Google Pinyin
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| Developer(s) | Google China |
|---|---|
| Initial release | April 4, 2007 |
| Stable release | 2.7.25.128 / June 19, 2014[1] |
| Preview release | 3.0.1.98 / January 28, 2011 |
| Operating system | Windows XP and later, Android |
| Available in | Simplified chinese, traditional chinese |
| Type | Input method |
| License | Freeware |
| Website |
tools |
Google Pinyin IME (谷歌拼音输入法; Pinyin: Gǔgē Pīnyīn Shūrùfǎ) is an input method developed by Google China Labs. The tool was made publicly available on April 4, 2007.
Availability
Windows
As of August 2012, Google Pinyin is available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. There are both 32-bit and 64-bit versions available.
Android
Google released a Pinyin IME system for Android 1.5 or newer in March 2009.[2] It is not clear how much code this IME system has in common with the closed-source Google Pinyin, although a lot of the core algorithms are written in C++ and called through a JNI bridge, hinting at a common source origin. The Android Pinyin IME supports user dictionary synchronization with the desktop version.
Linux
By the end of 2008, more than 20% users of Google Pinyin wanted a Linux version of the input method, which was answered in the FAQ section with a general PR phrase "We always strive to provide a better user experience and we never stop our hard work to fulfill the customer needs".[3]
However, the Linux user community is porting the Android Google Pinyin IME to the non-Android Linux IME framework SCIM in the scim-googlepinyin module.
After Christmas 2009, the Google pinyin module for SCIM became also available for the Nokia Maemo 5 platform, which meant it could be downloaded to any Nokia N900 phone through the official application repositories.
Mac OS X
A closed beta version of Google Pinyin for Mac OS X was leaked on September 14, 2010.[4] The first public version is not yet available.
Copyright infringement allegations
After Google Pinyin was initially released in April 2007, it was soon discovered that Google Pinyin's dictionary database contained employee names of Sogou Pinyin, an indication that the dictionary was taken from Sogou, one of Google's competitors in the Chinese Internet market.[5] On April 8, 2007, Google admitted that they used "non-Google database resources". Shortly thereafter, a new version of Google Pinyin was released which no longer appeared to be based on Sogou's database.[6]
Synchronization Failure
Google Pinyin has been failing to synchronize for years,[7] and it's not fixed.
See also
References
- ↑ "下载谷歌拼音输入法 - Google". Retrieved 2014-10-21.
- ↑ "Android GIT repository, PinyinIME module".
- ↑ "常见问题：何时推出 Linux 或 Mac 版输入法？何时支持换肤功能？何时……？" (in Chinese).
- ↑ [Google 输入法 for Mac 曝光 速度下载 http://marc.f2e.org/2010/09/14/google-ime-for-mac/]
- ↑ Lemon, Sumner (2007-04-10). "Sohu Threatens to Sue Google". PC World. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
- ↑ Lemon, Sumner (2007-04-09). "Google Admits Using Outside Source for Chinese App". PC World. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
- ↑ "Failed to lig-in Pinyin IME with my google account".
