Yahoo Launches Stand-alone Mobile Search App - heidrickwred1975

Yahoo beefed up its search offerings on Wednesday when it launched Axis of rotation, an HTML5-based browser app that delivers search results as page previews rather than as links.

Axis shortens the time it takes a drug user to grow from an initial inquiry to the desired result, whether it's finding a fact or making a reservation, aside about a third, according to Ethan Batraski, Rube's director of product direction for special projects.

Batraski explained that most search interfaces require a tierce-stair process — enquiry, results page and the elect result — which Axis has tried to concentrate to sensible cardinal.

"That's an archaic experience. IT's been the same for 12 to 15 years. We decided to get free of the middle step, because cypher real likes the wholesaler," Batraski said.

Dual Duty

The app is a browser as well as a search railway locomotive, with browse functions including direction arrows, an dea ginmill and bookmarking. A search query in Axis returns a set of sense modality page previews, rather than links with schoolbook summaries. Any organic content results, such as showtimes or sports scores, that would come out in a conventional Yahoo search also appear in Axis. Search results appear across the top of the screen, and the user rear end swipe left to presentation junior results without reloading.

Even after a user selects a given result, aside swiping downward, he or she seat call the search results choke crossways the top of the screen without leaving the selected Web page.

Users WHO lumber in with a Yahoo, Google Beaver State Facebook ID can save searches across their various devices. Axis also comes as a jade-in for virtually browsers thusly users can also run it on the screen background. A menu option allows for sharing through e-mail, Pinterest or Chitter. Yahoo will straighten Facebook sharing in the future, Batraski said.

Page previews could pose challenges of their possess on the small screen of a smartphone. But Batraski indicated that the visual results mean fewer "back and forth" trips 'tween the results listing and specific pages. When Batraski searched for "Adirondack president plans," for lesson, atomic number 2 could quickly see which pages included actual plans.

"I never suffer to look at a entitle-abstract URL once again. I can see what's behind it," he said.

Powered past Cocktails

Axis' search functionality is built with HTML5 and runs bump off Yahoo's "Cocktails" platform, which blends elements of Javascript, SQL (structured interrogation language) and HTML5.

Cocktail provides "apt caching," which is what allows Axis to wait on up so numerous images without significant delay, Batraski said.

Yahoo entered into a search partnership with Microsoft in 2010 in which it outsourced the back last of its search system to Microsoft. Yahoo has continued to work on the front end of the search experience, although it has struggled to retain its 14 percent commercialise share, according to comScore data. Axis will tweak the search algorithmic rule based on which results prove most useful for its users.

Bloc is debuting with keyword and image searches solely. Search results do non as yet include advertisements. The app is currently available for iPhone and iPad. An Android app will set up "soon," Batraski said.

Cameron Scott covers search, web services and privacy for The IDG News Service. Follow Cameron on Twitter at CScott_IDG.