Accessing the Internet from a mobile device can be a frustrating experience; small screens, slow speeds, and "streamlined" (meaning stripped) interfaces often make people feel like they’re missing out.  But a certain Mountain View-based search giant is trying to fix all that with a new, beta version of iGoogle.

Google has introduced the iGoogle showcase, which is a gallery of celebrity iGoogle pages for you to peruse, and if you like one well enough, emulate theirs for your own. I suspect this is a way to generate more interest in the use of iGoogle (it certainly worked for Twitter).

Google has or is working on pretty much all of the main ingredients for a really great social network. The problem (in my opinion) is that they are scattered and not integrated as well as they could be. Do you particiapte in any of Google’s social projects? Tell us which ones.

Gmail

Google has released a gadget called What’s Popular for iGoogle. You may draw some connections between it and a certain site called Digg, and some are speculating that it is even an indication of a broader plan from Google to creep into Digg territory.

Google has introduced an iGoogle gadget for Insights for Search. It displays the top rising searches and top related searches on your Google home page. Users can change the settings to show results for a specific location, keyword, category, or source.

Never mind money, search, and advertising for a minute.  Whether you go home every evening and power up a PS3 or just have fond memories of early arcade and Nintendo games, Google’s got something to bring a smile to your face as gaming themes for iGoogle have been unveiled.

Gmail chat has come to iGoogle. This means users will be able to chat with their friends and associates without leaving the comfort of their Google homepage.

The feature is not a gadget like most of your iGoogle features. The chat feature comes in the form of a sidebar and resides below the left-hand navigation menu.

About two months ago, Google announced a new "Tasks" feature in Gmail Labs. the feature provides a window in Gmail similar to that of chat and lets you add tasks by simply clicking in the empty area and starting to type.

Now they are offering a mobile version of the feature for iPhones and Android devices. It is also accessible by any xhtml enabled phone.