The unpopular Google TV is back for another round with some new tricks up its sleeve. Launched exactly a year ago, Google TV failed to get the attention of buyers due to its many limitations, some of which Google intends to address in this update.

For starters, Google TV has now been updated to Android 3.1 Honeycomb. We would have praised it for running the latest version of Android had it launched a couple of weeks ago but that is no longer the case. This update also brings the ability access the Android Market. This may not be as exciting right now because the Google TV cannot work with all of the existing Android applications since they are designed to work with a touchscreen but developers can make new ones that are optimized for use on the TV and Google already has 50 developers on board to do just that.

Also new to Google TV is a redesigned interface, which now puts more emphasis on your cable or satellite connection, arranging the shows in a new On TV tab, along with content from online sources such as Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon On Demand and YouTube.

Even though Logitech had tried to play it cool when its Revue boxes claimed to ship with the Google TV update pre-installed, the cat is officially out of the bag this time. The update for Google TV is on its way and should land on existing hardware early next week.

The newest version of Google TV will bring a nicely revamped user interface that may make it almost enjoyable to use. The update cleans up most of everything, offering up an easier way to navigate through menu options and a handful of new features. A new addition that should please many is the introduction of HBOGo, which should beat the hell out of having to use the web browser to access the site.

The most exciting new feature for Google TV is that the Android Market will now be available. Of course, we are still up in the air as to how nice it will be, as there likely won’t be too many applications optimized for larger screen sizes but we can imagine that will change going forward. Since the latest update is built off of Android 3.1 Honeycomb, there should at least be a few interesting applications to take advantage of out of the box.

The first set-top box with Google TVinstalled has suffered from sluggish sales and an eventual price slash to 99USD to help move units. Still, what most people have been waiting for is the Android 3.1 update and the introduction of the Android Market. Well, it looks like some of the newer boxes of the Revue now claim to have both, pre-installed.

While it may not make sales of the device skyrocket, the Android 3.1 update should prove to be a pretty decent one. The UI will be revamped and allow for widgets, but the Android Market is by far the most exciting feature on the way. While there may not be many applications to use out of the box, its a step in the right direction and I hopefully I can justify my $99 purchase for the thing.

We've already seen a couple of builds of the upcoming update but they require rooting the device to get them installed, which isn't as easy as rooting your everyday Android phone. If the new boxes have been shipped with the latest update, we should expect a OTA for existing units some time in the near future.

Just like the Android Market a few months back, Google has updated the Chrome Web Store with a new design that mirrors the square shapes of the new Android Market.

The new look Chrome Web Store looks radically different from its predecessor and I must say is incredibly attractive. And its not just a fancy design as well but also very functional. For example, you can mouseover an app and it will quickly shows a description and a download button, which instantly starts the download without opening another page.

The main page scrolls infinitely and you can see a list of categories on the left that remains fixed even as you scroll. You also have a search bar on the top left. As you enter categories, you will see breadcrumbs appear on the top bar. On the right you have your settings and an option to view your downloaded apps. This shows all the apps you have downloaded so far and not just the apps that are installed currently on your system, so you can just visit this link when you set up Chrome on a new computer and install all your apps from here without having to remember their names.

Originally announced back at Google IO for a summer release, the Google TV 2.0 update still is not here, but it looks to be getting close. Screenshots of the Google TV update have surfaced, revealing a more streamlined interface complete with the promised 3.1 Honeycomb platform and Android Market. There is even already TV specific apps, including QVC for Google TV.

Google TV has not fared very well so far, but that may change soon with this new update, which will unify the development platform for Google TV and Android tablets by using Android 3.1 Honeycomb. This way developers can create apps that work on both tablets and TVs as well as apps specific to Google TV. Users will have access to these apps through an integrated Android Market.

What better way to promote a new mobile wallet service than by sending a swarm of marketing people to stores and then having said marketeers offer to pay for strangers purchases? Thats exactly what Google recently did in New York and San Francisco, and guess what? It works. People flipped out, and rightly so, because they have never seen stuff like near field communication (NFC) based payment services in the wild.

There have been credit cards with little chips in them that do wireless payment, but Google explicitly says in the video that putting your credit cards on your phone is akin to man most amazing accomplishment.

Video Below!

Google is cleaning out plenty of old experimental projects and social features, including the failed social attempt that was Google Buzz. In a blog post today, Google VP of Product essentially explained that success requires focus and thought on what you work on as well as what you do not work on and therefore their decision to discontinue several products.

Back in July, Google had announced that it was shutting down Google Labs and integrating some of its projects into more successful products while axing others. Today seems to be the finalization of that clean out with Google Labs completely shutting down later today. Horowitz also confirmed that Code Search, Jaiku, iGoogle social features, and the University Research Program for Google Search will all shutdown on January 15, 2012.

There are rumors circulating around the tech world today that Google may be getting ready to launch its own MP3 store. We already have some giant MP3 stores to choose from with iTunes being the top for people that are on the iPhone platform. When it comes to getting music onto your Android smartphone many people use Amazon’s music store. There are also a wealth of other music stores on the market to choose from.

Amazon may not be the place of choice for many Android fans for long with the new rumor floating that Google wants to launch its own MP3 store. I think many Android fans especially would flock to a Google offering since Google also makes the OS. Google already has the cloud service, Google Music, where you can upload your tracks to stream to any device.

A press image of the yet unannounced LG Doubleplay for T-Mobile US just appeared online and gave us a clearer view of what the upcoming droid will look like. The peculiar QWERTY slider will pack a couple of screens a HVGA main one and a secondary display of unknown resolution on the QWERTY.

Other specs of the T-Mobile Doubleplay that we know include a 5 MP camera, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. That logo on the screen also shows that there is 4G connectivity, which in T-Mobile case could not be anything but HSPA+.

Two Google Enginerrs has taken some photos of the Upcoming Google phone Samsung Galaxy Nexus or aka Nexus Prime.

The photo EXIF data states that the cameras used to take these images are in fact from the Galaxy Nexus or as we have been calling it, the Nexus Prime.

Unfortunatley, whether the cameras have been purposfully set to a lower resolution or uploading from the Google+ app has lowered the quality automatically, the images in question are fixed at 3 megapixels, making photo comparison somewhat impossible.