It’s Time To Give Adieu To iGoogle!

iGoogle will be retired in 16 months, on November 1, 2013. Early July 2012, Google has made this announcement. The mobile version is already retired on July 31, 2012.

How did they come to this decision?

They said, “iGoogle was launched in 2005 before anyone could fully imagine the way that today’s web and mobile apps would put personalized, real-time information at your fingertips.” But with modern apps that run on platforms like Chrome and Android, the need for something like iGoogle has eroded over time, so they will be winding down iGoogle on November 1, 2013 giving you a full 16 months to adjust and easily export the iGoogle data. 

Besides iGoogle, the “Spring Clean” campaign has decided to remove Symbian search app, Google video, Google Talk  Chatback and Google Mini.

Then, what will happen to the data stored in my gadgets?

All of your personal data stored in other Google products will continue to be available via those products, including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Finance, Google Docs (now Google Drive), Google Bookmarks, and Google Tasks. Other gadgets, like the to-do list, allow you to export your data - look for the “Download all” option under the drop-down menu tied to the title of your list. Most iGoogle gadgets are created and maintained by third-party developers. If you’d like to export your data, you should contact the gadget creator directly.

Google said, “Technology creates tremendous opportunities to improve people’s lives. But to make the most of them, we need to focus—or we end up doing too much and not having the impact we strive for.”

Any other alternatives are there?

On your mobile device, Google Play offers applications ranging from games to news readers to home screen widgets.

If you’re a fan of Google Chrome, the Chrome Web Store provides a similar range of options like productivity tools and applications to check the weather. In addition, just like iGoogle, you can personalize Chrome with a theme. 

Below are a few alternatives to iGoogle:

•          Netvibes
•          MyYahoo
•          Inbox
•          Protopage

You can also find the information about iGoogle retirement on their support section - http://support.google.com/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2664197

Post by IT staff augmentation company Omnie Solutions Pvt Ltd.