One of the chief complaints about Google's Android is its lack of multitouch support.
Did Google CEO and Apple board member Eric Schmidt knuckle under to Apple on multitouch?
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET News)Now, according to a VentureBeat report by M.G. Siegler, we may have an idea of why Google skipped the feature on its mobile operating system:
Apple, which of course makes the signature multi-touch mobile device, the iPhone, apparently asked Google not to implement it, and Google agreed, an Android team member tells us.Further, the Android team member went on to say that they were relieved that Google didn't go against Apple's wishes, given the legal storm that appears to be brewing between Apple and Palm, which is using multi-touch technology in its new Pre phone. Even if Apple ultimately decides not to pursue legal action against Palm (it's not yet clear how likely that is, but Apple does have an impressive array of patents), the situation has likely soured the relationship between the two companies. Google, it seems, wants no part in ruining its relationship with Apple.
While this all may sound a bit far-fetched, it's worth noting that last month Apple was awarded a patent titled "Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics." Patent No. 7,479,949, originally filed in September 2007, covers the multitouch and all its gestures (swipe, pinch, rotation, etc.) that are used on the Apple iPhone.
A day after that patent was awarded, Apple COO Tim Cook warned iPhone competitors they should understand that Apple "will not stand for having our (intellectual property) ripped off, and we'll use whatever weapons that we have at our disposal." Those comments, made during Apple's fiscal first-quarter earnings call, were believed to be intended for Palm even though Cook did not single out any particular company in making his comments.
Siegler goes on to address the Palm connection:
While the connection between Apple and Palm would seem like it should be strong, given how many former Apple employees now work at Palm, Google and Apple are actually more aligned. Not only does Google specially tailor a ton of its products for the iPhone (both with apps like Maps and Google Search, and specially formatted webpages), but its chief executive, Eric Schmidt, is on Apple's board of directors. And don't underestimate the fact that both share a chief rival: Microsoft.
While the open-source Android can be modified to support multitouch with a few well-placed lines of code, one has to wonder why the feature wasn't initially supported and when Google will officially do so.
Safari's built-in search box now shows iPhone-optimized search results for Google.
(Credit: Google)After revamping the iPhone's presentation of Google search results last month, the Internet giant has spread the change more broadly on the Apple device.
Previously, the new Google search results were available only when people typed Google.com into the phone's browser, then performed the search. Now the results also appear when using Safari's built-in search box, which, given that it's one fewer slow-loading page away from results, is how I use the service.
Google announced the change on its Google Mobile blog. The new results also appear on the T-Mobile G1, which uses Google's Android operating system. In addition to being better-suited to the devices' screen size, the mobile-formatted pages load more quickly, Google said.
iPhone customers can change their default search provider to Yahoo, if desired.
(Via Search Engine Watch.)
Apple probably isn't looking to challenge the two top search engines in the world with an add-on to its Safari browser.
(Credit: Apple )There's little doubt that Apple has thousands of engineers working on all kinds of crazy stuff down in Cupertino, Calif., but are they really planning to take on Google?
That's the theory sort of advanced by TechCrunch on Thursday, with a post titled "Is Apple building a search engine?" Michael Arrington cites "multiple (if thin)" reports that Apple is working on developing its own search technology, presumably to get around using Google as the default search engine in the Safari browser.
The report, however, debunks itself, noting that Apple has not been hiring search engineers in the volumes that would be required to develop anything competitive with Google. The more likely conclusion, according to TechCrunch, is that Apple is working on a way to present search results more in line with the user interface on the iPhone and iPod Touch. That makes a degree of sense, though it's a far cry from the initial headline.
Updated at 12:20 p.m.: I should have linked to this story from yesterday about Google tweaking its search interface for the iPhone, it points out how the search interface can be made easier to read.
The new Google search page on the iPhone packages content better.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET News)Google has customized its search results for the iPhone's display, getting around some awkward presentation issues.
"Results are formatted to be neatly displayed on the mobile screen, so there's no need to scroll side to side. Local search results now include easier-to-press 'Get Directions' and click-to-call links. Maps are shown by default in the case of a single listing or accessible by the 'Show map"' link for multiple listings," said Google mobile team programmers Steve Kanefsky and Rob Stacey in a blog post Tuesday night.
The older look can be retrieved by scrolling to the bottom of the search results page and clicking the "Classic" link, but I much prefer the new look.
The new packaging, however, isn't integrated with the iPhone itself, which has a built-in Google search option accessible via the magnifying glass icon at the top of each Web page. Those results are formatted for a much larger screen, at least on my iPhone. To get the fancy search results, you first must point the browser to www.google.com.
The images below show at left, the older iPhone search interface from a www.google.com search, and at right, the search results from using the Safari built-in search feature.
The older 'classic' look for a search from www.google.com on the iPhone.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET News)
Using the built-in search icon in iPhone's Safari browser doesn't take advantage of the better formatting.
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