Google has recently made available a new search application for Nokia S60 handsets. This little app (that looks like a widget but it's not) is supposed to provide the quickest way of searching the Web from a S60 phone. It can do that by placing, on the phone's Idle screen, a shortcut to a Google search box that allows you to instantly type what you want to search. After you typed and pressed "search", a Web page will appear, displaying the desired information.

The shortcut doesn't work on all the S60 phones, but only on those that have a "pencil/edit" or a "Ctrl" key (like Nokia E61/E61i, Nokia N73 or Nokia N95), since for typing the search terms you first have to hit one of these keys.

For those who don't have a phone with a "pencil/edit" or "Ctrl" key, the search application is also available from the usual application launcher and works in the same way. Sure, first of all you need to install the application - you can get it for free if you visit the Google mobile website from your S60 phone. Just look for a "Search" link.

The Google search application comes with several options, allowing users to change their location (enter a different post code), switch to "normal" results (if for some reason they don't like the blended mobile results) or disable the quick key access. Moreover, the app is based on the improved Google search engine for mobiles, made available by the Mountain View company at the end of last month. This new search engine is fast and it filters the results so you can get exactly the info you want, without browsing through irrelevant content.

Google and Nokia announced not long ago, at the Mobile World Congress (11 - 14 February) that future Nokia phones will have the Google search engine integrated with the Nokia Search application, by default, offering this way an easy and quick access to web information. However, until all the Nokia handsets will integrate Google's search engine, the recently announced app for S60 will surely make your web search easier.