Google Gesture Search Lets Android Users Draw Searches
March 4, 2010
Google has a new way for Android users (2.0 and up) to search on their mobile devices. The company has introduced a new Google Labs application that lets users search for apps, bookmarks, music tracks, etc. by drawing alphabet gestures on their touch screen.
"Say you want to call your friend Anne," explains Google Research Scientist Yang Li. "Just open Gesture Search and draw letter 'A', and Gesture Search returns a list of items that have words starting with 'A'. If your handwriting isn't all that neat, that's okay. If the 'A' you draw looks a bit like an 'H', as seen in the bottom left corner of the screenshot, 'H' results will be brought up as well. If needed, you can also erase a query by crossing it horizontally: left to right erases the entire query, and right to left removes the last letter or space in the query. Now you can either scroll down the list to find Anne or write more letters to refine the search."
The Gesture Search application even goes so far as to "improve search quality" by learning from past searches. So theoretically, searches you do repeatedly with this feature will get easier the more you use it.
The app is available in the Android Market. It's important to remember it's a "Labs" launch, because that means it is subject to bugs and imperfections. It also means, however, that Google is open to feedback on the product, and the company is asking for that here.
Facebook And Twitter See Big Mobile Gains
March 4, 2010
Facebook and Twitter access via mobile browsers has grown by triple-digits in the past year, according to the latest research from comScore.
More than a quarter (30.8%) of smartphone users accessed social networking sites via their mobile browser in January, up 8.3 points from 22.5 percent one year ago. Access to Facebook via mobile browser climbed 112 percent in the past year, while Twitter soared 347 percent.
"Social networking remains one of the most popular and fastest-growing behaviors on both the PC-based Internet and the mobile Web," said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile.
"Social media is a natural sweet spot for mobile since mobile devices are at the center of how people communicate with their circle of friends, whether by phone, text, email, or, increasingly, accessing social networking sites via a mobile browser."
In January, 11.1 percent of all mobile phone users accessed a social networking site via mobile browser, an increase of 4.6 percentage points from the previous year. Much of the growth is due to smartphone owners accessing social networking sites on their mobile browsers. Just 6.8 percent of feature phone users accessed social networking sites on their mobile phones.
Access to the most popular social networking sites via mobile browser continues to see significant growth. In January, 25. 1 million mobile users accessed Facebook, up 112 percent from the previous year. MySpace attracted 11.4 million users about half that of Facebook during the month.
Facebook's mobile browser audience surpassed MySpace in February 2009, three months earlier than the Facebook audience climbed past that of MySpace on the PC-based Internet in May 2009.
Twitter, which has experienced solid growth in both mobile and PC-based visitation, attracted 4.7 million mobile users in January, up 347 percent over the previous year.
How Much Is Mobile Going to Change the Search Market?
March 4, 2010
More people have the web in the palm of their hands than ever before. Smartphone usage isn't exactly slowing down, and for that reason, the search market might get shaken up considerably in the coming months. Google has long dominated the search market, and to this day continues to do so. There is nothing indicating that will change in the near future, but the rise of smartphones and deals among different players could conceivably shake things up, and make things a bit more competitive.
AT&T has just confirmed that a new Android device it is about to begin offering (The Motorola Backflip, launching March 7), will come with Yahoo as its default search engine, as opposed to Google. This is interesting of course, because Android is Google's mobile operating system. How many more deals like this will we see?
Microsoft will eventually launch its new Windows phones, which will come with a Bing hardware key. Owners of these phones will automatically use Bing as their search engine when they hit the search button, which will be the most convenient way of searching from the devices.
When you look at things like this, it almost seems as though popularity of specific mobile devices may dictate to some extent, search engine usage. Right now, Google powers the uber-popular iPhone's search, but that could change in time. It appears that mobile carriers and manufacturers are playing an increasingly significant role in search usage (probably a good reason that Microsoft is said to be investing a billion in mobile).
PC hardware traditionally hasn't made search a focal point, and therefore hasn't had a huge influence on what search engine a person uses. How much will PC use shift to smartphone use though? It's not likely to completely replace it anytime soon (as MIcrosoft CEO Steve Ballmer implied in his keynote at SMX West yesterday), but I know personally, I've spent less time on my PC since I got my current phone, and much of the activity I use that phone for requires search (the most convenient method being the hardware search button).
Then you have apps. New apps come out everyday, and you never know what's going to be popular tomorrow. There are already apps out there changing how people find local businesses, for example. More apps mean more choices for the consumer, and that could mean an even greater scattering of search market share.
It seems to me that mobile is the best thing search competition has going for it. For Google to defend its title, staying relevant in the mobile space is going to be key moving forward. Fortunately for them, they're doing a pretty good job so far. Last I saw, Android usage was on the rise (though deals like AT&T and Yahoo's seem to blur the lines a bit).
How big of an impact do you think the mobile industry will have on the search market? Share your thoughts here.
Nokia Brings Skype To Ovi Store
March 3, 2010
Mobile device maker Nokia said today it has made Skype available as a free download in its online Ovi Store.
The new Skype for Symbian software will allow more than 200 million Nokia smartphone users globally access Skype over a WiFi or mobile data connection.
Skype for Symbian will allow Nokia smartphone users to make free Skype-to-Skype calls to other Skype users, save money on international calls and texts, and share pictures and videos.
"Symbian enables us to bring smartphones to more and more people and ensures scale for our solutions and compelling services, such as Skype," Jo Harlow, Senior Vice President for Smartphones, Nokia.
"We're seeing around 1.5 million downloads a day on Ovi Store now and believe that the Skype client for Nokia smartphones will have wide appeal to Symbian users."
Skype for Symbian will run on any Nokia smartphone using the latest version of the Symbian platform. Skype said it plans to introduce Symbian to mobile devices from other manufacturers, including Sony Ericsson.
