Google's New Search Interface Disables Many Shortcuts

With the latest redesign of the search results pages, Google made it more difficult to use most of the keyboard shortcuts that allowed you to quickly select a result or see a small preview.

Until now, you could type your query, press Enter to hide the list of suggestions and press Enter once again to go to the first result. If you didn't like the first result, you could press the down arrow to select the second result. Google also included a keyboard shortcut for Instant Previews: the right arrow. None of these shortcuts are available in the latest interface, at least not by default. Now you need to press Tab after performing a search to enable the old keyboard shortcuts.

Here's a search results page after typing a query (notice that there's no arrow next to the first result):


Here's what happens when you press Tab (you can use the up/down arrows, but the shortcut for Instant Previews no longer works):


Google probably disabled these features because not many people used them and a lot of users complained that the shortcuts made navigation more difficult. Power users need to learn that Tab enables keyboard shortcuts, but having to enable the feature every time you use Google Search is annoying. After all, shortcuts were supposed to make your life easier and help you be more productive.

Google Instant shortcuts are still available. You can continue to use the up/down arrows to select a different search suggestion, the right arrow to visit the first result for the search suggestion, Tab to use Google's suggestion and continue to type your query, Esc to select the query so you can quickly overwrite it.

{ via Google Search Help Forum }

New Interface for Google Instant Previews

Google tweaked the UI for Instant Previews and made the search interface a lot cleaner. There's a new large icon for Instant Previews, but it's only displayed when you mouse over a snippet. Click the new icon or only hover over the gray bar and you'll see a much bigger screenshot.


"Instant Previews have been around since last year, allowing you to click on the magnifying glass to the right of the result to see a visual overview of a page. Now these previews are no longer even a click away: if you move your mouse over a search result, arrows will appear. Hover over them to see a visual preview of that result," explains Google.

Clicking the snippet no longer triggers an Instant Preview in the new interface. Unfortunately, the keyboard shortcut has been disabled, so you can longer get a glimpse of the page using the right arrow.

Google now repeats the title of the page and the URL next to the screenshot, while the links to the cached page and to other similar pages are included in the new enlarged snippet. It's a bad news for those who frequently use the "cache" link, who now have to spend more time to find it.

The only action that's still displayed is the Google +1 button, but you need to log in to see it. Probably Google wanted to emphasize the button, which is now placed next to the URL.

Here's the old interface:

Body Browser, No Longer a Google Service

One of the coolest apps launched by Google last year will have a new owner. Google Body Browser was a great way to show the power of WebGL, but it was also a useful app for exploring the human body. Body Browser will continue to exist, but it will be owned by Zygote Media Group.

As Google Labs winds down, we will be retiring Google Body. However, you will soon be able to find its functionality elsewhere. We are working on open-sourcing the code that powers Google Body so that anyone will be able to create and run a searchable 3D viewer. We are also working with our partner, Zygote Media Group, on an application called Zygote Body. This application will be free, available on the web and on Android, and will enable students, teachers, and others using Google Body to continue to have access to a human anatomy browser.

Google Wallet

Google found an interesting way to launch the Google Wallet app for Android: as an over-the-air update for Sprint Nexus S 4G phones. Google Wallet makes use of the NFC chip from Nexus S phones and allows you to make credit card payments at physical stores using your Android smartphone.

"Google Wallet enables you to pay with your Citi MasterCard credit card and the Google Prepaid Card, which can be funded with any of your existing plastic credit cards. As a thanks to early adopters, we're adding a $10 free bonus to the Google Prepaid Card if you set it up in Google Wallet before the end of the year," informs Google. The Google Prepaid Card is powered by MasterCard and Money Network and it's a temporary solution until you can add credit cards from other companies. Google says that the application could add support for Visa, Discover and American Express cards in the future.

Google Wallet is more than a contactless payment solution: it's a virtual wallet that could store information about your credit cards, coupons, loyalty cards, gift cards, tickets and much more. It's also a great opportunity for Google to integrate Google Offers and make it easier to use by allowing consumers to pay, redeem offers and earn loyalty points in a single step using their mobile phone. Google says that it doesn't have access to the list of products you buy, but this feature could be added in the future.

While Google Wallet seems to be a convenient solution, many people might not use it because of privacy or security reasons. Google says that the payment credentials are stored in a separate chip called Secure Element and only authorized programs can initiate transitions. Google Wallet users need to enter the PIN to confirm a payment, so someone who finds an Android phone can't use the app because he doesn't know the code.

Google's vision is to create "an open commerce ecosystem" that will support many payment instruments, APIs that enable adding loyalty points, transferring offers, receipts and more. Google Wallet is Google Checkout's extension to offline payments and it's a big opportunity for Google to create a successful payment system. PayPal will soon offer a similar service and Apple's iPhone 5 could include a NFC chip, so Google Wallet will have some competition.

Google+ for Everyone

Three months after the launch, Google+ no longer requires invitation and it's available to anyone who has a Google account. "For the past 12 weeks we've been in field trial, and during that time we've listened and learned a great deal. We're nowhere near done, but with the improvements we've made so far we're ready to move from field trial to beta," informs Google.

The service has improved a lot, more quickly than any other Google product ever released. After announcing the public data APIs, Google added support for Hangouts in the Android app and added the option to broadcast a Hangout, but only for a small number of users. "We're starting with a limited number of broadcasters, but any member of the Google+ community can tune in. In fact: we'll be hosting our very first On Air hangout with will.i.am on Wednesday night, September 21. For more information visit will.i.am's profile on Google+."


Hangout has many other features you can preview by clicking "Try Hangouts with extras": screensharing, sketchpad, Google Docs integration and named hangouts "for when you want to join or create a public hangout about a certain topic".


The search box is now more useful because you can use it to find posts from your friends and from other Google+ users. Google also lets you restrict your results to people and save your search.


Google doesn't disclose the number of Google+ users, but a Comscore report from August estimated that "in just one month, Google+ has captured 25 million visitors". It's likely that Google+ has a lot more users today and the number will grow, now that the service no longer requires invitation. Google+ is the first social service launched by Google that's actually successful.