Nifty New Mobile Search App
June 20, 2011
Mashable reports, “Mobile Search Startup Do@ Queries Apps Instead of the Web.” Is this the beginning of the end for AltaVista.com style search? Perhaps, especially as PCs go the way of the VCR.
Here’s how Do@ works:
[On one’s mobile device,] the user types in a keyword, subject or topic, including movies, music, foods, products and more. The app then recognizes what categories the keyword fits into. . . . Once you tap the query that fits your needs, Do@ loads your results, which will appear as mobile web apps from a carefully curated selection of the best publishers and app developers. You can quickly swipe from one app with relevant content to the next until you spot the exact tidbit of information or functionality you seek. In addition to predictable categories like movies, news, and shopping, Do@ is introducing some innovative classifications of their own, like @near.me and @play.online.
In my opinion, this type of system simplify the search process. Instead of wrestling with quotes, plus and minus signs, and exacting turns of phrase, you just type the most basic of subjects and select the appropriate realm. Very convenient. Both the article and the Do@ site contain a demonstration video that illustrates the process well.
My only concern: what will we lose as we move away from the (comparatively) free-flowing Web-wide search to a “curated” set of options?
Cynthia Murrell June 20, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
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Instead of wrestling with quotes, plus and minus signs, and exacting turns of phrase, you just type the most basic of subjects and select the appropriate realm. Very convenient. Both the article and the Do@ site contain a demonstration video that illustrates the process well.