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63 'search' stories March 2011 - April 2013

Review: CamFind for iPhone lets you search for anything with your camera

Michael Steeber Apr 19 2013 - 10:30 am PT

Back in late 2010, Google brought Google Goggles (not to be confused with Google Glass) to the Google Search app for iPhone. At the time, it seemed like a great feature. You could take a photo of anything with your iPhone, and Google would instantly identify the object in the frame, returning relevant data about the photo.

That was 2010. You’d probably think that in the years following, Google would’ve continually updated Goggles, making the recognition more accurate and expanding its features. Well, you’d be wrong. In fact, Goggles functions entirely the same as it did in 2010, another fine example of Google’s continued dedication to their products.

Image Searcher, the developers behind a new app called CamFind, have seemingly stepped in where Google failed, creating a image-based search service that they claim is “four times more accurate than Google Goggles.” Let’s take a look at how it really performed.

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Google adds expandable sitelinks, quick view to mobile search

Zac Hall Apr 17 2013 - 12:42 pm PT

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Google has rolled out two new features to mobile search that allow users to find results faster.

Users will notice expandable sitelinks that present popular links from certain websites directly from the search page rather than having to look for those important links from the website’s page.

: Expandale sitelinks

Quick links will also begin appearing next to certain results, which offers users a faster way to preview a site before leaving the search page, much like how Google Images handles photo previews.

: Quick view

Google says quick links will initially be limited to pages from Wikipedia, although the company expects to expand the feature to include more sites in the future.

(Source: Google)

Apple and Yahoo in active discussions regarding increased partnership for Siri data, search

Mark Gurman Apr 9 2013 - 3:50 pm PT

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Yahoo’s Mayer and Apple’s Ive at dinner

Apple and Yahoo are in active discussions regarding increasing their partnership, according to The Wall Street Journal. While the report does not provide any true specifics regarding what an increased partnership could entail, the report notes that discussions have surrounded increased Yahoo integration into Siri. Additionally, Yahoo is reportedly exploring ways to reduce Apple’s reliance on Google for web search functions.

Data from Yahoo Finance and its weather site already come preloaded onto iPhones and Yahoo data like sports stats help power Apple’s voice-activated “assistant” Siri. But the companies continue to discuss new arrangements, including possible deals to get more content from Yahoo Sports and Yahoo News, among other Yahoo Web properties, preloaded onto Apple devices or available through an expanded partnership with Siri, one of these people said.

Apple and Yahoo have had a lengthy history in terms of iPhone/iOS-related partnerships. Yahoo was the first third-party email service to be integrated into the iPhone Mail app with free push email technology. In fact, one of Yahoo’s founders joined Apple co-founder Steve on stage at the Macworld 2007 iPhone announcement to discuss the partnership (video). Yahoo is also a Safari web search option and a data source for weather, stocks, sports data for iOS applications and Siri…

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Google’s interaction designer talks revamping Google Search on iOS (Video)

Jordan Kahn Apr 9 2013 - 9:06 am PT

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fpggknHC2c

In a recent “Life at Google” video (above), Interaction Designer on Google’s search team Noah Levin walks us through his work building the latest version of the Google Search app on iOS:

After just three months at Google, Interaction Designer Noah Levin helped change the way our users interact with Google Search on the iPhone and iPad. Learn how he takes a complex system and makes it a simple user experience for our most well-known product: Search.

Google’s new Chromebook Pixel Thinks Different about vertical touch surfaces, puts touch on the display

Jordan Kahn Feb 21 2013 - 11:57 am PT

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j-XTpdDDXiU

The rumors were true: Google just announced the Chromebook Pixel. It’s a 12.85-inch touchscreen Chromebook with a 2,560-by-1,700 display that packs in “the highest pixel density (239 pixels per inch) of any laptop screen on the market today.”

Let’s start with the screen. This Chromebook has the highest pixel density (239 pixels per inch) of any laptop screen on the market today. Packed with 4.3 million pixels, the display offers sharp text, vivid colors and extra-wide viewing angles. With a screen this rich and engaging, you want to reach out and touch it—so we added touch for a more immersive experience. Touch makes it simple and intuitive to do things like organize tabs, swipe through apps and edit photos with the tip of your finger.

Go to 9to5Google for all the details.

As for the chances of Apple ever making a touchscreen notebook, Steve Jobs made it very clear at the 2010 MacBook Air refresh event that Apple did “tons of user testing” and concluded “it doesn’t work. It’s ergonomically terrible.”

We’ve done tons of user testing on this and it turns out it doesn’t work. Touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical. It gives great demo. But after a short period of time you start to fatigue, and after an extended period of time your arm wants to fall off. It doesn’t work. It’s ergonomically terrible. Touch surfaces want to be horizontal. Hence, pads.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmlH59yKpqY&start=690]

Google adds horizontal carousel for web based iPad searches about local places

Jake Smith Dec 4 2012 - 2:33 pm PT

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Google updated its web experience for U.S. iPad users who search for local places, such as bars and restaurants, on Google Search. The Mountain View-based company called the new feature a “horizontal carousel” of results that will display at the top of page, while normal search results will display below. Tapping on a business in the carousel, as seen in the image above, will display quick information about the location, including: address, Zagat rating, phone number, location on a Map, and a link to the website—accompanied with pictures. There’s also a new map link in the upper-right hand corner that shows you nearby places on a map.

Google has always shown its support for tablets and smartphones on its mobile Search page, and today’s update is definitely beneficial. When calling a restaurant to place an order or make a reservation, I’ve found Google to be the quickest way to find the needed information (definitely beating apps like Yellow Pages to get the same information).

Source: Google
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Is Apple already juicing its App Store search results with Chomp acquisition?

Jake Smith Jun 23 2012 - 11:01 pm PT

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It is no secret that Apple’s search results within its App Store for both the iOS and Mac do not always turn up the best results. In return, many hoped that Apple’s recent acquisition of app search engine Chomp, which revealed in February, would start leading to better results. That time may now be here.

TechCrunch reported earlier this afternoon that developers of popular, high quality apps with good ratings have seen better search results for their apps. This certainly makes it sound as if Chomp is behind the technical change. Chomp’s technology has been described to search for what apps can do, and not keywords and other buzzwords in an app’s description. Users are then able to get better search results with listings for high-quality, useful apps. You know—the good stuff.

It is certainly a hard thing to judge now, because search results are different from region-to-region. TechCrunch pointed out that the developer of the Best Parking app found his app jumped to the top of results recently, which is a place it has never been before (historically overshadowed by lower quality apps). For example, an app including “best parking” certainly does not look like it would be the top of an “sf parking” search. You would rather think an app that has “sf parking” in its title would be selected, but things seem to be changing for the better. The App Store now looks to be recognizing apps with more downloads and user reviews—like Best Parking (see screenshot below).

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Google accelerating development of Siri competitor for Android

Jordan Kahn Jun 19 2012 - 7:14 am PT

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The Wall Street Journal reported that Google is accelerating its plans to launch a competitor to Siri. 9to5Google has the full story:

We have heard several reports in the past that Google was working on various evolutions of its Voice Actions platform for Android. Back in December we heard of “Project Majel”, which according to reports is the codename for a new voice-controlled assistant app similar to Siri. In March TechCrunch reported on a similar project dubbed Google Assistant. According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, Google is accelerating its plans to launch a competitor to Apple’s Siri…

Twitter for iPhone updated with enhancements to search and notifications

Jordan Kahn Apr 26 2012 - 11:11 am PT

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Twitter just announced on its blog that its iPhone client will get an update today with enhancements made to “discover, search and notifications.” The update does not appear to be live, but it will be available here when it is.

Included in the update is a new “Activity” stream within the Discover tab. The blog post explained:

With this update, you can see Activity on Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android. Activity is a stream of updates that shows which Tweets are favorited or retweeted by the people you follow and which accounts those people follow or add to lists… Activity appears below the redesigned stories in Discover. Now you can tap any story once to see Tweets about a particular trend or news article. You can then read the entire story or join the conversation by replying, retweeting or favoriting related Tweets.

Improvements to search include suggestions for spelling and related terms, autocomplete for first and last names in the Connect tab, access to your most recent queries in the Discover tab, and the ability to jump directly to a user profile by tapping usernames in Connect.

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Apple generates four times more revenue for Google than Android devices

Élyse Betters Mar 29 2012 - 7:58 am PT

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Google gave a testimony to Congress last year claiming it earned two-thirds of its mobile revenue from iOS devices, but now it seems as though the company’s estimate might have been low.

Google made less than $550 million in revenues for Android between 2008 and 2011, while making four times as much revenue during the same period with Apple products that employ Google services like Search and Maps.

According to The Guardian, the settlement offer provided yesterday by Google to Oracle depicted Android’s revenue streams. Settlement discussions ordered by Judge William Alsup were derailed when Oracle rejected Google’s low offer to pay royalties on Android if alleged patent infringements deem true in court.

Reuters reported yesterday that the settlement stems from a 2010 lawsuit where Oracle claimed its Java-related patents were infringed by Android. Oracle acquired the intellectual property in question when it purchased Sun Microsystems in 2010.

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US Federal Trade Commission subpoenas Apple in Google antitrust probe over iPhone search

Jordan Kahn Mar 13 2012 - 12:05 pm PT

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According to a report from Bloomberg (via AllThingsD), the U.S. Federal Trade Commission subpoenaed Apple as part of its antitrust investigation of Google. There are not many details currently, but the report claims the FTC is interested in Apple’s agreement with the company to use Google as its primary default search engine on iOS devices.

The agency’s request for documents includes the agreements that made Google the preferred search engine on Apple’s mobile devices, said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly and declined to be identified. Google rivals such as Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) have criticized these agreements as anticompetitive.

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Google Search iOS app updated with overhauled iPad UI and full-screen mode for iPhone

Jordan Kahn Nov 21 2011 - 10:56 am PT

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=djw6AJqHFOU]

Google has just released an update to their Google Search iOS app bringing with it a brand new design for iPad and full-screen mode for search results and pages on iPhone.

The new iPad interface is noticeably inspired by the design recently rolled out across the majority of Google’s web services. The main search page now has four grey icons as shortcuts to History, Applications, Voice Search, and Goggles, while a new side-by-side view allows you to browse webpages and search results simultaneously. Also included in the update in a full-screen browsing mode for images and a new visual UI for history allowing you to thumb through results as pages. Instant Previews and Google Instant are now also baked into the iPad version.

As for the iPhone, the update only lists the usual minor bug fixes along with the full-screen mode mentioned above. As always, you can grab the updated Google Search app as a universal download now (iTunes link). More screenshots below:

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Google: 2/3rds of our mobile search comes from Apple’s iOS

Seth Weintraub Sep 21 2011 - 1:31 pm PT

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As part of the Senate Judiciary hearings today, former FTC official (and new Google employee) Susan Creighton, testified under oath today that Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! all bid to become the default search engine on iOS’s Mobile Safari Web Browser. As we know, Google won, and as we can infer, Apple gets some revenue from Google for making it its default search engine. As we know from Apple being Apple, the quality of the search results was probably as big a part of the decision as the relatively small bits of revenue.

But as part of the testimony, Creighton said briefly (before she was cut off) that 2/3rds of mobile search comes from Apple iOS devices. That’s pretty interesting considering the share of Android devices in the market. But not altogether surprising considering the web browser market share which includes those millions and millions of iPads.

Video at 2:24.00 (during very interesting testimony around Apple picking Google as default search)

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SFPD launches investigation into how officers assisted Apple in search of missing iPhone

Jake Smith Sep 7 2011 - 2:27 pm PT

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In search of the missing iPhone, a man claimed Apple came to his home impersonating police to conduct a search. It was later reported by SFWeekly that Apple didn’t impersonate officers, and was rather accompanied by four member of the San Francisco Police Department, as two Apple security guards entered the home. Interestingly, there was no police report filed as such. Today however, Cnet is reporting that the SFPD has begun an investigation to determine what role the officers actually played in the search.

Lt. Troy Dangerfield, of the San Francisco Police Department told CNET today that an internal investigation has begun into learning how officers assisted two Apple security employees search a home for the handset in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood in July.

There’s definitely some sketchy areas around this case that we’d like to be uncovered, and we’ll let you know when we hear more. Check out SFPD’s statement from this weekend after the break:

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Google Instant now going live on iOS

Seth Weintraub Mar 8 2011 - 9:16 am PT

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As we showed you back in January, Google Instant is now live for all users on iOS and Android.

Instant Previews provides a fast and interactive way to evaluate search results. Starting today, Google Instant Previews is available on mobile for Android (2.2+) and iOS (4.0+) devices across 38 languages. Similar to the desktop version of Instant Previews, you can visually compare search results from webpage snapshots, making it easier to choose the right result faster, especially when you have an idea of the content you’d like to see.

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