JUMPTAP SELECTS SKWEEZER TECHNOLOGY FOR MOBILE WEB CONTENT OPTIMIZATION

Skweezer Inc's mobile content optimization technology is now available with JumpTap's mobile search implementations for wireless carriers. Mobile search and advertising company JumpTap will be using Skweezer technology to accelerate and optimize PC web pages accessed from the search results, thus improving overall mobile search experience. JumpTap is using Skweezer Private Label, a carrier-grade solution that optimizes web content for PDAs and cell phones. "While companies are still figuring out how to discover new mobile content, JumpTap has moved ahead of the pack to provide easy access to relevant content regardless of where it resides, including on-deck, off-deck, Internet, or mobile web," said Skweezer CEO Kevin Perkins. "By using Skweezer technology, JumpTap can enhance the users' mobile search experience and generate more revenue for carriers." -Smarajit Dasgupta

GOOGLE DELIVERS ADWORDS TARGETING ON IPHONE, G1

Google has added an option allowing AdWords advertisers to display their desktop text and image ads on the iPhone, the T-Mobile G1, and other mobile devices with HTML "full browsers." Advertisers will be able to target ads on mobile devices, create campaigns for them, and get separate performance reporting. They can also choose to restrict ads only on desktop and laptop computers by opting out. AdWords advertisers can target ads for specific devices by selecting "Networks and Bidding" within "Device Platform," by visiting their campaign settings. A video demonstrating AdWords for iPhone and G1 can be viewed on Youtube. -Smarajit Dasgupta

ADMOB LETS ADVERTISERS TARGET SPECIFIC MOBILE DEVICES

AdMob now allows advertisers to target specific mobile devices through its self-serve ad targeting user interface. Advertisers and application developers will be able to target ads to over 4,500 mobile handsets from over 200 manufacturers, including Android and Windows Mobile devices. While device-specific targeting may reduce traffic for advertisers, AdMob believes it can improve click thru rate. Using the self-serve interface, advertisers can search the names of the specific devices and add them. Advertisers will be able to see the devices in the "Your Targeted Devices" table on the ad creation / edit page. -Smarajit Dasgupta

LOCATIONET POWERS TELEGATE’S 11 88 0 MOBILE LOCAL SEARCH AND NAVIGATION SERVICE

European information services provider Telegate AG has teamed up with LocatioNet Systems Ltd. to debut a free ad-funded mobile local search and GPS navigation service. It lets users search in the 11 88 0 directory for businesses in Germany, and lets them view results on a detailed map. Users can also choose to get visual and voice guided turn-by-turn GPS navigation to the desired address. It can also calculate the fastest routes between two locations, save and manage personal favorites list, and offers five days weather forecast. The service is powered by LocatioNet’s amAze. Mobile users can directly get the application for free from navi.11880.com or via www.11880.com. The ad-funded service is free but data charges may apply according to the mobile users’ data plans. Users will receive ad banners that will be presented to them only in idle moment of usage. The ads can include special offers and coupons offered by local merchants. The 11 88 0 directory service currently covers Germany and the mapping and navigation service is covering Europe, North America, Middle East, Australia, parts of Asia and South Africa with additional coverage being updated. -Smarajit Dasgupta

KGB TO ACQUIRE SMS SEARCH PROVIDER TEXPERTS

DA provider kgb has acquired UK-based SMS search company Texperts. The acquisition is expected to enhance kgb's ability to build on its text advertising program TXT//Ads, which launched in the UK in 2007. "Texperts is a perfect strategic fit for kgb as we continue to grow our SMS mobile find businesses across Europe and North America. With their innovative software platform and industry experience, Texperts will enable us to serve our millions of customers better," said kgb CEO of Mobile and Digital Services, Bruce Stewart. "At kgb we have built our reputation on bringing millions of consumers immediate, specific, accurate, and convenient answers to their questions 24 hours a day via phone, text, and the Internet. Acquiring Texperts will extend our strength in that space and broaden our capability to better serve our customers, as well as the advertisers who want to reach them." -Smarajit Dasgupta

TAPTU RAISES UK₤ 6.45 MILLION, APPOINTS NEW COO

Mobile search engine Taptu has raised UK₤ 6.45 million in a series B funding round from its existing investors 3i and Sofinnova. The funding is expected to be used to accelerate Taptu's continued growth over the next twelve months. UK-based Taptu has also appointed Andreas Bernstrom as the Chief Operating Officer. Bernstrom will be part of Taptu's senior management team, responsible for managing the company's commercial growth and formalizing Taptu's mobile advertising position worldwide. Previously, he was COO at Internet marketing company TradeDoubler. -Smarajit Dasgupta

BELGACOM LAUNCHES MOBILE DIRECTORY SOLUTION

Belgian provider of telecommunications services Belgacom has launched a new “mailbox” service that allows callers to leave voice mail on nearly 2 million of the estimated 10.6 million Belgian mobile phones. Belgacom says that the service is being offered by Proximus, the brand under which Belgacom's wholly-owned mobile subsidiary Belgacom Mobile markets mobile services, and Belgacom brands 1307, 1207, 1405, and 1407, the dialing codes under which Belgacom offers French, Dutch, English, and German directory assistance (DA). Belgacom reports that Belgacom Mobile served 4.6 million customers and 43.8% of the market of active customers as of the end of 2007. Belgacom, which has maintained its dominant market share in the DA market in part because of the fact that the regulator did not adopt a 118xxx dialing code, receives 140,000 calls each work day and 42 million calls annually. Belgacom sees that its DA volume is decreasing approximately 5% annually, considers the Internet to be its biggest competitor, and hopes that its new mailbox service will help reduce the decline in its DA volume.

Until the launch of this mailbox service, callers to Belgacom’s DA service could obtain numbers for 95% of the fixed lines that were listed but only approximately 4% of the mobile numbers for those mobile customers who chose to opt-in to the DA service. An estimated 30% of subscribers are mobile-only customers, and 95% of Belgian mobile subscribers have voice mail. With the launch of the new mailbox service, when callers ask for a listing of a mobile subscriber who has not opted-in to the directory database, the caller is given the opportunity to be connected to the voice mailbox of the “called” party. The called party is notified of the voice message and may do with it what they wish.

Belgacom’s DA service is available to every Belgian subscriber. DA charges are approximately 1.25 EUR from fixed lines and 1.40 EUR from mobile phones. There is no charge to retrieve voice messages. Mobile customers were notified in advance of the launch that this service was going to be implemented, they were given the option to opt-out of the service, and may opt-out of the service at any time. Approximately 100 customers have opted-out so far. There is no charge to opt-out.

While Belgacom Mobile reports 4.6 million mobile customers, less than 2 million listings are initially available because approximately half of Belgian Mobile subscribers are prepaid, about whom Belgacom does not have listing information, and because Belgacom chose to initially include residential listings only. Belgacom hopes that other Belgian mobile carriers decide to participate and make their listings available. Prior to this launch, Belgacom had approximately 4 million fixed and 400 thousand mobile listings. Belgacom has 480 operators in 10 call centers in Brussels, Antwerp, Roeselare, Aalst, Hasselt, Mons, Charleroi, Namur, Liège and Eupen.

Many carriers and DA service providers throughout Europe and elsewhere in the world have been looking for ways to better serve mobile customers, and will be looking to see whether Belgacom’s offering will be a success. -Stuart Whitaker

LOOPT LAUNCHES ANDROID APPLICATION

Social-mapping and communication service Loopt has launched its Android application. The application includes the major Loopt features including background location updating which enables users to receive alerts when a friend is closely. Users can also switch between map modes for a satellite view of their friend map or to monitor traffic delays. Loopt users can also share their information with sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter or personal blogs and websites. Loopt is currently supported on more than 100 handsets including the iPhone and BlackBerry and is now available on select phones with the Android Market. Loopt users can share their location between carrier networks with fellow Loopt users on AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Boost, MetroPCS, and T-Mobile. -Smarajit Dasgupta

CITYSEARCH LAUNCHES IPHONE APPLICATION

Citysearch has launched an application for the iPhone and iPod touch, available via the Apple App Store. It lets users access local editorial content, browse nearby listings, sort by preferences, and write reviews on-the-go. Aided by location-based technology, Citysearch identifies local restaurants, hotels, bars, and shops nearby and allows people to search for business listings or categories by keyword. Users can map the results to find their desired destination. "We set out to build the most convenient and trustworthy local city guide on the iPhone," said Dinesh Moorjani, VP of IAC Mobile. "As consumers grow accustomed to relying on mobile devices to inform urgent decisions and share local, user-generated content, Citysearch on the iPhone and iPod touch empowers users with mobile reviews, featured write-ups on local neighborhood venues, and hyper-local content including user and editorial reviews." -Smarajit Dasgupta

CHACHA SMS SEARCH MARKET SHARE SOARS

ChaCha said it has captured over 28% of standard rate SMS search transactions in the third quarter according to the Q3 Mobile Messaging Report from The Nielsen Company. ChaCha pointed out its 28% share of transactions is up from just 7% in Q2, representing a 300% quarter over quarter gain, driven by a 660% quarter over quarter growth in overall ChaCha transactions. ChaCha reports that they now deliver 30 million impressions per month and have had more than 2.5 million users since the SMS answers service launched in January 2008. "ChaCha's viral growth of a new user every seven seconds is proof that ChaCha's mobile answers service is unmatched – we offer the easiest and most effective mobile search experience in the US," said ChaCha CEO Scott A. Jones. "Our rapid growth, millions of searches and demographic clearly demonstrate to advertisers that we are a major influence on the mobile search market, and have the capability to impact users' buying decisions – which is especially relevant given advertisers' interest in getting as much as possible out of their advertising dollar during these tough economic conditions." -Smarajit Dasgupta

JUMPTAP LAUNCHES ADTAP FOR PUBLISHERS MOBILE MONETIZATION SOLUTION

Mobile search and advertising firm JumpTap has launched ADtap for Publishers – a solution offering mobile publishers, media companies, and iPhone application developers a means to monetize their traffic and streamline sales to brands and agencies. At the core of the solution is the tapLink Platform that builds targeting intelligence from multiple sources including search queries, browsing history, demographic, and location data. “Our focus is to align ourselves with high quality publishers to maintain an inventory that is relevant to users and advertisers," said JumpTap CMO said Paran Johar. “Inventory quality and effective targeting are critical factors necessary to create a positive user experience, where the ad is actually viewed as valuable content. Our technology leverages data from multiple sources to deliver the relevant ads that in turn drive higher effective yields for publishers.” Advertisers in JumpTap’s mobile ad network can run ads across a set of premium mobile channels including different audience segmented packages like entertainment, finance, news, reference, sports, lifestyle, social networking, travel, and games. JumpTap cited M:Metrics data suggesting mobile browsing has been up 89% from last year and page views is up 126%, to note that targeted mobile advertising is now a key strategy for numerous publishers. Of 2.3 billion total available monthly impressions, JumpTap claims its Premium Mobile Ad Network attracts more than 26 million unique users with over 450 million premium page views per month. -Smarajit Dasgupta

TAPTU RELEASES WAPEDIA FOR IPHONE

Taptu, in partnership with Wapedia developer Florian Amrhein, has released the Wapedia mobile wiki iPhone application. Taptu says it focused on making the application as fast as possible by scaling images for the iPhone, showing a table of contents to jump down to a section of the page in a snap and paginating the very long pages to speed up loading. The application is available in English, French, German, Iitalian, and Spanish.

We tested the application and found it works well, our only complaint being that we've become spoiled by voice recognition which, unfortunately, Wapedia doesn't offer. -Stuart Whitaker

XTIFY LAUNCHES PLATFORM TO ASCERTAIN REAL-TIME LOCATION OF MOBILE USERS

Xtify Inc has launched the beta version of its location based platform enabling software developers to ascertain the location of their users independently of the wireless carriers. Developers can program into Xtify's API and incorporate location into their existing website without having to build their own applications. Xtify licenses a client that users can download to their phone. The client extracts the location of the handset and pushes that location to Xtify's servers on a periodic basis. Any website can write to Xtify's API to access the location of their participating users and reflect that location in content displayed to that user. Xtify has the ability to know where users are throughout the day, and whether or not they are surfing the Internet at any given time. Users need to opt-in to each service for Xtify location sharing and can always choose with whom and when their location is shared. "We don't believe it's feasible for every application developer to re-build their websites or mobile websites into downloadable programs that access location," said Andrew Weinreich, Xtify CEO. "We also think that in order for location to be ubiquitous it needs to be offered outside of the wireless carriers." Location based mobile dating company MeetMoi and social network SeeMyWhere have already implemented Xtify technology. -Smarajit Dasgupta

VLINGO LAUNCHES VOICE-POWERED IPHONE APPLICATION

Voice servies provider vlingo Corporation has introduced the vlingo for iPhone application on the Apple App Store. It gives users the ability to dial their contacts, search the web, access Google Maps, and send status updates for Facebook and Twitter, simply by speaking. “The iPhone offers an innovative multi-touch user interface that is fundamentally transforming the wireless industry," said Dave Grannan, CEO of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based vlingo. "We’re proud to debut our breakthrough voice recognition technology on iPhone, taking simplicity one step further by reducing much of the reliance on typing, making mobile data and applications easier to find and use.” A demo video of the application is available.-Smarajit Dasgupta

PROXIMIC DEBUTS PROXIMIC AGENTS APPLICATION FOR IPHONE

Search and contextual advertising firm Proximic has introduced the first version of Proximic Agents, a mobile search application. Currently available at the iPhone App store, Proximic Agents focuses on offering personalized and intelligent news on the iPhone. The application will scour through over a million RSS news feeds to find relevant content. Proximic Agents comes with a number of smartphone-friendly features, such as "Point to Search," which enables users to find relevant information just by pointing to an entire block of text on the touch screen. In addition, Proximic Agents enables users to request and receive timely information on any number of topics. Based on Proximic's language-independent approach to finding and matching contextually relevant information, the new application enables users to search and receive information by using features designed for new generations of mobile phones like touch screens, while de-emphasizing features better suited to desktop computers. Proximic's "pattern proximity" search approach automatically reads and matches relevant content according to interconnected "patterns" that are not even based on words but which exist within each document. Later versions of the application will look to increase the relevance of information and substantially decrease the users’ efforts in accessing that information. "The market for search and contextual advertising has as much potential – if not greater potential – on the mobile handset as it has had on the computer desktop," said Proximic CTO Thomas Nitsche. "But first, search must adapt to the way consumers use their mobile phones. Mobile handset manufacturers have spent a great deal of time and energy understanding how consumers use their phones. It's time for the search market to catch up, and become more proactive and less of a strain for the users. At Proximic, we want to contribute to solving this situation and make a big move in the right direction."-Smarajit Dasgupta

MULTIPLIED MEDIA, YELLOW PAGES GROUP FORM MOBILE DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT

Calgary-based Multiplied Media Corp has formed a distribution agreement with Yellow Pages Group, which integrates business directory information from YellowPages.ca into the mobile versions of Multiplied's Poynt local search service. The Poynt local search service is now available through Windows Live Messenger and BlackBerry in Canada. Users can enter search terms, and find relevant retailer, product, or service information near their location, including phone and address information as well as enhanced data such as interactive maps, driving directions, movie reviews, and ticket purchase. Multiplied Media CEO Andrew Osis said, "By extending our agreement with Yellow Pages Group to Poynt mobile applications the tremendous growth we are seeing in user numbers and user queries will have a positive impact on our projected revenues." Poynt for BlackBerry can be downloaded from m.mypoynt.com via their BlackBerry browser. The Windows Live Messenger version can be accessed by adding poynt@live.com to one’s buddy list. -Smarajit Dasgupta

AT&T TAPS CHACHA FOR TEXT AND VOICE ADS. AT&T

AT&T and mobile search services company ChaCha have formed a partnership that will enable ChaCha to use a co-branded greeting and promote AT&T when consumers call 1-800 2ChaCha (+1-800-2-242242). The companies will look to further explore opportunities in both text and voice ad-based services. "AT&T continues to look for new ways to make its voice and local search services tailored to the needs of today's consumer – in the voice space specifically, beyond just traditional name and number searches," said Susan Johnson, senior VP of AT&T Customer Information Services. "Our work with ChaCha provides a great opportunity – really, another vehicle – to put information and answers right at people's fingertips." -Smarajit Dasgupta

NOKIA UPGRADES MAPS, INTEGRATES WITH OVI

Nokia has upgraded its mobile mapping and navigation service Nokia Maps, as well as its personalized online mapping experience on Ovi by Nokia. Nokia Maps now include high-resolution aerial images, 3D landmarks for 216 cities, and terrain maps, as well as a new route overview during routing and during Drive, the purchasable turn-by-turn car navigation guidance. The higher quality of maps can be attributed to the relationship between Nokia and NAVTEQ. The level of detail in the maps has increased to the point that users can view multiple entrances to the same underground metro station. Nokia Maps now also offers instant access to real time information such as camera alerts, safety spots, and traffic information for selected countries, as well as Wcities event guides providing real-time information for events and movies in over 450 destinations. Nokia Maps plus Ovi allows people to plan their journey at home on their PC and synchronize with their mobile, giving access to pre-planned routes and favorite destinations while on the move. The new version of the Nokia Maps application for selected devices is available on the Nokia Beta Labs. Additionally, the online version will be accessible at maps.ovi.com. -Smarajit Dasgupta

CHINESE MOBILE SEARCH COMPANY EASOU SECURES US$ 12 MILLION

Chinese mobile search company YETI Group Ltd. (Easou) has raised US$ 12 million in a third round of financing led by iD TechVentures and AXA Private Equity (www.axaprivateequity.com). Shenzhen-headquartered Easou intends to utilize the funds for further R&D, marketing, and geographic expansion. CEO of Easou Frank Wang, said, “We firmly believe in the bright future of the wireless Internet business in China, and will continue to provide mobile users with high-quality and easy-to-use mobile search services.” Easou was founded in March 2005 and provides mobile users with search based information services, and offers SMEs with targeted marketing and advertisement services. -Smarajit Dasgupta

CALL GENIE BAGS A CONTRACT WITH CHILE-BASED LA GRAN GUIA

Call Genie has entered into a “full product suite” multi-year contract with La Gran Guia SA, a Chile-based directories publisher owned by El Mercurio SAP and VTR GlobalCom SA. It is anticipated that the solution will be commercialized in phases over the course of next year and into 2010. "Our contract with La Gran Guia represents a significant beachhead into a large, and rapidly expanding Latin American market," said Call Genie CEO Mike Durance. Call Genie will be utilizing a comprehensive suite of its products to commercialize a mobile local search and advertising solution for La Gran Guia. The contract is based primarily on a revenue share arrangement, but also includes upfront implementation fees, transactional fees, and hosting fees. -Smarajit Dasgupta

GOOGLE ENHANCES SMS SEARCH IN INDIA

Google India has launched a new version of Google SMS Search with enhanced features. Users can text their query to 9773300000 at the cost of a regular SMS and get answers. This service is available across all operators in India on both GSM and CDMA mobile phones. SMS Search offers cricket scores, Indian Railways information, stock quotes, horoscope, news, movie showtimes, flight status information, weather, currency conversion, calculator, and more. It also offers local business search across 34 cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Vadodara, Surat, Kanpur, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Rajkot, Ernakulam, Cochin, Gaziabad, Bhuwneshwar, Aurangabad, Lucknow, Nashik, Indore, Panaji, Bhopal, Agra, Guntur, Visakhapatnam, Jalandhar, Amritsar, and Coimbatore. -Smarajit Dasgupta

TAPTU SELECTS ESENDEX FOR SEARCH CONTENT SHARING

Cambridge-based mobile search engine Taptu has chosen communications provider Esendex to enable rapid content sharing via SMS. Mobile content searches can now be shared more easily via text message across the Esendex SMS network. "Enabling consumers to not only find great entertainment super-fast but to be able to share it with their friends is proving very popular with our users. But our users demand that what they share will be received, so its essential we have a confidence in our SMS partner. We chose Esendex as it has direct links to the five major UK mobile operators and the service is proven, reliable, and effective," said Lynsey Tucker, Head of Commercial at Taptu. -Smarajit Dasgupta

118 218 INTRODUCES SMS Q&A SERVICE IN FRANCE

France-based DQ provider 118 218 has launched a text message based Q&A service called “Tout sur Tout.” The service aims to answer any kind of questions on any topic, including directory based queries. Users can SMS their questions to 118 218 and expect to receive a response within 3 minutes. The questions are handled by 118 218 call center operators who draw answers from the web, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and content provided by partners. The service is accessible from all mobile operators in France and is priced at € 0.50 per question, chargeable only if an answer is found. -Smarajit Dasgupta

ALLTEL WIRELESS LAUNCHES IDLE SCREEN-BASED CONTENT AND ADVERTISING SOLUTION

Alltel Wireless has launched a customized interactive content service called Alltel Perks, which delivers sports scores, weather information, trivia, etc directly to the idle screen of customers’ phones. One needs to download the free Alltel Perks application from the Alltel Shop to receive content even when the handset is not in use. The content may also include discount offers from local merchants and coupons for restaurants. The service, powered by Mobile Posse, is fully customizable based on consumer preference and feedback. It delivers content based on the customers’ ZIP code, age, and gender, in addition to providing information and offers related to specific times of day and days of the week. Delivered messages are maintained in the “Recent Offer Menu” folder for a short period of time, so customers can take advantage of the current offers and discounts. As offers are pushed onto the handset, users can open the banner to display more content by selecting the “View” hot button as indicated on the phone. If any other button is selected the offer will go away. Airtime charges may be applicable for the service. “The launch of Alltel Perks represents an innovative way for our customers to receive offers and information that is of interest, while providing marketers a powerful vehicle for reaching potential customers wherever they may be,” said Jeff Giard, Alltel’s VP of product development and mobile advertising. “As handsets continue to evolve into entertainment, media and content delivery devices, Alltel continues to provide our customers with the most useful services and applications, such as Alltel Perks.” -Smarajit Dasgupta

GOOGLE MOBLE APP DELIVERS MOBILE SEARCH RESULTS WITH FEWER KEYSTROKES

The keyboard limitations of mobile phones are a significant disincentive to moble phone search which the new release of Google Mobile App for the iPhone, dated November 14, is designed to address (this seems to be a very early release--v. 0.3.142.951). Google Mobile App team member Mike LeBeau demonstrates the features of the new release in a Youtube video available from a PC and, in an innovative use of mobile video, on the iPhone under the Google Moble App Settings, About section.

LeBeau stresses four new features: voice-initiated search using the iPhone Accelerometer; search results based on location; mannually initiated voice search results; faster suggestions for search results on keyboard-initiated searches.

The voice-initiated search using the iPhone Accelerometer requires that the Screen Rotation feature be turned off. Using the Google Mobile App with the Screen Rotation feature turned off, lifting the iPhone to your ear starts the recording, lowering the iPhone from your ear initiates the voice recognition and search. This feature works as described.

The search results based on location also works as narrowly described, but not broadly. Asking for "movie showtimes" produced a listing of showtimes for movies in our location. However, "movie schedule," "traffic reports," and "weather reports" produced results without consideration of our location. The first results for "movie schedule," "traffic report," and "weather report" were wap.fandango.com, www.traffic.com, and www.weather.com.

Initiating search by tapping the microphone icon produced the same results as the motion-initiated search, while bypassing the Accelerometer.

The fourth feature demonstrates Google's reach into the wide range of data. By initiating a keyboard search for "weather," Google Mobile returned a link to a Google Maps search for weather, a linke to "The Weather Channel" in the phone's contact list, a link to www.weather.com, and various other links.

Google isn't the first to voice-enable the iPhone--we wrote about Say Where from Dial Directions last month--and it isn't without limitations. One limitation is the Youtube demo on the iPhone in the Google Mobile App Settings, About section: it didn't work. While it did bring up the Youtube video, the video itself kept pausing and wouldn't play without constantly pressing the play button. Another limitation is the fact that voice-initiated search results don't include information in the iPhone contact list--though some privacy-sensitive individuals may in fact prefer what we see as a limitation. With respect to driving directions, Google Mobile App doesn't attempt to deliver driving directions in the same manner as the Say Where application from Dial Directions--Google Mobile App would merely take you to Google Maps.

Finally, advertising-supported applications from Google are all about driving traffic to applications and because Google has made no secret about its belief that mobile services will offer as great or greater revenue opportunities as the fixed-line Internet. To that end, conveniently located on the Google Moble App main window is a link to other Google Apps: Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Talk, Reader, Goog-411, News, Notebook, Photos, orkut, Translate, Maps, YouTube, and Earth. Google Mobile App is likely to be a very powerful tool--for Google. -Stuart Whitaker

YAHOO! ONESEARCH TO POWER T-MOBILE’S WEB2GO SERVICE

Yahoo! oneSearch will power mobile search made using T-Mobile USA's new web2go service. Yahoo! will also deliver mobile sponsored search results and in some cases display advertising within the search results presented through T-Mobile's web2go. Yahoo! and T-Mobile partnered earlier this year with Yahoo! powering mobile search and advertising for T-Mobile International across ten European countries. OneSearch will enable web2go users to access to news, financial information, weather conditions, Flickr photos, web images, general web, and mobile web content. It will also display relevant ringtones, wallpaper, games, and other content available in the T-Mobile Store within search results. -Smarajit Dasgupta

TRAFFICCAST, DIAL DIRECTIONS DELIVER VOICE-ENABLED TRAFFIC SERVICE

Madison, Wisconsin-based traffic data analysis company TrafficCast International and voice-enabled mobile LBS provider Dial Directions have partnered to develop products and services designed to integrate real-time traffic congestion and travel time forecasts to mobile navigation and routing solutions. TrafficCast’s DynaFlow technology will combine with Dial Directions’ voice-based solution to enable the matching of traffic information to specific routes. Drivers can simply speak their destination to receive audio traffic reports containing travel times and traffic alerts. For pre-trip planning, drivers can call ahead to provide their desired route, receive real-time traffic information, and make informed travel decisions. “Real-time personalized traffic updates will further differentiate our navigation solutions,” said Dial Directions CEO Adeeb Shanaa. “We’re delighted to partner with TrafficCast to deliver an innovative mobile service that can be used every day by drivers.” -Smarajit Dasgupta

GOOGLE OPTIMIZES SEARCH FOR THE IPHONE

Google has finally optimized search for the iPhone and iPod touch firmware version 2x for US-based users. The local search results feature "Get Directions" and click-to-call links. When one searches for local businesses, maps are displayed by default in the case of a single listing. For multiple listings, one can view maps by clicking on the "Show map" link. Users can also switch back to the regular Google desktop search format by clicking on the "Classic" link near the bottom. A demo video can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARiwhbeyXFM. -Smarajit Dasgupta

AIRTEL TO OFFER ASKLAILA-POWERED CITY SEARCH IN INDIA

India-based local search provider asklaila has partnered with private telecom service provider Airtel to power its city search services. The free “Airtel city search” service will reach more than 30 million users across the six cities where asklaila is available, including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Bangalore. The uniqueness in Airtel’s offering lies in the fact that the local search service will be available across three screens, i.e. mobile, PC (via Airtel’s broadband service), and TV (Airtel DTH). The mobile service will be available across four modes: SMS, USSD, WAP, and Airtel Live. To use it via SMS, users can text a keyword to 54321. Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) is an instant messaging type phone service and can be used in even basic phone models. This is accessible under Airtel Live USSD portal by dialing *321#. It will also be integrated in the Airtel service menu, under the Airtel Live brand. asklaila is a service of Four Interactive and its search features include proximity search, syntax-free search option, address compression, locality short forms, and landmark information. -Smarajit Dasgupta

YAHOO! ONESEARCH FOR VOICE LAUNCHES IN THE UK

Yahoo! oneSearch with voice is now available in the UK allowing mobile users to initiate searches by speaking. It lets consumers perform unstructured searches and adapts to the user's intonations and accent, providing increasingly fine-tuned results as the product is used. Users can switch between speaking and typing at any time. Yahoo! oneSearch with voice for UK can be downloaded from uk.m.yahoo.com. The service is free, though carrier data charges may be applicable. -Smarajit Dasgupta

SCANLIFE 2D BARCODE APPLICATION NOW ON SPRINT CAMERA PHONES

Select Sprint phone users can now use the New York-based Scanbuy Inc’s ScanLife application to obtain information via 2D barcodes. Customers can scan a barcode and send it to a website via their Sprint phone to find information such as pricing, availability, and additional product information. “Sprint is excited to launch Scanbuy’s 2D barcode technology, which combines with the speed of the Now Network to give our customers a new way to access information they want the instant they want it,” said Len Barlik, VP of wireless and wireline services at Sprint. “Mobile barcode scanning promises to help customers quickly get to information and services.” ScanLife will be initially available on more than 30 Sprint camera phones. It can be downloaded by visiting www.getscanlife.com from the mobile browser or by texting “SCAN” to 70734. The 2D barcodes can be placed by companies or individuals on any physical media. For the creation of barcodes ScanLife also has a Code Management Platform at www.scanlife.com. Barcodes can also be linked to one’s contact information or social networking profiles. -Smarajit Dasgupta

REPORT: MICROSOFT NEARING MOBILE SEARCH DEAL WITH VERIZON WIRELESS

The Wall Street Journal reported citing sources that Microsoft is closing in on finalizing a mobile search deal with Verizon Wireless whereby Microsoft will become the default search provider on Verizon devices. The deal is said to be worth US$ 550 million to US$ 650 million over five years. Reportedly, this figure is nearly double of what rival Google has offered for the same deal. Microsoft is apparently also negotiating a deal with Verizon to distribute Windows Mobile software via more of the carrier’s devices. Combined worth of the two deals could be to the tune of US$ 1 billion. -Smarajit Dasgupta

ITSMY.COM CHOOSES TAPTU FOR MOBILE SEARCH

Mobile community itsmy.com has appointed Taptu to power mobile search and provide access to an index of mobile-friendly web content. itsmy.com, a brand of Gofresh GmbH, boasts of over two million users, who will now be able to access to a variety of content via Taptu including videos, music, images, and more. itsmy.com CEO Antonio Vince Staybl said, "We wanted to work with a company that really “gets” mobile and understands that desktop search isn't mobile search. Taptu is made for mobile and we love its unique and social way to search the mobile web." In addition to core search functionality, Taptu offers mobile search sponsored links to its mobile partners. Taptu mobile search can also be accessed at taptu.com on Internet-enabled mobile phones with a standard mobile browser and is available in English, Spanish, Italian, French, and German. Founded in 2007, Taptu is privately held with investors including 3i and Sofinnova. -Smarajit Dasgupta

LOCAL.COM BRINGS LOCAL MOBILE TO VIRGIN MOBILE NETWORK

Local.com has launched Local Mobile on the Virgin Mobile USA network offering the carrier’s more than five million customers access to Local Mobile directly from all 3G Virgin Mobile USA handsets. Local Mobile is an ad-supported local mobile site that provides users with access to directory services and search results for local businesses, products, and services. Local.com president and COO Bruce Crair said, “This partnership allows Virgin Mobile USA customers to easily access relevant local business information from their mobile devices, and is part of Local.com’s efforts to expand the reach of our Local Mobile product to consumers nationwide.” Local.com partnered with mobile community applications company Trilibis Mobile to develop and deploy Local Mobile. Features in Local Mobile include local business information based on “what” and “where” search; business profile pages with mapping; driving directions; click-to-call; listings sent to a mobile phone or device via SMS; and sorting of results by relevance, distance, or name. -Smarajit Dasgupta

HIOGI INTRODUCES COMMUNITY-BASED MOBILE Q&A SERVICE VIA SKYPE

hiogi has launched a mobile question and answer service "hiogi for Skype" that enables users to ask for advice by typing a question into their Skype chat window. "hiogi for Skype mobile is the easiest way to receive quick answers while traveling," said Bjoern Behrendt, CEO of hiogi. "It's like chatting with a good friend, who is always willing to help and who knows everything." Questions are answered by the online community. Users can register for free, add their Skype name on the site, and approve hiogi to be added in their contact list. Questions can be sent to hiogi directly on Skype by writing the keyword “ASK” before the question. Answers are accompanied by references or comments on the Skype chat window. A list of all functions can be requested by typing in the keyword HELP into the chat window. -Smarajit Dasgupta

RELEVANTADS.COM LAUNCHES MOBILE BUSINESS DIRECTORY

SEO firm Relevant Ads recently launched a mobile search business directory to coincide with the launch of T-Mobile G1 Google Android-powered phone. Relevant Ads founder and CTO David Rodecker said, "We launched our mobile directory to coincide with the launch of this device so that its users, and other mobile device users, can access our customer's business profiles on the Internet. Now, our customers will not only be found by people searching the Internet at home and work, but also while searching the Internet from anywhere on their mobile device." RelevantAds.com has included all of its existing local business customers in the new mobile business directory at no additional cost. It has also rolled out Google's Mobile Adwords program to its customer base. -Smarajit Dasgupta

ABI RESEARCH: 82 MILLION MOBILE LOCATION BASED SOCIAL NETWORKING SUBSCRIPTIONS BY 2013

ABI Research predicts that there will be over 82 million mobile location-based social networking subscriptions by 2013. According to ABI Research, licensing agreements with carriers and handsets manufacturers will be a crucial success factor for location-enabled social networking. Ad-based models are expected to prevail in the long run. The emergence of location-enabled instant messaging with applications such as Palringo Local and Nokia Chat are also enriching mobile communication with location context. "While growth will be mainly driven by the availability of multimedia-centric GPS handsets, other mobile form factors will also become important," said ABI Research director Dominique Bonte. "Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) with built-in GPS receivers have been announced, with location-based social networking site GyPSii supporting Moblin-based Intel Atom processor-powered MIDs. Connected PNDs and outdoor GPS solutions are other obvious candidates for location-based networking. Nissan Carwings' in-car telematics solution allows the sharing and ranking of fuel consumption in Japan." -Smarajit Dasgupta

A WALK DOWN THE ANDROID MARKET

With the launch of the first Android-powered phone T-Mobile G1 and the opening of the Android Market, a number of online applications for the Android platform have gone live. Google and the Open Handset Alliance have also made the Android platform source code open to developers letting them build applications and services for Android-powered devices. The Android Market lets users download, rate, and comment on applications. These user ratings coupled with usage statistics will determine how the applications are ranked. Developers need to register with a US$ 25 fee and go through an authentication process before being able to put up their applications on the marketplace. The initial applications will be the free, but from first quarter 2009 developers will be able to distribute paid applications. Developers will be able to take home 70% of the revenue generated from the paid-for applications, while the rest of the revenue share will go to the carriers and billing settlement fees (Google will not keep a share for itself).

Applications available already fall into six categories: Contacts / Events; Environment; Information Services; Location Based; Shopping; and Social Networking.

Application, Developer, URL	Description
Contacts / events
e-ventr, Michael Zitzelsberger, www.e-ventr.com	A personal event organizer and friendship scout that allows one to arrange meetings, organize activities, and accept invitations.
iSkoot For Skype, iSkoot Inc., www.iskoot.com	It lets users access their Skype contacts, make and receive Skype calls, chat, and place SkypeOut calls from their mobile phone. Currently available in the US only, iSkoot does not require a WiFi connection or 3G networks.
Maverick, Multiple Facets Inc., www.multiplefacets.com	Maverick is a Google Talk compatible instant messenger that integrates photos, scribbles, audio clips, location, and graphical emotions into the experience. It also enables users to receive Gmail notifications.
Environment
Ecorio, Jeff Kao, Robert Lam, Gary Pong, Taneem Talukdar, Jason Wong, www.ecorio.org	Ecorio tracks one’s “mobile carbon footprint” and encourages one to reduce and offset it. It runs in the background of one’s phone and tracks when one is moving by car or public transport and adds up the trips and calculates carbon output for each trip. It also draws from Google Transit to suggest transit routes one could take for the trips. One can purchase equivalent offset amounts based on their carbon footprint and these are used to fund greenhouse gas reduction projects.
Information services
BreadCrumbz, Amos Yoffe, www.bcrumbz.com	A picture-based navigation application for mobile phones that lets one navigate using pictures as well as a map. One can create their own picture routes and share them.
WikiMobile Encyclopedia, Bonfire Media Inc, www.bonfiremedia.com	Provides access to all 2 million Wikipedia articles, including pictures and quick facts. Users can bookmark their favorites for easy tracking.
Wikitude , Philipp Breuss, www.mobilizy.com	A mobile global travel guide based on location-based Wikipedia content. It helps in planning a trip or to find out about landmarks in one’s surroundings. It offers searching of 350,000 world-wide points of interest by GPS or by address and have results displayed in a list view, map view, or camera view.
Location based
cab4me light, Skycoders , www.cab4me.com	Lets one select the pickup location on a map or from their contacts to get a cab. cab4me light then provides a list of cab companies serving the area along with contact information.
iMap Weather, Weathertop Consulting LLC and Weather Decision Technologies Inc, www.wdtinc.com	Offers graphically enriched "street level" weather information including high-quality radar images, lightning strike information, current weather conditions, weather forecasts, and active severe weather watches and warnings notifications. Users can explore local weather conditions interactively, create pinpoint forecasts, and zoom in and out of radar weather data for current or chosen locations.
iSafe, Navee Technologies, www.freefamilywatch.com	iSafe offers safety guides with voice alerts on high-crime neighborhoods, severe weather, allergies, air quality, and speed limit monitoring.
LifeAware, LifeAware LLC, www.lifeaware.net	LifeAware lets one use their phone or the LifeAware website to locate friends and family. Users can setup zones to trigger alerts when friends or family enter or leave the area. They can also tag locations with descriptions and images and share them. Users can specify whether to use GPS, network, or both.
Locale, Clare Bayley, Carter Jernigan, Jasper Lin, Jennifer Shu, Christina Wright, www.androidlocale.com	Locale is a location-aware settings manager that automatically changes one’s phone's settings based on conditions, such as location. One can create Situations, which specify conditions under which one’s settings should change. Examples of true/false-based condition questions are "Am I at home?" or "Is my battery below 20%?" and corresponding settings can be "turn on call forwarding to my landline" and "turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth" respectively. One can also use it to automatically turn their phone into silent / vibrator mode when they near their office by specifying distance and location.
Marvin, Laurent Pontier, www.marvinreloaded.com	Marvin lets users publish and browse user generated content by location, type, services, keyword, or all combined. It provides access to a collection of location based services such as buddy and family Finder (MyLocation), job search (MyJob), real estate locator (MyHouse), cars locator (MyCar), geo-blogging (MyLog), and friends seeker (MyHeart).
Shopping
Compare Everywhere, Jeffrey Sharkey, www.compare-everywhere.com	A shopping assistant that allows users to scan a barcode and instantly search online and local stores to find out if the offered sale price is a good deal. The application also offers reviews and allows keeping track of shopping lists and wish lists and sharing them with friends. Users can connect with stores using driving directions or phone.
ShopSavvy, Big in Japan, www.biggu.com	ShopSavvy is a comparison-shopping application that lets one use the mobile phone camera to scan the barcode of any product to find the best prices online and through the inventories of local stores using GPS.
Social networking
MySpace Mobile, Myspace.com, www.myspace.com	MySpace Mobile for Android lets one stay connected with friends on their MySpace network, share photos, view their inbox, comments, bulletins, etc. Users can also add photos from their phone camera, send messages, and post blog updates.
Wertago, Wertago team, www.wertago.com	Wertago is an application designed for nightlifers that lets users share their experience and rate and tag venues, upload and comment on pictures, and connect with other socialites.

-Smarajit Dasgupta

MASSIVE US GET OUT THE VOTE (GOTV) EFFORT DEPLOYS THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY IN NEW AND INNOVATIVE FASHION

Technology has been embraced by many in this US presidential election, and it is being put to through rigorous on the job testing. One example is a service called Twitter Vote Report (TVR), which has been launched as a US "election protection" effort. Voters are encouraged to send reports of election conditions as they are experienced, letting others know that voting is going well or not, the length of any delays, or that a serious problem exists which requires election protection.

Reports can be submited in four ways:

1: Via Twitter: sending #votereport will call a "tweet" to the TVR's attention. TVR supports these codes:

- #[zip code] to indicate the zip code where you’re voting; ex., “#12345″
- L:[address or city] to drill down to your exact location; ex. “L:1600 Pennsylvania Avenue DC”
- #machine for machine problems; ex., “#machine broken, using prov. ballot”
- #reg for registration troubles; ex., “#reg I wasn’t on the rolls”
- #wait:[minutes] for long lines; ex., “#wait:120 and I’m coming back later”
- #early if you’re voting before November 4th
- #good or #bad to give a quick sense of your overall experience
- #EP[your state] if you have a serious problem and need help from the Election Protection coalition; ex., #EPOH

2. Via SMS, sent to 66937 (Mozes), starting the message with #votereport.

3. Via Phone: (567) 258-VOTE from a touchtone phone.

4. Via iPhone application Vote Report: the application prompts users for input, including an optional voice message.

TVR is itself an all volunteer effort supported by individuals, non-profit and for-profit organizations, including:

- Campus Progress Action;
- Common Cause;
- CREDO Mobile;
- Current;
- Demos;
- Election Protection;
- Independence Voter Foundation (iYear);
- League of Young Voters;;
- Mobilize.org;;
- Mozes;;
- NetworkRedux;
- Not an Alternative;
- NPR Community;
- Ohio Telecom Association (OTA);
- pbwiki;
- Plodt;
- Rock the Vote;
- Stop Political Phone Calls;
- Student PIRG's New Voters Project;
- TechPresident;
- Twittervission;
- Video the Vote;
- Voter Supression Wiki;
- Why Tuesday;
- Women Donors Network (WDN);
- Women's Voices Women Vote (WVWV);
- Zerion Consulting;
- Zetetic.

We tested this service, as we have tested other election-related services. Mashups such as TVR require that components provided by multiple organizations work together. TVR is a sophisticated application--or multiple applications if one considers each of the four methods by which users can submit information--and we found that some of the methods worked better than others. We tested the service by trying to send a message through each of the four methods, and found success with only one out of the four:

1. Twitter: our messages never seemed to arrive.
2. SMS: messages arrived without a problem.
3. Phone: we were immediately and automatically disconnected each time we dialed.
4. iPhone: the application hung each time we tried to send.

It is possible that the first method failed because of user error, though we don't think this is the case. We are confident that the third and fourth methods failed for reasons other than user error.

TVR reports are also supposed to be displayed on a Google map mashup, seen below. Some data appears, though it doesn't seem as though all the data is coming through or that the data is being refreshed.

Our conclusion is that this TVR service is a bit buggy and, if not for the press of time, wouldn't or shouldn't be rolled out just yet. While TVR and other election protection services are in greatest demand on election day itself, some estimate that as many as 25% of the voters have already voted and that as many as 33% will have voted before Tuesday. Fortunately, early voting means that there will be less pressure at the polls on Tuesday. However, it would be helpful to have services such as TVR available during the entire voting period, not just election day.

There is some optimism that the margins in this election will be so great that a few polling snafus here and there won't really affect the result and that there will be little need for election protection.



-Stuart Whitaker

KGB GOES HEAD TO HEAD WITH CHA CHA ON US ELECTION INFORMATION

Because of intense national and international interest in the US presidential campaign, political information services such as Huffington Post and Politico have seen their traffic skyrocket during the campaign, and we have now seen kgb begin to compete directly with Cha Cha in the delivery of US election information. As is the case with voice directory assistance (DA), this battle pits a free service, from Cha Cha against a paid service, from kgb.

kgb has extensive experience in the voice DA battles in the US as a leading DA wholesaler, and in the UK through The Number and through other entities elsewhere in Europe. Discussions with kgb make it clear that kgb is a firm believer in a user-paid model. Cha Cha was not availalble for comment.

While the free versus paid battle hasn't been settled yet in the US, The Number's experience in the UK offers some insight into the impact of price. In the UK, The Number found itself competing against lower-cost--but not free--directory enquiry (DQ) provider Conduit when the UK market was opened to competition. The finding in the UK was that Conduit's lower price didn't attract enough additional traffic to offset the fact that The Number made significantly greater margins on each call than did Conduit. DQ calls, in some respects, are relatively price inelastic. The result was that The Number won the battle and ended up acquiring Conduit. Another key factor in The Number's success was their creative and intensive advertising which dominated the landscape. We haven't seen any advertising for kgb's new service--and the US election is of almost over so we may not see any--but the coming battle between kgb and Cha Cha is likely to involve heavy advertising--though access to capital today is far more limited than it was in the past so advertising dollars may be harder to come by.

We decided to test out kgb's new service, reached by texting to kgbkgb (542542), by sending kgb the same questions we recently sent Cha Cha.

We received a response almost immediately to our first question, asking us to reply "YES" to confirm our willingness to pay US$ 0.30 plus whatever other "std / othr" charges may apply. We dutifully complied, and after 30 minutes, we have these results to report:

Question: "What are the positions on climate change?"

Answer: none received.

Question: "What are the hours of absentee voting in Virginia?"

Answer: none received.

Question: "What are the odds, the line on the presidential race?"

Answer: "Barrack Obama is leading with odds of 1-2 according to Sportsbook. thx!"

Analysis: unfortunately, this answer is wrong--our review of Sportsbook shows Obama at 1-8, which is consistent with Linesmaker at 1-8, and in the same range as 1800-Sports at -1100.

We will report answers to the other questions, when and if they arrive. -Stuart Whitaker, Smarajit Dasgupta

ACCENTURE STUDY: MAJORITY OF US CONSUMERS NEVER USE HIGHER-END MOBILE APPLICATIONS

An Accenture mobile usage study indicates that despite rapid consumption of mobile devices in the US, the usage of higher-end applications remains low. As high as 88% of 5,047 adult respondents reported they never use their mobile phones or other mobile devices to watch videos. Moreover, 84% never use mobile devices to send email and 79% said they never employ them to play games. The survey was divided into three age groups 18 to 34, 35 to 54, and 55 and older. It was found that 18-24 year olds were more than 10 times as likely as those over 55 to use social networking sites (73% versus 7%) and seven times as likely as those 55 and olders to write blogs or contribute to online sites (35% versus 5%) using the phone.

US mobile consumers:
Never watch videos on mobile phones	88%
Never send emails using mobile phones	84%
Never play games on mobile phones	79%

source: Accenture, n = 5,047

“These survey results point to important missed business opportunities in the mobile handset and social networking arenas,” said Kumu Puri, a senior executive with Accenture’s Electronics & High Tech practice. “Clearly, many consumers are not widely embracing higher end cell phone applications. And the vast majority of older Americans, in particular, are not inspired by the social networking phenomenon. To capitalize on these market realities, consumer technology companies need to customize their ease of use and design differentiation for the different age groups. This begins with envisioning a specific consumer’s experience and delivering that through hardware, software, and services that are more compelling and enjoyable.” -Smarajit Dasgupta

SURVEY INDICATES HIGH RECALL VALUE FOR MOBILE MARKETING

A mobile response survey by HipCricket indicated very high brand recall rates for mobile marketing. More than half of 517 respondents that received mobile marketing messages within the past year could recall at least one brand. As high as 96% recalled the promotion’s call-to-action and more than one-third said the promotion made them more likely to make a purchase. Moreover, 37% reported telling a friend and 6% forwarded the promotion. Forty-seven percent of those surveyed said if they received a mobile coupon they would be “likely” or “very likely” to redeem it, with 70% of those respondents expressing interest in redeeming mobile coupons both online and in-store.

However, more than half of respondents in the survey said they never access the mobile web and only 5% said they would use their phone to click on a mobile ad. Steve Siegel, VP of Brand Solutions at HipCricket said, “Mobile advertising is a great complement to many of our multi-faceted mobile marketing campaigns and we anticipate growing interest in advertising on the mobile web as consumers continue to adopt web-enabled devices with superior online experiences, such as the iPhone.” -Smarajit Dasgupta

ADMOB SECURES US$ 15.7 MILLION IN SERIES C FUNDING, LOOKING TO EXPAND GROWTH

Mobile advertising marketplace AdMob has raised a Series C investment round worth US$ 15.7 million, led by Sequoia Capital's Growth Fund along with participation from existing investor Accel Partners. AdMob said that over the past year it has more than tripled the number of ads served on a monthly basis to 4.5 billion in September 2008. AdMob’s publisher network now includes more than 6,000 partners worldwide, including MySpace and MovieTickets.com that came on board this year. The company has plans of making significant strategic investments by boosting growth of worldwide operations by hiring local staff in key markets and adding new language interfaces, with an emphasis in Western Europe, India, South Africa, and Japan. It will also look to deepen its mobile technology platform, including its targeting, optimization, and ad serving algorithm. Additionally, AdMob plans to expand the breadth of offerings for both publishers and advertisers. Omar Hamoui, founder and CEO of AdMob, said, "We chose to raise this new round of funding to continue to grow both the mobile advertising market and AdMob's clear advantage in it by investing in the technology, operations, and team that have set the bar for the mobile industry." The company has so far raised over US$ 30.7 million in various funding rounds. -Smarajit Dasgupta

ORANGE FRANCE LAUNCHES 118 712 BY TEXT

Orange has launched an SMS directory enquiries service called “118 712 by text” in France. It allows mobile users, with any operator in Metropolitan France, to look up professionals or individuals or perform reverse searches. The user needs to enter an activity or name along with the city or postcode and send it to 118 712. For reverse search one can simply enter a 10-digit telephone number and SMS it to 118 712. Pricing for the service is € 0.50 per request, in addition to cost of the SMS depending on one’s mobile plan. If there are multiple results, 118 712 by text offers a list of up to five choices. Users can then send a text requesting further information at no additional cost for three of the results. There is no charge levied if the service is unable to respond to any user request. In France, Orange also operates 118 712 landline and mobile voice service and the 118712.fr online directory site. -Smarajit Dasgupta

LOCATION SERVICES SPACE HEATS UP WITH POINTABOUT LAUNCH

The location services space has seen the sudden arrival of PointAbout, a Washington, DC-based firm that launched earlier this year to enhance mobile service applications by making websites "location aware." Launched by veterans from Microsoft, GE, and others, one of PointAbout's strengths is the fact that it is able to leverage its understanding of handsets and carriers to develop solutions more easily than firms without such understanding. PointAbout's first customer is real estate firm Long & Foster, for which PointAbout will location-enable their listings. PointAbout is now setting about replicating their Long & Foster agreement everywhere possible.

PointAbout has also submitted the first entry to the Apps for Democracy contest being sponsored by the District of Columbia's Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), digital agency iStrategyLabs, and Mashable. The objective of the contest is to spur innovation from the private sector to utilize data publicly available from the city's data catalog, which provides real-time data from multiple agencies. The city believes access to this information will be a catalyst ensuring agencies operate as more responsive, better performing organizations. Data available runs the gamut from juvenile arrests to vacant property. The contest will divide US$ 20,000 between 60 winners, the highest award value being US$ 2,000 and the lowest being US$ 100. The application deadline is November 12th, and the awards ceremony will take place on the 13th.

After installing the PointAbout application on an iPhone, the application presents the user with a number of "location aware" applications, such as Wi-Fi Hotspots from Zone, Zagat, Events from Yahoo! Upcoming, Movies from Fandango, news, Weather, local gas prices, Yelp, and Washington Metro (some of the applications are not yet enabled). Selecting Washington Metro as an example--this seems to be one of first applications PointAbout introduced--PointAbout displays the closest metro stations, sorted by distance from our location. Selecting a station then allows us to see the next train, get directions to the station, or get more info.

This is a Beta application, so there is no surprise about the fact that we encountered a number of problems, though it's not always possible to determine whether the problem is with PointAbout or with the network. One problem we encountered involved screen navigation--the left arrow buttons don't reliably take you back to the prior screen so it seems faster to get out of the application and get back in rather than to wait to see if the arrow button will work. PointAbout does a great job showing information about the next train. PointAbout pulls up Google Maps to provide directions and pulls in the Metro's home page for more info--both selections are valuable--but the presentations suffer from the fact that neither the map nor the Metro home page have been configured for the smaller phone screen. Another question we had is that while one can install an application in PointAbout--which is of course itself another application--it's not entirely clear that there will always be an advantage to doing this. In the case of Yelp, for instance, the Yelp iPhone app is already location aware. PointAbout will have to differentiate itself somehow in order to justify using Yelp within PointAbout rather than simply within the home screen.

PointAbout CEO Scott Suhy explained recently that their immediate objective is to gain revenue from enterprise agreements, though they anticipate moving towards a 50/50 mix of enterprise revenue and mobile advertising revenue in the future. They expect to be profitable this year and are looking for funding to expand. -Stuart Whitaker

MOBILE COMMERCE’S “NEARME” ON SONY ERICSSON PHONES

Sony Ericsson’s 8.1 megapixel Cyber-shot C905 phone will come preloaded with Mobile Commerce’s “NearMe” application. The tool will also be available for download on the GPS-enabled C702 Cyber-shot and W760 Walkman handsets. UK-based Mobile Commerce describes “NearMe” as a local search service that provides users with detailed address and phone number information on local businesses, amenities, venues, and events, all based on current location using the GPS capabilities of the user’s handset. The application, being offered for free by Sony Ericsson, includes UK wide content such as cinema, club, and gig listings; over 11,000 recommended venues for eating and drinking in; as well as over 1.9 million business search listings, and optimized Multimap maps. Users can also select locations from pre-stored favorites and find, where relevant, additional information such as film reviews, costs, and show times. David Hilton, Head of Marketing at Sony Ericsson UK & Ireland, said, “Creating a Java application with best of breed content was a key objective to showcase our GPS handsets to our prime target market. Following an extensive market search we selected Mobile Commerce as our application partner and we are delighted with the “NearMe” application and have already defined a roadmap of enhancements to bring even more functionality and choice to our customers.” -Smarajit Dasgupta

ZI CORP CONSOLIDATING FOOTHOLD IN ASIAN MOBILE SPACE

Mobile search, text input, and advertising solutions provider Zi Corporation said it has entered into several new licensing agreements within the Asian mobile space. Zi has extended its eZiText licensing agreements with Guohong Communication and Digital Technology Company, an OEM focused primarily on the Chinese domestic market, and with UTStarcom for its mobile device division in addition to the previously announced deal with UTStarcom's IPTV set-top-box division. Zi has also formed an agreement with Longcheer Telecommunication Limited of China, which has licensed eZiText in several languages for use in its mobile handsets. CK Telecom, a Shenzhen manufacturer, has licensed Zi's handwriting recognition product Decuma. Under these agreements, Zi will receive both licensing fees and royalties. Earlier this year with China’s ZTE and Lenovo Mobile, UTStarcom, Kyocera Corp., and Trolltech, all licensed Zi products. Zi Corporation’s president and CEO Milos Djokovic said, "The mobile market in Asia is one of the fastest growing in the world. It is at the forefront of technological design and development, making it a highly competitive and desirable market in which to be a leader. This makes the fact that we have won these major deals in the region over the past few months, all the more satisfying for Zi and proves that our products are recognised as some of the most innovative and forward looking in a market where users are continually looking to maximise the capabilities of their device." Zi has subsidiaries in China and supports the entire region from its Beijing offices. -Smarajit Dasgupta

CHACHA / ROCK THE VOTE BEGINS TO DELIVER

Despite a few delays, Chacha has begun to deliver answers to questions about the US presidential election sent in the US to RTVOTE (788683), a political information program being operated in partnership with Rock the Vote. We sent three queries on October 15th and again on October 20th. We never received answers to the queries on the 15th, but received the responses as indicated to our queries on the 20th:

Query: "What are the positions on climate change?"

Answer: "Both candidates are for controlling emissions to stop climate change and reverse the greenhouse effect. ChaCha for now!"

Analysis: while climate change is considered by many to be the most important issue we are facing, it doesn't rank nearly as high as the economy or the war on terror in American voters' minds. While Chacha's answer doesn't reflect any of the differences in the candidates' positions and isn't likely to excite anyone to go to the polls, the answer seems reasonable given the complexity of the subject, the similarity of the candidates' positions, and the limitations of the SMS media.

Question: "What are the hours of absentee voting in Virginia?"

Answer: "The polls are open (6:00 AM to 7:00 PM). Telephone: 804 864-8901, Toll Free: 800 552-9745. Ask ChaCha 24/7! *Reply VOTE2008 for Election info."

Analysis: This is clearly non-responsive--the right answer to the wrong question. The polls are open on election day, November 4th, from 6 AM to 7 PM. However, many people are interested in voting early by absentee ballot either because they will be unable to vote on the 4th or because of the difficulties Americans have experienced recently with election mechanics. Absentee ballots may only be cast before November 4th at limited locations and may be cast in person during much more limited hours than this answer suggests. Rock The Vote's objective is to increase turnout, so incorrect answers such as this are counter productive. The 2000 election was decided by the US Supreme Court and if this turns out to be a close election, it is likely that there will be extended litigation on voter fraud and voter suppression--including incorrect or misleading voting information such as this.

Question: "What are the odds, the line on the presidential race?"

Answer: "Barack Obama: -600 John McCain: +350 if you were thinking about betting McCain, now is the time as his odds dropped considerably $Rply VOTE2008 for more info."

Analysis: this seems like a reasonable response, consistent with the results we found on www.1800-sports.com/presidential-betting-odds.shtml, which explains that a US$ 100 wager on McCain will pay US$ 600, and a US$ 600 wager on Obama will pay US$ 100. (Linesmaker.com offers a different yet similar response: McCain at 4-1, Obama at 1-7).

Services such as ChaCha are terrific for casual questions and social networking, but they may not be as well suited for questions that people take seriously, involving matters such as heated elections. ChaCha was not available for comment on these results. -Stuart Whitaker

NAVTEQ RELEASES NAVIGABLE MAPS FOR ARGENTINA

NAVTEQ has released detailed navigable map coverage for Argentina. It includes over 200,000 km of road network across the entire country and up to 260 attributes per road segment. These road attributes enable navigable solutions to support route guidance. The maps include addresses, as well as over 3,600 named city or hamlets. “The increasing adoption of global positioning systems (GPS) technology in Argentina creates opportunity for Personal Navigation Devices (PND) and hand-set manufacturers, as well as telecommunications carriers to develop navigation and location-based services,” said Jim Dineen, director and general manager of NAVTEQ Latin America. Founded in 1985, Chicago-based NAVTEQ has presence in 42 countries. -Smarajit Dasgupta

VIRGIN MOBILE OFFERING MOBILE SHOPPING TOOL SLIFTER

Virgin Mobile USA is now offering location-based mobile shopping application Slifter allowing Virgin’s five million customers to search and share products and promotions at neighboring retail locations. Slifter provides access to over 300 million products at more than 150,000 local and online retailers and offers price and availability information, deals, and detailed directions to stores. One can also create a mobile shopping list with favorite products and promotions. Slifter is available on all Virgin Mobile USA phones at no additional charge on VirginXL and the mobile web. "Virgin Mobile USA is excited to bring another great solution to our members. We think that the Slifter site is amongst the best mobile shopping experiences available today. Its a blending together of search and location information that really gives our members an advantage in finding the products they want, at the right price, at the most convenient retail location,” said Wes Radez, Director of Mobile Content at Virgin Mobile USA. -Smarajit Dasgupta

VIANETIX DRIVING DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER MOBILE CONTENT

While much has been made of mobile carrier efforts to capture additional service revenue and to avoid becoming simple bit pipes, mobile services consulting firm Vianetix is advancing the idea that mobile Domain Registrars, who have been selling .mobi top-level domains since 2006, are well positioned to get in on the mobile content business. Mobile technology providers have traditionally focused on mobile operators as their distribution outlets, but now see domain registrars as an alternative outlet.

Domain registrars currently engaged in creating mobile Internet sites include goDaddy.com, mobiSiteGalore, mfinity, handango, netbiscuits, crispw, NeworkSolutions, BuildMyMobi, Dotster, thumplay, Peperoni, and Swift. About 20 registrars control 80% of worldwide domain registrations. Many global brands have launched mobile sites, including Ericsson, Samsung, Vodafone, Google, BMW, NBA, Nokia, Rolls Royce, BusinessWeek, Microsoft, Obama, BankofAmerica, McGraw2go, Visa, Zagat, and AAA.

Despite the position of registrars and corporate interest in mobile sites, Vianetix founder Glenn Roland believes many companies are don't view registrars as an alternate content distribution channel, and that registrars will have to aggressively pursue this business in order to achieve such recognition. In order to succeed in the mobile Internet site creation business, Registrars will have to begin to deliver a "higher-touch" service than that which they deliver in traditional Internet hosting.

Separate from the content site creation opportunity, Vianetix sees an opportunity in the "domainer" market in which companies actively buy and sell domain names. Current "domainers" include Maveron LLC, Perot Investments, and the Jacobson family. The top four dotMobi name sales are poker.mobi at US$ 150,000, ringtones.mobi at US$ 145,000, news.mobi at US$ 110,000, and hosting.mobi at US$ 101,000. -Stuart Whitaker

ADMOB MOBILE ADVERTISING TRAFFIC TRIPLES IN PAST YEAR. ADMOB MOBILE ADVERTISING TRAFFIC TRIPLES IN PAST YEAR

AdMob announced that the number of requests on its mobile ad network rose from 1.5 billion in September 2007 to 5.1 billion in September 2008. The increase is attributable to a combination of organic growth and the addition of thousands of new mobile sites and applications to its network. The number of sites and applications in AdMob's network increased to mover than 6,000, with 4,308 publishers requesting ads in September 2008.

The Apple iPhone generate 103 million ad requests in September 2008 and is now the number 4 handset behind the Motorola RAZR, Nokia N70, and Motorola KRZR. In the UK, the Nokia N95 is now the leading handset with 9.7% of the requests. -Stuart Whitaker

APARTMENTS.COM OPTIMIZES FOR MOBILE, OFFERS SEND2PHONE LISTINGS

Apartments.com has made its more than three million apartment listings available through web-enabled mobile phones. The Apartments.com site has been optimized for mobile browsing and lets renters conduct fully customizable search of all apartment listings on Apartments.com through a mobile phone. Other than "Apartments.com Mobile Web," Apartments.com also offers a "Send2Phone" feature allowing renters to send information about an apartment listing from the Apartments.com site to their mobile phones as a text message. Chris Brown, VP of product management at Apartments.com, said, "After taking into consideration multiple operating systems, mobile devices and carriers, Apartments.com has created a user-friendly experience for renters on the mobile web, delivering apartment listings, photos, and detailed information through a rich data format conveniently accessible from any web-enabled mobile phone and carrier." Apartments.com is a division of Chicago-based Classified Ventures LLC. -Smarajit Dasgupta

CHACHA AND ROCK THE VOTE TEAM UP ON US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Chacha announced that it has partnered with Rock the Vote to deliver answers to engage and inform young voters as well as to provide voting, polling, and related information for the November 4th US presidential election. Questions sent to RTVOTE (788683) will be answered by politically-trained ChaCha guides who will provide informed, non-partisan answers.

ChaCha has over 35,000 Guides and has answered over 30 million queries since launching in January of this year. Rock the Vote's mission is to engage and build the political power of young people in order to achieve progressive change.

We posted three separate questions via SMS text today, the day the service launched (verbatim):

"What are the positions on climate change?"

"What are the hours for absentee voting?"

"What are the odds, the line, on the presidential race?"

We will report the results when answers are received. -Stuart Whitaker