Google is giving those interested in the new Google Phone (the G1 from T-Mobile) a closer look at the different aspects of it on the Google Mobile Blog. Today Android Software Engineer Andy Stadler talks about the search capabilities on the device:
We’ve integrated Search with applications in a variety of ways, in order to make it universally accessible. Every searchable application includes a Search menu option. Some applications (like Maps) support type-to-search. Just start typing, and Maps will automatically open the Search UI for you! Some applications (like Android Market) have Search buttons, while others have Search widgets (like the home screen). Finally, on the T-Mobile G1, there’s even a dedicated Search key on bottom row of the keyboard. Just press it and start typing your query.
They’ve incorporated Google Suggest into Android, which is probably even more of a useful feature on a mobile device than it is on a PC. This way, if a suggestion comes up that the user likes, they can simply touch it and go to the results page. Searches in Gmail and YouTube also have suggestion features based on your past queries serving basically the same purpose.
Google has made the search API available to third-party developers so they can integrate search functionality into their applications. “What’s more exciting to me is that developers can improve upon search as well,” says Stadler. “Maybe someone will find and provide new sources of searchable knowledge, or serve ‘mind reading’ suggestions, or display search results in a more informative and beautiful way?”
The Google Mobile Blog will be posting looks at each of the other G1 applications over the next couple weeks, so we should also be getting closer looks at Maps, Gmail, Calendar, Google Talk, and YouTube features as well. How do those of you who have the phone like the usability of its apps?
