A Virtual Keyboard for Google Search
Google |
According to a user research conducted by search engine giant Google, many of their users are more comfortable formulating search queries in their own languages but are usually met with the difficulty of having to type these on the search text box.
While most of us living in countries using Latin script-based languages have significantly less chances of having this problem, Google Search users abroad are often bogged down by the keyboard’s character limitations. To solve this, Google developed and released its own virtual keyboard API through code.google.com in June last year.
 Google’s Greek virtual keyboard |
It was meant to be integrated with Web sites that use foreign languages and would work on any text field or text area within these sites. This year, however, Google’s virtual keyboard has made its way to local Google search sites in 35 languages.
“To overcome the difficulty they face in typing in their local language scripts, some people have resorted to copying and pasting from other sites and from online translation tools.” said Manish Bhargava, Google Internationalization Product Manager. “But there’s an easier way - a virtual, or “on-screen” keyboard, lets you type directly in your local language script in an easy and consistent manner, no matter where you are or what computer you’re using.”
 Virtual keyboard on the Thai search results page |
As mentioned, the Google virtual keyboard will be available in 35 languages including Albanian, Belarusian, Czech, Swedish and Russian. To access this feature, just click on the small keyboard icon conveniently placed right next to the search text box on both the Google homepage and the search results pages. Text input is as simple as clicking on the necessary keys as you would in Windows’ own virtual keyboard, or pressing the corresponding keys on your physical keyboard.
Popularity: 9% [?]
RSpears @ April 29, 2010
