With innovative visual search elements to boot.
Google has taken the wrappers off an innovative new Android app called Google Goggles, which offers a mixture of augmented reality and visual search.
The app lets users point their camera at an object or scene, and then get information on it from Google's database.
The company showed a demo at its launch last night using a bottle of wine, with web search results coming back on its vintage and winery. A similar principle will work for products like CDs, as well as barcodes.
Meanwhile, the AR-like elements will allow users to point their camera at a landmark - for example the Golden Gate Bridge - and get back search results on that too.
"In all cases its ability to 'see further' is rooted in powerful computing, pervasive connectivity, and the cloud," blogs VP of engineering Vic Gundotra, who admits that the technology is still in its infancy.
"Today you frame and snap a photo to get results, but one day visual search will be as natural as pointing a finger - like a mouse for the real world. Either way we've got plenty of work to do, so please download Goggles from Android Market and help us get started."
One question - and it's a recurring one with Google across all parts of its business - is what this will mean for the companies already working in these areas - AR developers, or the makers of barcode-scanning apps like ShopSavvy.
They were quick to support Android, but are now facing competition from the platform owner itself, and the prospect of having to out-innovate Google's engineers to stay relevant.
Meanwhile, alongside the Google Goggles announcement, Google also revealed a new 'What's Nearby' feature for the Android version of Google Maps.
It lets users press on anywhere on a map to get a list of the ten closest places, including restaurants, shops and other points of interest. Early next year, local products will also be included.
A demo video of Google Goggles is below:
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