Happy holidays, mobile users. Google updated its search engine on Sunday to include fancier functions for smartphones and tablets that make your Christmas shopping easier.
In time for Black Friday, your shopping on mobile devices will yield some extra information, like where the product is available and user reviews, at the top of Google's interface. You don't have to use Google's "shopping" tab, either. The details will pop up on a regular search. You'll also have the option to use a 3D, 360-degree rotation tool to view some products.
According to Google, half of all people between 25 and 34 years old use their smartphones to shop while they're already in line at a store. The new mobile features are a way to make it easier for you to multitask during holiday shopping by helping you track down items on your gift list wherever you may be. Better yet, you could just stay in bed after Thanksgiving and score deals on your phone.
The features are rolling out now. When you search for a specific product -- like Google's Nexus devices, for example -- here's how the 360-degree rotation looks:
[img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gfj1_gVd1dzdv-L3txlsYtDO192HJNy0oh1dIJD-j8W6YYOrxQwLTI6tpX4Tx98NXvU1Eqj3KoYFwcHwFZPn4tNPyDVjFSxrp7VvY2LVVJfCqIfKKUH0VZM-Mu6jMSeWrw" caption="" credit="" alt=""]The 3D viewer was already available on desktop, though it's new to Google on mobile.
Shoppers are already prepping for the holiday blitz after Thanksgiving. According to Google, 27% are already starting their research and the top searches about Black Friday are: "What time do stores open on Black Friday," "what time does Black Friday start," "when does Black Friday end" and "what to buy on Black Friday."
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