Google announced a plan to build a super-fast Internet network for up to half a million people, a project that could pressure telecommunications companies to loosen their control of Web access in the United States.

Google says the new ultrahigh-speed fiber networks will be used as a test bed. But this could push broadband service providers like AT&T, Verizon and cable companies to do more to expand their broadband service.

Verizon’s FiOS, AT&T’s U-Verse, and Comcast’s DOCSIS 3.0 services offer residential downloads no faster than 50 megabits a second, with the cheapest connections being 1 megabit or less. While the companies could offer faster speeds, they haven’t done so because there hasn’t been demand.

If Google went out and started delivering a gigabit per subscriber, it would show that anybody with fiber can do the same thing.  The more competition in broadband the better, the higher the bandwidth the better.

A 1-gigabit service could be popular with video-game players and those who want faster video, and could eventually extend into 3-D viewing.
 

Google made its Google Maps Navigation feature for Google Maps available for smartphones running the Android 1.6 operating system build and higher.

That means that users of phones such as T-Mobile's G1 and the myTouch 3G will have access to the app's excellent navigation features. Google Maps Navigation is a Web-based GPS navigation system that provides turn-by-turn voice directions and automatic rerouting for U.S. users.

The application was launched on the Motorola Droid, which runs Android 2.0, last month, but is now available for any device running Android 1.6 or higher.

This new version of Maps Navigation also includes a new feature included called "Layers" which allows you to put various information such as Wikipedia articles on top of your map as an overaly.
 

After weeks of buzz ads, Verizon Wireless finally unveiled the Droid phone by Motorola. The phone is based on Google’s open-source Android mobile operating system, which means that anyone can tinker with the code to customize the phone.

This is an impressive phone that flexes its raw data and graphics processing muscle as much as its does its smart features such as Google's new turn-by-turn 3D Maps Navigation service. The Droid is the first mobile phone to sport the Android 2.0 (previously code-named Éclair).

The Droid will cost $199 after a $100 in-store rebate, with a 2-year Verizon contract.

Android 2.0 is built with a new contacts framework that allows application developers to link with the contacts list. In a recent study conducted by consulting firm Deloitte, Android was the overwhelming top choice for de facto operating system standard in five years. That's partly because its open structure makes it easier for developers to create programs.