less important mail.

In short, it keeps track of all the mails that you reply to, star, read, delete, etc and ranks the mail’s importance.

Here is a short video released by the GMail team to describe the service:

It then teaches itself based on your interactions with the system to become smarter in its predictions.

I might have my doubts about the algorithm’s success rate, but I love that it is now possible to group all unread mails into a single view without having to search using, “is:unread label:inbox”

Nokia has recently announced that all Nokia Maps, now known as Ovi Maps will include free navigation to all capable handsets. This shook the navigation world and blew the Garmin model out of the water, forever changing mobile mapping technology. This move was no surprise to some as it became more and more evident that unless other mapping platforms followed suit, Google Maps were set to landslide the industry with yet another disruptive technology offered as a free service.

Anyway, I now enjoy Ovi Maps 3.0 on my Nokia N97 with free navigation.

I have however been invited to a very intriguing Nokia Navigation event. It started, when I accepted an invitation to attend and was swiftly followed with a small gift box arriving in the mail.

With no explanation, the tag on the gift box read, ” Thank you for accepting Nokia’s invitation. Here is a small taste of what you will experience. Looking forward to seeing you in Cape Town.”

Inside the box, I found

1. A Luggage Tag,
2. EverySun AquaSport Lip Balm,
3. Smarties Mini Eggs,
4. Pyatt’s Mini Cheddars
5. Maynards Mini Ice Cream Mallow Gums
6. and a pack of South African Playing Cards

I have no idea what Nokia and Ovi have up their sleeves with this gift pack and what it means, but if this teaser photo that has just been released by the NokiaOvi team which are busy setting up the event in Cape Town is anything to go by, I’d say that tomorrow’s announcement and demo is going to be REALLY cool.

Google is reknown for launching brilliant services, offering it free to use with little if not any monetization model at all on the service, in then move on politely to kill the next big thing. They did this with mail with the launch of their GMail service, with Picasa, the photo management software and site, GTalk, the IM and VOIP service, etc. Disruptive technologies with high impact viral marketing from the geek world with their blogs, Twitter accounts and other sharing platforms work for Google.

Their latest offering is a stab at content sharing and uses GMail as a platform to house the technology and fuses the concepts of Google Wave, Twitter and GMail into a seamless inteface that is usable, easy to understand and practical.

The biggest advantage that it has to other services, is that all Google products use the same consolidated Contacts list. Google Buzz looks to integrate Twitter, Picasa, Flickr, YouTube, etc.

Here is a video released by Google to highlight the concept of Google Buzz:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi50KlsCBio&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

GMail has really grown up since its launch as it now hosts mail, IM, docs, and now Buzz. Best of all, it’s available for mobile too!

I have been using the Nokia N900 for a few days now as a test unit sent to me from Nokia. This has not been my first encounter with the device, as I did get my paws on one of them for a few minutes a few months ago at a Nokia event, but this has certainly been my most intimate experience with the N900 so far.

Here are my thoughts:

1. Coooool!
2. WOW!
3. Freaking A!

It has been that great for me so far, that I will go as far as saying that it is definitely the best mobile device available. In fact, I have even wowed iPhone users while showing the N900 off.

Heres a list of what I like:

• Large readable, bright screen with light sensor
• Touch screen is responsive (more than the Nokia N97) and intuitive
• Menu system is logical and practical
• Switching between applications has never been as easy and well thought out as it is on the N900
• The processor and ram handled 7 active applications without affecting responsiveness of the device. (Two games, a browser, an augmented reality app, mail, a YouTube media player and the contacts engine)
• Instant Messaging integration is unchallenged as the best on any device with full contacts integration and aggregation of both presence and status messages across multiple IM platforms.
• Contacts management is BRILLIANT! (I was able to import all my GMail and Skype contacts onto the device’s Phonebook and merge this new set of data with existing contact information. This is the kind of thing that g33k mobile wet dreams are made of!)
• The Phonebook aggregates users presence and displays Profile pics from 3rd party services.
• Multiple home screens. (A feature that is logically brilliant but illogically left out of the Nokia N97)
• It runs on Linux, so you have access to a Terminal, it’ll be cheap and its open source.
• The well built sturdiness of the device and the firm well sized QWERTY keyboard.
• The bookmarks display small thumbnail images of the site that can be stored as widgets on the home screen
• The browser is quick and runs javascript (even badly written javascript) really well.

Naturally, after using the device for a few days, I have found a few things that I don’t like:

• The phone is bulky. I was a Nokia E71 user and I think that Nokia has proven that it can built powerful yet petit devices and that’s not what the Nokia N900 is. Powerful sure, but it needs a diet and a gym contract!
• The phone is permenantly in landscape mode unless it is in call mode. This is nifty for some applications as it maximises the screen real estate, but natural tendency is to use the phone in portrait mode. It’s a bit of a paradigm shift to use it landscape mode permanently!
• The device blocks the ability to dial any numbers that include * or #. (I tried purchasing an SMS bundle and could not as the ability to dial *111# is not allowed.) I am sure that while the devices are being tested by the networks, they will pick this up and have it fixed before it hits the SA market in any case.
• Mail for Exchange doesn’t work for me yet. This is a problem that I had with my N97 for a while, but after a firmware patch, nagging the Mail Product manager and a few hard resets of the phone, I got it to work)
• Only two profiles exist, General and Silent. I know that many people only use these two profiles, but as a Nokia fan for many years, I have come to use more profiles and make use of Meeting, Silent and General almost daily.
• MSN messenger was left out as a default IM service and it currently ships with GoogleTalk, Skype and Jabber services.
• The unlock slider position works while holding the device in landscape mode, but as a natural portrait mode phone carrier, it is easy to expect the unlock slider to be on the left of the device (the top) as this is where it is on the N97, however there you will find the power button and easily switch the phone off when thinking that you are activating the screen lock.

With that said, I have to admit that being in the fortunate position of working in the mobile industry, I have used iPhones, BlackBerrys, HTC’s, etc. And while I have always advocated that the N97 was an awesome device, I still secretly wished it had the slick interface of the iPhone with the added practicality of the N97. The Nokia N900 fits that profile and goes beyond my every expectation of a mobile handset. It truly is an awesome phone and I am going to have serious trouble getting used to my now plebish Nokia N97.

I will continue using the phone for a few more weeks, but will then have to give it back unwillingly to Nokia!

UPDATE:

I have managed to get Mail for Exchange to work. A little perseverance did the trick. It is now syncing my mail, calender, tasks and contacts without any problem via wifi. )

I would like to express my opinion on a topic that has bothered me for a little while now, but has become more of an annoyance to me as my love for tea has grown.

My problem is a simple one but a relevant one and I am sure that many share my frustration.

Invented in 1922 by a dude named Arthur Leslie Large (yup, that’s his real name), the electric kettle has become a critical household appliance in millions of homes the world over.

If you would like a lesson on the history of the kettle check out some of the facts of the electric kettle, but I want to highlight the blatant stupidity of the electric kettle in this article.

Why does the electric kettle not have multiple temperature settings?

It’s a simple feature and is already popular on toasters, so why is it not available on the kettle? How many times have you attempted to make tea, only to find that you have to wait 15 minutes for the water to cool before you can drink it without burning your tongue, throat and everything else between your lips are your hips?

The electric kettle is 88yrs old already and is it genuinely possible that no-one at any of the electric kettle manufacturing companies have not thought of adding this simple feature to the most unintelligent appliance that we all own?

Imagine the convenience of being able to drink a nice cup of tea, when you actually want the cup of tea and not wait 15 minutes after you actually want the tea!

So there ladies and gentlemen, the dumbest home appliance: the electric kettle!

Google Zeitgeist is always a good measurement of what the year has meant to many of us. The definition given by Google for Zeitgeist is “”Zeitgeist” means “the spirit of the times”, and Google reveals this spirit through the aggregation of millions of search queries we receive every day. We have several tools that give insight into global, regional, past and present search trends. These tools are available for you to play with, explore, and learn from. Use them for everything from business research to trivia answers.”

The 2009 results are out and while there are many items on the international list that I was expecting, like Michael Jackson, there are also a few surprises on the South African list that have me intrigued!

The South African 2009 Google Zeitgeist List:

Fastest Rising:

1. facebook login
2. gumtree cape town
3. efiling
4. absa internet banking
5. yahoo mail
6. gmail.com
7. quotes
8. twitter
9. standard bank
10. junkmail cars

Most Popular:

1. facebook
2. yahoo
3. games
4. lyrics
5. jobs
6. gumtree
7. google
8. gmail
9. news
10. absa

Most Searched for Sports Events:

1. super 14
2. ipl
3. cape argus
4. confederations cup
5. comrades marathon
6. currie cup
7. fa cup
8. british lions tour
9. absa premiership
10. nedbank golf

Most Searched for Politician:

1. nelson mandela
2. jacob zuma
3. helen zille
4. robert mugabe
5. trevor manuel
6. mvume mandela
7. jackie selebi
8. patricia de lille
9. ian khama

Most Searched for Celeb:

1. DJ Sbu
2. Khanyi Mbau
3. Charlize Theron
4. Oscar Pistorius
5. Gareth Cliff
6. Trevor Noah
7. Joost van de Westhuizen
8. nataniel
9. Lira
10. danny k

A few interesting observations that I have:

1. People are willing to use capital letters for names of celebs but not politicians.
2. People managed to spell “Pistorius” correctly.
3. I have no idea who 4 out of the 6 celebs are, so are they really celebs? Who the hell is Lira?
4. People still Google, “google”, what’s with that?
5. Rugby and cricket clearly outstrips golf in South Africa.

The International 2009 Zeitgeist list is very different to the SA one.

I have been lucky enough to score a Google Wave invite a few weeks ago from @mandalareopens and have been using it a fair bit. It’s a true paradigm shift in the way we communicate and I’ve been truly excited about it, since the first time I saw the Wave intro video months back.

Anywho, I have been blessed with a few Google Wave invitations to hand out and I’ll be giving away ten of them right here on my blog. All you need to do, is connect with me on Twitter and send me a DM with a valid GMail email address. The first 10 DM’s will each receive an invite. My ID is @DChetty!

I would really appreciate it, if these accounts go to people who will actually use them. So if you don’t know what Twitter or Wave is or if you know that you won’t really be using the Wave account, please do not enter.

If you already have a Wave account and would like to connect, comment here and I will contact you with my Wave ID.

HTC has announced the official arrival of its latest Android powered handset in the form of the HTC Hero.

Sporting a heavy weight processor by Qualcomm, the  MSM7200A™, 528 MHz power house, the handset is set to be touch-phone king’s most prized handset and weighing in at just under 135grams inclusive of the battery, it is safe to say that the hardware manufacturer has done its best work with the HTC Hero, especially considering that it also includes all the usual RAH RAH features like wifi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3.2″ TFT-LCD HVGA screen with enough colours to have you asking yourself if you REALLY need so many :p,  etc etc.

The official press release reads as follows:

HTC HERO AVAILABLE IN S.A

POWER OF GOOGLE, FREEDOM OF ANDROID

Johannesburg, South Africa, 29 September 2009, Leaf International Communications, the ex

clusive distributors of HTC handsets in South Africa, today announced the much anticipated launch of the HTC Hero.

“The HTC Hero is a blend of form and function, taking the Android operating system functionality to a league of its own,” says Quinton Leigh, Managing Director of Leaf International Communications. “The HTC Hero is the world’s first Android-based phone with a customised user interface that allows for a level of customisation never before experienced on a mobile phone. With the new HTC Hero, you are not getting a phone, but rather, you are choosing a phone which gets YOU!”

The Hero is the first phone to embody HTC Sense – an intuitive and seamless experience that will be introduced across a portfolio of future HTC phones. HTC Sense is focused on putting people at the centre by making your phone work in a more simple and natural way. This experience revolves around three fundamental principles that were designed by quietly listening and observing how people live and communicate – true customisation, people-centric communication and unexpected simplification.

“HTC Hero introduces a more natural way for reaching out to the people and accessing your important information, not by following the status quo of today’s phones, but by following how you communicate and live your life,” said Peter Chou, Chief Executive Officer, HTC Corporation. “HTC Sense is a distinct experience created to make HTC phones simpler for people to use, leaving them saying, “it just makes sense”.

Another exciting feature which is unique to the HTC Hero is “scenes”. With this function, your HTC Hero has the ability to become multiple phones in one – you can create and switch between scenes that reflect different moments in your life…. at the touch of a button. You know the difference between the “work you” and “weekend you” – so should your phone!

And with 7 customisable screens to play with per “scene”, you can have instant access to all your important content – ALL ON THE SURFACE OF YOUR PHONE – not hidden under layers of menus.

It’s your phone, so enjoy the freedom to add “quick-glance” widgets and applications that push content to the surface and help you stay on top of the news, relax with your favourite tunes or catch up with your friends on facebook or twitter.

With its 3.2-inch HVGA display, the HTC Hero is optimised for Web and multimedia content while maintaining a small form factor that fits comfortably in your hand and against your face. It also boasts a broad variety of hardware features including a GPS, digital compass, gravity-sensor, 3.5mm stereo headset jack, a 5 mega-pixel autofocus camera and expandable MicroSD memory.

Other features include a dedicated Search button that goes beyond basic search, providing a more natural, contextual search experience.  This functionality enables users to search through Twitter, locate people in the contact list, read emails in the Inbox, and search in any other area of the phone.

And, all of this before you even start exploring the amazing world of Android Market – where you can download literally thousands of free and exciting applications for your new HTC Hero.

The HTC Hero…whatever, whenever, wherever…let’s go!

The HTC Hero is expected to be available from 7th October 2009 in South Africa at selected stores.

Google Street View has been criticized for quite a few controversial images that it has on its service and there have been quite a few funny ones that I have seen, but this one is just brilliant

Click on the image to view full screen!

Google has launched a new service for trend monitoring geeks who find this info important. Bloggers are the most likely user of this service, called Google Insights for Search.

With Google Insights for Search, you can investigate popular searches, compare the popularity of different searches and get a general insight into the zeitgeist.

As of today, Insights also offers a couple of new services. You can now see forecasts of future search trends for certain queries, based on an extrapolation of historical trends and search patterns. In addition, you can now visualize the way interest in given terms has changed over time, using the animated map feature. These maps show an animated depiction of how search interest changes over time in different locations.

Whether you are an advertiser looking to expand keyword lists, an economist analyzing economic trends, or even if you are just looking to settle a popularity contest, Google Insights for Search can help provide the answers. With insights you can:

• See projected future interest in a given term – using the forecasting feature, you can see a forecast of future searches for many different queries.
• See an animated map - watch the way global interest in a particular subject has changed over time.
• Embed comparison charts on your website - you can now easily embed any of the graphs produced by Insights for Search in your website.
• Search trends over time - See how user interest rises and falls around a particular subject. Type in more than one keyword, separated by a comma, to compare keyword popularity.
• Regional interest – See which countries, cities and regions are most interested in a certain topic; click on a part of the heat-map to see more about search volume in a specific region.
• Top and rising related searches – find out what queries related to your own are most popular, and which ones are gaining in popularity.
• Refine your insights searches by category – see top searches in a category–rising searches in ‘Celebrities’, for example, or popular searches in ‘Vehicle Brands’. Specify by date, region or subject to get more detailed results. You can also find the general trends in a category by not entering any search term at all, giving you a broad view of trends in that category.

“Insights for Search offers a glimpse into the spirit of the times,” said Yossi Matias, Director of the Google Israel R&D Center, where Trends and Insights for Search are developed. “What the world is searching for offers an insight into what’s interesting to people around the world. An understanding of broad as well as particular trends can be useful for advertisers, marketers, economists and everyday people interested in knowing more about their world.”

To check out Google Insights for Search, go to www.google.com/insights/search