Using Context to Improve Mobile Search Results

The folks over at mad4mobilephones have posted an interesting look at a Google Phone patent that suggests Google could use a phone's location to determine relevant search results for the phone user. This could allow users to search for general terms like [restaurants] that would generate very generic results on a typical web search but could generate very relevant results when tied to a phone's location. That's basically what GPS systems do today.

mad4mobilephones thinks this will go two steps further by factors time of day and personalization into the equation:

Patent: Google Phone knows what you want before you search

"This patent is truly groundbreaking in what the application could do. Imagine that you are planning a night out in London. At 6pm Google could predict you are looking for a restaurant and, given your history of looking for directions to Chinese restaurants every week, would select an array of suitable places for you to eat.

At 9pm you would turn your phone on again and Google would know you wanted bars near the restaurant. At 11pm Google again predicts you need a list of local taxi firms."

That certainly has the potential to improve relevancy.

If the system was REALLY smart, it would know what to do with a search like this from me around 11pm on a Friday:

tom cruz top gnu nam

Where I'm trying to remember Tom Cruise's character's name in the movie Top Gun, but I'm too tipsy to type.

Context matters.

Comments

1. Posted by: Cariann on April 2, 2007 10:50 AM:

Dude, you could have called me... or stopped by again to ask. FYI

Tom Cruise ... Maverick

Kelly McGillis ... Charlie

Val Kilmer ... Ice

Anthony Edwards ... Goose

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