One shining year -- that's how long the iPhone-optimized iGoogle search page hung around, and now we must tell it goodbye.
Introduced in January 2008, the customized iGoogle UI for Mobile Safari provided a single-column view and easier navigation for iPhone users. As
Christina noted earlier today on Download Squad, the sleek UI has been replaced with the unified mobile format for iGoogle that renders similarly on most mobile browsers, including Google's own Webkit-based Android browser (which previously had benefited from the Webkit-tweaked front page for the iPhone).
The unification of the mobile iGoogle interface may simply be an effort by Google to level the playing field instead of having the iPhone as a most-favored-device, or it might be part and parcel of the big G's shaving down on costs by eliminating offerings like
Jaiku, Dodgeball and Google Notebook. Either way, if you're mourning the loss of your custom iGoogle look, let us know below.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
waiownsyou said 2:09PM on 1-19-2009
Everyone knows "original" Google is the best Google!
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Ratking said 2:10PM on 1-19-2009
Nooo!!! My Google Reader doesn't even show on my Mobile iGoogle page now. Anyone else?
Still no icon? Google- you're KILLIN' ME!
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bpb said 2:20PM on 1-19-2009
killing igoogle has in effect killed the concept of the webportal (which may not be that bad) and making RSS feeders our (my) primary platform to consume media.
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Nate Bird said 2:19PM on 1-19-2009
Never even used it. Definitely not missing it.
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jay said 2:20PM on 1-19-2009
a lot of problems have been occurring with iphone-specific sites. gmail wasnt working for a while correctly, the facebook webapp wasnt working the other day at all.
weirdtimes.
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Aaron_JAX said 2:42PM on 1-19-2009
It used to be my main page when I would launch Safari. But now that I'm back to the "unified" ugly look, I'll switching to the USA Today app for iPhone which has a really nice interface. Not the same as my formerly customized iGoogle, but much more pleasant to use.
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dave said 2:50PM on 1-19-2009
I can no longer switch between my tabs! I used to have a iPhone sytle rolodex wheel that allowed me to switch between tabs. No longer. How do you switch tabs??
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boogaloo said 2:54PM on 1-19-2009
I used it at least 20 times a day everyday to keep up with all the blogs that I read. It is really a bummer for me because there is no way I will use the mobile igoogle platform which does not even compare. I guess I will have to create a page on my iphone for all the bookmarks on my springboard that I will now have.
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hmcnally said 3:08PM on 1-19-2009
No biggie.
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douwe said 3:22PM on 1-19-2009
I don't know about you, but when I go to http://www.google.com/ig/i, I get the iPhone optimized iGoogle-page... (At least on my Mac, don't have an iPhone yet)
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kylemurphey said 3:30PM on 1-19-2009
that is really odd, I do get the iPhone version on my mac, but not on my iPhone. Even when I specifically type in the iPhone address, it redirects me to the crappy mobile one.
Shannon said 6:09PM on 1-19-2009
Thank you for posting this story, I thought my phone was broken when I opened my igoogle page on my iPhone. This new format is awful and disappointing. I have already deleted the bookmark from my phone. I'm sure I will find a replacement but I will miss logging into my igoogle page every morning for a quick view of my gmail,news and horoscope.
Wouter said 3:49PM on 1-19-2009
iGoogle for the iPhone used to be my favorite home page.
One of the best iPhone webapps ever. (IMHO even way better than most paid RSS Reader iPhone apps)
There's a lengthy thread over at Google Support Forum:
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Web+Search/thread?tid=6ff62ce418848f69&hl=en&fid=6ff62ce418848f69000460db4f5c9a59
With lots of formerly happy but now disgruntled users of iGoogle for iPhone.
And a (lame) reply from a Paul from Google, as well as an interesting comment that the iPhone versions of most other Google apps (e.g. Calendar) still work properly.
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Alex said 3:39PM on 1-19-2009
i'm new to the iphone, but isn't the Google app the best way to go?
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Tripp said 3:44PM on 1-19-2009
Since google changed the mobile site it behaves differently than before. It will not open links in another tab and google formats the site you link to thru their servers.
Doesn't google know that mobile safari can view the real web?
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fheusel said 4:11PM on 1-19-2009
for the iPhone optimized iGoogle-page point your MobileSafari at www.google.com/ig/i?source=mofe
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steve said 3:53PM on 1-19-2009
iGoogle is pretty much useless now. There's no way to get from tab to tab and the current screen sort of mixes up the 40 feeds I have arranged under 6 tabs.
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Wouter said 3:52PM on 1-19-2009
@fheusel: Thanks!!
It just restored iGoogle on my iPhone.
This makes really makes my day!
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Wouter said 3:57PM on 1-19-2009
Maybe I got my hopes up too soon.
@fheusel: Although the link does provide the iGoogle page I was used to, the drop-down, when tapping one of the headlines, doesn't seem to work.
Any suggestions?
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fheusel said 4:14PM on 1-19-2009
sorry, didn't want to double-post^^ - i've just clicked the tuaw-confirmation-link a second time :D
@wouter: no, i don't know how to fix that
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