14 DAY TRIAL // Google Instant not only proved a success with users, it also sparked the imagination of developers. While Google has said that Instant will be coming to all Google products at some point, it hasn't stopped enterprising developers creating their own implementations right now.
YouTube Instant, created by college student Feross Aboukhadijeh, proved a sensation last week and got the young developer a job offer.
Its success inspired others to try their luck and skills. Michael Hart a developer from the US created Google Maps Instant and also Google Images Instant.
The idea behind the sites is the same as Google Instant, type what you're looking for and the results start to be listed as soon as a match suggestion is found.
The interface is rather spartan, but it gets the job done. You get a search box, an embedded Google maps and a couple of Twitter and Facebook buttons.
Start entering the location you want and Google Maps starts shooting off guesses. As long as your query is accurate enough, the results are snappy. Of course, the accuracy of the results depends on what Maps can deliver so if you don't get what you expect, take that into consideration.
The same is true for Google Images Instant. You don't always get the results you'd want, but as tech demo it does the job. Obviously, when Google will enable Instant for Images, the experience will be a lot more polished.
YouTube Instant provides a much better experience, but there are plenty of things to fix and add before it can be anything more than a temporary distraction.
But all of these tools show how useful the Instant interface can prove. Thankfully, Google is working on rolling out the technology to all of its products and even to include it in browsers.