{"id":388456,"date":"2010-03-04T11:21:24","date_gmt":"2010-03-04T16:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=103458"},"modified":"2010-03-04T11:21:24","modified_gmt":"2010-03-04T16:21:24","slug":"google-gesture-search-is-great-%e2%80%94-if-you-can-get-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/388456","title":{"rendered":"Google Gesture Search Is Great \u2014 If You Can Get It"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Google launched a new application last night that enables users to search content on their handsets by drawing letters on the screen of their phones. But the app is another sign that users of older Android platforms are being left behind.<\/p>\n

Gesture Search is designed to minimize the number of actions necessary to find contacts, applications and files when voice search isn’t a good option. Users simply launch the app and draw letters on the screen with their fingers to pull up corresponding contacts or other information. I’ve been playing with Google Gesture Search this morning on the Motorola Droid, and it’s pretty nifty — it does a good job of recognizing letters and immediately returning the most relevant results, especially among contacts.<\/p>\n

Gesture recognition is another example of how touch — like voice — is becoming an increasingly important tool <\/a>for mobile users who for years were forced to deal with 12-key inputs or QWERTY keyboards. As Stacey noted a few weeks ago<\/a>, chip makers are recognizing the value of gesture recognition as a superior way to navigate today’s sophisticated handsets.<\/p>\n

But Gesture Search is available only in the U.S., and only to users running Android 2.0 or later, a version of the operating system that is only six months old. Which means that while owners of the Droid and Nexus One can use the app, devices running Android 1.5 or 1.6 — including the G1 or Sprint’s Hero — can’t access Gesture Search. Android updates often require the active participation of handset manufacturers and carriers, which may not be interested in pouring resources into handsets that are already on the market. So it’s up to Google to address older versions of the OS if its apps are to be broadly accessible on Android devices.<\/p>\n