GestureSearch
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Google updates Gesture Search, now recognizes over 40 languages
Gesture lovers and polyglots rejoice! Yesterday, Google updated Gesture Search for Android phones and tablets, making it compatible with even more languages. The app provides quick access to music, contacts, applications, settings and bookmarks -- to name some -- by letting users simply draw characters on the screen. It now recognizes over 40 languages and even handles transliteration, which comes in handy in Chinese, for example, where some native characters require more strokes than their latin equivalents. Gesture Search started life as a Google Labs project back in March 2010 and received several tweaks over the years, including tablet support last fall. So go ahead: download the latest version from the Play Store and swipe away.
Google makes Gesture Search compatible with Nexus 7, improves app's overall performance
Earlier this morning, Google did the iOS crowd a generous favor by flipping the switch on its Street View service to help alleviate some of those Maps troubles, so it's only natural to take care of the Android faithful as well. With that in mind, Google has updated its Gesture Search to be fully compatible with the ASUS-built Nexus 7, as well as improving the application's UI, boosting search performance, adding support for more languages and allowing contacts without digits to now be searchable. The new version of Gesture Search can be downloaded now via Google Play, straight from your device or by simply using the link down below.
Google's 'continuous gesture' patent application runs circles around copy and paste
You know the drill, you're browsing an article about volcanos on your phone and want to know more about Eyjafjallajokull. You've got two options, commit that bad-boy to memory, or fiddle with copy and paste. Well, Google not only feels your pain, but has some medicine for it too -- if a patent filing is anything to go by. The application describes a two-part continuous gesture for easier searching on touchscreens. Imagine drawing a "g" with your finger, then circling the text or image you want to search in one motion, and you'll get the basic drift. It's also indicated that different letters could be drawn to search different sites, "w" for Wikipedia, "y" for Yahoo and so on. The patent also includes methods to search for multiple words from the same text, or even words and images. Certainly it's not too much of a stretch to imagine this becoming a standard part of Android, but, as always, we don't know for sure. That said, chances are we'll still be typing out our Icelandic friend's name by the time we do find out.
Google Gesture Search puts your contacts just a stroke away
If you look under the hood, Google's been beefing up Android with support for gestures that developers can take advantage of, and the power and flexibility of that capability is now being demoed by none other than... well, Google, of course. Gesture Search -- which is currently being billed a Google Labs project -- lets you draw letters on the screen to reach contacts and other content on your phone, an especially nice shortcut for those who like to avoid the on-screen keyboard as much as possible. As it learns what you tend to search for, the quality of the searches improves, meaning you need to swipe less to get to frequently-accessed items. It needs Android 2.0 to do its thing, but if you've got a so-equipped phone, it's available now from the US-localized Market.
