Google Product Search for Android and iPhone

In my spare time, I like to build computer systems at home. So I often use Google Product Search on a desktop computer to look for video cards, memory, and peripherals. Google Product Search gives me information like prices, ratings, reviews, and product details from all over the web. I'm also able to sort my results in a number of different ways, like by price or seller rating. I use Product Search so much that I wanted to make it more accessible on my phone, as well. Today, I'm happy to introduce you to Google Product Search for mobile.

Say you're in a store and having a hard time deciding between two products. Instead of waiting to go home to check the internet for ratings and reviews, you can now get all of this information right there on the spot. Just take out your phone, go to Google.com in your browser, and try out Google Product Search for mobile. From Google.com, type in a query and then tap on the "shopping" link that appears in the search results. Or, tap on the "more" tab and then "shopping" to get to Product Search directly.

Google Product Search for mobile gives you the same product information that you would get at your computer. And when you click on products like electronics and video games, you'll see dedicated product pages that include ratings charts and technical specifications. Watch this video for a demo and to see how I can use Product Search for mobile while shopping at our company store and one of our "Hardware Depots."



The new Product Search results pages for mobile are available in the US and UK, and for iPhone and Android-powered devices. Learn more in our help center.

Posted by Rob Stacey, software engineer, Google mobile team

TriQuint Reports Q1 2009 earnings

As expected, Q1 2009 revenue was seasonally down, compared to Q4, in a challenging economic environment of inventory correction and reduced short term demand. Still, total revenue was up 7% as compared to Q1 2008. These results were led by Handset growth of 24% and Defense / Aerospace growth of 23%. The reduction of both channel and TriQuint inventory drove Oregon fab�s utilization to 35% and pushed gross margin down, resulting in a Non-GAAP net loss of ($0.07) per share on revenue of $118.9 million, both on the favorable end of our expectations. Fortunately, an inflection point of increasing demand occurred late in the quarter as Handset inventory normalized.

Highlights from the quarter included:

* Revenue for the first quarter was $118.9 million, up 7% from Q1�08
* Inventory was reduced $19.8 million from the fourth quarter of 2008
* Book to bill ratio for the quarter was 1.14
* Honored by Intel Corporation with its 2008 Preferred Quality Supplier award
* Achieved cumulative shipments of more than a half billion total RF modules
* Introduced the market�s first SMT device for 40Gb/s optical communications
* Unveiled TRIUMF�, 3G/4G converged mobile solution
* First design win for TriPower� � Next generation infrastructure RF power solution
* Fulfilled initial production orders of GaAs and BAW devices for multi-nation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

Commenting on the results for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, Ralph Quinsey, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated �The global economic downturn prompted lower inventory at our customers and very low factory utilization in Q1. We are now seeing signs of inventory normalization in some of our markets which should translate into stronger demand in the coming months."

Quinsey also commented that, "Market strength in smart-phones, the acquisition of WJ Communications and positive momentum in major military programs contributed to our year over year growth.�

SDK version 1.2.1 released

We've released version 1.2.1 of the SDK for the Python runtime. Here are some highlights from the release notes:

• Stable, unique IDs for
  User objects. The Users service now provides a unique user_id for each
  user that stays the same even if a user changes her email address.


• The Images API now supports compositing images and calculating a color histogram for an image.


• New allowed mail attachment types: ics, vcf


• Urlfetch requests can now set the User-Agent header.


• An App Engine-specific version of the Python PyCrypto cryptography library is now available. Learn more at http://code.google.com/appengine/docs/python/tools/libraries.html


• The bulk loader configuration format has changed to allow non-CSV input.
  This change is not backwards compatible, so if you've written code for the bulk loader, it will need to be updated.


• An early release of the bulk downloader is also now
  available in bulkloader.py. Learn more about these changes at: http://code.google.com/appengine/docs/python/tools/uploadingdata.html

For a full list see the SdkReleaseNotes wiki page.

Downloads for Windows, Mac, and Linux are available on the Downloads page. This SDK update was for the Python runtime, so please post your feedback in the Python runtime discussion group.

Posted by Jeff Scudder, App Engine Team

AWR Reports Good Results

On Monday (April 20th) high-frequency EDA supplier AWR� announced record annual revenues for its 2009 fiscal year that ended March 31, as well as for the year�s fourth quarter, and record backlog as it enters the 2010 fiscal year. This achievement marks the twelfth consecutive year of revenue growth for the company and was broad-based, with strong bookings throughout Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region from both new and existing customers. It is an impressive streak for the software innovator - especially in light of the worldwide recession.

AWR executives attribute the performance to several factors. The company acknowledged that it had received two of its largest orders in company history, both from top-tier manufacturers of third-generation (3G) wireless transceiver modules for smart phones. The company also claimed to have experienced strong growth within existing aerospace and defense accounts as well as from new customers that switched to AWR products from competing tools.

I�ve always believed that tough times calls for digging in and doubling your efforts to do what has made one successful in the past. This effort needs to also be balanced with flexibility in order to change to changing times. Based on this latest fiscal report, AWR seems to being doing both of these quite well. How is your company weathering the storm? Is the performance of your company better than expected? Are we turning a corner in this recession? Tell us about your success.