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Google launched Gesture Search in March and the tool has proven pretty useful for people who want to search by tracing letters on an Android smartphone.
Gesture Search 1.2 launched Aug. 11 with a potentially useful but really silly looking feature called the “double flip.”
Users of Gesture Search can flip their phone over and back to start the Gesture Search app, a Google Labs experiment. This gestures obviates the need to trigger Gesture Search from a home screen shortcut.
In what may be Google’s shortest product demo ever, the new activation gesture can be seen in this 9-second clip on YouTube:
In short, it’s all about efficiency. But it is really weird to look at. Imagine riding in a cab through New York City streets and looking out and seeing people flipping their phones over and back.
But I guess with all the motion sensors and accelerometers being loaded onto Android, iPhone and other smartphones these days, it makes sense to utilize the tools for something other than gaming.
Let’s hope “double flip” Gesture Search is not a staple of Google’s mobile news event later this afternoon. Or maybe it will be fun, with Vic Gundotra and other Google mobile execs all flipping their Nexus One, Evo 4G, Incredible and Droid X units.
To try it, users must have a handset running Android 1.6 or newer OS flavor.
Users must download Gesture Search from the Android Market, or scan the QR code (also a downloadable app from Android Market). Users may turn the feature on or adjust its sensitivity in Settings.
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