Google LCB - new Google service for mobile searching sans typing
Posted by Will on Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 at 4:11 pm under Mobile Web, Services, Applications, Announcements
Tapping away at a mobile phone's keypad can get to be a real bother - and in some cases, a real medical condition. So, it seems that Google has set out to improve the mobile-search experience on handsets. Dubbed "LCB," Google has tipped their newest mobile service in their robots.txt file - a file that determines what is off-limits to web-crawlers (stuff Google doesn't want you to see). A new entry points towards a Google LCB feature that Google does not want publicized at the moment.
LCB seems to be a new way of searching for businesses without the need to type in a search string. Businesses are broken down by category (as the picture shows), allowing the user to dig through entries to find a match. The Google LCB service pulls up businesses that are closest to the user's location - which is defined by the user (zip code, city, etc.). There's still a search-box for traditional search-string entry, but the emphasis seems to be on browsing through the categories.
The new LCB service is a great way to find an answer to the age-old question - "what should we do tonight?" Rather than typing in search queries, the mobile user just has to browse through a particular category for a list of options.
Now, does anyone out there have any idea what LCB stands for?
[Via: ZDNet]
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March 23rd, 2008 at 10:38 pm
my best guess would be "location based"
March 29th, 2008 at 11:04 am
LCB = Location Category Business