AfterDawn: Tech news

'Google Instant' now available on smartphones

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Nov 2010 9:25 User comments (7)

'Google Instant' now available on smartphones Google has confirmed today that the query prediction technology Google Instant is now available on smartphones, as promised in September by the search giant.
'Instant' anticipates users' searches while they type it, a feature which is invaluable on smartphones as loading times can be slower than on desktops. Typing is often more of a hassle, as well.

"Like the desktop version of Google Instant, when you type on your mobile device you’ll see predictions of what you might be searching for," said Google engineer Steve Kanefsky.

Google predicts the searches by using analysis of billions of queries. By doing so, the company can guess the letters and word combos a user was likely to type.

IW explains that "AJAX and HTML implementation updates search results pages dynamically so as to eliminate the need to load a new page with every new query."



Android 2.2 and iPhone users can enable Instant from the Google homepage via their phones.

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7 user comments

15.11.2010 22:52

This sux...it never finds anything, it wastes bandwidth, and then it does not autosearch when you stop typing.

25.11.2010 22:59

Yeah I don't think its a good idea because the one for the regular browser crashes sometimes saying that your speed is not fast enough when my DL speeds are about 3MB/s.

36.11.2010 04:34

It says that on my PC when I have 30mbps...I guess it is designed for people that have internet connections as fast as google.

46.11.2010 06:07

@biglo30 & KillerBug
Huh? it works flawless, never had an issue with it and I have 2 mbps connection. I think its invaluable feature, it saves time..but it also makes you dumb on a long term basis..

57.11.2010 01:36

IDK...today the instant search seems to work...it probably won't work later today...I guess that is why they call it "beta" and therefor should not turn it on by default.

67.11.2010 01:52

Originally posted by NHS2008:
@biglo30 & KillerBug
Huh? it works flawless, never had an issue with it and I have 2 mbps connection. I think its invaluable feature, it saves time..but it also makes you dumb on a long term basis..
Same here, on my Android device and on the computer, no issues AT ALL.

77.11.2010 11:45

I'm not saying it happens all the time, but once in a while (like in a space of a week) I would get that. Its nothing a quick page refresh wouldn't fix. I'm a very very heavy Google search user so I guess this is why I ran into the problem a few times.

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