Google Quick Search Box: 20 Cool Things You Didn’t Know Your Android Phone Could Do
The iPhone 3GS wowed the crowd with it’s new Spotlight search, which let’s you search apps, contacts, songs and web results with the flick of a finger, and Google answered in kind with it’s equally awesome Quick Search Box. The Google Android Quick Search Box (QSB) works much like Spotlight search but it has all the goodness of Google’s powerful built-in search features as well to give you instant information – all without opening a webpage.
This Quick Search Box works best in Android phones, like the Samsung Moment, HTC Droid Eris and T-Mobile G-1, but you can also get it for the iPhone (AT&T), BlackBerry, Nokia Phones, Windows Mobile Phones (like the Motorola Q and the HTC Touch Pro2) and other smartphones.
Here are a few tips and tricks for your Google Android Quick Search Box that you might not know about:
Dial by Voice
Don’t have a free hand? Just hit the microphone button and say “Call Annie Clark, mobile phone” and the call will be connected.
Find Pictures
Want to know what a blobfish look like? Type or say “Blobfish pictures” and Google Quick Search Box shows you the horror.
Weather with Android’s Quick Search Box
Should I wear a coat? Ask Android. Type in “weather” to get the forecast for your current location. Punch in weather plus a zipcode or city to get the weather for that particular location.
Local Businesses
Android’s Quick Search Box also spits out local business info on the fly. Simply type in a category of business (”Pittsburgh sandwiches”) and a location and you’ll get phone numbers, reviews, driving directions and more.
Unit Conversion with Android
Referencing a cookbook written in ye olde English? Convert units with Google Quick Search Box with ease: “4 liters in cups” or “4 lbs in kg.” It even have more obscure conversions, like furlongs and attoParsecs (really!).
Google Movie Times
Punch in “movies” to see what’s playing near you and when.
Sports Scores with Android
Want to sneak a peek at the scoreboard during the homily? Ask Android: “Pittsburgh Steelers.” (Steelers 6, Browns 13 – Rats!)
Flight Status with Google
Punch in the airline and flight number (”USAIR 735″) and find out if it’s on time, when it departed and when it arrived.
Google Dictionary Definitions
Type in “define pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis” or “define vorarephilia” and get all the answers you never asked for.
Time
Planning meets across time zones? Find out the local time by asking Google QSB “time San Francisco” or “Time Abu Dhabi.”
Stock Quotes with Google Search
How’s the retirement investment doing? Ask Android by typing in a stock ticker (”GOOG” or “X” or “DJI”).
Google Calculator
Figuring a tip or just completely forgot everything from 8th grade math? No worries – Google Quick Search box spits out equations instantly – just type it in with an equals sign (”22/7=”). It even does percentages (”12 percent of 400″).
Earthquakes by Google
Not sure how often you’ll use this one – but type in “earthquakes” and find out about the latest seismic activity around the globe.
Currency Conversion
The QSB converts currency in a jiffy (Type “100 USD in GBP”).
Fill in the Blank
Sometimes it’s hard to know what the right question is. Thanks to Google Search, you can just have it fill in the blank. Confused about lyrics? Try: “Excuse me while I kiss *.” Trying to remember an idiom? Try: “* hands are the * workshop.”
Track your Package
Got a tracking number for your UPS, Fedex or USPS package? Punch it in to Google (just the whole thing, nothing else) and find out where the heck it is.
Area Codes
This is great when you get calls from strange numbers. Just type in “202″ or “412″ and Google Search gives you the answer.
Zip Codes
Same goes for zip codes – punch in “61254″ or “90064″ and find out where the postal code originates from.
Google Mortgage Rates
Need to make a quick decision on a refinance? Type “mortgage rates” in Google Quick Search to compare mortgage rates from different lenders.
Public Data
Curious about the “population in California” or the national “unemployment rate”? Google knows, and it’ll cite the pertinent government source, too. Here are some other fun things to try (enter country or “world”):
- life expectancy
- electricity consumption
- C02 emissions
- energy use
- fertility rate
- exports as percentage of GDP
- GNI per capita in PPP dollars
- Gross Domestic Product
- Gross National Income in PPP dollars
- GDP deflator change
- imports as percentage of GDP
- population growth rate
- mortality rate, under 5
- military expenditure
- Internet users
Figured out something cool with Google Quick Search Box? Tell us about it in the comments!
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Tags: droid eris, Google, Google Android, windows mobile