Google Go‚ a new app that promises “a lighter‚ faster‚ way to search” has been launched to cater especially for Africans coming online with mobile phones as their primary and sometimes only internet device.
“Weak data connectivity‚ high data costs and low RAM or storage space often make it hard for people to get the most out of the internet — Google Go is built to handle these challenges‚” the company said in a statement.
“Users come to us to experience the web and access accurate information quickly. Unfortunately users can’t always decide on the type of device they have or the kind of connection they are on‚” commented Google Africa chief marketing officer‚ Mzamo Masito. “Google Go is designed from the ground up to address these issues and provide a seamless experience irrespective of what device or network the user is on.”
Taking up less than 5 MB‚ Google said the app is quick to download without using much data‚ and it takes up minimal space on your phone.
The benefits according to Google:
– It uses the latest version of Google’s advanced compression algorithm‚ using up to 40% less data to display search results.
– Search results are also cached on the device so you can quickly re-access previous searches‚ even when you’re offline‚ without incurring further data costs.
– When there’s no internet access‚ Google Go retries failed search requests in the background and lets you know as soon as the results are ready.
– Web pages load quickly‚ even in data-saving mode or on 2G connections.
– Voice search has been improved to work better on slow connections.
Google Go is available in 26 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa through the Google Play Store.
