The () was strong on searches, but weak when it came to Google's peripheral applications. Not that Google's search supremacy was ever in doubt, but with the recent , the updated Google Mobile App is a quantum leap beyond its predecessor. The secondary Google products are still poorly implemented here, but you will be too absorbed with the voice search too care.

How good is the ? At first, my phone was too overwhelmed to handle the app's awesomeness. Could Google have my current location? Where is bliss on the map? Crash. Voice search? Crash. I had to let the phone rest for a few minutes and restart before the app would work.

When you launch the updated app the first time, you have the option of watching a short video tutorial on how to use the voice search. But it's straightforward enough. The voice function uses the device's motion detector to activate. Raise the phone to your ear and wait for the beep. Say your search term and let Google do its magic. (By the way, if you leave the phone to your ear while the app searches, listen for the faint sound of a human voice. I'm not sure how to describe it--a trill? onomatopoeia?--but it would make a cute ringtone. Or an annoying one. Tastes will differ.)

The app takes better advantage of the iPhone's location function. Recall that with the first version of Google Mobile App, you could type "gas station" or "smog check," for example, and among the various Web page search results you would see an option for "search... near me." You would then simply tap the link and Google would instantly launches iPhone's Maps application. All of the gas stations or smog check centers in your area then appeared as pins on the map.

With the new app, if you say "movie times," the movies playing at the multiplex nearest you pop up in short order. Similar local searches work just as well, but only if you keep the terms simple. When you say "restaurants," local results will appear below the top search hit for Restaurants.com. But when I said "local restaurants," the top hit was a link to Google's own "go local" map feature. I tapped the link, Google Maps launched, and I perused several tantalizing options for lunch... in downtown San Francisco, which is only a short five-to-six-hour drive from where I currently am.