This week, I wanted to take a closer look on the latest version (new launched in last weeks) of the Google Mobile search product, the key product for Google on the internet. I tested with a quite regular better handset today, the Nokia N95. I took a look at all key parts and came to the fact that Google on most devices displays WEB searches on mobile devices first before it displays mobile results. Is this a good thing? Let’s see.

First of all lets take a good look at the frontpage - probably couldn’t be better, general search bar, different possibilities (like switching to standard version, settings, etc.). Perfect Google like homepage, and probably couldn’t be better.

Next come the Google Mobile search results themselves. Now the issue for me really is, why does Google by default search in websites, when there are also a ton of mobile related stuff? I find searching web as a priority from the mobile phones as sligtly an outdated solution, and I think the market has grown to fully blown purely mobile websites. 

Method of search: I believe Google mobile search is being displayed incorrectly, and that Google should revise this and in the future consider to replace the web search with primarily mobile related links first (also the keyword shortcuts coming completely first).

Awsome and cool:

• You can search a place, and you immediately get a quick link to Google Maps
• You can use some of the Google keyword shortcuts
  e.g. weather in New York, stock GOOG, 10 EUR to USD, etc. 

Bugs and mistakes: 

• If you click some internal links, it will reset the language to local language despite you changing the settings (phone with enabled cookies, Nokia N95)
• If you search mobile (that is how the feature is called), the keyword shortcuts don’t work
• In a lot of countries the local version is still launched with an older version
• I believe for the business side of things for Google, there is a very bad visibility of mobile advertising, I would personally place them higher for bigger efficiencies, but since it’s the beginning, no ads better then inefficient ads

Result: Product is not yet really mobilized, it searches primarily web pages, where Google crawlers are awsome (go Google!), and the pieces need to be structured in a different way in order to be ideal, but I would say - good start :-), let’s see what comes next.

This week I want to focus on Google mobile offering, and what Google launches in mobile phones. Next I will analyze Google Maps Mobile and other related Google Mobile services.

Tags: google, google mobile, google mobile search, mobile web