Yahoo's New Accordion Search Box

Yahoo's strategy in search is to deliver a better experience rather than better search results, especially since it outsourced the actual search part to Microsoft. Along these lines, it unveiled a few new search features which it says should enable people to do the things they intended faster.

In the main search page, the big addition is the so-called "accordion" box. It's similar in concept to Google's Universal Search and both Bing and Yahoo have had similar features.

But the new box features all manner or search verticals, depending on the type of search, all accessible with one click.

"With these shortcuts, you can watch movie trailers, listen to songs from an album, see the latest photos, and read the latest tweets about certain topics," Shashi Seth, SVP at Yahoo Search & Marketplaces, wrote.

"We’re creating a search experience that, instead of merely presenting you with a simple list of results, lets you discover important, relevant information and get things done right after you search," he added.

Media-related searches work the best for highlighting the new features. For example, if you're search for a movie, the first vertical tab will give you an overview of the movie which includes a description, average rating and even if it's playing in a theater near you.

Other vertical tabs may include Stories, Videos and Twitter all of which are rather self-explanatory and which make sense in the context.

One really interesting new feature is the introduction of 'apps' to the search page. For example, a movie search may trigger the Netflix app which enables you to rent the movie with just a couple of clicks, straight from the Yahoo page.

Yahoo Image Search also got an update. The new results page is aimed at making the whole thing more immersive. There is a lot of black background, especially when using the new slideshow feature. This feature enables you to see image slideshows, from Flickr or other sources, without leaving the Yahoo search page.