Google Instant Previews, the search feature that shows snapshots of web pages along side search results has finally made its way to Android and iPhone handsets. Users of Android must have vs. 2.2 (Froyo) or above, while iPhone users must have iOS 4.0 and above to take advantage of the new search feature. Users don’t have to download or update anything at all to use the new feature either. All they need to do is search for a topic and the click on the magnifying glass on the right of the results (note, not the search bar).
This will navigate to a new page that will have snapshots of different pages that users can then swipe through, with titles of each page overlayed with more information of the page featured. To get back to original results, just hit the back arrow. The preview will also provide both full and mobile versions of the sites so that users can have a choice or to take advantage of a mobile optimized version of any given site. That’s a godsend for smaller screen smartphones where users have to spend time looking around with their finger constantly swiping.
Google has done a great job seamlessly integrating this useful and popular feature and it should make search even faster and more useful than before. The search function is available to phones in 38 languages starting today.
[via Slash Gear]
Must be still rolling out, not showing up for me on honeycomb yet.