An update for the Google Mobile app went live yesterday, bringing with it Push notifications for both Gmail and for Google Calendar.  About time, many will be saying, as although there have been other apps and an Exchange work-around to enable such a feature for a while, Google have taken their time to add feature officially.

Setting them up is simple, just open the Google app, go to settings, account and then adjust the sliders for Gmail or Calendar notifications.  As for getting the notifications to appear, that’s another thing.  Although the arrival of our test email produced the familiar number above the logo, we didn’t get an actual notification pop-up.

We’ll keep trying during the day as the reception in our office is very poor, which could causing it problems.  Also, don’t expect the notifications to take you to the iPhone’s Mail app, or even Google Mobile itself, as it still opens Safari and heads towards the web interface.  Anyone else had similar issues with the notifications?

In related news, a Google engineer speaking at the Hot Chips conference yesterday, informed attendees that Google Goggles would be coming to the iPhone by the end of the year.  If you’ve not heard of Goggles, it’s a visual search tool that searches for the contents of a picture taken with your phone, and also incorporates some augmented reality information too.

Take a look at the Google video describing the Goggles service below if this is the first time you’ve come across this service.  It won’t be a surprise if you haven’t, as it’s currently an Android-only application.

(source: The Register)