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Yahoo launches Axis web browser plug-in for Windows and Mac, Axis browser on iOS

Yahoo launches Axis web browser plug-in for Windows and Mac, Axis browser on iOS

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Yahoo is taking a break from executive drama to do something, well, dramatic: attempt to relaunch its search experience with a browser plug-in called Axis that syncs with a full-fledged iOS browser with the same name. The plug-in is available on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer 9 and the core idea is that Yahoo will present search results live as you type along with web previews

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Yahoo Axis
Yahoo Axis

Yahoo is taking a break from executive drama to do something, well, dramatic: attempt to relaunch its search experience with a browser plug-in called Axis that syncs with a full-fledged iOS browser with the same name. The plug-in is available on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer 9 and the core idea is that Yahoo will present search results live as you type along with web previews. On both clients, the search results come from Microsoft's Bing, just presented in the new UI layer Yahoo has developed. It presents itself as a small search box on the bottom-left of your browser, and when you begin typing it gives you a vertical list of suggestions next to a horizontal set of webpage previews.The plug-in will also sync your bookmarks, search history, and browser history across multiple devices.

The iOS browser exists simply because Apple doesn't allow plug-ins on Mobile Safari, but it's utilizing the same webkit engine that Mobile Safari uses, just like other third-party browsers on iOS. With your permission, Yahoo will sync your bookmarks and history to the mobile client. Yahoo tells CNET that an Android version is in development.

Yahoo's commercial (embedded below) claims that Axis will let you "rip through the web," but the less-grandiose claim that at least it moves search away from a standard list of links seems much more apropos to us.