Tech companies go April Fools' Day crazy and Google loses it completely

Tech companies go April Fools' Day crazy and Google loses it completely
Google Nose brings 'new car smell' to your Android phone

Is it just us, or do tech companies always go crazy for April Fools' Day? We awoke on Monday to a seemingly endless supply of japes dominating our news feeds, most of them from Google.

Beyond this year's king, the tremendous YouTube skit masterminded by The Onion, Mountain View's various divisions served up a host of gags to fill the gaping void of actual Easter Monday tech news.

There was Google Treasure Maps (see below) leading viewers to booty, while the company also unleashed Google Nose, a smell-o-rific app that has a database of 15 million smells.

The Gmail team also announced a revamped colour scheme with Gmail Blue. It took six years to develop, because "the technology just wasn't there" when the webmail client came along all those years ago.

The company said it "tried brown, but it was a disaster." Blue came from nature. "Ocean, sky, blue whales," it said.

This is clearly a barb aimed squarely at Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Blue refresh that's likely to add a few licks of paint to Windows 8 when it's likely unveiled at Microsoft Build next month.

However, Microsoft also had a cheeky little insult lined up for Google. Type its main rival's name into Bing.com for a special look at the new Bing Basic trial.

Google and Microsoft weren't the only ones at it. Twitter revealed it was going to start charging users $5 a month if they wished to use vowels in their tweets.

Sony was in on the act too, announcing a range of headphones for cats as part of its new #techforpets range.

Boys toys retailer Firebox was touting a real-life, fully operational Iron Man suit for £250,000, while reviews site Recombu's Nokia/Microsoft Seidhr challenge to Google Glass is also worth a watch.

Toshiba introduced the "Shibasphere," the "most intense game console ever conceived by Toshiba. It actually looks like a legit product, until you get to the Shibadome, Shibasuit and Shibatote accessories. Oh, and the uncomfortable dad playing Shiba games is a dead giveaway.

There was also a story over the weekend about smell-o-vision TV finally becoming a reality. We think that one was real, but we're just not sure anymore.

Have we missed any beauties out? Let us know in the comments section below. You can also check out of five favourite tech gags from this year's 'Fools day in the video below:

Chris Smith

A technology journalist, writer and videographer of many magazines and websites including T3, Gadget Magazine and TechRadar.com. He specializes in applications for smartphones, tablets and handheld devices, with bylines also at The Guardian, WIRED, Trusted Reviews and Wareable. Chris is also the podcast host for The Liverpool Way. As well as tech and football, Chris is a pop-punk fan and enjoys the art of wrasslin'.