Just to keep everyone up on the NASA Google deal, here's the latest:

NASA scientists will observe the [Quadrantid event, Friday night] shower from a Gulfstream V jet. “We will fly to the North Pole and back to compensate for Earth’s rotation and to keep the stream in view throughout the flight,” says Peter Jenniskens, a principal investigator at NASA’s Ames Research Center (NASA press release).

A fact curiously absent from the NASA press release, but related by a number of news sources, is that the Gulfstream in question is the private jet of Google. The space agency has an agreement with the company that allows Google to park a jet at one of its air fields in return for several million dollars and the occasional loan of a plane for science work.

- Nature blog

There's the new Colorado 400t that includes 3D topo maps of the U.S. and is one of the first devices to support GroundSpeak's platform called Wherigo, a developer platform for tours of various kinds. (Yes, GroundSpeak is the company behind geocaching.com.) There's a 400 for boaters/anglers (with water info) and another with coastal information. $600

The Forerunner 405, for runners and others in motion, doesn't sound all that updated (I had a 101 until I lost it this past summer during a 24 hour relay...anyone who did Reach the Beach find it?) The new features seem to be a sort of "touch screen" to activate commands and wireless data upload to a computer. $300 (more on the forerunner at PC Mag

The Nuvi 5000 has a very large 5.2-inch touchscreen display, making it ideal to play games or watch videos from the bacjup camera when it's not creating routes, saving up to ten of them or downloading routes created with "Microsoft Local Live" (I think that Live Search Maps/Virtual Earth). Updated weather/traffic/news is available via MSN Direct (extra fee). $800

ipodnn

The two fellows behind the patent have worked on Book Search, StreetView and semantic tagging for YouTube videos and the sense is that the patent will allow text searching in those StreetView images as well as in videos. The application filed with World Intellectual Property Organization is here.

Google notes that it files patents all the time and only some turn into products and warns that we should not jumpt to conclusions about new products. That said, the patent app describes how such a tool might be used to advertise a McDonalds or provide a tour (with detailed information) about grocery store shelves.

InformationWeek