My First iPhone app review: Google

I am packing - the movers come on Wed. this week - and planning a quick overseas trip shortly thereafter - so understandably there's been a bit of lag in my blog posts. But I needed a shoortm 10 min. break, so I thought I'd just post a quick mini-review of one of my favorite iPhone apps - the free Google Mobile App. Amazingly, this beautiful little gem gets low ratings and reviews on iTunes: mostly because people do not take the time to get to know it... Oh, well... so, here is a very short review - the same as a copy I posted / submitted on iTunes (BTW: i really like the ease of making iPhone screen captures!). Later, after the move and the trip, I plan to regularly review iPhone apps as part of this blog. So, here comes the first mini review:

>> My rating ***** (5 out of 5 stars)

Many people apparently did not take the time o get to know the Google Mobile App. It is deceivingly simple (like all things Google), yet makes searching for people (in your address book), websites, news, and Wikipedia entries a snap. The best feature is, that it always puts the entries from your own address book on TOP. This is in fact a much better solution than actually using the address book / contacts, which makes searching for contacts clunky (I can never hit the search loupe, which hides on top of all contacts; occasionally, I forget I am in a sub-folder, and it takes me a moment to realize why I am not finding what I am expecting to find). Here, just tap the Google app icon, and stat typing; your contacts jump right to top of the search. If you click on the little LOUPE icon left of the search field, it gives you the option of searching on iPhone and Web, Local, Images, News, Shopping, and also Wikipedia; what you choose is cleverly listed in the search field as a blue overlay (brilliant!). The choice is not sticky, so when you use GMA next time, it always searches iPhone and Web first, by default. As you type, suggestions appear as little buttons - choose / tap one, and you may still continue adding more, to refine your search.

Most importantly, it lets you search and type in a horizontal mode, which means that you get the bigger, horizontal keyboard to work with (Apple's original Contacts / Address Book cannot do that!). Also if you click on a search result, it will launch Safari - bear with it - and it will immediately rotate Safari into horizontal, easier to read, orientation.

It is a simple but BRILLIANT little app - it now sits on my dock (replaced Contacts, which got moved to the 2nd screen - I hardly use it directly anymore - this is so much faster!). It also provides a convenient jumping point to other Google Mobile apps - I particularly like the Notebook, which actually lets you not only read your Notebook entries, but also lets you create and save new Notebook entries online. Love it. OK - back to packing...