Google Builds iPhone Interface For Picasa Photo Service

Google this week launched an iPhone interface for the company's Picasa photo service.

IPhone and iPod Touch users who go to the Picasa Web site via the Apple gadgets' Safari Web browser are automatically switched to the new interface. After logging in, they can see their photo albums, and drill down to get a full view of pictures, Google said. Picasa's slideshow feature has also been optimized for the devices.

New features include the ability to search for photos in albums or through community photos. People can also view friends' albums through favorites, Google said. The new service launches only in English, so people from other countries will have to change the language preference.

Google on Wednesday also released an upgrade of the Google toolbar for Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Among the new features is the ability to save settings online, so people can access their bookmarks, custom buttons and information saved in the automatic form-filler from any of their computers at home or work, Google said.

Other features include the ability to add Google Gadgets, which are the company's name for its Web widgets. Widgets are small applications that are used to access online services. In the case of the toolbar, an example of a Gadget would be one that can do a product search after a person highlights a name on a Web page.

Google has also built into the toolbar its Notebook application that lets users store text and images from sites. Previous features that have been retained in the upgrade include automatic form filling, pop-up blocking and spelling correction. The toolbar is available on Google's site.