Web News

Google News Refined for Mobile Users

Smartphone owners using the Android operating system can now view a streamlined version of Google News specifically developed for their smaller screens, the search engine giant announced last week.

Google News has previously been custom-tailored for the Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and Symbian’s S60 operating systems, and the addition of Android is expected to increase accessibility for Android-compatible phones such as the iPhone and Palm Pre.

The Google News program, already one of the most widely used on the Web, plans to further extend its reach to other mobile phone platforms. Developers believe the new version will broaden the appeal of the news aggregating service.

As more and more people are able to take their work on the go, a growing number of popular sites have developed mobile versions of their content to accommodate smartphone models with limited display capacities and screen space.

Mobile-oriented web pages are often characterized by text-based content and the limited use of graphical elements. The page layout and formatting are also optimized to make them more readable from smartphone screens.

Search engine optimization (SEO) experts are also gearing more of their efforts towards the mobile phone market, with search companies such as Google offering more options for mobile users to further refine their results.

Many website owners have taken on mobile SEO as a way to further expand their reach, particularly to the growing mobile-user market. Experts have warned, however, that the rate of advancement could make mobile-oriented marketing futile in the long run.