Cuil, is it Cool?

As I'm sure you've read, Cuil.com is the new search engine on the block. It's main claim to fame is that it supposedly has by far the largest search index of any search engine. However, on the basis of my review of Cuil.com, I suspect it will be a short-lived flash in the pan.

Here's what I think is uncool about Cuil:

1. Limited functionality: compared to Google, for example, the functionality of the site is just too limited. I have become so used to being able to search the Web, images, news, etc. with a single additional click that I could never switch to another search engine that doesn't offer that functionality.
2. Search results format: I really hate the 2- or 3-column result layout and from this layout I cannot obviously tell the ranking of the results. I also don't like the images inserted into the results
3. Actual search results: for several of the searches that I have run on Cuil.com, I just didn't think the results they provided were always the best results for my search terms.

However, on the plus side, the main thing I do like about Cuil, is the tabs that appear along the top for certain searches, which allow you to "drill down" into specific topics related to your initial search.

For example, when I searched for "elivs presley" the following tabs appeared: Elvis Presley Lyrics, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Elvis Presley Pictures, as well as a "More" tab, containing a list of, perhaps, more obscure categories.

All in all, I think Cuil.com has a long way to go before Google and Yahoo will start worrying.