Monday, February 4, 2008

Google launches new mobile search engine

Today Google announced a new and improved version of its search engine for mobile phones. You can access it by going to google.co.uk/m -- if you've used Google mobile before, you'll immediately notice a few changes.

The new start page looks more like the one you'd find when you're using your computer, but more importantly the search results are now more similar to the standard results, with a mixture of mobile, news and normal results displayed.

There's also the option to look at photos via Google Images, which is handy if you feel like seeing a pic of the latest gadget or you're just vain and want to search for pictures of yourself online.

With phones and more specifically mobile browsers getting better at displaying standard Web pages, you'll have the option to browse mobile content or normal content without needing to switch views, as you had to before.

Another improvement is that the local results option remembers which location you searched for last time and immediately looks for businesses there next time you search.

These might not seem like major changes, but they are significant. Google's involvement with mobile apps and services is pushing the mobile Web forward and making it much easier for you to use your mobile in the same way that you'd use your computer -- keep it up, Google boffins. -Andrew Lim