Your mobile and desktop search history now in sync

Sometimes I do a search on my desktop computer, only to find that I need to repeat the same search again later on my mobile phone. Today in the US we're launching Personalized Suggest for Android, iPhone and Palm WebOS, which makes it really easy to repeat your past searches on the go. For example, suppose that before I depart for the airport, I quickly check my flight status by searching for "american airlines 19" using google.com on my computer. Later, as I am hailing a taxi in rush hour traffic, I can open google.com on my phone, click in the search box, and choose "american airlines 19" from the list of search suggestions!

To try this yourself, make sure that you are signed-in to the same Google Account on your computer and on your phone when searching. In addition, Web History needs to be enabled for your Google Account. Mobile users can turn on/off history by selecting "Save searches" or "Do not save searches" under Settings on google.com.

Posted by Toshi Tajima, Software Engineer, Google Mobile Team

Introducing the new Local Search for Mobile

The mobile search team is always looking for new ways to make searching the world around you as easy and useful as searching the web. Today we're introducing a redesigned local search experience on your phone that integrates with Google Maps on your computer and includes browseable categories that let you search without typing. Let me tell you how I used these features on my recent vacation to Hawaii.

Before I left, I researched places to visit on Google Maps. I signed in to my Google account and starred the places I wanted to go. Once I got to Hawaii, by signing in on my phone, I was able to see the places I starred on desktop Maps under "Starred Places". I could then click through on place names to visit mobile-optimized versions of Place Pages for Google Maps that include opening hours, reviews, photos, and more.


The new category browse feature made it easy to find a place to rent bicycles for a quick tour of the coastline. I just tapped on "Entertainment & Recreation" and then "Bicycles" to execute a search — no typing necessary. When it was time for scuba diving, I didn't see an appropriate category, so I started typing "SCUBA" in the search box and clicked on a suggestion for "Scuba Tour Agency". A few hours later, I was petting a white-tipped reef shark!

Of course, local search isn't only useful when you're traveling — here's an example of planning a birthday party in my hometown, San Francisco:



To access these features on your mobile device, go to www.google.com/m/local, or just click on the Local tab on www.google.com. The product is available in the US and China, with more regions coming soon.

Posted by Joshua Siegel, Product Manager, Mobile Local Search Team

The Iterative Web App: 'Move' and 'Enhanced Refresh'

On April 7th, we announced a new version of Gmail for mobile for iPhone and Android-powered devices. Among the improvements was a complete redesign of the web application's underlying code which allows us to more rapidly develop and release new features that users have been asking for, as explained in our first post. We'd like to introduce The Iterative Webapp, a series where we will continue to release features for Gmail for mobile. Today: 'Move' and 'Enhanced Refresh.'

Last week we released two new features which can save you clicks when using web-based Gmail on an iPhone or Android-powered device.

The first one is 'Move', which you can find under 'More' in the Floaty Bar. The 'Move' function lets you label and archive a message in a single step. So as soon as you 'move' a conversation to a certain label, that email will disappear from your Inbox and show up under that label. We introduced this feature to Gmail for your PC earlier this year, and now we're making it available for your mobile phone as well.

Another improvement we made is 'Enhanced Refresh.' With this feature, your Gmail inbox auto-refreshes when you switch back to Gmail from another tab or application. And if your phone goes to sleep while Gmail is open, it will refresh when you wake it up.

To try out Gmail for mobile, visit gmail.com in your mobile browser. This version of Gmail for mobile supports iPhone/iPod touch OS 2.2.1 or above, as well as all Android-powered devices, and is available in US English only. To make it easy to access your Gmail account, try creating a home screen link.


by Heaven Kim, Product Marketing Manager, Google Mobile

Google Mobile App for Windows Mobile gets My Location and more

It's easier and faster than ever to search Google using your Windows Mobile phone. Just visit m.google.com to download the latest version of Google Mobile App, which includes these new features:

• My Location. Get local results without typing your location. Once you see the blue My Location dot with your current location below the search box, simply search for a local query, for example "italian restaurant", and the search results will contain local business results along with web results.
  
  To protect your privacy, location is encrypted when sent to the server, and only your most recent location is stored so that successive searches can use the same location. You can disable My Location at any time in the "Advanced Options" screen.
  
• Google Suggest. Reduce typing time by selecting suggestions to complete your queries. You will also see URL suggestions, which bring you directly to a web page, skipping the search results page entirely. Try typing "facebook" to see this kind of suggestion.
  
• Search with Maps. If you have installed Google Maps, type a local query and wait for suggestions. Select the suggestion with the red pin next to it to launch your search inside Google Maps.

To download the new version of Google Mobile App, visit m.google.com from your phone.

Posted by Craig Wilkinson, Software Engineer

Google Sync: Now with push Gmail support

Earlier this year, we launched Google Sync which allows you to synchronize your Gmail Contacts and Google Calendar with your iPhone, Windows Mobile, and S60 devices. Today, we're adding Gmail support to Google Sync for iPhone, iPod Touch and Windows Mobile devices.

Using Google Sync, you can now get your Gmail messages pushed directly to your phone. Having an over-the-air, always-on connection means that your inbox is up to date, no matter where you are or what you're doing. Sync works with your phone's native email application so there's no additional software needed. Only interested in syncing your Gmail, but not your Calendar? Google Sync allows you to sync just your Contacts, Calendar, or Gmail, or any combination of the three.


To try Google Sync, visit m.google.com/sync from your computer. If you're already using Google Sync, learn how to enable Gmail sync. Since push Gmail has been a popular request on our Product Ideas page and Help Forum, we look forward to hearing your feedback, so drop us a line and let us know how it's working or what you'd like to see next.

Douglas Gresham, Software Engineer, Google Mobile

Update at 8:20am: We jumped the gun on this post. The new feature should be rolling out in a few minutes.

Google Fast Flip for Android and iPhone

Browsing print and online articles on a phone can often be a slow task. There are many different sites to visit, and media-rich pages can take a long time to load. Of course, mobile devices make this more difficult with small screens, slower Internet connections, and less comfortable keyboards.

To help solve this problem, today we announced a new product from Google Labs: Google Fast Flip for computers, iPhone, and Android-powered devices. Google Fast Flip combines some of the best features of reading articles in print and on the web.

With this webapp you can literally flip through stories with the swipe of your finger. To get more information or view the entire article, simply tap on the screen. You can browse headlines and popular articles, and view trending topics. Searching for a specific topic lets you make your own "magazine." Fast Flip makes sharing articles easy as well. To send an article to someone, simply tap on the "Email" link in the upper right.

To try it out, point your mobile browser to fastflip.googlelabs.com. For easy access, we recommend creating a home screen link or bookmark. Fast Flip works on all iPhone, iPod Touch and Android-powered devices. For more information on Google Fast Flip, check out our post on the Official Google Blog.

Posted by Steve Kanefsky, Software Engineer, Google Mobile