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Among the many Apps that have launched this week for the iPhone platform, several jump right out and make you want to download them without even looking.  One such App is Google’s new search App.  It is free and comes hot off the Google presses.

So what does it do?  Well obviously it searches, but it is supposedly a step up from their already popular web app.  Personally, I’m not that impressed.  The App mostly consists of a search bar over a list field.  When you begin typing it tries to determine what you are looking for based on past searches and suggests them below.  After a while, when it runs out of suggestions, it just begins generating the search result page for what you have entered.  There is no need to hit enter at the end, as it does this for each character you type.

The lame part of all this is that when you click on one of the results under the search box…it LEAVES the App and goes into Apple’s Safari.  From there it is just like a regular browsing experience.  In fact, since the search bar is built right into Safari, why wouldn’t one just start the whole process from there?  Some might argue that the new App is right on the front page (so is Safari, though) and it will usually guess what you are trying to type faster than the regular search bar.

Also, it gives you direct links to all of the commonly used Google products.  Sadly, clicking any of these…you guessed it…LEAVES the App and goes into Safari.  Notice a trend?  In fact, any of these services, including Google search, can be accessed from the webapp that most of the product links take you to.

Edit: Ah, wow, totally missed a big feature.  Steve in the comments reminded me of another facet of the Google App.  It indexes a lot of the content on your phone such as contacts, addresses, bookmarks, and photos.  It can also use your location (something I missed because I have the older model) to find things in your area.  Sorry I left that part out, it was a very long day here at iPhoneFreak yesterday.  Still unimpressed by the App, by the way.

My suggestion?  Make a bookmark button on your home screen of the http://www.google.com/m site.  It’s still faster and simpler than the app and really a better use of your time.

[Google Blog via Electronista]