Google’s interface for the iPhone has been floating around America for a while, but in what is sure to be a welcome development, the search giant is now making it available in over 30 different markets and 15 new languages. A special iPhone-appropriate edition of Google News is spreading as well.
Google On The iPhone Goes International
Since the iPhone is so popular – there have been reports of both strong legal sales in Europe and less-than-official shipments heading elsewhere – it would be foolish for Google to ignore the device. Google (along with most competing companies) is struggling to find an audience in the mobile market, even as it creates talk of monopolies in other areas. Early mobile adopters like iPhone users deserve special attention.
So Google on the iPhone offers all of the goodies anyone could hope for: “one-tap access to News, image, local, or web results and search query suggestions when you start typing,” and “[a]utomatic delivery of Gmail messages (no need to refresh your browser!), and auto-completion of email addresses when typing,” according to the Google Mobile Blog.
Google Calendar and Google Photos also get a nudge, and Google News, for its part, should offer both improved search results and the occasional embedded YouTube video.
A Google exec once set up Android and the iPhone as competitors. It’s nice to see the company has, at least temporarily, turned its mind to cooperation, instead.