Google offers Triple Treats to iPhone Users in November [iPhone Love]

Everyone knows Google has a love affair with the iPhone. Just last month, Google Earth for the iPhone was released with great acclaim. But in November, Google has launched not one, but THREE iPhone specific enhancements to its products. Google first made changes to its search results to allow for better user experience, including one-touch dialing and default maps on local searches. Then they rolled out the Speech activated Search with the Google App update. Finally with the release of iPhone update 2.2, Google Maps gets Street View and Public Transportation Directions. All of these enhancements offer substantial improvements over the current iPhone and made major headlines in the iPhone community this month.

iPhone Google Search Optimization

With the user interface optimization on Google Search, search results are more efficiently displayed so that there is no need to scroll side to side. Local search results are also optimized. Results now include one-touch “Get Directions” and click-to-call links. Maps are easily accessible by the “show map” link or displayed by default if appropriate. Below is a video presentation of iPhone Google Search Optimization.



Google Voice Search



Next, Google rolled out Voice Search. It is a part of the Google Apps update. Thus, only with the updated Google App, iPhone user can try out this new feature. For this reason, Google Apps became one of the top apps downloads even though it has been released for a long time.

Voice search is surprisingly good. It can recognize most of the words I speak to the iPhone without much error. Say "Google iPhone products in November 2008," that's exactly what the voice search app came back with. Although I am still using the regular text-based search more than voice search, I can’t stop imaging the day when people use voice search instead of text-based search. With Google’s optimization of iPhone search results, the combination gets better. When you speak “18 percent of 33 dollars,” you get a calculated result almost instantly. Oh, the gratification!The app is even smart enough to differentiate between "bear market" and "bare ass" through contextual recognition, amazing!




Google Street View



Finally with the long awaited iPhone firmware update 2.2, iPhone users got Google Street View. At a first glance in Google Maps, Google Street View is nowhere to be found. It is only when you enter an address or search a direction will the Google Street View button show up beside the address bar. The Street View button is the Red Man on the left side of the address pin. Not a very intuitive usability design on Google’s part to place street view like this.


With Google Street View on the iPhone, you can stroll the streets of New York City, San Francisco, or your everyday neighborhood right from your iPhone. Street View allows the user to view a 360 degree view. Look at the sky, the ground, and the buildings like you are really there.

It is great for navigation too. It is convenient for getting a glimpse of your destination if you have never been there. It makes finding that company you are interviewing for that much easier.

Google Maps also added public transportation and walking directions. Great for those relying on public transportation, bikes, or their two feet.

The triple treat Google offered to iPhone users this month shows that Google is serious in building brand recognition with iPhone users. Their product launches even outpace those of their own Google Android phones.