Android application developers now have a new option available when providing features t their users. The gesture search functionality released as an API by Google allows any application to quickly and easily build in searching through gestures and gesture based navigation.
Gesture based search first debuted on Android as an application created by Google Labs. It built on top of the standard Android search functionality, but was at first able to allow users to draw characters on the screen, which were subsequently recognised and turned into queries.
With this new API, developers will be able to enable two different gesture based activities. The simplest to implement is to add gesture based searches on to existing search activities. This will enable behaviour similar to the Gesture Search original app, but specific to that particular application's data. The second option is to enable gesture based navigation. While this hasn't been covered in any demos, it provides a potent option for enabling better user experience in Android applications, particularly for enabling the quick and simple use of apps on the go.
Details about the API, along with samples of how to use it, are available on the Google Code Blog.
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