Google Expands Mobile Search

New service only links to pages that have been formatted for mobile
devices.

Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News Service
Friday, June 17, 2005

Google has rolled out a new search service that only links to pages
that have been formatted for display in mobile devices' small screens.

To access this XHTML-based service, users need to have a mobile device
with a Web browser and enter a query in the search box at Google.com
or Google.com/xhtml.

Mobile users can already perform searches from these locations, but
this week, Google added a new "Mobile Web" option to the pages. When
this button is selected, users will only receive links to pages that
have been formatted for the smaller displays of mobile devices,
according to Google.

Other options available to mobile users are "Web," to run a query
against the full Google Web index, "Images," to search for pictures,
and "Local," to hit Google's business directory for local merchants.

Already Available

Google also offers a similar Web search service for phones that
support WML (wireless markup language) instead of XHTML (extensible
markup language.) However, WML doesn't support images, so searching
for pictures isn't possible using this service, which is available on
a mobile device's browser at Google.com/wml. The Mobile Web option is
not available on WML phones.

If a user is unsure which markup language his phone supports, Google
suggests trying both Google.com/xhtml and Google.com/wml to see which
one works.

Another mobile search option from the Mountain View, California
company is Google SMS, which lets users retrieve text information from
the search index using Short Message Service technology.

To tap this service, users need to send a query as a text message to
Google's SMS code, which is 46645, and they will receive text results
typically after a minute's wait. Google SMS has been designed to
provide factual information such as local business listings, driving
directions, movie showtimes, weather conditions and product prices.

Google's mobile search services are free, although mobile carriers may
apply charges related to data transmission or Web browsing.

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/...061705X,00.asp


===
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-- Britney Spears


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