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Google drops Instant Search to unify mobile and desktop queries
Google introduced the by-now familiar Instant Search back in 2010. The idea was to make searching faster by updating the results of your search in real time while you typed. Now the company is dropping the feature, according to SearchEngineLand, to bring it more in line with mobile search. The change is effective today.
Tokyo court fines Google for not censoring defamatory instant search results
Remember the sad tale of the Japanese man that Google's Instant Search forced out of a job? Entering his name into the search bar, and Google's auto-complete algorithm tacked on accusations of nefarious acts that he was allegedly responsible for -- causing his employers to hand him his pink slip. Afterward, John Doe-san took Google to court, but Mountain View refused to intervene. That's why the Tokyo District Court has fined Google 300,000 yen ($3,068) for the mental distress, which will be paid to the unnamed individual in question.
Google Search As You Type gives retailer websites instant search
Google's search engine and its almighty Omnibox in Chrome have given the public instant search capabilities for some time, and now Google's sharing that same search goodness with its retail partners. Called Google Search As You Type, it's a pilot program providing AdWords advertisers access to Google's predictive and instant search on their own websites. That means customers can find what they're looking for more quickly and sellers can separate said buyers from their money faster than ever. Search As You Type is free for the first 25 million searches each year, so you'll likely be seeing this widespread on retail websites soon. That said, if you simply cant wait to witness your online retailing future, check out the video after the break.
Google's iOS search app gets a major overhaul, brings instant goodies to iPad users
Dismayed that Google's previous iOS tablet app was merely a thin wrapper around a glorified web view? That duress ends today, as the company's just released a significant overhaul to its mobile search app -- one that, frankly, makes it worthy of your home screen. Headlining the release is the ability to view search results in a slidable tab, enabling you to quickly oscillate between search results and those you've tapped. Also present are instant searches, which pre-load results as you type, and previews which visually display findings in a spiffy carousel. If you're already sold, take it for a spin at the source links below, but before you go, peep the changelog past the break.
Yahoo intros Search Direct, takes on Google Instant with insular effect
Remember Google Instant? Now, Yahoo's got something like that -- it's called Search Direct -- and like Instant, it consists of a search box that quickly and automatically suggests results as you type. Unlike Instant, however, it won't update the entire results page to reflect the outcome of your potential search, but rather just an enlarged search box like the one you see above, providing up to ten suggested queries and three suggested results. That makes it a little bit speedier (we were able to use it on our 3G phone connection quite easily) but also fairly limited in comparison. It's also a bit... ahem... self-serving, as any search that happens to include the same letters as one of Yahoo's own services will promote them above all others in the results -- in fact, only five letters of the alphabet presently bring up anything but a Yahoo website as the first result when typed in solo. I = iTunes J = Jennifer Lopez Q = QVC X = Xbox 360 Z = Zsa Zsa Gabor Some of the improved functionality is pretty useful, though, as that Xbox query will instantly bring up prices for the console, and you can type in "movies" or "weather" and your zip code to immediately plan your night out. ("Restaurants" and "food" don't work, though.) Anyhow, Search Direct is in beta. Why not give it a go?
Google spruces up Chrome with Instant Search from the Omnibox, other nerdy things
It's a big Chrome day for Google today, and they're kicking things off with new features for the browser itself, features that will be included in Chrome 9 when it lands. The real highlight is the addition of Instant Search to Chrome's famed "Omnibox." It works about as you'd expect: as you type a Google search you still get your regular suggestions, but you also get a full search results page loading and refreshing live as you type. Google took things a step further and actually implemented this for regular sites too: based on your typical behavior, when you start typing an address, Chrome will pull up that site for you automatically (we hope when you type "e" you'll get Engadget, instead of Google's espn.com example). The other huge improvement is "Crankshaft," which Google claims is a 2X improvement in JavaScript speed, based on what benchmark you're looking at. To put it in context, Google claims Chrome is 100X faster than IE's JavaScript performance back in 2008. Other rendering tweaks include a super fast built-in PDF reader (Google demoed the browser loading the entire health care bill in a blink), and full-on WebGL support.
Google's new Instant Previews taste great with Instant Search and a slice of cheddar
In Google's unending quest to destroy all ad revenue and make sure its users never visit any of the websites they search for, the search giant is launching Instant Previews today. The feature, which adds large previews of websites along the right rail with a simple click of a magnifying glass, has popped up at random for various users over the past couple of months (Google's stealthy testing process), but now it's available to just about everybody. Once it's activated you can tab through the previews with your arrow keys, and Google automatically loads up all the preview images if you look just one (to aid with the "instant" aspect). Expect civilization to come to a grinding halt tomorrow or maybe the day after.
Google Instant for Mobile goes live on Android and iPhone (video)
We'd heard Google Instant was quietly popping up in mobile form for a lucky few, but it's officially widespread now -- the query-while-you-type search technology's just hit open beta on Android 2.2 and iOS 4. Just go to Google in your favorite mobile browser and press the "Turn on" link, and you'll be able to rush into the arms of your favorite technology blog with four fewer clicks. We maintain that it's nigh-useless on most standard-sized mobile devices, as you can only ever see the top result without scrolling up and down, but it won't cost you a penny to pick up your handset and form an opinion for yourself. Video demo after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
iTunes Instant: Search iTunes at high speed thanks to 15-year-old developer
If you've heard of Google's instant search, then you'll be right at home with iTunes Instant. We're all aware that iTunes doesn't have the most friendly of search engines, but thanks to youthful developer Stephen Ou, searching the iTunes store just got a whole lot easier. iTunes Instant doesn't just give you suggestions or recommendations as you type in a search query, it actually gives you real-time search feedback (album and artwork in this case) as you enter a query, character by character. Possibly the best thing about iTunes Instant is that it's the work of Ou, a 15-year old based in the Bay Area in California. According to TheiLoop, Ou developed iTunes Instant in under three hours, using Apple's own Search API. Ou says that iTunes Instant "will make your life better." And we're inclined to believe it. Trying to search for an artist that you can't quite remember the name of in iTunes can produce some rather unfruitful results. Using iTunes Instant just might be the ticket to solving such frustrating queries. Try iTunes Instant for yourself here. If you're interested in searching the App Store instead of the music store, Jordan Satok's App Store Instant on App Of The Day uses similar techniques. Satok and Ou are buddies, and Ou contributed to the development of the app search tool as well. [hat tip to 9to5Mac]
YouTube Instant delivers your gratification even more quickly
Waiting for search results is so last week. Google Instant changed all that, suggesting results as you type, and now Stanford comp sci student Feross Aboukhadijeh has brought the same idea to another property of the Googs: YouTube. It's a pretty simple thing; just start typing and it starts playing videos. You have no control over resolution, even playing and pausing are asking too much, but who has time to worry about minor details? Click on through to check it out, and know that typing "Engadget" will take you back to a time when our resident thrillseeker Paul Miller was taken on a magical ride through the snow-swept streets of New York City. Update: Well, it was instant. Looks like the extra traffic is turning this into YouTube "Just a Moment, Please." Update 2: And we're Instant again! Feross re-wrote the site to stop some throttling that was happening on the YouTubes. Just in time to help pass the rest of the afternoon.
Google announces Google Instant search, available now for desktop, mobile this fall
We're reporting live from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where Google's just taken the wraps off its latest software product. The announcement itself is taking its time right now, with background facts like Google recently crossing the one billion users a week milestone, but the Google Instant service has been activated and you can see details about its immediate result delivery at the source below. Basically, the Goog no longer waits for you to hit Enter while searching and starts updating its results page Instantly as you type. Google describes it as a fundamental shift in seach and you can find more details along with its warm and fuzzy video introduction after the break.%Gallery-101726%%Gallery-101727%
