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How Apple’s casual search engine Siri is containing Google search on iOS

Steve Jobs used to defend his "thermonuclear" option against Android by stressing how Apple did not enter the search space while Google had decided to challenge the iPhone with its Android.

Jobs' words no longer hold true. With Siri, an AI-driven personal digital assistant, Apple has begun slowly but surely eating into Google's significant search traffic coming from iOS devices.

As such, Siri is emerging as a key tool for casual search on iOS devices. And with iOS 6, Apple is expanding her reach with new alliances, making it easier for users to bypass Google, especially for local search...

Google Search iPhone app gets facelift, new features, full-screen image search

Google just pushed out a major update to its iPhone search app, bringing out a completely reworked interface and several new features, including beautiful full-screen image search, faster autocompletion and searching, the new in-line search option (finally!),  the redesigned home screen with services shortcuts, handy tabs to filter down your search results and what not...

Apple to add Baidu as default iOS search engine option in China

If Apple's multiple mapping firm acquisitions and recent iPhoto makeover haven't convinced you that the company is trying to distance itself from Google as much as possible, maybe this will.

Sina Tech is reporting that it has learned that Apple is looking to add Baidu, China's market-leading internet search company, as a default search engine option in iOS. So long Google...

Apple subpoenaed by the FTC regarding its search engine deal with Google

So this is pretty interesting: AllThingsD is reporting that Apple has been subpoenaed by the Federal Trade Commission as part of an ongoing anti-trust investigation into Google's business practices.

It seems the FTC is particularly interested in the agreement Google made with Apple to become the default search engine in iOS. The deal, which we talked about a few days ago, is rumored to be worth more than a billion dollars...

How much Google pays Apple to get its search onto iOS devices

While it's true that users can switch between Google, Bing and Yahoo when deciding which search engine to use in Safari on iOS, it's debatable as to whether anyone does actually change it. We're going to put our money on the percentage being on the low side!

That's why being the default search option on iOS is so important. If you're the one chosen out of the box, then the chances are you'll be the one that gets the vast majority of hits from users. Right now, that default choice is Google, and they pay handsomely for the privilege according to Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter.

Just how handsomely, you ask?

Yahoo Rolls Out New App Search Page

You have to feel bad for Yahoo. The one-time dominate web company now seems to be constantly staving off the thought of bankruptcy as a result of failing to transition into the mobile market as its counterparts have.

But that doesn't mean that it's giving up on the mobile world. Last year, the company launched an iOS app to help you search for mobile applications. And now it's just unveiled a web-based portal with a similar function...

How to Search YouTube From Notification Center

After the deluge of Notification Center tweaks that were made available right after iOS 5's release, the amount of tweaks targeting iOS 5's crown jewel has stymied off significantly.

That's not to say that there are no Notification Center tweaks being made — YouTube Search for Notification Center is evidence that they still are — but since there are less, I tend to put the more recent releases under the microscope a bit more.

With that in mind, how does YouTube Search for Notification Center stack up?

InstaURL: Search Google, Bing, or Yahoo From Anywhere

InstaURL is a jailbreak tweak that allows you to perform web searches from anywhere on your iDevice.

Similar to QuickGoogle and QuickSafari, InstaURL isn't alone when it comes to tweaks of this nature.

Is it different enough to warrant paying the $0.99? Check inside for the full video walkthrough...

Google Search for the iPad Gets a Facelift

Google has had a rough time with its iOS software over the past few weeks. The search company released a disappointing Gmail app for the iPhone earlier this month, but immediately pulled it due to problems with push notifications and other glitches.

The app was resurrected in the App Store recently, but many of its problems were not resolved. Today, however, Google has redeemed itself a bit with an update to its search interface, as it brings several welcome changes to the iPad version...

WeeSearch Pro: Search Google and Create Custom Search Queries Right From Notification Center

When we used the basic version of WeeSearch, we came a way a little less than impressed. While the pro version of WeeSearch isn't perfect, it's a lot better than its predecessor.

With WeeSearch Pro you can search a variety of built-in search engines. If that doesn't suit your fancy, you can even add your own custom search queries.

The great thing about WeeSearch Pro is that you can do all of this without ever leaving the comfortable confines of iOS 5's Notification Center...