Google has announced an application for Apple's iPhone that puts a number of its services onto a single interface on a navigation toolbar.With the new service, users of the handset will be able to switch between Gmail, Reader and Calendar by clicking on the navigation bar at the top of the screen.
Commenting on the design process, Steve Kanefsky, a software engineer on the Google mobile team, stated: "I set out to create an application that would preload my favorite Google products and allow me to switch between them instantly.
"I wanted web results as well as image, local and news results without having to repeat my search."
Google's "guiding principles" in creating the application were "fast" and "fluid", he added.
According to InfoWorld, the search engine provider chose to launch on the iPhone for reasons to do with technology, as opposed to market potential.
It stated that, because the service is free, the search engine provider has more freedom in choosing which markets to "play in" first.
Gummi Hafsteinsson, a product manager on the Google mobile team, stated: "The Safari browser on the iPhone is essentially the same as Mac OS X, so in many ways, you get the same capability as on the desktop."
However, he added that Google is also exploring other platforms.
Meanwhile, IBB Consulting Group analyst Shahid Khan identified Google's new application as a "declaration of war" by the firm on the work Microsoft has been doing with its Windows Mobile applications, Red Herring reports.
