Mountain View, California — Typing with tiny pad on a mobile phone is an herculean task no matter what device you are using, but Google brings smile tn iPhone and Android users. On Thursday, the search heavyweight has launched search suggestions based on geographical location for iPhone and Android devices so query suggestion features on search engines come in handy.
Location-based services are becoming the hottest catchword of 2010. Google’s optimized search suggestion feature now serves up query suggestions based on your location. This feature is currently only available for iPhone and Android devices in the United States. You might need to refresh Google.com on your device in order to see the updated suggestions.
“Typing a query into the search box on a mobile phone can often be slow, difficult and irksome,” says Google’s Mobile Engineering Team. “For this reason, relevant search suggestions that match your intended query (based on your location) can meaningfully reduce the time and effort it takes to submit a search.”
Now, Google provides suggestions based on the phone’s current or last location, making the suggestions more relevant. Let us now examine two search suggestions based on location to the mobile suggestions:
If you have an iPhone or Android powered device, go to Google.com on your phone’s browser and type a query to see the new location-optimized suggestions. Make sure you have switched on “Save recent locations” and “Allow use of device location” under the Settings link on the Google.com home page. (note: you may have to refresh Google.com on your smartphone browser to see the optimized suggestions).
“For example, when users in the Boston metro area begin typing ‘Muse’, suggestions such as “museum of science Boston” and “museum of fine arts Boston” are provided because people near Boston frequently look for these very popular museums,” the team explains. “But then, users in San Francisco who entered similar search query will see suggestions for museums in the San Francisco area. By using the device’s current or most recent location, Google is able to offer even better, more useful suggestions than ever before.”
This feature is currently the latest in Google’s regular upgrades that may have a direct impact on local businesses. Also earlier this month, in addition to local mobile search, Google introduced “Near Me Now” feature, which is another location-based search alternative that is a fast and easy way to find out more about a specific venue in your immediate vicinity, whether you are standing in front of it or it is a short distance away.
However with innovation comes a price tag. Now that Google recognizes your location, you can anticipate their ad platform to start kicking in and targeting you with local ads for restaurants, stores and such.