Posts Tagged: search

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10
Sep 08

The future of search

It’s not specifically about mobile, but when Marissa Meyer of Google writes about the future of search it’s worth paying attention.

“So what’s our straightforward definition of the ideal search engine? Your best friend with instant access to all the world’s facts and a photographic memory of everything you’ve seen and know. That search engine could tailor answers to you based on your preferences, your existing knowledge and the best available information; it could ask for clarification and present the answers in whatever setting or media worked best. That ideal search engine could have easily and elegantly quenched my withdrawal and fueled my addiction on Saturday. I’m very proud that Google in its first 10 years has changed expectations around information and how quickly and easily it should be able to be retrieved. But I’m even more excited about what Google search can achieve in the future.”

Link: The future of search (googleblog.blogspot.com)

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29
Feb 08

Why mobile search is different

Scott Jenson, leading Google’s mobile efforts, talks about why mobile search is different.

(for those on the RSS, follow the link for the video)

Link: MEX 2008: Scott Jenson, Google (youtube.com)

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2
May 07

Mobile search habits in USA

Russell Buckley comments on iCrossing’s recently released report on mobile search. Get the full report (registration required).

“75% of mobile web users use mobile search, but it’s much higher on smart phones with qwerty keyboards. These people are roughly 3 times (81% v 25%) more likely to use the mobile web and 4 times more likely to use mobile search (67% v 18%). I find this stat a little odd, as people who have grown up with sms, don’t find using sms-style input even vaguely difficult. It would be interesting to see what would happen in Europe, with a longer established sms culture.”

Link: How People Use Mobile Search at MobHappy (mobhappy.com)

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16
May 05

Buckets of heterogeneous data

So your mobile device is loaded with reams of data. How to get the stuff back out of it? Search it, of course. It seems to me, though, that the most of the useful data on mobile devices isn’t in text form.

“One strategy for dealing with this problem is to bring search capabilities to handsets. Qix, from Zi Corporation, is an excellent example of such an approach: start typing on your handset and it immediately looks through all your data for matches with what you’ve entered. So, if you’ve started typing a name which is in your phone book, this name is displayed alongside the number you’re tapping in. Links and media are similarly indexed, leading to a remarkably thought-free experience—the phone seems to know what you’re after and bring it to you.”

(The title of the article shouldn’t be “Advanced Handsets Need Advanced UIs”, but rather “Advanced Handsets Need Smart Technology and Simple UIs”).

Link: Advanced Handsets Need Advanced UIs