Review: CloudMagic’s personalized Web search service grows up - youngallind

At a Glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

Big-fast searches
Accurate results
Photogenic interface

Cons

Free service is limited
I.e. performance is buggy

Our Verdict

Using CloudMagic for unlimited searches is no longer unloosen, but $5 per calendar month is a small toll for mightiness users to make up for the In favor editions.

CloudMagic is growing up. This super-speedy search serving debuted few years ago and over clock time has evolved to offer some really useful features, including Facebook and Chitter search. Now, though, CloudMagic is making some of its biggest changes yet, including the ability to desegregate your personal search results with Google's global Web results. And the company is no yearner offering unlimited searches for free, a move that Crataegus laevigata alienate some users. Even so, 50 independent searches a calendar month will answer for many another; the oceanic searches of the Pro subscription costs $5 a calendar month. CloudMagic's core hunting tools work the same as always: you mansion up for an account, and link the services you'd like it to search. It supports a huge range of services, including AOL, Box, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, Gmail, Google Apps, Google Talk, GMX, Hotmail, iCloud, Send.com, Microsoft Central, Microsoft Switch over ActiveSync, Microsoft Office 365, MSN, Outlook.com, SkyDrive, Twitter, Windows Live, and Yahoo. Once access has been given, CloudMagic then begins indexing your accounts, which can take some time if your accounts are sizable. It took several hours to index a Gmail account containing thousands of messages, but just a few minutes to index a newer Chirrup account. You can begin searching right away, but waiting until the indexing cognitive operation is complete will deliver to a greater extent accurate results.

CloudMagic displays your ain personal results in an unobtrusive box that appears alongside Google's Web results.

The service is still acquirable as it has been in the past, as a web browser extension for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, an add-on for Internet Explorer, and a mobile app for the iPad, iPhone, and Android devices. The browser extensions and add-ons appear as simple search boxful on some germane Web pages; if you surfboard to a page that doesn't back up CloudMagic, you put on't see the box. You can move the search box just about the page if it's in your way of life, and you can minimize it to a corner, too. You enter your keywords in the search box, and CloudMagic goes to solve, instantly (and I do mean right away) displaying results as you typewrite. The results come along in a column that appears below the CloudMagic search box seat as shortly as you begin typing. Results are organized by source; if you enter a research string while on your Gmail page, you'll picture results from there, but you also can scroll down to learn results from your other accounts, like Facebook and Twitter. In CloudMagic's latest iteration, the results are as accurate as speedy as they have always been. What's inexperienced about CloudMagic is how you can access its search results. IT is no longer limited to displaying results in its own search box. CloudMagic nowadays lets you see your personal CloudMagic results when conducting Google searches. This feature, which is accessible using Chrome, Firefox, and Campaign with the web browser extension installed (except Explorer) whole kit and caboodle whenever you figure a search query in Google. CloudMagic displays your personal results—from any accounts you've indexed—aboard your Google search results. If you search for a localized restaurant on the Web, CloudMagic could, for instance, showing any tweets or Facebook condition messages your friends may have posted about IT. It's a handy way to mix own and global Vane search together. Results are displayed right Google's results pages, in a box that appears to the right face of Google's results. You can see messages, tweets, Google docs, and more, all of which are unionised by germ, just like any former CloudMagic results. They don't interfere with your Google results, as they posture remove to the side of meat, but when a under consideration result is returned, information technology's easily accessible. While all users will appreciate CloudMagic's new search tools, some may not appreciate the new price tag that comes along with using them too frequently. CloudMagic is even offer a free version, but it's non unlimited, as IT was in the by. The free version of CloudMagic is for users who postulate fewer than 50 "previews" a month; anyone needing more bequeath have to pay $5 a month for its Pro report. CloudMagic considers a preview the action at law you undergo after getting the search result, in which you click the result that seems germane and you're shown a quick trailer of the content it returned.

In totally of the time that I've been using CloudMagic, I've ne'er used more than 50 previews per month, just if I needed to search more often, I'd be willing to pay for CloudMagic Pro. $5 a month is a small damage to devote for unrivaled of the best search services around.

Billet: The Download button happening the Mathematical product Entropy page takes you to the seller's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

Note: When you purchase something after clicking links in our articles, we May earn a small commission. Study our affiliate link policy for more than details.

Liane Cassavoy is a veteran technology and business journalist. She contributes on a regular basis to PCWorld and has written all but business issues and products for Entrepreneur Magazine and other publications. She is the source of two business start-heavenward guides published by Entrepreneur Press.