To A9 Or Not To A9?
| Published 10/01/04

Graphic by: Jenny Conner

A9 is Amazon's new search engine. Just released out of beta testing, A9 is ready to take off.  What advantages does it have over the old standard search engines, like Google and Yahoo? Is A9 worth making the switch?

A9 combines five different search media into one. First, it searches for web documents using a search enhanced by Google. A9 also uses Google to enhance its image search. A9 allows you to access Amazon's "Search Inside the Book" feature to search for a query inside any book for sale on amazon.com. A9 also utilizes the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) to search for films and GuruNet to search for reference topics like dictionary and encyclopedia entries.

In addition to combining five different search media, A9 just looks different. Users with an A9 account can log in and customize the way their search results are displayed. For example, you can tell A9 to display results for web documents and ../images in the same window for a search, and it will display them that way for you for every search using columns. A9 features a history tool that saves your recent searches for you. You can access your recent searches via a column on the page or the A9 toolbar, which you can install to appear in all your browser windows for quick access.

A9 is without a doubt the obsessive-compulsive's search engine, because it allows the user to organize everything right down to the very last detail. Other notable organization features include: bookmarks, the ability to highlight search query words within a document, a "diary" feature that allows you to make notes about search results for easier browsing later, a "site info" display that shows information and statistics about any web document and a language translator that translates any English word into numerous other languages.

A9 boasts a number of other features that allow you to customize the way you get information on the internet. The decision whether or not to switch from your primary search engine depends mainly on two things: how attached you are to your current search engine and how organized you like your internet. If you like everything "just so," A9 is definitely for you.