Yahoo intros Search Direct, takes on Google Instant with insular effect

Remember Google Instant ? Now, Yahoo’s got something like that — it’s called Search Direct — and like Instant, it consists of a search box that quickly and automatically suggests results as you type. Unlike Instant, though, it won’t update the entire results page to reflect the outcome of your potential search, but rather just the enlarged search box you see immediately above, providing up to ten suggested queries and three suggested results — making it a little bit speedier (we were able to use it on our 3G phone connection quite easily) but also fairly limited in comparison. It’s also a bit… ahem… self-serving , as any search that happens to include the same letters as one of Yahoo’s own services will promote them above all others in the results — in fact, only five letters of the alphabet presently bring up anything but a Yahoo website as the first result when typed in solo. I = iTunes J = Jennifer Lopez Q = QVC X = Xbox 360 Z = Zsa Zsa Gabor Some of the improved functionality is pretty useful, though, as that Xbox query will instantly bring up prices for the console, and you can type in “movies” or “weather” and your zip code to immediately plan your night out. (“Restaurants” and “food” don’t work, though.) Anyhow, Search Direct is in beta. Why not give it a go? Continue reading Yahoo intros Search Direct, takes on Google Instant with insular effect Yahoo intros Search Direct, takes on Google Instant with insular effect originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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