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