Methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for improved device and network searching

An apparatus comprising a processor and a memory including computer program code, the memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:

• receive at least one character input;
• cause, in response to receiving the at least one character input, performance of a first search within a local memory of a device based at least in part on the at least one character input;
• and
• cause, in response to receiving a number of character inputs that exceeds a threshold number, performance of a second search external to the device based at least in part on the character inputs.

Computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having program code portions stored thereon, the program code portions being a computer readable medium and configured when said program product is run on a computer or network device, to:

• receive at least one character input;
• cause, in response to receiving the at least one character input, performance of a first search within a local memory of a device based at least in part on the at least one character input;
• and
• cause, in response to receiving a number of character inputs that exceeds a threshold number, performance of a second search external to the device based at least in part on the character inputs.