Today, the first day of Macworld, Google announced new improvements to the integrated Google experience on iPhone. The previous version, launched just over a month ago, brought together our suite of web applications -- including Search, Gmail, Calendar, Reader, and more -- into one easy-to-use interface. Since then, we've streamlined the interface even further, making the applications faster and improving their usability. Some of the improvements announced today include:
- Improved UI: The applications look and feel slicker, and they are easier to activate, navigate and use via a touch-screen.
- Customization of default tabs: Now Google users can have easy access to their favorite applications by customizing the applications that appear on the Google.com menu bar. Users simply choose their favorite Google applications to bring them to the front menu, ensuring that they'll be close at hand whenever they're needed. Switching between applications is effortless, as users only need to sign in once to access their Gmail, Calendar, Reader, Docs, and Picasa accounts.
- Speedier Gmail: New emails will automatically show up so there's no need to manually refresh inboxes. And the new auto-complete feature for contacts makes composing emails faster than ever.
- Speedier Calendar: With our new month view, users can glance at an entire month of appointments.
iGoogle: Now Google users can access their iGoogle gadgets on the iPhone. Everything they've customized on their iGoogle homepage including weather, stocks, and news feeds now appear on their iPhones. To go to iGoogle, simply click on the iGoogle link on the Home tab. You can customize your iGoogle page on your computer at www.igoogle.com.
The iGoogle stuff isn't as interesting to me on the iPhone as the new Google mobile interface, largely because it just doesn't look as attractive in a single narrow column. Still, its interesting to see this advance so quickly.
