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While Google might be one of the big competitors that Microsoft is coming up against with the release of Windows 8, that hasn’t stopped the search giant from trying to keep services available to users of the new OS. Chrome was the first non-Internet Explorer 10 to get even limited support as a Metro browser alternative and now Google Search has been added to the catalogue.
The Metro version of Chrome is disappointing in a lot of ways. It almost completely ignores the interface conventions and leaves users with basically a full screen version of the desktop browser. The Google Search app gives us some hope that this will eventually be remedied.
As you would expect, this is basically just a portal to Google’s web page. You run a search through the familiar text box and get the same results you would any other time. In some ways it might even be a disadvantage since you are left without the option to add on any sort of adblocking software. The execution is what makes it all worth using.
In addition to the basic functionality, Google Search takes full advantage of the Metro interface. The Charm Bar’s search function can be used to initiate a Google search from anywhere now (possible through Chrome already, but in new tab rather than separate instance). The App Bar is also used now, instead of a desktop style pop-up menu. It offers users the chance to review their search history, activate Voice Search, and Instant Previews.
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Voice Search is fairly self-explanatory. You speak, Google finds. Anybody familiar with their mobile app is already going to have a firm grasp on the concept.
Instant Previews are nice because they provide a tiled, scrollable set of cached images allowing the user to find what they’re looking for. While probably not the most useful thing that has ever been added to a Google product, it does make certain types of searching quite simple.
The app also allows convenient access to Google’s applications. Gmail, Google+, YouTube and more are all just a click away. Since there is not yet an official app for Google Maps, this is probably the best way to pull it off.
For now Google Search is restricted to Windows 8 devices. Windows RT does not have the ability to take advantage of it. Presumably this is because of the lock-down in browser functions for the RT side of things that has prevented anybody from offering an IE10 alternative for those devices so far. Eventually it is likely that we’ll be seeing an update to make this all-inclusive, but in the meantime at least half the ecosystem is covered.
Will this signal a change in Google Chrome that makes it fit in better with the new Windows 8 aesthetic? That’s hard to say. There are still many people who prefer to use Chrome specifically because they aren’t trying to work seamlessly with the rest of the interface and those people would be quite disappointed to lose their only option. Hopefully that will not stop Google from making progress toward a less jarring presentation for their browsing.
