Yahoo launched two new mobile search applications. The first application is a Sketch-a-search and the second one is the Yahoo Search iPhone application.
Sketch-a-search allows users to simply draw a ring around an area on a map where you can then find local businesses in that particular area.
Yahoo’s Ariel Seidman said,
“What do you do when you’re looking for a restaurant in a certain area or section of town, and you don’t know the name of the neighborhood, or even its ZIP code? Now with the Sketch-a-Search app, you can draw a circle around the general area on the map — around the San Francisco waterfront, let’s say — and voilà, restaurants appear. If you click on the restaurant results, you can read reviews, browse photos, and check prices, and lots more. You can also refine your sketch search by types of cuisine, ambiance, or ratings to find a place that best matches what you are looking for. Today, you can find restaurants across the United States; we plan to launch additional local categories on an ongoing basis and extend to international markets in the near future.”
The Yahoo Search application for iPhone integrates voice search, embedded maps and information from Yahoo Finance, Movies, News and other sources that appear directly in the results.
“Since mobile searchers tend to ping-pong back and forth between map applications and search, we’ve integrated maps into the app to simplify the experience,” said Seidman. “The app also allows you to customize the local maps experience: Want to see more map and fewer local results? More results and fewer maps? It’s totally up to you. Until now, neither the search engine nor the map gave consumers exactly the experience they’re looking for. Our new app is pretty nifty — give it a try and you will know what we mean.”
Users can download both applications for free in Apple’s App store.