Sunday

Google exploring new search UI

No Comments November 18, 2007 | Permalink |  Print |

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Google has started a new unbranded search site called SearchMash, where it plans to test user interface ideas without Google’s brand somehow skewing the tests.

SearchMash uses the latest AJAX technology and allows you to perform a search and get Web and image results presented side by side. It’s similar to how A9 has long allowed side-by-side results.

When you click on “more web pages” it expands in place, giving you a longer scrollable page instead of rendering a new page and saves the time for another HTTP round trip in getting the next page. This paging technique which was used in earlier version of Microsoft Live Search (they have since changed back) is interesting but I suspect too big of a change for Google to just implement and risk turning people off. For power search users like me, I think it would be a welcomed change when it does get implemented on day.

Powerful as Google is, it will need to carefully and slowly innovate its user interface as competitors such as Ask.com and live search tried to catches up to Google and differentiate themselves by having radically different search user interface. At the end of the day, it was Google simple and elegant search interface that people loved and it now needs to balance the delicate act of keeping the winning formula whilst at the same time, innovate and change its search interface to keep the competitors at bay.

Go on, have a go at searchmash.com and let me know what you think !