What we’ve heard in the past about Google Places future is coming true now, with a simple addition to your Google homepage in your mobile browser and a simple set of icons, the first of which, for example, is Restaurants. Simply tap the icon and a Google map will appear with all local results. If you’ve not yet got these icons showing up, just hold tight, they’ll be rolling out to basically everyone in the world (at least those connected to Google Maps) today.
This and several other items were announced today at an event by the name of “Inside Search,” focusing primarily on desktop functionalities, but making sure to touch on mobile in the following: Google Maps and Google Places are not new, but have taken the forefront today with a few simple icons on the Google front page. This fun item was punctuated by the new map view revealed at the event that allows you the map on top of your screen and the results scrolled below.
This segued into talk of additions to mobile search including Query Builder, showing up as plus signs beside results showing up with Google Instant. These plus signs will allow you to take results and make them more specific with fewer and fewer clicks than ever before.
Search previews were shown, showing you what you’ll be looking at with a sort of big thumbnail view in a gallery for instant sight on decision.
Google in mobile has been improved for tablets, having now much better spacing between results, action taken for the giant amount of space that’d otherwise be blank, and in image search results which are now plugged into one another for a might prettier vision on the eyes.
Finally there’s been improvements to Google Googles as it works with Google Translate. Take a photo of a foreign food menu and get yourself some English grub!
