MediaPost have posted a great article regarding mobile search which discusses the findings of a worldwide mobile user survey conducted by the CMO Council. Questioning 15,000 users, the survey found marked differences between the way US and non-US users are interacting with the web via mobile devices.
Yahoo oneSearch essentially redefines mobile search, giving users the opportunity to view not simply a list of links, as mobile users are currently used to, but a more complete picture of the information they need, all on one page.
According to Isabel Aguilera, General Director of Google Spain, the company is working on the development of a mobile handset with partners, saying that; “Our engineers have dedicated part of their time to investigating a mobile phone to access information.”
E-consultancy has reported on a new Nokia ad platform that enables marketers to plan and manage ad campaigns to produce targeted advertising on mobile services and applications.
Nokia Ad Service consists of a group of mobile publishers forming a mobile network and platform to deploy and manage mobile advertising campaigns.
While the increase in usage in December showed an increase of one million sessions from November, it is anticipated that seasonal gift giving could be behind the growth. As phones continue to become more sophisticated and user friendly, an increase was always on the cards.
Nick Lane, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media, told the BBC that, “The continued advancement of handsets means people are beginning to spend more time familiarising themselves with new services.”
Lane also said that by the end of the year 25% of the world’s 797.6 million mobile phone subscriptions will include web browsing facilities.
Google may be working with other major publishers to make e-books available on mobile phones and other handheld devices in a bid to give readers full access to books online according to Dominic Rushe of The Sunday Times.
Reinventing Google Book Search to bring books out of the library and into readers’ pockets, Jens Redmer, director of Google Book Search in Europe, told The Sunday Times that making books available online didn’t spell the end of the printed word, but would give readers.
“Ultimately, it will be the readers who decide how books are read,” he said.
A new innovation in the UK and US, Japanese consumers have been reading e-books on mobile gadgets for several years. Google’s project is likely to be realised sooner rather than later according to the media giant.
But the project is not without its difficulties; the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers is suing Google over its deal with major libraries to scan their collections, with publishers claiming that the scheme infringes copyright and that Google should be required to seek permission from before scanning published works.
Yahoo! Go will initially allow users in Italy, UK, Ireland, Sweden and Denmark, to search via their handheld device, with other European countries set to follow. Expansion into Asia by the two companies is also expected.
The Yahoo! Go service allows mobile users to personalise their internet application, and allows access to the entire internet, not just Yahoo! services.
The 3 arrangement is one of several Yahoo! deals announced at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas. The search giant has extended deals with Motorola, Samsung and Nokia in a move clearly designed to support Yahoo!’s recent heavy focus on the mobile market.
Imagine picking up your mobile phone, typing in a number and speaking your search term before addresses, links to web sites, and phone numbers for the closest matches in your area appear on your screen.
A new patent from Microsoft describes just that, a voice search technology which would allow users to search by voice before receiving results via text, IM or in a web browser on a handheld device.
A post at WebmasterWorld is discussing notable changes in rankings at Google which began to be seen towards the end of last week. It seems to be quite strange timing to rearrange the search results at the busiest time of the shopping year.
Matt Cutts is denying any major changes, but there’s a huge outcry, with some people claiming to have lost 50% of their usual traffic, and a prevalence of Wikipedia results ranking where internal site pages used to be.
Have you noticed any changes?
As mobile web use continues to grow, MSN has announced the beta launch of Live Search Mobile client, a local search mobile service offering users three different ways to search.
Offering a mobile software application download, mobile browsing and via the map at mobile.live.com/search, the service makes pulling up information on the go even easier.
MSN’s mobile client allows users to search for directions, get up to date traffic information and search maps quickly and easily on mobile devices, pulling maps directly from Microsoft’s main servers and making it easy to click and drag, as well as zoom in and out of maps.
The service is even accessible via text message for those who don’t have a web enabled mobile. By simply sending a text with a request such as “music stores, washington” you can immediately get the nearest applicable business’ addresses and phone numbers.
See more about the US only application at Live.com’s mobile search about page.
