Google reportedly has a planned press conference on Tuesday to announce some new features to its online email service which will turn it into more of a social hub of communication between friends. The new “widget” that will be added to the free Gmail tool will allow users to keep up with their friends through a stream of quick updates, similar to sites like Facebook and Twitter.

This is not a surprising move for Google who is continuously trying to keep online users centered around Google’s tools, providing the company with more information as well as additional content and exposure to online ads.

Google could also potential integrate other online social media content into it’s stream from users, such as videos from YouTube or pictures from Picasa. It could even tie into external sources with open API’s such as …

We’ve been waiting for Nokia’s Surge for months and AT&T has finally made it official. The Symbian S60-based smartphone is aimed at social media enthusiasts and features a full QWERTY keyboard, a browser with Flash support, and the pre-installed JuiceCaster app for easily updating your Facebook / Twitter status.

You’re sure to love the price too. Just $79.99 after rebate. It also boosts a 2 megapixel camera, AT&T Navigator, and AT&T Video Share. Social butterflies can get in on the action on July 19th.

Samsung announced the availability of its new Vice for the Canadian market via Bell. The 3G phone features a sliding full QWERTY keyboard with standard number keys that should make texting, emailing, and Facebook easier.

The phone also comes with a 2.2-inch color display, 2MP digital camera, built-in GPS, Bluetooth 2.0, integrated media player, and a microSDHC card slot for expansion. You can get the Samsung Vice through Bell Canada for $49.95 with a 3-year contract.

There had been some rumors about the Samsung Lucello, a dual slider with a messaging focus, that was set to hit Sprint soon. Well, this device now has an official name and a release date. It’s called the Samsung M550 Exclaim and it’s set to release on Sprint on June 7th.

The interface is all about social networking with a menu that allows instant access to Facebook, MySpace and Google. As phones go, it’ pretty middle-of-the-road, with a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth and EVDO Rev 0. The Exclaim will be available in pink and blue flavors.

Thinking of working out some SPAM scheme to take advantage of users on social networking sites? After last week many would-be spammers may be thinking twice. On Friday the social networking site Facebook was awarded an $873 million fine for damages from an online spammer. This was the largest settlement awarded to date under the CAN-SPAM act of 2003.

A Canadian citizen named Adam Guerbuez with his company Atlantic Blue Capital used different types earlier this year to trick Facebook users into thinking they had messages from other Facebook “friends”. The messages were really from Guerbuez and his company and contained advertisement for sex enhancement drugs, illegal narcotics and sexual explicit materials.