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!

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.

I have been using the Nokia N97 for a few months now and being one of the world’s first 97 users of the flagship Nokia way back in June this year, does give me a slight advantage over the rest of N97 users who only have access to the device for a few weeks now.

I have collated a few things that I have picked up on while using the device that are not listed in the manuals.

TaskBar:

If you hold the menu button down for a short while, a taskbar will be displayed listing all open applications. By pressing on the icon of one of these applications for a second or two, you will open the option to exit the application or open the application directly from the taskbar without having to go into the application. This is very handy when your device becomes sluggish and you need to close apps quickly to free up resources.

Browser Launch:

By pressing the zero ‘0′ button on the QWERTY for a short while, the web browser is launched. I have tried to find the setting for this to see if I can change teh shortcut, but it seems that a user can only change shortcuts for the touchscreen interface.

Text Accents:

To access accents while typing any text, simply hold down the SYM button and press the character that requires the accent. By default this is limited to c, n, a, e, i, o and u, and these are the ony characters that require accents.

Voice Commands:

Press the green button or the shortcut key on the right from the homescreen for a short while (long press) to launch the voice commands feature. Simply say the name of a contact, a profile name or the name of an application. I must admit that I have not played with this much and don’t have a full understanding of all teh voice commands that can be used.

Activity Summary:

By touching the top right hand corner of the screen near the battery, a small summary with links to the relevant features are displayed. This will include all data connections, the time, unread messages or missed calls.

If you know of any that are not mentioned above, please feel free to list them in the comments!

It has been a while since this process has started, but its finally happened. I am now a contributor to the Mail & Guardian’s Leader website for Tech.

My first article to feature on Tech Leader is called, “The future of the Web is contextual!”

It’s a brief slurp on my predictions for transformation of the internet and how we use it. Head over and have a looksy. I’d naturally appreciate a good comment conversation as well, so don’t be shy