Review: Google Mobile for BlackBerry
The Google Mobile application for the BlackBerry sums up the company perfectly. It delivers useful search features that are an upgrade over those available from the BlackBerry browser and simultaneously pushes their suite of applications while maintaining a simplicity of design and purpose.
The home screen for the application features the Google search window and a set of icons for mobile applications. From those application icons you either launch the application (or download it if you haven’t already) or access the application’s mobile website if it is an online app. Like the Google Mobile Updater app that Google Mobile replaces, it also provides alerts about upgrades to these applications when they are available.
The Google Mobile application gives you access to a variety of Google applications on your BlackBerry:
Gmail (application),- Google Maps (application),
- Google News (website),
- Google Reader (website),
- Calendar (website),
- Docs (website),
- Photos (website),
- Sync (application) and
- Notebook (website).
Note that the Google Voice application for BlackBerry, Tasks, Blogger and iGoogle are not included in the suite of applications.
The search functionality of the application allows you to quickly search without accessing the BlackBerry browser and extends search functionality that is available on the standard Google website to your BlackBerry. This means that features like search suggestions, history and results based on location are all available on your Blackberry.
The application also gives you access to the search by voice feature. This is accessed by holding the green call button and speaking your search query. The results are the same but you get the convenience of speaking your search rather than typing it.
Despite all of these features I find the greatest benefit that I get from the Google Mobile application are the alerts about application upgrades. And that’s enough for me to keep it installed on my BlackBerry. Perhaps I’m just not the mobile power searcher that these features have been developed for.
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I am with you. It is a powerful suite, but to me it seemed too redundant to keep installed. A good view into the world of Android? Maybe so. And if you use G-Sync, as you do, is this even more redundant?
The Gmail app seems to be the only redundant app in the set, it’s basically the same as the native mail app and I use them both in order to separate work and life correspondence. Everything else is either unique (like Google Map) or a web app that does not require installation (like Reader, Calendar and News).
I don’t see G-sync as making things more redundant if anything it reduces that. It syncs your calendar and contacts and has as much benefit on your BlackBerry as on the web applications. For your calendar there is no app, just a mobile website so you don’t have to install anything. Using G-Sync means that you don’t need to consult your Google Calendar from your BlackBerry and you can benefit from all of Google’s importable calendars. Regarding contacts I consider this a valuable backup of my address book.