iGoogle

Google has renamed Personalized Homepage to iGoogle. Using of 'i' is not a trend. And there is no dearth of such names in the market.. iHome line of products, iPlayer (soon to be launched) from BBC, etc. It just seems to me that everybody is trying to cash in on the Apple iPod’s name success!

iGoogle is an application that focuses on implementing Google`s technology – and search technology in general – into different mediums. iGoogle has 4 main features: Google Search, Google Mail, Desktop Search and News Search. All of which can be configured using the Settings feature and optimized to their full ability using the Support feature.Google also is expanding iGoogle globally to new languages and countries, reaching 26 languages and more than 40 countries, and launching themes for iGoogle users located outside the United States.

Facts make iGoogle cool and effective:-

1 Get results faster by searching Google from your desktop.
2 Be informed of new messages in your Gmail account periodically.
3 Find things a lot faster by searching your computer easily.
4Find insight in the latest headlines and news from Wired News.
5 Preview a web page before visiting it in Google Search.
6 Get update information by iGoogle`s Live Model
7 Search history with only a click.

A couple of example of how this might work is that search results can be personalized based on your recent search history. If you have recently searched on "maserati", and then type in "jaguar", the auto results will receive a boost over the animal. Or if you type in pizza, and you have set a default location in Google Maps, you will get information on pizza places near you.

Google adds to this the ability to create your own gadgets – or at least tweak the settings within new templates. Options include a photo album into which you can stick seven shots, a YouTube gallery for your favourite videos, a “to do” list and Daily Me, a gadget that features details of what you’re up to that day. You can share these gadgets with your Gmail contacts through the ne "MY COMMUNITY" section. This means anyone can create a gadget without any knowledge of web development. This is certainly taking social media to the masses and could also provide a way for small businesses to create cool tools relating to their business that could help to spread the word about them online.

I love lot of Google products but iGoogle isn’t one of them. The reason for my lackluster review about iGoogle is because Netvibes and other personal homepage products like PageFlakes have all these features already and have implemented it better. The use of screen real estate is much better in Netvibes which means I can cram more feeds into every tab without having to scroll.