Snack time with the new iGoogle for Android and iPhone
Thursday, June 11, 2009 | 8:55 PM
We like iGoogle because it lets us "snack" on interesting information all day long. We can read a little bit of news here and there, glance at finance portfolios, take a look at the weather forecast, and then do a Google search. It doesn't require a big commitment of time and energy — it's simply there for us whenever we need it. This kind of availability is even more important on a phone, where it can take a long time to surf. That's why iGoogle is so convenient on mobile devices. When you're waiting in line, you can check iGoogle on your phone for a quick "info snack" — even in areas with mediocre network coverage.
But speed isn't everything. Many of you have told us that you wanted to use more of your iGoogle gadgets on your phone. You wanted to see your tabs, too. We read your blog comments and forum posts and put your requests at the top of our to-do list.
Today, we're excited to roll out an improved beta version of iGoogle for the iPhone and Android-powered devices. This new version is faster and easier to use. It supports tabs as well as more of your favorite gadgets, including those built by third-party developers. Note that not all gadgets — like those with Flash — will work in mobile browsers.
One of our favorite new features is the in-line display of articles for feed-based gadgets. That means you can read article summaries without leaving the page. You can also rearrange gadget order or keep your favorite gadgets open for your next visit. None of these changes will mess up the layout of gadgets on your desktop computer, so feel free to play around and tune your mobile experience.
The new version of iGoogle for mobile is available in 38 languages. To try it out, go to igoogle.com in your mobile browser and tap "Try the new Mobile iGoogle!" Bookmark the page or make it your home page so you can return to it quickly. Finally, please fill out our survey by clicking on the "Tell us what you think" link at the top of the new home page. We'll continue to use your feedback to make iGoogle even better.
Update on 6/12 @ 8:35 AM: Video added. Check it out!
Labels: igoogle, Mobile Blog
21 comments:
Unknown said...
This is fantastic! I have a couple of gadgets developed for our customers (heap CRM and torch project management), and this move essentially gives them an additional mobile interface with no additional work on my part. Thank You!
June 11, 2009 at 10:17 PM
SRIRAMAN SRIDHARAN said...
This is amazing stuff from Google.Availability in 38 different languages will provide ease of access to all sort of people in the world. Hats off to Google!
June 11, 2009 at 10:26 PM
Rendell Weeks said...
Seems like constant innovation at Google. I do hope for Palm Pre support soon,
June 11, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Wally said...
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I missed you igoogle for iphone and android devices. It looks even better that the one that got canned.
June 12, 2009 at 5:12 AM
vmohar98 said...
You guys seem to be singling out iphone and android - but will the same thing work on Pre since Pre is based on the same Webkit?
I have iphone so does not matter to me - but just wondering if there is a strategy to single out iphone and android?
June 12, 2009 at 5:41 AM
Bill Henderson Design said...
Hot Damn!
I Love it!
It reminds me of the older one you scrapped and caught heat for.
Way to go, Google!
June 12, 2009 at 6:05 AM
Zack said...
Will this be supported with the new Palm Pre?
June 12, 2009 at 7:16 PM
Tom said...
Palm Pre, please.
June 13, 2009 at 6:22 AM
WisconsinPacific said...
Where's the Palm Pre love!?!?
June 13, 2009 at 7:40 AM
Raoul said...
June 14, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Raoul said...
Can Google please stop thinking for the user in choosing the language version??? Most users are quite capable of thinking for themselves. It's terribly annoying. It's impossible to find out how to change it in iGoogle (changing it in google.com won't help). Thanks!
June 14, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Unknown said...
What Raoul said: The lanugage thing is just getting messier and messier. iGoogle insists on being displayed in Norwegian for me, and there is NO way to change it - which means I can't access the new iGoogle ...
This mess is consistent along many Google products, like Tasks in Calendar (missing if I don't put my region to English), many Google Labs features in Gmail etc. etc.
Please take a look at this, it's becoming impossible to keep up.
June 16, 2009 at 1:08 AM
DanZ said...
Have you tried the Settings link?
June 16, 2009 at 4:39 PM
Unknown said...
i just noticed that they have an android onscreen keyboard but the scroll bar on the right side is the iphone scroll bar. wierd.
June 17, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Johnny Ren said...
Any plan to make it work on Blackberry?
June 17, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Zack said...
What phones will this work on? Only Android-operating devices similar to those offered by HTC?
June 17, 2009 at 1:23 PM
Unknown said...
Open it up to Palm Pre please.
June 17, 2009 at 11:23 PM
Unknown said...
looks good on G1 and the iPhone 3G. I was disappointed after upgrading the latter to 3.0 last night though as I was expecting the Latitude widget to retrieve my location.
Can we expect an update soon?
cheers
Yves
June 18, 2009 at 4:37 AM
NiqueK said...
Doesn't work on windows mobile PocketIE or Opera 8/9.
Sucks. Way to discriminate google!
June 18, 2009 at 9:29 AM
Unknown said...
sorry... what that last guy meant to say was: this looks awesome. really good work. and that he hopes it's coming to windows mobile as well. (incidentally I hope it's coming to windows mobile too.)
June 21, 2009 at 6:01 AM
Denny said...
Great work Dan, Zhen and all the folks at google mobile. A version for the Pre will make my world one step closer to perfect :)
June 21, 2009 at 10:29 AM
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