Google Mobile App

The Good
Instant search results
Local search
Specific searches like wikipedia
Search suggestions

The Bad
Big time waster, clicking on a search result closes down the app and takes you to Safari.
Offers nothing that google.com doesn’t already offer itself.

The Breakdown
In what looks like just an advertising stunt by Google, the Google Mobile App has made its way onto the App Store. This application, compatible with both the iPhone and the iPod Touch, is mainly just a time waster. Search results look identical to those you would see on Google.com’s own search pages, and clicking on a search result will close down the app and take you to Safari. If you just want to perform a general search through Google, your best option would be to just do it through Google.com in Safari.

If general searching is not what your aiming to do, though, then this app is a little more useful. You can use the Google Mobile App to search for websites, your contacts, or, by clicking on the magnifying glass on the top left, Wikipedia articles, local businesses (Local), Images, News, and online goods (Shopping). These specific searches, especially the Local and Wikipedia ones, are what define this application. Let’s say I want to find the closest movie theatre near me. All I would have to do is click the magnifier icon, select Local, and then type in “movies. The Google Mobile App will close and Google Maps (the iPhone/iPod app) will open. On it, pins will be placed near you wherever a movie theatre is located. Now, let’s say I was searching through my contacts and I decided to give my mother a call. Typing in “Mom” would return my Mom’s contact and a webpage called the “Ministry of Manpower (MOM)”. Forgetting that hilarious link, clicking on my Mom’s contact would my Contact application. 

One more feature this application has is the “Explore more Googe products” page. Clicking on that button will bring up a really clean and organized menu displaying all of Google’s most popular utilities, like Mail (Gmail), Calender, Docs, Talk, YouTUbe, and Blogger. Clicking on any of these will take you to Safari.

So overall, this app should not be used to search for websites, but instead to search through local businesses, Wikipedia articles, or quickly open up one of Google’s utilities without having to type it in on Safari.