Visual search engine Searchme has a sexy new iPhone app that brings its signature Cover-Flow-like interface to the phone's 3.5-inch display. Search results come in the form of large thumbnails with short content summaries underneath. To browse through them you simply flick your finger across the screen, just like you would with album covers in the phone's iPod application.
The app also supports pinch gestures for zooming in on thumbnails. This lets you see the the details of a page before visiting it in Safari--something that can be done with a simple double tap on any result. This may seem like a trivial feature, but it can be immensely helpful, and in some cases even prevent you from having to visit the site at all. In my case I was able to pull up a restaurant's address just by zooming in, saving me some time and data.
Searchme knows when you've flipped it on its side and will display the search results in gorgeous Cover Flow-style.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The application makes use of the iPhone's accelerometer, and can tell when you've got it in landscape mode. When flipped, you get an additional two thumbnails on the screen, and it does away with the summaries entirely. It's also marvelously fun to zoom back and forth.
This app is definitely more than eye candy. Over a 3G connection it took just 3 seconds to bring up search results that I was able to flip through, and another 15 to stream in the thumbnails. During that loading time I was able to browse through the titles and summaries with zero lag which is really impressive.
Searchme is free and can be found in the app store (iTunes link).
Previous Searchme coverage:
Searchme tries music streaming to attract users
Search interfaces of tomorrow you can try today
Searchme nabs $31 million from Google backer, others
Searchme, a visual search engine, on Monday launched a free music streaming service that allows visitors to search for their favorite songs and listen to an unlimited number of tracks. Each song on Searchme provides a link to buy it on Amazon.com, eBay, or iTunes and can be added to a "search stack" or playlist, which can be accessed at any time. The Searchme Music page also features cover art, which users can flip through to choose songs.
According to TechCrunch, Searchme's Music selection uses Imeem's catalog of licensed songs by employing its widget, which can be embedded anywhere on the Web. Searchme grabs an Imeem widget for each song in the search results page and displays them in a Cover Flow-like layout to help users pick songs.
Unlike some services, like Yahoo's music search, which will only allow users to play 25 streams each month, Searchme's music streaming is unlimited and generally provides a better design for music searching. But with a slew of competitors that offer streaming, like MySpace Music, Grooveshark, and Imeem itself, it won't be easy for the visual search engine to cement itself in the market, given its relatively small audience. But by offering free streaming, the company is doing all it can to capitalize on a growing trend in the marketplace, which could help it funnel more users into its Web search.
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