Poised to incessantly give users a faster and lighter way to search and access the internet , Google has launched Google Go in Nigeria and 29 other countries in Africa .
According to Google , the application is designed to solve existing problems faced by 73 % of smart phone users who use devices with low memory space and less one gigabyte Random Access Memory, 1 GB RAM.
Speaking at the launch , in Lagos, Juliet Ehimuan, Google ’ s Country Director , Nigeria, revealed ; “
There are about 30 million smart phone users and the number increases annually , however, upon expansive and in depth research in to smart phone usage it was found that 73% of users have less than or 1 GB RAM and low memory space which causes hitches while searching on the internet .
Also there is the issue of data cost and reliability . Taking all these into consideration , Google has made this innovation, Google Go, based on a new compression technology. ”
Stating the features of the App , Lolu Bodunwa , Product Marketing Manager , Sub Saharan Africa disclosed ; “Google Go is less than five megabytes , 5 MB in size , it employs data management and compression technology and as such uses 40% less data .
It has a tap first user interface that gives users one tap access to everything you are looking for and most importantly , it is locally relevant .
Search results are also cached on the device so you can quickly re - access previous searches , even when you ’ re offline , without incurring further data costs.
When there ’ s no internet access , Google Go retries failed search requests in the background and lets you know as soon as the results are ready.
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Web pages load quickly , even in data - saving mode or on 2 G connections .
It runs on Android 4 devices and above.
“For those new to smartphones or search , the App suggests trending search , top apps and is voice search enabled .
Hence, no matter how accented, Google Go can recognise desired search items , just say the word or phrase .
It is essentially about organizing the world ’ s information and making it accessible to everyone , how they want it. ”
On his part , Taiwo Kola – Ogunade , Google Communications and Public Affairs Management , West Africa added; “Google Go is built from the ground up with the feedback from user research .
Crucial parts of the design, functionality and features of Google Go are inspired by what we learned talking to people in Africa for over a year, since 70% of people who connect in Africa do so via a mobile device . ”
