Google Revs Up iPhone Search AppGoogle Revs Up iPhone Search App

Google has taken the opportunity to offer a new version of its mobile search application for the iPhone. The new software makes several improvements to the usability of the application, including the ability to recognize Australian accents.I use the Google iPhone App to perform searches daily. It has become a vital tool in my life. The changes Google has made to the application make it that much more vital (well, OK, maybe not the Australian accent thing, I rarely pretend to be Crocodile Dundee).

First up, Google has redesigned how search results are displayed. It now shows more results at once and opens web pages from the results within the app. This adds up to faster access to the content you want. And, well, we all know about Google's insane need to make everything faster.

Next, Google has made it easier to customize the look, feel and performance of the application. Its Bells and Whistles feature is more easily accessible. Alastair Tse, Software Engineer, explains, "You can style your Google Mobile App in any shade: red, taupe, or even heliotrope. If you're on a faster iPhone, like the iPhone 3GS, you may want to try the live waveform setting which turns on, as the name suggests, a moving waveform when you search by voice."

Google has also made changes to Google Voice Search. As I mentioned, it now supports English spoken with an Australian accent. (When Voice Search first launched, it didn't support British accents, and didn't let British users search effectively). Voice Search now supports both Mandarin and Japanese are supported languages as well.

There you have it. The application update is free via the iPhone Apps Store.