Google Search

Search by Image breaks down source image into little blocks matched against Google’s vast content database

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could simply ask Google to analyze an image and return relevant results? Recently, I’ve been discussing this with my beer friends and we came away wishing a feature like that sooner than later. Before any of us could have dreamed of, however, Google at a San Francisco presser this morning took search to the next level with a science-fiction like enhancement. They call it Search by Image and that’s exactly what it does.

You simply drag an image and drop it on the search box to get matching results, just as if you manually typed in your query. Tapping Google’s advanced image recognition back-end, Search by Image works – and this is the cool bit – with offline images that Google has never touched and doesn’t have in its index.

On-stage demos were pretty impressive. One example included dropping a scenery image on the browser’s window, which returned a list of locations Google thought accurately represented what’s on the photo. Similarly  dropping a  logo returns the name of the associated company. There’s more…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t99BfDnBZcI&w=670&h=411]

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Google mobile search has been revamped for tablets, including Image Search shown above

Google this morning unveiled new search-related features during the Inside Search even at San Francisco where Amit Singhal and other engineers gave an under-the-hood look at Google search. The latest goodies include a revamped search interface that rolled out on mobile. Using Ajax, the new mobile search pulls local results right away. Moreover, query suggestions from your history now appear alongside your live suggestions from Google.

Another example included a search query for hotels in Russia. Typing “Hilton” returns a bunch of suggestion, each with the plus sign. This so-called query builder allows you to tap a suggestion you like in order to drill deeper. We’re just getting started. Go past the fold for more info and nice video tours…

Google Goggles translations are now available in Russian

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Google last week updated their mobile search page on Android and iOS devices with visual tweaks, including quick access to multiple searches via handy tabs, enlarged icons that provide an easier access to search silos and more. It looks like another face-lift has been recently rolled out. Now when you run a search at m.google.com, a small magnifying icon appears next to each item on the search results page. Tapping it takes you to full-screen so you can flip through big beautiful thumbnails one screen at a time. Each thumbnail is a live preview of what the site looks like and is accompanied by a shortened description that normally appears on the search page. It looks kinda cool, like a cross between Reader Play and Fast Flip.