Google on Wednesday revealed a new way to search for content on phones, Gesture Search. The Labs project app gives Android 2.0 or later devices the option of finding contacts, installed apps, bookmarks or songs by drawing alphabet gestures on the touchscreen. The system works with both upper- and lower-case letters and is smart enough to return results for other letters when the writing isn't clear.

Queries can be erased horizontal swipes either over the whole word; a reverse motion only deletes the last letter in the search. The app learns from past behavior to find frequently-accessed results quicker in subsequent tries.

Google already lets users search the contents of their Android devices by voice or search suggestions and considers this a third option for those that want an alternative. Gesture Search is already available for free at the Android Market; there aren't yet any plans to port apps to other platforms.