Google acquires visual-search company

Google has acquired Plink, the owner of PlinkArt, a visual-search engine that uses pictures to help users look for content on the Web, reports the Los Angeles Times.

With the PlinkArt application, Android-based mobile phone owners can snap a picture of an artwork and have the application analyse the artwork, identify it and retrieve information about it from the Web.

According to the application's developer, it has attracted about 50 000 users since its release four weeks ago.

NTT is releasing an end-to-end audio-visual content delivery system that covers everything from uploading to end-user billing, according to V3.co.uk.

The new Smart Media Delivery service allows audio and video to be streamed in multiple formats simultaneously and uses the managed side of the service to cover all facets of broadcast.

These include signal acquisition for live events, media encoding and multi-format transcoding, live and on-demand streaming and hosting to advertising integration, reporting, pay-per view billing and traffic data analysis.

AudioConexus and GeoQuest Technologies have partnered to release a walking tour application, says PR News.

This is a self-directed walking tour in a museum where one learns about the fascinating spaces, places, and structures that influenced and shaped communities into a modern city.

Users can then walk out of the museum and continue their tour of historic buildings and physical objects on their iPod Touch or iPhone. This allows for a hands-on interactive experience with direct control of content such as audio, video, photos, text and maps.