SearchMe is still in private beta but I took a quick look at it the other day and came away kind of impressed. Regular readers will know – ad nauseum – about my reservations on this type of tool, simply because visual search engines seldom add any real value to the search process, especially if you’re a power user researcher.
SearchMe offers a nice little variation on the theme, with a scrolling window of search result thumbnails, but it still falls down on speed. It’s no coincidence that the number one feature request on their blog is for scroll wheel support! Still, another nice try and an application that’s inevitably going to stay niche until they work out how to beat the mighty Google’s super speedy interface.
Searchme lets you see what you’re searching for. As you start typing, categories appear that relate to your query. Choose a category, and you’ll see pictures of web pages that answer your search. You can review these pages quickly to find just the information you’re looking for, before you click through.