Google announced the launch of a new, redesigned version of its search app for the iPad.
Google promises greater interactivity with the new app. “You’ll notice that searching is faster and more interactive from your first keystroke,” says software engineer Daniel Fish. “As soon as you begin to type, Google Instant starts to display results, so you don’t even need to press the search button. Once you pick a web page to visit, you’ll see the page load on a new, slide-in pane that will layer over the search results. You can slide the pane to the right to get back to your search results, and even keep scrolling through the results as your web page is loading. This allows you to go back and forth from results to web pages quickly to get the information you are looking for.”
Image search has been altered, so that when you tap on an image result, you can use the new “image carousel”:
“Often you may be looking to find something you have seen before again or are continuing research on a topic,” says Fish. “But on a tablet, typing can be a challenge. That is why we have created a visual way to explore your search history. Swipe right to view snapshots of pages you’ve visited, stacked and organized by search term. You can also manage your search history from this new view.”
The new app also comes with Google’s Instant Previews and a few other features.
Once you’ve clicked through to a result, you can click a new magnifying glass tool to highlight the most relevant section of the page.
The app is available for iPads using iOS 4.0 and higher.