Google Won't Bring Back the iPhone Version of iGoogle

Jan 22, 2009 - 5:41 am 1 by
Filed Under Misc Google

On Monday, we broke the news that Google dropped the iPhone version of iGoogle and it really really really update iPhone users. That being the case, I really thought Google would bring back the iPhone interface. It seems like I was wrong.

Google updated the Google Web Search Help thread saying that they want to keep one version of iGoogle mobile so they can concentrate "on a single version is that not all mobile browsers can handle the same content that the iPhone and Android can."

Here is the full post:

I want to let you know that the teams involved in this decision are aware of this thread and following along on the feedback. I'd like to address a few concerns I've seen posted:

The mobile version doesn't provide the same experience as the iPhone/Android version We know there are some differences between the two versions -- in fact I've been using iGoogle on the iPhone since the day it launched. One of the trade offs we know we're making with concentrating on a single version is that not all mobile browsers can handle the same content that the iPhone and Android can. The mobile team does want to hear any ideas you've got for mobile features; you can submit them to their ideas page: http://productideas.appspot.com/#16/e=cf

iGoogle on iPhone and Android The Android users who've popped in here are right; we're also redirecting Android phones to the mobile interface. The goal here is to provide an iGoogle page that's optimized for speed and reliability; this change wasn't made to cater to Android users.

The iPhone/Android version is still available from a desktop computer That's currently true; redirecting iPhone and Android users to the mobile iGoogle page was the first step in standardizing the experience. We're working on taking down the iPhone/Android version.

Some content has disappeared If some of your content isn't there now, that's probably because it isn't compatible with the mobile interface (for you technical folks, that's anything in an IFRAME). You can learn about what content from your list does work from this article in our Help Center: http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=96016

Finally, if there's a Google service that you used to access on the iPhone version of iGoogle that isn't offered in the mobile version, we may have an optimized version available. To see the list of optimized services, visit Google.com on your iPhone or Android phone and tap the 'More' link at the top of the page.

This response clearly doesn't sit well with most iPhone users.

Forum discussion continued at Google Web Search Help.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Follow

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: December 3, 2024

Dec 3, 2024 - 10:00 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google: Just Because You Call Yourself It, It Doesn't Mean You Will Rank For It

Dec 3, 2024 - 7:51 am
Google Ads

New Google Ads Customer Match For Google Analytics Audiences

Dec 3, 2024 - 7:41 am
Google

Google Search YouTube Summary Pilot: Quick Takes & Key Takeaways

Dec 3, 2024 - 7:31 am
Google

Google Tests Underline Title, Link & Domain On Hover In Search Results

Dec 3, 2024 - 7:21 am
Google

Google Gemini Testing New & Improved Link Sources

Dec 3, 2024 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: Google Images January 2009 Update