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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Google Ups The Search Game At Inside Search Event

Staff Reporter |
June 15, 2011 | 11:14 a.m. PDT

Google introduced at the Inside Search event, Tuesday, some notable additions to the world of search. Going back to the company's roots in search, Google introduced some enchantments on both their mobile and desktop platforms. 

On the desktop platform Google introduced the use of Voice searches, Search by image and Google Instant. 

Voice Search:

Searching using voice input isn't new for Android users but with this update, Google has added voice searching on its desktop browser. Also of note, Google says the update adds support for 27 different languages and dialects, meaning two-thirds of the world will be able take advantage of the voice search. 

 

Search by Image:

Not to be confused with image searches, Google's new search by image enhancement allows users to drag an image file to the search bar in order to search details of said image. There are many practical uses for this new search method. For one, searching for products while shopping would be a breeze--the end of jotting down long UPC codes or model numbers. On a different note searching for artist information or related images would be a much easier task for users as well.

 

Google Instant:

Not content with showing you search options instantaneously while typing, Google took it upon itself to show you resulting sites instantly as well. What this means is top search pages from your queries will be loaded instantly. No specifics yet on how this is done, but it may likely be the use of caching popular search results.

 

For the mobile platform, Google will be adding local search interfaces for its browsers, faster performance and interactive widgets to name a few. 

All together, the enhancements for search seem highly appropriate for Google as its new venture into the laptop market with Chromebooks is expected for June release. The Chromebooks, as the name implies, revolves around Google's most prominent search device--its web browser, Chrome. 

Check out the Inside Search event here



 

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