Type less, search more, with More or Less
More or Less is an app that is designed for the iPhone and iPad ad optimized for iPhone 5. It requires iOS 5.0 or later. It is a Google powered search optimization tool that allows a user to customize a search by indicating that top search links are "more" or "less" of what they are trying to search for.
The design of this app looks outdated and sloppy. It reminds me of a search tool from 1997. The grey background is boring. Design wise, a user could easily assume that the app creators are making this more of a utility than a branded app that grabs and maintains a user's visual attention.
I intentionally did a vague, basic search for "dog" and was presented with several links that varied from the 'dog' Wikipedia page all the way to links about a famous vine dog.
I decided I would like to see more perfectly timed dog pictures and less of everything else. Life is short, and who has time for any dog photos that are less than perfectly timed? What I ended up getting was another fairly random mess of other dog links that did not necessarily narrow down my search. I enjoyed scrolling through the other links and browsing what the app came up with, but as a search engine optimizer it was not working for this specific search.
I do like that each search comes with a photo of the link so you can see exactly what the link displays. This could be very useful in doing searches on specific people or topics that may require you to quickly be able to see a photo associated with an article to know that it is what you are looking for. The only downside to this is that fewer links can be displayed on a page because they take up so much space on a screen, so this could also extend the time it takes to narrow down a search.
Typing the exact words to get a more precise search on Google is really easy, so I am not sure what kind of problem this app aims to solve. If anything at all, I wasted way more time sliding the more and the less around. It takes just a few seconds to type "perfectly timed dog pictures" into Google and the search results are way more accurate.
More or Less might be useful if you are using a device without a working keyboard or if you really hate typing for some reason. It's also fun if you are just looking for another internet tool to come across new links that you otherwise might not have found on your own.
