Google Brings Instant Preview to Android

Instant Preview gives you the option of checking out a website before you click through to it.  The advantage is quicker searches; you don’t have to waste time if you discover the site didn’t quite fit your needs.  Google is bringing this popular feature to their Android and iOS devices.  Instant Preview is now on the go.

On a desktop or laptop, you can hover your mouse over the magnifying icon that appears next to search results.  The mobile version features the same icon; you can’t hover with a touchscreen, but you will be able to click the magnifying glass to take a look at the preview.  This option is available for devices with Android 2.2 and higher and iOS 4.0 and higher.

One difference between the desktop and mobile versions of Instant Preview is that mobile users can browse through a variety of previews at the same time with the horizontal scroll bar.  According to Google’s blog post about the feature, “Perhaps you’re looking for an article, a step-by-step instructions list, or a product comparison chart – with Instant Previews, you can easily spot pages with the right content without having to navigate back and forth between websites and search results.”

To use this feature, you simply have to click on the icon.  The Instant Preview appears on a screen; you can go with that website, or you can scroll through others with a flick of the finger.  A brief description of the page appears under the image of the website. When you see the type of content you want, simply click through.

The feature shaves time off of searches by allowing searchers a glimpse of the page before they commit.  It also complements the ability to visually see the right type of content layout without actually having to read the text.  This is a very helpful feature for those on the go.