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Google's Android does a lot more these days than just smart phones and nifty mobile gadgets. An Internet pioneer is using the platform to launch a interplanetary Internet protocol on Earth that could harden wireless networks against delays in data transmission.

Hot on the heels of the Android 2.0 mobile OS release, Google's sweetening the deal: the Eclair-flavored refresh to their mapping app turns handsets into feature-rich GPS devices -- for free.

When we saw the Motorola Cliq and the way it married all your contacts simply in one place (a la the Palm Pre), we finally saw the light at the end of the Android tunnel. This morning, that light got even brighter with Android 2.0--the next iteration of Google's mobile software.

So you want all the bells and whistles that come along with Google Voice: call recording, call screening, text messages via email, etc. However, after years of broadcasting your familiar digits via business cards, email footers, and crumpled cocktail napkins, you just can't bear to switch from your old cell number to a new "Google number," the requisite for taking advantage of the service. At least, it was requisite; Google is now offering a lite version of Google Voice that lets users retain their phone numbers while taking advantage of some features of Google Voice.

Google's Android operating system for cell phones could allow soldiers to track fellow squad members and even unmanned drones in real time on a map -- as long as the humans and robots are on their buddy list.

Google Street View has typically depended upon camera-toting vans and cars to provide onsite visuals to Google Maps users. But a more recent addition to the wheeled fleet includes a trike pedaled by a Google employee who resembles a fit ice cream man.

Imagine millions of plug-in vehicle owners returning home from work on a hot summer day, plugging in their cars at the same time, and melting down an overtaxed, outdated, and otherwise atrophied electrical grid. But the geniuses at Google say averting a disaster scenario could be as simple as a few lines of code (well, a few more than just a few).

Well, now that T-Mobile's G1 has had plenty of time to rest on its Android laurels, it's apparently coming out season for the rest of the pack. The just-unveiled Archos 5 Internet Tablet mixes one part Archos with one part Android and seasons with some great GPS features to create a multi-function power-player.