Got a tip for us? Share it...
• • RSS

Yahoo! Launches Search and 'Sketch-a-Search' Apps for iPhone

Tuesday March 23, 2010 7:33 am PDT by Eric Slivka
Yahoo! today announced the release of two new applications for the iPhone and iPod touch, offering new tools to assist users with searches while on the go.


Yahoo! Search

The first application, Yahoo! Search, is a standard search application offering voice search, local results, maps, and personalized results.

Maximized for speed, the Yahoo! Search iPhone app revolves around an innovative interface that delivers contextually relevant results quickly and efficiently. A bevy of features -- tightly embedded maps, localized query suggestions that display as you type, intelligent search history, voice search, and rich content and information from Yahoo! and other sources that appear directly in the results -- creates an optimal experience for finding exactly what you need.

Yahoo! Search is currently available in 22 countries, with more on the way.


Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search

The second application, Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search is a simple yet creative map-based application for finding local businesses. Users can simply draw a circle around a geographic area with their finger and see businesses within their specified region.

Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search makes search even easier, without typing keywords or thinking about search terms. You simply draw a boundary on your phone's map to discover local businesses within that location. Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search delivers robust local content without people needing to know the neighborhood.

At launch, Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search is available only in the U.S. and covers only restaurants, but additional business categories and localizations are reportedly coming soon.
[ 20 comments ]

Top Rated Comments

(View all)

Avatar
andylyon
Posted: 28 months ago
I'll definitely be trying out the search app!
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
djpaetkau
Posted: 28 months ago
Maybe it's just me, but it's pretty annoying that these apps are different things when they're both search apps. I love the sketch-to-search idea, but does it really need a separate app? Personally, if I want to look for things, I want do it all in one place, not crowd my phone with separate apps for every disparate type of searching. Why not allow me to do a voice search for a restaurant, then allow me to narrow down results (or expand them) by selecting the area i want to search in.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
mattwolfmatt
Posted: 28 months ago
Sketch to search is a great idea. Much better than what i thought when I read the title: you draw something on your iphone and yahoo searches for the item you drew. This is much better.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
nagromme
Posted: 28 months ago
Instead of a loop, I’d like to be able to just “paint” a broad stroke with a finger and see businesses under my finger pop up.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
pmz
Posted: 28 months ago
Apple has really missed the boat with Sketch/Search feature. Would be infinitely useful inside Google Maps.

Guess we need an app for it.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
mattwolfmatt
Posted: 28 months ago
As far as I can tell, the "search to sketch" app is not for local businesses, it is for local restaurants only. I cannot find a way to search for non-restaurant businesses.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
MacFly123
Posted: 28 months ago

Apple has really missed the boat with Sketch/Search feature. Would be infinitely useful inside Google Maps.

Guess we need an app for it.


Sketch to search is a great idea. Much better than what i thought when I read the title: you draw something on your iphone and yahoo searches for the item you drew. This is much better.


Ya, I like the sound of that a lot. Good job Yahoo! :)
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
flash144
Posted: 28 months ago

As far as I can tell, the "search to sketch" app is not for local businesses, it is for local restaurants only. I cannot find a way to search for non-restaurant businesses.



Not to be too mean ;p, but re-read the last few sentences of the story again.

Here 'tis, so you don't have to scroll back up:

At launch, Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search is available only in the U.S. and covers only restaurants, but additional business categories and localizations are reportedly coming soon.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
vjl323
Posted: 28 months ago
On the Avatar and the Slanted Door screenshot - what is that icon on the menubar near the battery icon? Looks like a keyboard and a phone handset. On the Avatar screenshot it is between the alarm clock and bluetooth icon. I don't think I've ever seen it before.

TIA,

/vjl/
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
wackymacky
Posted: 28 months ago
So, in the search-a-sketch App;

When they include other biasness, if you circle a small area in, say NY city, 200+ listing will pop up, which you then need to sift though, or you’ll restrict the search to begin with.

Seems more like a gimmick than really a useful concept.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives

[ Read All Comments ]