Google: Universal Search on Mobile Devices
July 31, 2008
My earlier post here about Google in South Africa contained a reference to universal search on mobile devices. I had two incoming messages asking about this functionality. One person asserted that universal search on a mobile device was not possible and that the South Africa source I cited was out to lunch. To offer some additional information, I would like to direct everyone’s attention to US20080183699, “Blending Mobile Search Results.” This patent document discloses an invention by Ning Hu and Vida U. Ha. You can snag a copy at the wonderful USPTO here. The abstract for this invention is:
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for blending mobile search results. A method includes receiving a search query and multiple search results. The search results each satisfy the search query and have a respective search result quality score. The search results include generic and mobile search results. The generic and mobile search results each identify a generic and mobile resource, respectively. The search result quality scores include mobile and generic search result quality scores for the mobile and generic search results, respectively. The mobile search result quality scores and the generic search result quality scores were generated according to different scoring formulas. Based on one or more terms in the search query, the search query is classified as a mobile query. As a consequence, one or more search result quality scores are modified to improve the sorting of search results that include both mobile and generic search results.
My reading of this patent document suggests that Google indeed has some Universal Search tools on its digital workbench.
Stephen Arnold, July 31, 2008
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5 Responses to “Google: Universal Search on Mobile Devices”
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[…] needed to locate information about this alleged Google function. You can read about what I learned here. I found SearchCloud.net–despite some start up rough edges–quite […]
Sounds like federated search for mobile phones.
[…] our attention to a recent patent filed by Google to “blend mobile search results.” The post doesn’t link to the patent, but does provide us with the […]
[…] our attention to a recent patent filed by Google to “blend mobile search results.” The post doesn’t link to the patent, but does provide us with the […]
Msearchgroove,
Nope, I don’t link to every patent document I cite. Two reasons: I sell Google Version 2.0 which contains the bibliographic data, and I post most Google documents on my Web site. The patents cited in Google Version 2.0 are supposed to be available only to buyers of the monograph. I’m all for Web logs, but I have to hold back some information to buy dog food and shotgun shells for my squirrel gun.
Stephen Arnold, August 4, 2008