The estimated reading time for this post is 3 minutes
If you’ve ever conducted a search on the Internet, you know how important it is to get accurate and relevant results. You may have participated in the Bing It On! challenge to figure out which search engine will give you the best results. But wouldn’t it be great to be able to compare results in from three different search engines every time you search?
Good news! You can do exactly that with Power Search Web, an iPad app that shows you three search windows at once so you can compare your results easily. With this app you can choose three sites to search and to compare the results on one screen.
Using Power Search Web
Using the app is easy, you don’t need to sign in or create an account, just download it from the iTunes App Store. Click on the Settings Gear icon to open the page where you can choose three search engines to compare. Choose from the standards, such as Google, Bing and Yahoo, specialized sites, such as timmp, mamma, and famina, or shopping sites such as Amazon, eBay and Buy.
Press “Done” and you’ll be taken to three windows showing the sites you chose. Enter your search term in the top window, press the Search button and view the results from the three sites:
When you find the search result that is the most relevant for you, press the square in the upper right corner to maximize that window and read the full article. Press the line to the left of the square to go back to your triple window of results.
[note] Sign in to Bing Rewards to get points for your Bing searches on Power Web Search! [/note]
You can use Power Web App to compare news reports, shopping sites, word definitions and any other search term.
My Tests
My tests illustrate why having this app will spoil you. I searched for “Cicada Invasion” in Google, Bing and Yahoo as that topic has been in the US news for weeks. The top results for these search engines would lead you to believe either:
- Swarmageddon is upon us,
- The Cicadas are just now emerging, or
- It’s all hype and there are no Cicadas
Clearly, further investigation is needed, which was easy to do from the app.
I also searched “Power Search Web” using the app. Ironically, only Google listed the Power Search Web app in the results for Power Web Search.
Suggestions for Improvement
When you use this app you will be spoiled by getting triple results for your searches and quickly yearn to have it on your computer. This app seems ideally suited to computer monitors and laptop screens. I can understand why they haven’t released the app for smartphones. Even phablets might have difficulty displaying three windows of search results.
Choosing search engines can be challenging. The settings screen has a collage of icons with suggested search engines, but links to add the search engines with a simple press would be helpful.
I tried to include Thesaurus as a search engine, which is one of the pictured options, but the app wouldn’t let me add it. I’m hoping Thesaurus does get added in the future.
The app forces you to choose three search engines. It would be helpful to be able to search two or one for larger windows.
Availability
Power Search Web is available for iPad at the iTunes App Store for $0.99. I have contacted the app developers to find out whether this app will be launched for other platforms and will update this article if I hear back from them.
Bottom Line
Maximize your search results with the Power Web Search app.
Have you often wished you could compare three search engines at one time? Have you ever seen drastically different results from search engines? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments section below!
I usually check Bing and Google but seldom Yahoo. I’d like to see this on the desktop though, which is where I do most of my searches. Looking forward to hearing what the publisher says about pushing it to other platforms.
Hi Robert, Excellent point. That’s exactly what I thought when I first started using this app. I have contacted the developer and asked about this but I haven’t heard back from him. If he doesn’t bring this to the desktop, I hope someone else will!
Hey Robert,
Don’t you think you should switch to smartphones or phablets for search purposes….as the mobile search market has been emerging with every single year….all the themes of the authority websites are becoming responsive….and above all it’s (browsing via smartphones or tablets or phablets) very soothing too ….I think you might give it a thought….though it’s just a personal opinion of mine….
Hi Aditya, the majority of people don’t use smartphones yet, but even so, it would be challenging to see search results on three screens even on a Phablet like the Galaxy Note II. Once you use this app, you will see the value in having it on a larger desktop screen.
Aditya,
I agree with you on the soothing aspect of browsing on my tablet, but then again I’m browsing for fun when I’m on it. If you’re trying to do any serious research then I believe most would be doing searches on a desktop for speed and screen size reasons.
Good point, Robert. Many people do prefer searching on their computers over their mobile devices when they’re doing research.
Even i dont use Yahoo. And i think yahoo and Bing’s search results are the same? (Not sure though)
Hi Mujtaba, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! No, Bing and Yahoo have very different search results. That’s what is so remarkable about this app — it shows you the differences at a glance.
Wow….awesome app….sometimes I need to search for a topic in these top 3 search engines….and I’ll have to do it manually…that’s very tedious, but I have to do that as it helps me to enhance my research work….This app is really cool, and will have potentiality to serve my purpose conveniently….even the price is not that much, I would like to use it…… :)]
Hi Aditya, I’m glad you like this app. It’s very useful when you want to maximize your search results. My sample searches try to show that you can get very different results from different search engines.
The app isn’t perfect, but it does a lot for the price.
Agree with Robert, something like this would be nice to see on a desktop computer instead. I seldom do searches on my Android devices (do not use iphone) so having it for my PC would be much more interesting.
Hi Johan, I completely agree with you. If the developer of the app doesn’t come out with this for the desktop, perhaps some other enterprising developer could do it then! :-bd
I really like the logic of this app …The three search frames would help an user to get the most relevant result from his/her search operation through this app..This app would have been better if users were allowed to rate the search results ..and those ratings were stored in their servers …so that whenever a new user performed a search operation the highest rated content would be in their own 4th frame .
Regards,
Pramod
Hi Pramod, That’s a brilliant idea. In a way, Google and Bing try to hone your search results based upon recommendations from your friends on Google Plus and Facebook, respectively. It would be even better if you could refine the results yourself.
There needs to be an extension for this on the desktop computer Carolyn. How cool would that be to be able to check out all of the search engines at the same time to see who has the best results. Okay, I know that probably won’t happen but I love that.
I can see where it might be hard to view on a phone but it’s still a pretty darn cool app.
Thanks for sharing.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, You’re right, it would be very cool to have this app on a desktop computer. I hope that either this developer or someone else brings this to our computer screens.
If this app were altered to allow two screens, instead of three, then it might be a great fit for phones, especially phones with larger screens.
Hello Carolyn I am daily visitor and me also fan of your site because you are always share something new and complete guide on article heading. Power Search web is really complete guide for me thanks and me also waiting for your next Article.
Hi Mahendra, I’m thrilled you’re enjoying The Wonder of Tech and really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and let me know this. I hope you continue to enjoy the articles here.
Personally I only use google search but this is still quite a useful app. I agree with Pramod in that some sort of ratings system could be devised. This would however take some doing I think.
Hi Frank, Yes, you and Pramod have a great point. This app has a lot of potential for development and it would be great to have someone take this idea to the next level. Clearly there is interest in having multiple windows display results from different search engines.
Hmmm…this is quite an interesting App. It is indeed hassle when you still need to open 3 browsers and search engine urls and then just to search for a single term. I will try use this.
Hi Lisa, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You’re right, it is a hassle to search three browsers so most people wouldn’t take the time. But when you want to see the results in one place, this app is the way to go.
Google,Bing and Yahoo are the major players in Search engine market, so covering these three means to capture whole virtual world. However, the Power Search Web isavailable only for iTunes but it will play good roles when it comes to Google Play?
Hi Purbita, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I wish I knew the answer for you. Unfortunately, I have not heard back from the developer. If they don’t bring this to Android, perhaps another developer will?
Okay. This is very useful. Just wondering if it would also be good in checking for duplicate articles like plagium or copyscape?
Hi Peta, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Yes, you certainly could use Power Web Search to check for plagiarism. With three open windows you could compare three sites at once.