SAN FRANCISCO -- The Internet just got a lot faster -- at least after a Google (GOOG) search. And offices across America probably will get just a bit louder.
Leveraging its prowess in computer science, Google announced an array of new mobile and desktop search features Tuesday, including the ability to speak a search query to a desktop computer and run a search query on any personal photo stored on a user's computer. The features also include a new interface for mobile searches that makes it easier to find information about nearby restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses.
But the new service users will probably notice most is Instant Pages, a service in which the search engine predicts the link a user is likely to click. If a user chooses that link -- typically the first link in search results -- the page will essentially load instantaneously. Google says that will save users in those cases three to five seconds on average -- a clearly noticeable difference.
"Taken all together, it was kind of a broadside by Google today that they are not going to slack off the pace of innovation," said Hadley Reynolds, director of search technology with research firm IDC.
Google's goal with Instant Pages, its top search scientists said Tuesday at a press event at the Yerba Buena Center for the instantaneous as flipping a TV channel.
Google's aim "is to get you the information you seek in the blink of an eye," said Google Fellow Amit Singhal, who leads Google search. "What we are finding is that as people save more time, they are searching much more, which often has a positive impact on our business."
Google's main competitors in search, Microsoft's Bing and Yahoo (YHOO), have been slowly gaining share against Google's dominance in U.S. desktop searches, but those gains may be slowing. Analysts agreed Tuesday that innovations like Instant Pages could make Google even stronger in a market it already dominates -- search advertising.
"I think that could have a pretty significant importance for traffic market share and ad revenue," said Karsten Weide, an IDC analyst who studies Google's ad business.
The Instant Pages feature will gradually become available to users of Google's Chrome browser in coming weeks. Google said it was opening access to the software so other browsers, such as Firefox and Internet Explorer, could incorporate that capability.
For now, because the feature is limited to the No. 3 browser after IE and Firefox, the financial boost may be limited, Weide said. But Chrome has been gaining on other browsers, and competitors may feel pressure to adopt the standard.
Other features announced Tuesday, such as the Android mobile search features, are available now, or will be available in coming days.
The new technology unveiled Tuesday is one measure of the emphasis co-founder Larry Page is placing on accelerating the pace of innovation, particularly in search, since becoming CEO in April.
"His view of search is much broader than just a query and finding a page among billions of pages," Alan Eustace, Google's senior vice president of knowledge, said of Page. "He thinks Google should be responsible for understanding how things are related, to go much deeper into understanding concepts and how concepts are related. He wants us to know more."
Contact Mike Swift at 408-271-3648. Follow him at Twitter.com/swiftstories.