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It has proven to be a monumental banner year for Google. It’s hard to believe that one year ago, things such as Google+ and the now all-familiar +1 button were nonexistent. The company has come far from being just a search engine. For some, it is an office suite, email service, music player, social network, and much, much more. We’re not exaggerating when we write “Google Nails 2011.”
This year, Google underwent some major changes, both internally and externally. Some old faces returned, such as current CEO Larry Page, and some interfaces went away, as we saw when the new Gmail appeared. The company acquired dozens of startups, made some significant environmentally-friendly investments and faced a couple of antitrust issues.
Google’s first acquisition of 2011 was eBook Technologies, a company that focused on hardware and software distribution of e-books and e-readers. In the same month, Google also acquired SayNow, a telephony startup.
It was announced in January that Larry Page, Google’s first CEO from 1998 to 2001, would replace Eric Schmidt as head of the company, effective April 4. Schmidt would then take on the role of executive chairman.
In 2010, Google attempted to buy Groupon, but was rejected. Instead, the search giant launched its own service, Google Offers.
Google Gmail for the iPhone may have had just an hour or two in the sunlight before Google pulled it, but that was more than enough time for people to decide they hated it. The dislike didn’t discriminate. Users hated the feel, the lack of functionality (only one Gmail account?!) and the buginess. For me, though, I couldn’t stand the look of the thing. So stark, boxy and cold.
Google will solve the feature and bug issues and soon enough the Gmail app will be back on iOS devices. What Google is unlikely to change, though, is the design. Black, white and boring. What happened to Google’s signature use of color, its sense of impish fun? Its name is literally built out of five, bright primary colors. This is the company that regularly brings us wonderfully imaginative Google Doodle logos— which all do wild things with that simple, yet attractive logo. It’s the same company that has some of the most entertaining corporate offices I have ever seen (I took a tour, I know).
Yet, something is happening in the halls of Google. Google’s new design language has, essentially, two words: black and white.
It’s not just this new HTML5-based Gmail that is awash in two-tone colors or that brings sharp edges to Apple’s always curved world. I’m reading Steve Jobs’s biography right now and learned that he hated — HATED — corners. Everything had to be curved. He was obsessed with chamfers. Take a look at your iPhone or iPad and you’ll see that design sensibility. Google, though, is going the other way.
Gmail for the iPhone is all hard lines of black, white and gray. There are thin lines and black bars. The icons are simply reverses on their black backgrounds.There’s just a tiny bit of color and impishness in there, like the use of a 3.5-inch floppy icon for “Save.” Otherwise, it’s the culmination of a trend that’s been running through all of Google’s products for months and accelerating in recent days. The new Google Reader, for example, is white, with gray accents and black type. It’s more open than the old version, but somehow less friendly and inviting.
This week, Google also waved the magic wand of starkness over Gmail for the desktop. No more color, no more bounding boxes. It’s super stark and seems ready to slide apart. If I were making it into a game, I’d put it on a tablet and use the accelerometer to judge just how flat you’re holding the screen. If it tips one way or the other, part of Gmail’s interface simply slides off. Google News was probably the first of Google’s many services to get the decolorization makeover. It used to look a tiny bit like a newspaper layout, but no more. Google Apps are no better. The menu bar in Google+ is pretty much the same. Icons are gray, the discussions float in a sea of white and gray lines. When I do see a colorful icon in any of Google’s products I’m now tempted to throw it a lifeline.
Seriously, who is Google’s interface designer these days, and why has he decided to drain all the fun and life out of every single Google product? Some might argue that this is a return to Google’s roots. Its homepage is still essentially just its logo, a search box and an “I’m Feeling Lucky” search option. I’ve always appreciated that Google didn’t junk that up, but I have grown accustomed to Google’s different looks within its standalone apps and services. Now someone is cracking the whip and shoving them all into monochromatic shape.
It’s not attractive and I’d like it to stop.
If you use Gmail, Google Reader, Google+, Google Search, Google Maps — indeed, just about any Google product — you’ve likely become familiar with that black strip across the top of the screen with links to the company’s other services. Google introduced it back in June. Opinions have varied ever since, but many of us have gone with: what on Earth is that ugly thing?
Wonder no longer, because the black bar is going away. In a blog post Wednesday, Google announced it would be replaced with a pop-up that appears when you mouse over the Google logo. There will also be a smaller, less obtrusive light grey bar dominated by a search box.
“Instead of the horizontal black bar at the top of the page, you’ll now find links to your services in a new drop-down Google menu nested under the Google logo,” writes technical lead Eddie Kessler — whose Google profile identifies him as a “cat herder” — in an official announcement blog post. “We’ll show you a list of links and you can access additional services by hovering over the “More” link at the bottom of the list. Click on what you want, and you’re off.”
Kessler describes the new setup as “the next stage in our redesign.” What remains unclear is why Google’s redesign had to go through a “black bar” phase in its evolution in the first place. This is, perhaps, best seen as an illustration of something we’ve pointed out before: that Google’s entire design aesthetic is uninspired and haphazard. We’re still waiting for the company to find its Jonathan Ive of web design.
Google‘s proliferation of the +1 button continued Wednesday as the company added the feature to image searches.
The button, which was introduced in March as an answer to Facebook’s “Like,” is equivalent to a stamp of approval from Google users. Over the past few months, +1s have appeared next to news articles, on websites and even in ads.
Why images? In Google’s Inside Search blog, Xiaorui Gan, a software engineer at the company, describes the following scenario: “Let’s say you’re looking to summit Mount Kilimanjaro and want to inspire a few of your climbing buddies to join you. You search for [mount kilimanjaro summit] and switch to Images mode to find rows and rows of photos testifying that this peak can indeed be conquered. By hovering over one of the images, you can quickly recommend this photo to your friends by clicking the +1 button.” Soon, she continues, you’ll be able to see which photos in your search results they recommended as well.
While that seems like a contrived example, Google is clearly keen on integrating photos into its social media options. Earlier this month, Google began letting users +1 photos that appear in Google+ as well.
Meanwhile, in a test of Google’s Image Search, we were able to +1 an image, but our +1 didn’t show up in searches yet. Perhaps Google is still working out the kinks for this feature.
What do you think? Do you long to +1 images you like or do you think this is a superfluous feature? Let us know in the comments.
Android owners looking for a fully-integrated response to Apple’s Siri will have to wait a little longer.
Google announced on Tuesday that it acquired a company called Clever Sense, the maker of the appAlfred, which serves as a digital personal assistant. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Teppanguru confirmed with Google that the Alfred app does not have voice-command capabilities. Similar to Siri, he does search the Internet and provide users with recommendations from restaurant suggestions to bar and nightlife options. Alfred also learns user preferences and tastes over time to make more targeted recommendations.
But Siri does that already, and can also answer questions about the weather, news and directions. It’s unclear whether Alfred can catch up.
Also unclear: whether Alfred was named after Bruce Wayne’s confidant and butler in Batman. Clever Sensehas said it originally picked out the name Seymour for the app.
“Today, we are excited to join Google and start a new chapter in curating the world around us,” Clever Sense said in a statement. “Together with the Google team, we will accelerate our efforts toward this shared vision. Google helps local businesses connect with potential customers, and its worldwide presence can bring the value of Clever Sense to a much larger audience.”
“Discovering local information is extremely important to both users and businesses, and the acquisition of Clever Sense will benefit both,” the company added.
Google isn’t yet poised to fully take on Siri, but Alfred is a step in the right direction. There’s a good chance Google has voice-recognition software in the works for Android — in which case, Alfred could well be the shell they put around it.
