The newest update to Google Translate for Android adds Google Goggles' optical character recognition (OCR) technology, so you can translate text using only your device's camera lens. Whereas previously you had to type, hand-write (onscreen), or say your text aloud in order to use the app, this new feature requires none of the above.

To use the new OCR feature, just push the camera button at the bottom of the main translate screen. This activates your camera and opens a viewfinder just below the translation field. After you take your picture, brush the text you want to translate, and watch the app immediately pull up translations.

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From what I've seen so far, the feature works well. I was able to translate ... [Read more]

With the release of iOS 6 highly likely in September (concurrent with the expected iPhone 5 announcement), the rumors around unannounced feature changes at tech sites are reaching an all-time high, so I decided to round up some of the big ones here. We already know about the main features in iOS 6 Apple announced at WWDC in June, but this list is more about leaked info that other sites are talking about. Obviously, we can't know for sure if any of these will be true at launch, but it's always fun to talk about what might be in store for iPhone users once iOS 6 is released.

No more waiting for the site that never loads.

Wi-Fi Plus Cellular MacRumors reports that Apple has added a new toggle in iOS 6 that will let you set your iPhone to automatically switch to cellular data when your usual Wi-Fi connection is not working.

I... [Read more]

The new Pitfall for iOS offers some great variations on the Temple Run theme.

At the risk of dating myself, I'm old enough to remember Pitfall, the iconic 1982 Atari game of running, jumping, and swinging. Old enough, in fact, to have owned an Atari 2600 and a Pitfall cartridge.

Perhaps it was inevitable that the game would get a modern makeover, and so today brings us Activision's Pitfall for iOS.

Yep, Pitfall Harry is back, and looking mighty snazzy after his evolution from the 8-bit universe. The game is a free runner in the style of the massively popular Temple Run, and before you groan, "Not another runner game!", I have two important points to mention.

First, the new Pitfall is all about running, jumping, and swinging -- just like the original. Granted, old Harry wasn't constantly in motion the way new Harry is, but I think the endless runner style is a perfect match for the Pitfall universe.

Second, this is not merely Temple Run with Harry in the driver's -- er, runner's -- seat. Although the mechanics are more or less the same -- keep ... [Read more]

iPhone? Check. Android? Check. For most mobile apps, that's enough. Popular news reader Pulse, however, has decided that its next frontier is something you may have heard of before called the World Wide Web.

Pulse's Web app at Pulse.me is built entirely from HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, and indicates that the future-Web technologies are rapidly approaching a state where they can easily re-create native app experiences in the browser. The site is accessible from most major browsers on traditional PCs and mobile devices. With the touch-focused Windows 8 and its associated touch screen hardware coming at the end of October, the site has been specifically designed to be touch-friendly.

CEO Akshay Kothari said in a conversation with CNET from Pulse's new San Francisco office that the most commonly-requested feature for Pulse was to be able to use it on a traditional computer. "The computer is far more complex," he said. "The Web is a tough problem for developers because there are more variables," such as multiple screen sizes and different browser engines.

Pulse comes to the Web The Pulse native apps can sync to the Web app, once you've set up a Pulse account. It will pull in your subscriptions and Pulse's content partners from the mobile apps, and stories you've starred to read later will sync as well. The site has been designed to fill to the edge of the browser window, much like a mobile app uses the entirety of th... [Read more]

Every day, we repeat the same routine tasks: turning on Wi-Fi at work, decreasing the brightness in the evening, enabling silent mode at night, and so on.

By now, you probably perform these actions subconsciously, but what if you could "train" your phone to automatically complete these tasks, so you don't have to?

Tasker, a $6.49 app for Android, lets you do just that. It works like this: If the phone is in X situation, then Y happens. Within the app, this formula is defined by using "contexts" and "tasks."

• The context defines the situation in which the task is triggered. For example, time of day, location, or the state in which your phone is in (like charging).
• Tasks are the actions the phone takes when it's in any given context, or situation. This can be anything from toggling a system setting to sending a text message.

For example, when my phone is at 20 percent battery life (context) disable Wi-Fi (task).

There are endless combinations of contexts and tasks that can be as simple or as complicated as you want. Android user forums are filled with the many creative ways users are taking advantage of Tasker, but if you're a newbie, you'll probably want some basic guidance first.

Automate Android tasks with Tasker

When you launch Tasker, you'll arrive at the Profiles tab. This is whe... [Read more]