New updates to Google.com for the iPhone

Unless you're living on a deserted island -- and maybe even if you are -- you know about Apple's 3G iPhone and App Store launch last week. Hopefully you know about the Google Mobile App that we launched last week, as well. And some of you may have noticed that we also released a new version of Google.com for the iPhone and iPod touch.

At Google, improving the speed of our applications and user experience is a top priority. The new Google.com for the iPhone browser now loads twice as fast as before -- and not just over 3G or Wi-Fi but also EDGE. We've optimized the page for fast searching, while still providing easy access to other Google applications including Gmail, Calendar, Reader, and many others under the More tab. We also improved the user interface so that there's more room on the page for search results. Take a look at the screen shot below to see how we've eliminated wasted space.

Also, when you click on a search result, the destination web site now opens in the same browser window that you conducted your search with. This means that you can instantly return to your search results or the Google home page by simply pressing the back button of your browser.

Finally, you can now access any of the application tabs directly by adding them to your iPhone Home Screen. We've created cool new icons for all the applications. Simply go to www.google.com in your browser, tap on any of the application tabs, click the "+" button, and select "Add to Home Screen." The icons will appear on your iPhone Home Screen allowing you to go directly to the application with a tap of your finger. Collect the whole set!

The new version of Google.com works on your 3G iPhone as well as the original iPhone and iPod touch. If you use Google Apps, you can also access this new version by going to www.google.com/m/a/your-domain.com, where "your-domain.com" is replaced with your actual domain name.

Posted by Steve Kanefsky, Software Engineer, Google mobile teamAny source