Google extends Instant search to mobile

Google extended its new Instant predictive search tool to Android and iPhone devices in the U.S., two months after unveiling the solution for the desktop. Described by Google as a "search-before-you-type" tool that predicts the most likely outcome of a query based on what is already typed, Instant streams real-time results based on its virtual forecast--as users identify a prediction that corresponds with the information they need, they can stop typing, look down and access the relevant results. Google Instant also features a scroll-to-search function to further simplify the process.

To trial the Google Instant for mobile beta, users must access google.com on their smartphone's browser and tap the Google Instant "Turn on" link below the search box. "You will probably notice a big improvement in speed when you search thanks to a new AJAX and HTML5 implementation for mobile that dynamically updates the page with new results and eliminates the need to load a new page for each query," writes Google software engineer Steve Kanefsky on the Official Google Mobile Blog. "Google Instant for mobile works best on 3G and WiFi networks, but since the quality of any wireless connection can fluctuate, we've made it easy to enable or disable Google Instant without ever leaving the page. Just tap the 'Turn on' or 'Turn off' link." While limited for now to Android 2.2-supported devices and iPhones and iPods running iOS 4, Google promises it will expand Instant for mobile to additional devices, languages and countries in the coming months.

Google Instant should further boost the company's dominance over the mobile search sphere. Last month, Google its mobile search queries have increased 500 percent over the past two years, adding that Android owners use mobile search twice as much as other smartphone users. Moreover, Google now carries close to 97 percent of all iPhone search traffic according to online ad network Chitika--Yahoo accounts for 2.25 percent, with Microsoft Bing at just 0.58 percent.

For more on Google Instant for mobile:
- read this Official Google Mobile Blog entry

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