Hey everyone, thanks for being part of the +Android community in 2012. Happy holidays from everyone at Android!

Welcome to the official Android Community on Google+, a new place to connect and share with Android fans around the world. What other +Android communities would you like to have (Android + your country, Android Tablets, etc.)? 

As you may have heard, the Google Now team put out a great update today (read more here: http://officialandroid.blogspot.com/2012/12/new-google-now-perfect-travel-companion.html).

My favorite feature? Sound Search integration! Now you can just say "What's this song?" or "What song is this?" and it will recognize it for you, without ever leaving Google Now. It even speaks the result back to you ("It's Sleepyhead by Passion Pit"). Very very handy!

In case you missed it, +Molly Wood, +Brian Tong and +Donald Bell hosted an awesome holiday gift guide hangout yesterday! They discussed the top tech gifts of the holiday season, took your questions and revealed the top gift pick of the year. Check it out:

03:05 - Start
05:55 - 3M Streaming Projector
09:00 - AudioTechnica Headphones
09:50 - Panasonic TC-PST50 Plasma (Best TV pick)
11:29 - 3D TVs worth it...Expand this post »

Last week, Popular Science dubbed Google Now the “Innovation of the Year” (http://goo.gl/OPRnE). We sat down with Baris Gultekin, Andrew Kirmse and Ben Gomes, who all played a part in creating Google Now. 

How did the project start?
Andrew: Google Now started when a few of us on the Maps team thought there was some really useful information we could show you on your phone based on where you are, and ...Expand this post »