Zmarties

AOL have launched their new search which takes the now tried and tested route of offering Google search results, with a layer of additions on top.

Amongst the layered features are:

• Hot Searches, which gives a list of the top five current search phrases, updated every 12 seconds (unfortunately the phrases are truncated at about 16 characters, which is not much for "hot" queries, which often consist of a person's full name)
• Recent Searches which lists your most recent searches (storing up to 50 such searches, though you can clear out this feature)
• Smartbox (the name is not mentioned on the site, but that's what Chris Sherman and Greg Linden called it) which is the ability of the search text entry box to suggest what you may be searching for. At the moment, this merely seems to show share price info if you type in a ticker symbol.
• Clustered results, where the left edge of the screen carries a column of short categories that results have been clusted into
• Snapshots, which are preselected search results, often selected on editorial merit - such as encyclopedia entries for the search query. Note that AOL also say that "Some Snapshots may include paid placement, which is clearly labeled as advertising. They may also include Official Sites for trademarks or brands".