Viewpoint Corporation announced today the official beta release of its Viewpoint Toolbar featuring an innovative visualization technology called Graphically Enhanced Search(TM) (GES). The Viewpoint Toolbar v1.0 is a browser-based application that allows users to search the Internet using a new graphically enhanced interface that the Company believes will dramatically improve the search experience. Users will now be able to:
— See search results in preview images of the Web sites, speeding the natural surfing habits of “searchers.” During a search, the Search Results tray fetches previews of each of the listed results before users visit the actual pages.
— See fetched pages instantly, using Instant Views technology. Click on a fetched preview and the user is taken immediately to the desired page, without loading delays.
— DogEar pages to easily navigate back to relevant search results. One simple click on the corner of a preview image makes a DogEar that marks the page for later viewing.
— Save Visual Bookmarks of favorite websites by clicking on the + button in the toolbar. A thumbnail image of the page is then placed into the Visual Bookmarks tray.
— Benefit from the Pop-Up Slammer, next-generation pop-up blocking that is immune to blocker-circumvention technology.
— View 3D and Flash(TM) animations within the toolbar and its trays. The Viewpoint Toolbar provides for dynamic, visual, moving experiences within its skins and trays.
— Customize the look and functionality of the toolbar by downloading from a growing list of new skins.
— Receive updates and upgrades to the toolbar technology automatically through its auto-updating architecture.
Viewpoint Corporation plans to deliver new features and skins, enhancements and performance upgrades frequently over the course of the next few weeks and months. The auto-updating functionality allows for the seamless and automatic transition for users between versions of the toolbar.
The Viewpoint Toolbar is available for download as of 8pm EST on March 17th at www.viewpoint.com.
The Viewpoint Toolbar v1.0 enters the marketplace at a time when revenues from the sponsored search business have been increasing 35% per year with growth projections for the coming years at 45%, according to Jupiter Research. Search is now far outpacing the growth of any other advertising medium. The reasons for the surge are straight-forward: Search Engine Journal estimates that 114.5 million (39%) of Americans used a search engine during January 2004 to find products, services and information and spent nearly forty minutes searching during the month. Additionally, a large percentage of search users fall into the 18-34 year old male demographic, a highly coveted segment for advertisers that has been increasingly difficult to reach through traditional media. Viewpoint Corporation derives revenues from advertiser sponsorships of paid listings and therefore expects a predictable source of revenue from its toolbar initiative.
