Google said that their visual search tool, Google Goggles, would be making it on to the iPhone soon, and here it is.  Available as an update to their existing Google app, it’s symbolized by a small camera icon next to the search bar.  Once you press this, you’re taken to a camera view and free to take a snap of whatever you like, then, the app performs a Google search and returns with lots of lovely information.

So, does it work?  First of all, you’ll need a 3GS or iPhone 4 with iOS 4 to run it at all, and the intro makes it quite clear what it’s likely to recognize and what it’s not.  Listing logos, books, DVDs, landmarks, barcodes and a few others as your best bets, it’s animals, clothes and furniture that are least likely to end in success.  Goggles can also translate words too, so if you see a sign in a foreign language, grab a picture and if it’s in a language Goggles understands it’ll give you the option to translate it.  At the moment though, the languages are limited.

We put on our Goggles while out and about this morning and for the most part, it worked well.  It recognised the Starbucks logo, the Ikea logo and even the logo of a local dry-cleaner printed on a flyer.  It didn’t get a Fiat or a Hyundai badge, but we were impressed when we tried a Citroen badge and it got this and the sticker below!

This is the first Google tool over the search itself we see ourselves returning too over time.  Have you given it a try?