By Robert Hamilton, Product Manager, Google mobile team
A few weeks ago, we launched a plug-in for Symbian devices that put a Google search shortcut onto the phone's home screen. This shortcut reduces the time it takes for you to get answers from Google by eliminating the initial search steps (e.g. finding the browser application, opening it, and navigating to Google.com before entering your query). The same plug-in has been available for BlackBerry devices since last December. Today, we're making this available for Windows Mobile devices too.
If you're a Windows Mobile user, browse to mobile.google.com on your device to download the plug-in and start searching faster than ever. Once you do, we think you'll find it so much faster and easier that you'll start conducting more mobile web searches than you ever had before. How do we know this? Well, when we look at the combined usage numbers for BlackBerry and Symbian versions of this plug-in, we see that users are able to get Google search results up to 40 percent faster. And, BlackBerry and Symbian users with the plug-in installed search 20 percent more than those without it.
We saw something similar after we launched an updated interface for Gmail on the iPhone during MacWorld earlier this year. Lots of iPhone users tried the new interface (hence the bump in Gmail pageviews between January and February), but they didn't stick around like we hoped they would. Over the course of the next few weeks, we made some tweaks to drastically improve the speed of the product, and Gmail pageviews on the iPhone not only stabilized, but began to rise, as the graph below shows: This link between increased usage and a faster user experience -- be it search or mobile Gmail -- reinforces something we at Google have known for a long time: Fast is better than slow. With mobile applications, we're seeing that fast is much better than slow. Although this may seem pretty intuitive, it's always nice to see new data backing this up. Moving forward, we'll continue to focus on bringing you the fastest and most compelling mobile experiences that we can. So stay tuned!
Fast tip: one-click access to Google mobile applications on your phone
Posted by Mark Crady, Engineering Manager, Google Maps for mobile team
I've heard it said that user interfaces are measured in "hurts." Here at Google we like things to be as painless as possible. That's why we're happy to share a little-known feature of many phones that allows you to launch your favorite app (hopefully Google Maps!) with the press of a button.
Buried in the settings menu of many phones is the option to configure "convenience keys" (or "sidekeys," or "shortcuts," depending on the device). Convenience keys let you configure a physical key, usually on the side of your phone, to instantly launch whatever application you choose. For instance, here are some instructions for how to configure a BlackBerry, Blackjack, and Nokia N95 for one-click access to Google Maps for mobile:
In the video below Steve Lee and I show you how to set up these quick access keys. Be sure to catch our death-defying duel at the end of the video, where one of us bites the dust while the other hurls obscure movie references.
Finally, if you use shortcut keys on other phones please submit a comment below so that others can give them a try.
Posted by Charles Wiles, Product Manager, Google mobile team
Ever use a mobile web application and suddenly lose your cell connection? That's happened to me many times. If you've shared my pain, you'll be excited to know that we've launched Google Gears for mobile, which lets users access Gears-enabled mobile web apps offline. Initially available for Internet Explorer Mobile on Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices, mobile web app developers have already started integrating Gears for mobile into their online services.
Take Zoho and Buxfer, for example: Zoho is a powerful suite of web-based productivity applications, while Buxfer is an innovative personal finance web application that helps you track your money. With Google Gears for mobile integrated into mobile Zoho and Buxfer, you can now access these web applications even when your phone is disconnected from the mobile web. Stuck on a plane? No problem — you can still read your docs on your mobile with Zoho Writer Mobile offline. Want to buy that new plasma TV, but can't remember how much is in your account? Check your balance with Buxfer's mobile web application, even if there is no cell phone signal. Try them out on your Windows Mobile 6 device by going to m.buxfer.com or mobile.zoho.com.
When you first access mobile Buxfer or Zoho Writer on your Windows Mobile device and go offline, you will be asked to install Google Gears for mobile. Once installed, Gears sits happily on your phone helping you stay connected to your data -- even when you lose your network connection.
If you're a developer who's interested in creating mobile web applications using Google Gears for mobile you can find out more information on our developer site. Finally, if you're not a Windows Mobile user, stay tuned -- we're working to roll out Google Gears for other platforms with capable web browsers, including Android.
Google search to be the default for Opera's mobile browsers
Posted by Michael Fisher, Mobile Strategic Partner Development Manager
If you're one of the millions of people with an Opera Mobile or Opera Mini browser on your phone, you may be pleased to know that Google will soon be the default search engine on the browser start page. We're certainly excited about it -- it will now be even easier for Opera's new and current mobile users to get the information they need, whenever and wherever they need it.
For more details about our new collaboration with Opera, please check out their press release. To learn more about Opera or to download one of their mobile browsers, head here. As always, you can read more about Google mobile products on our website.
Got a Nokia smartphone? Search Google faster than ever
Posted by Robert Hamilton, Product Manager, Google mobile team
At Google we like things that are fast: fast search, fast email, fast everything. In fact, we're so in love with speed that we don't even like the time it usually takes to launch a browser, head to Google and perform a search on our favourite Nokia smartphones. So, we decided to do something to speed it up.
From today, if you have an N-series or an E-series Nokia phone you can download a small search shortcut directly to your phone's homescreen. Once that shortcut is in place, you'll be able to bring up a Google search box (without opening your browser), type in a query and get straight to the results.
For those who are counting, that means fewer clicks and less time waiting for pages to load. Judging from our research, there is as much as a 40 percent reduction in the average time to complete an initial search. You can see just how much faster it is in this video:
So, don't take our word for it -- head to mobile.google.com on your Nokia device now, download the Google search shortcut and give it a try.
