Leading Internet Search Engine Now Optimized for WAP-Ready Mobile Phones and Palm Computing Handheld Users
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – April 27, 2000 – Google Inc., one of the fastest growing search engines on the web, today announced the beta availability of a new version of its award-winning search engine optimized for wireless phone and handheld computer users. Available now, users of WAP mobile telephones and Palm handhelds connected to a wireless modem can now search the web using Google while on the go.
This innovative wireless technology marks the availability of the first search engine that brings the entire World Wide Web to mobile devices. With less than 1 percent of websites available in Wireless Markup Language (WML), Google offers mobile users the ability to view and browse traditional HTML websites.
"Users who are stranded without desktop access to the Internet can now use Google and an Internet-ready mobile device to find and view any website on the Net," said Larry Page, Google CEO and co-founder. "Our primary goal is to bring Google technology to web users all over the world, regardless of the device they use to connect to the Internet."
Key Features and Benefits
Unlike other search engines that index only web pages that are available in WML, Google brings more than 500 million web pages to the palm of a user’s hand. When a wireless user requests a traditional HTML page, Google’s innovative technology translates the requested HTML document on the fly into WML.
Sample Search Queries
By entering the search term, "Apple," a mobile user accessing Google from a WAP phone will immediately see a search results page with a link to Apple Computer’s home page at the top. A user who searches for "car racing school" can quickly learn that a three-day racing course costs $2,595 at the Skip Barber Racing School. Alternatively, a user accessing Google with a wireless Palm device can search for "austin dentist," which will return a search results page that links to a variety of websites containing contact information for dentists based in Austin, Texas.
Support for a Wide Variety of Mobile Devices
Interested users can type "Google" into their WAP microbrowser, or can enter www.google.com. Palm users can visit www.google.com/palm to access this special wireless version of Google. Although still in beta, mobile web surfers will have complete access to the Google search engine, including an easy-to-use interface, quick loading pages, and highly relevant search results. Google supports access by any common Internet-ready mobile device and microbrowser.
About Google Inc.
Google Inc. exists to provide the best Internet search experience, and accomplishes this for millions of users daily by delivering a powerful, fast, and easy-to-use search service for finding the most relevant information. Google has received numerous industry awards for its technological innovations, including "Best Search Engine on the Internet" from Yahoo! Internet Life. Google recently was ranked No. 1 in user satisfaction and loyalty in a leading independent research firm’s Search & Portal Site Tracking Study, with 97 percent of users surveyed indicating they would recommend Google to a friend. A growing number of companies, including Netscape and The Washington Post, rely on Google to power search on their websites. A privately held company based in Mountain View, Calif., Google’s investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital. For the information you need, visit www.google.com.
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Google is a trademark of Google, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.
