Following a brief announcement yesterday, Yahoo has today launched their much anticipated ‘Search Pad’. The aim of this new technology is to make searching for multiple items easier, and in doing so grabbing some of Google’s massive user base.
Search pad allows users to save websites that they have visited so that once a search is complete they can easily return the first site they visited, very valuable if comparing prices of a specific, especially if you have visited a number of sites and discovered that the first page you visited held the cheapest price. Search Pad also allows users to make comments next to pages they have visited; this would be very useful when planning a trip, as you would be able to view a large number of different hotel’s websites and next to each one write all the good and bad points about it, allowing the user to make a more accurate decision about their travels. This is further added to as the Search Pad document can be saved and is assigned a unique URL which can be forwarded onto friends and family, who can then review the user’s choices and comments, and add their own opinions to the mix.
Yahoo expect Search Pad to “help you save time, share information easily, and make the hardest search research tasks more manageable”. After five minutes worth of experimenting with the Search Pad it looks like this statement may actually be fairly accurate, however only time will tell.
If the technology can withstand constant use and is updated regularly there is no reason why Yahoo’s new Search Pad will not be viewed as a positive innovation within the search engine market and is very capable of affecting peoples search engine choices.