Google Open Doors to the 'Google House' - A Showcase of the Latest Product Innovations for India’s ‘Mobile First’ World

Today Google flung open the doors to the “Google House” — a showcase of the latest product innovations for India’s ‘mobile first’ world.  The event featured demonstrations of Google’s Search, Maps, Photos, Translate and YouTube apps, as well as appearances from celebrity chef Kunal Kapur, fashion photographer Dabboo Ratnani and Anushka Menon and YouTube comedic sensation Karan Talwar. The celebrities discussed how Google’s mobile products make their lives a little easier.

As Sandeep Menon, Google Country Marketing Director explains “Indians are coming online from mobile devices at an incredibly rapid rate — six to seven million new mobile internet users every month. Today’s event is about showcasing how we’re working to make our products relevant and useful for India, and how smartphones have evolved to become the best personal assistant you’ve never had. Whether you need to get directions 10 minutes before your next meeting, a step by step recipe to make an impression, or a way to never be late to the airport again, Google can help keep you connected to the people and information that you care about.”

Additionally in Google’s quest to foster the next generation of talent in the Indian YouTube creator community, YouTube has partnered with one of Asia’s largest and most renowned film schools, Whistling Woods International, to set up a new YouTube Space in Mumbai. A collaboration and production facility for YouTube video creators. Through this collaboration, India's popular up-and-coming YouTube creators, as well as their students, will have free access to Whistling Woods’ studios, high-end audio, visual and editing equipment, over and above their training programs, workshops and community events.

Keeping true to its commitment, Google has also been working on seamless Voice Search experience that lets you search by speaking your query into your phone, instead of typing it. Google voice search has been optimized for English in the Indian accent, as well as in Hindi. To access Voice Search, just tap the microphone icon on the Google search bar, and speak your query, and voila—see your spoken words get transcribed automatically, and searched for in Google

Key Highlights from the mobile-focused demonstrations at the Google House included:

● A hands-on showcase of the new instant translation feature in Google Translate. Recently launched in Hindi, instant translate helps you break through language barriers by instantly translating printed text, like street signs or ingredient lists by opening the app on your phone and pointing your camera at the text.

●A look at the new Google Photos app which automatically backs up photos and videos across all your devices. With people around the world uploading 1.8 billion photos every day, taking 93 million selfies and more photos being taken every two minutesthan the whole of humanity took in the 1800s, it’s just as well that Google Photo offers unlimited, free storage. 

●An overview of recent Search innovations like faster and lighter search results for people accessing the web from a mobile device with a slow connection like 2G. Voice Search updates to the Google app which has been optimised for English in the Indian accent and in Hindi to make finding answers to your questions faster, easier and more local. As well as some of the latest Google Now updates, which bring you information when and where you want it, before you even have to ask — like a personal assistant.

● As well as an overview of recent offline features, like the ability to save Maps for times when you might not have a connection. OrYouTube Offline, which gives you a way to watch videos without chewing through all your data — even when you don’t have a connection.

What the celebrities at the Google House are saying….

Photography stars Dabboo Ratnani & Anushka Menon

For celebrity photographer Dabboo Ratnani, Bollywood is where home is and photography a way of life. "While photography is a way of life for me, what’s also important is making sure my clientele has easy and early access to the photos I take of them. I’m always on the move so it is important for me to have access to a good photo editor and for me to be able to search through and find a particular photo shoot quickly enough. Google Photos has both of these features easily available to access in terms of a great editor and the cool new Assistant feature. These have become my favourites today!” 

While, Anushka Menon, one of India’s most iconic fashion and beauty photographers, said "Photography is adding a humanistic, versatile & colourful touch to make my work both modern and fresh. I always try to combine aesthetics that combine Indian culture and western fashion codes. My favourite feature is being able to store multiple pictures and not worry about running out of space. I also love that they are chronologically arranged and each of my photo shoot appears as a beautiful Story that I can go back and share with my friends and family.”

Celebrity chef Kunal Kapur

Commenting on his use of Google Search, celebrated chef Kunal Kapur says, “I travel the world meeting new people, experiencing new cultures and of course, searching for new ingredients and culinary experiences. Sometimes when I travel I don’t even know the name of the ingredients I see in the local markets and Google Image search helps me find out what it is exactly. Another great feature is the abundance of recipes online. I still remember days when I looked through my grandma’s book of recipes. Today, all I do is search online and find a treasure trove of so many recipes sent in by users from their families. And I use Google Now to keep everything organized. It has become my constant companion and has made managing a multi time-zone life much easier while Google Photos helps me archive and share my experiences instantly.”

YouTube comedian Karan Talwar

As YouTube funny man Karan Talwar explains “One of the best things that Google has done for its consumers is providing them the ‘YouTube Offline’ option. This helps my viewers access my videos easily and also helps everyone view their favourite videos anytime, anywhere without a data connection. I myself save a lot of videos offline for viewing to avoid buffering and save time.”