Google Updates Search App for iPhones, iPads: Hot Trends

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Popular searches on the Internet include Google (GOOG) as the company is updating its search app for Apple (AAPL) iPhones and iPads.

Google is making improvements to the app so it responds better when users speak their searches. Google also plans to enable the voice-powered search to speak results to users instead of having them scroll through them manually.

In order to make these changes possible, Google needs to update the app so it better understands the context of searches, rather than just keywords. Google is linking the app to its knowledge graph, which maps the connections between facts, concepts and ideas -- better helping the app understand what the user is really looking for.

No date has been given yet when the voice-powered function will be available. Amit Singhai, Google search engineer, said in a blog post that it will be available "soon" on version 4.2 and above of iOS.

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Ouya is trending as the open gaming console has ended its funding drive on Kickstarter and is now available for pre-order.

Ouya is an Android-based gaming console that will be open to all game developers, without requiring them to pay any licensing, retail or publishing fees. Developers have to get permission to make games for other consoles and pay for expensive development to make games for them. Ouya will be its own development kit so developers won't need to purchase them.

Ouya's only mandate from developers is that at least some of the gaming they offer must be free for players.

Ouya easily beat its own fundraising targets on Kickstarter. Its listing had an original funding target of $950,000. When it closed the funding period, it had raised $8,596,475. Now that the period is over, Ouya plans to take pre-orders on the Internet soon and ship in April 2013.

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Kohl's (KSS) is another popular search. The retailer reported weak second-quarter sales that dragged down profit for the quarter, but its bottom line still managed to beat expectations.

Kohl's posted a second-quarter profit of $240 million, or $1 a share, down from $299 million, or $1.08 a share, a year earlier. The results beat analysts' expectations by 4 cents.

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