Aviate’s Android launcher now offers universal search to Canadian users

Yahoo has announced that Aviate, the Android launcher it purchased over a year ago, now supports search for all users outside the United States.

The company launched the universal search feature in late December, but it was only for Aviate users inside the United States and using the app in English. Speaking via a blog post published on Friday morning, Yahoo said that users on Android 4.0 or higher will see the search bar appear on their home screens once their device updates to the latest version of Aviate. Search on Aviate isn’t available in China, though Yahoo says it is accessible in the more than 70 markets where Yahoo search is public (including Canada).

Of course, the search functionality is provided by Yahoo, a company that has struggled to keep up with Microsoft and Google in the search market. Incorporating its own search engine into an already popular app could go a long way towards growing Yahoo’s brand as a search engine as well as its user base. It could also deter users. The search bar will also search apps and contacts as well as the web.

Speaking in an interview with MobileSyrup last summer, Aviate cofounder Mark Daiss said users care more about the information within apps than the apps themselves. No doubt Yahoo is hoping that by sneaking the vegetables in with the mashed potato, users won’t notice they’re using a search engine that wouldn’t be their first choice otherwise. The company also incorporates content from its other properties, like Flickr and Yahoo Daily Digest, into Aviate.

[source]Yahoo[/source]