Google Go goes global

The stripped-down version of Google’s mobile search engine is now available on all Android phones.

Google Go describes itself as ‘a lighter, faster way to search, with search results optimised to save up to 40% data.’ The reason you might want such an alternative is that you have a rubbish mobile data service and/or a low-specced phone that struggles to support full-fat Google. The app also supports things like voice UI, text-to-speech and translation.

“Google Go helps you use less storage on your device and keeps an unreliable connection from slowing you down,” announced Google Go Product Manager Bibo Xu on a blog post. “At just over 7MB, Google Go helps make sure your phone stays speedy when you’re traversing the web.

“It also puts web versions of your favourite apps at your fingertips, giving you the option of downloading fewer apps on your phone. And if you lose connectivity when you using Google Go, it will remember your place and even retrieve your search results for you once you’re back online.”

The Silicon Valley giants have had their eye on ‘the next billion users’ for some time, certainly ever since it became clear that western markets for their products and services had become saturated. Facebook is constantly trying to find ways to get people in developing regions onto its platform and Google Go feels like a similar initiative.