Search Engine Exalead Broadens France EDA Service

Gary Price at ResourceShelf alerted me to the fact that enhanced DA provider 118218 in France (owned by InfoNXX, which also operates the U.K.'s 118118) has now considerably expanded its service using content and results from EU search engine Exalead. Users in France pay for 118128 like traditional directory assistance in the U.S., although it's considerably broader in scope.

In the U.S., Tellme, 1-800-YellowPages, Jingle Networks and Google (Goog411) are seeking to offer free, ad-supported enhanced DA. However, with the exception of Tellme, the only real enhancement vs. traditional is business category search.

And like Jingle's Free411, 118128 also offers a companion Internet local search and shopping site. In the U.K., InfoNXX's 118118 features ads, including contextual ads in return text messages responding to DA queries.

GPhone Today? Yes, No, Maybe? And iPhone UK

I was speaking to a reporter yesterday who suggested that the rumored GPhone, whatever it might actually turn out to be, was going to be announced today. Dan Miller wrote up a client-only advisory on the improbability of a proprietary hardware device (vs. software).

But we'll see what happens . . . Here's Engadget saying yes regarding a Google branded handset.

Meanwhile, the iPhone now officially rolls out in Europe (UK) under the carrier banner of O2. Here's more detail on the announcement from TechCrunch. Apparently there will be better European WiFi coverage/support for the iPhone (via a partnership with The Cloud [too bad it isn't called "Le Cloud"]) so the experience will probably be better than what US users are dealing with.

However The Street reports that a faster (3G) iPhone is coming next year to the US market.

Helio Demo: It's Kind of Like the iPhone

I got my first demo of the Helio Ocean and its software. I'd seen the campaigns and even the phones in person but never used one, or seen how the software and functionality are integrated into the device and overall experience.

In more than one way Helio is like Apple, offering an integrated hardware and software experience that has an array of nice features and branded services. However, unless you see these in action you don't really know that they exist or what the experience is like. Thus the challenge for the company is to move beyond the pure branding campaign that points to data usage ("Don't call it a phone") and start providing some discussion of the feature and software integration.

It's also very easy to upload and share media on the Helio Ocean. One click uploading to blogs or photo sites makes this process much easier and less mysterious than on most other phones. The device is GPS enabled and has a Google map-based buddy finder feature.

The search capability doesn't require a search box. Users just start typing and then can select Web, contacts or other categories to search. The company has also integrated Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia, Amazon and other sources into a tabbed search experience that's easy to navigate.

I was told that Helio isn't exactly a youth brand, rather it's for early adopters and those that are more gadget and Internet savvy generally -- a psychographic rather than demographic profile. That could be anyone 20 to late 50s. Notwithstanding that profile, the company believes that its addressable market ultimately is about 50 million users in the U.S.

It's one of two surviving MVNOs along with VirginMobile (both on the Sprint network).

AT&T May Join Google Mobile Alliance

Much to my surprise, AT&T is apparently warming up to the idea of becoming part of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) that supports the Android platform. AT&T has, at times, seemed like Google's mortal enemy, vigorously opposing, for example, Google's arguments for open wireless networks and the pending acquisition of DoubleClick.

However, according to Bloomberg:

AT&T has talked with Google about joining its mobile-phone software alliance. The phone company is "analyzing the situation" and may use Google's software for phones, Ralph de la Vega, chief executive officer of the wireless unit, said in an interview Friday. He refused to give details of discussions and said he hasn't personally met with Mountain View-based Google.

Verizon has also been in talks with Google to become part of the OHA. If Google succeeds in bringing these two carriers -- the largest in the US market -- into the coalition it will be a coup for the company in establishing the credibility and viability of the platform.

1-800-YellowPages Goes National

AT&T's 1-800-YellowPages ad-supported directory assistance service has now "gone national." Here's the press release. Ad support is provided by Apptera.

"Yellow pages" benefits from associated brand strength, with "1-800-YellowPages" scoring pretty well in several user surveys. In other words, more people are acknowledging and recognizing the service than we believe have actually used it. That speaks to the strength of the yellow pages brand, which AT&T now owns effectively.

In our forthcoming DA survey for example, it scored slightly better than GOOG411 with users, even though GOOG411 has been national for some time, while 800-YellowPages was only in selected markets until now. In the recent comScore-Jingle survey work it also did well.

YellowPages.com has a WAP site and YP411 SMS service, in addition to the voice search product.

YellowPages.com competes with GOOG411, Microsoft's 1-800-Call-411, Microsoft's Tellme (800-555-Tell) and the segment leader 800-Free-411.

Go2 Adds T-Mobile Relationship

Go2 is one of the original local mobile search providers. The company has been going at it for more than a decade. Recently it merged with 80108 to form Go2 Media. The company has now signed T-Mobile and is planning some changes in the way it organizes and presents content in an effort to broaden its appeal. It's also representing itself as a mobile ad network to marketers.

The company has relationships, now, with all the major U.S. carriers and lots of valuable content. It, however, doesn't have the brand strength, despite its longevity in the segment, of some of the big Internet companies now moving into mobile in earnest.

Go2 is positioning itself as something of an "on deck" weapon for carriers seeking to counter the dumb pipe scenario.

U.S. Underdog Nokia Readies American Handset Push

Nokia dominates the handset market globally, with roughly 40% market share. However, in the U.S. it has only about 10% and is an underdog, especially in the smartphone market where Blackberry and the iPhone dominate. (Nokia's smartphone dominance in Europe is one reason the iPhone isn't performing as well there.)

Now the Finnish handset maker is preparing going to flood the U.S. market with a range of new products -- a version of spaghetti on the refrigerator -- to see what gains acceptance and adoption, in the hope of driving more consumer adoption.

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Blackberry is making a broader global push itself but will bump up against Nokia too in perhaps the same way the iPhone has outside the US. It needs to do so in order to defend against what will certainly be an eroding U.S.-based smartphone market share as the iPhone gains adoption in the enterprise and Nokia's more aggressive U.S. move puts pressure on the "e-mail device" maker.

Wall Street Journal - March 14, 2007

Excerpt:

Web-based voice services are still a relatively new field. The industry has so far been populated by small specialists, but is ripe for consolidation, says Dan Miller, an analyst at Opus Research Inc. of San Francisco. Companies spent $1.12 billion last year on voice-technology hardware, software and services for tasks such as speech recognition, up about 35% from $835 million in 2005, according to Opus.

From the article, "Microsoft Purchase Of Tellme Adds Voice To Web Initiative ", by Vauhini Vara , Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2007

Idearc Extends 'HelloMetro' Distribution to Mobile

Idearc's Superpages currently has a distribution relationship with domain-based cityguide and local network "Hello Metro," which offers yellow pages and other listings under "HelloDomain" sites: e.g., HelloEugene.com.

That relationship has now been extended to the ".mobi" version of the sites:

HelloMetro claims 2.7 million unique users across its network. However, the mobile version of the sites probably have scant usage at this point.

Teens: I'd Die without My Cell Phone

CTIA and Harris Interactive released findings last week, in connection with the San Francisco CTIA event, about US teens' attitudes toward cellphones and their mobile lifestyles: "Teenagers: A Generation Unplugged." The online survey sample consisted of 2,089 teenagers across the US who have cell phones. Respondents were between the ages of 13 and 19. The press materials point out that "this is the first generation to grow up in a mobile world since the first commercial cell phone service was activated on October 13th, 1983."

Here are some of the data from the survey (all charts, except where stated, are from the executive summary prepared by CTIA):

Things teens like about text messaging (top 3):

Mobile Internet content types accessed via cellphone:

The 28% figure above is consistent with the relatively high 29% mobile Internet access figure we found in our consumer research on US adult mobile subscribers.

Frequency of mobile social networking visits:

In an earlier Opus survey (n=1022), we found that only 6% of adults had accessed a social networking site on their mobile phones. It makes sense that a higher number of teens are visiting social networking sites on their mobile devices, given that social networks are heavily populated with younger users. Still, 81% had not in the Harris-CTIA Survey. We anticipate that social networking will become a significant category for mobile users -- over time. 

Teen receptiveness to mobile advertising and areas of interest:

In our most recent LMS survey of mobile consumers we found surpsingly strong receptiveness to mobile ads, when controls and choice we're put around the proposition:

Back to the Harris-CTIA survey data . . .

Giving up privacy for ads/offers:

Consistently teens appear willing to give up privacy and personal information more than other age groups.  It remains to be seen in future years whether this is a cultural shift or simply a function of age.

Mozilla Mobile Browser Readies for Launch?

Mozilla had previously targeted 2010 for release of its mobile browser. However, there more recently were rumors that it would come out much sooner. That would be a good thing for Firefox, given the competition:

• Safari/iPhone
• Skyfire
• Android/Chrome
• Opera/Opera Mini
• IE (eventually)  
• RIM (eventually)

Over the weekend some screenshots of the new mobile Firefox browser emerged on a couple of blogs. They show the new browser in a Windows Mobile environment:

This suggests an early 2009 release (at least in beta). Firefox's direct competition here are Skyfire and Opera; iPhone users will be on Safari and Android users will similary use the Android webkit-based browser for those devices. 

I'm curious to see what Microsoft will do given the delay of Windows Mobile 7. I argued previously that the company might consider buying Skyfire and just turning it into the next version of mobile IE, although Microsoft has already been experimenting with full HTML browsers.

Guessing What Storm's Pricing Will Be

The BlackBerry Bold, now available in Canada, is about to make its entry in the US (from AT&T). It was very well reviewed and considered to be a peer of the iPhone by ZDNet. Meanwhile a more direct iPhone competitor, the touch-screen BlackBerry Storm, will also soon make its US debut from Verizon. It too has been positively tested (although unlike the Bold it has no WiFi).

The question Fortune asks is what will the Storm's pricing will be. Will Verizon subsidize it aggressively to undercut the iPhone? Vodafone in the UK is apparently giving away the Storm:

In a sign of just how desperate phone companies are to lock customers in to lengthy contracts, Verizon’s wireless partner is willing to subsidize the Storm – which sells for about $500 without a calling plan – in order to lure subscribers in England.

Though a final decision has yet to be made, Verizon is considering the same strategy for the Storm’s U.S. debut next month, according to an industry source familiar with the discussions. Another person close to the company says it’s unlikely the Storm will be free.

If it were free it would fly off the shelves to be sure. I'm guessing there's a 100% chance will be less than the iPhone. T-Mobile underpriced the iPhone by about $20 and Wal-Mart undercut that price (with the G1) by $30 additional dollars. 

We're clearly entering a period in the US where handsets are becoming more of a consumer draw. 

LMS in the News: Reuters - June 18, 2007

Excerpt:
The number of U.S. mobile Internet users is expected to more than triple to 110 million in 2011 from the current 32 million, according to Sterling Market Intelligence and Opus Research.

Greg Sterling, founding principal of research firm Sterling Market Intelligence, said the iPhone and the new MSN portal reflect how companies are trying to address consumer dissatisfaction with surfing the Internet on mobile phones.

"The majority of users are not surfing the mobile Internet yet, but there is pent-up demand for content on mobile phones," said Sterling, noting that small screens and slow networks contributed to a poor experience for most users.

From the article, "Microsoft launches new-look MSN for mobile phones", by Daisuke Wakabayashi, Reuters, June 18, 2007

Orbitz Orbits Mobile Search Around Airports

For the frequent traveler, the most useful information is local, personal and mobile. Internet travel specialist Orbitz has launched Traveler Update, a web-based mash-up that includes flight information from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and security information from the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) as well as user-generated content, called "travelers' tips" regarding such things as nearby traffic conditions, weather, wait-times for check-in and even the state of free access to Wi-Fi. Information is organized by "airport" and made available to mobile phones through via the wireless web @ http://mobile.orbitz.com.

The good and bad of the wireless Web is on display. Because the site is updated frequently with live data from several sources, it stays fresh. Travelers can get general advisories on flight delays or search for the status of a specific flight by carrier and flight number. So-called "Travelers Tips" is a nice touch and appears to be pre-populated with information about such things as the location of full-service banks (as opposed to ATMs) or where one can get breakfast 24-hours a day. The social element is "Travleer Updates", which contains postings from other (usually disgruntled) airline passengers logging words of advice to others.

The lay-out is pretty much text-laden to suit the small displays that characterize wireless handsets. With screens that are two inches in width or less, the print can be pretty small.

There are no banner ads on the landing page, but it is easy to see where they would fit. Traveler Updates (E.g. "arrived 30 minutes ago, still waiting for luggage" or "The line for arrivals at American terminal is a mess....") are less likely to be adds, but "Traveler Tips" appear well-suited to be sponsored links (E.g. "Cereality Cereal Bar has locations in Terminals A and B"). Online travel companies have, to date, confined their mobile offers to promotional messages (fare alerts) that are delivered as automated voice phone calls or SMS/text messages. In the wake of Orbitz' IPO last month, this is a great way to draw attention to the beginnings of what could be a well-populated local mobile social site.

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Other mobile travel sites (courtesy of ResourceShelf's Gary Price):

• http://www.kayak.com/moby/
• http://flightlookup.com/
• http://mobile.flightstats.com

RESEARCH: Mosio Project: Social Media and the Mobile Internet

Local Mobile Search Advisory
The San Francisco-based Mosio Project launched a text-based mobile social network in mid-2007. It offered registered users the ability to "text any question" to a community of registered network members. Although it was framed as a form of "Cause Marketing" with the mission to raise $1 million by the end of 2010, it can be viewed more broadly as the prototype for the sort of social/mobile/search service destined to be the foundation of a range of local search-based businesses.

Advisories are available to registered users only.

For more information on becoming an LMS client, please contact Pete Headrick (pheadrick@opusresearch.net)

[protect]Registered CAS Clients - Click Here to View the Full Advisory[/protect]

Disney Tries MVNO in Japan after US Failure

Disney's U.S. MVNO (on Sprint) is shutting down as a failed experiment. However, the company is launching a Disney branded cellphone service in Japan, with Softbank as a partner. Softbank acquired Vodafone's mobile phone business in Japan last year for roughly US$15 billion. The new Disney MVNO will run on the Softbank network.

While Disney's "cute factor" (what might be called the "Hello Kitty aesthetic") might win the company some converts, it could easily face the same unsuccessful outcome there as in this country.

Disney's other MVNO venture, mobile ESPN also shut down.

MSN Mobile Adds Ads

Today marks the introduction of banner advertising on MSN Mobile in the United States. The advertisements conform to the Mobile Marketing Associations guidelines for display advertisements. Depending on the size of a handset's screen, the ads can include a clickable banner and up to two lines of text.

Microsoft spokespeople tell us that they have taken great care to ensure that presentation of advertising does not detract from the user experience. Their mission is, first and foremost, to deliver the information that an MSN browser or searcher seeks. The clickable display ads appear at the top of the screen with great pains taken not to crowd out information. Reuters reports that Paramount Pictures, Jaguar (automobiles - not classic videogames), and Bank of America are among the first to be placed on MSN Mobile. In our experience, Microsoft is taking full advantage of the facilities to promote its own services, such as Windows Live Messenger for Mobile and maps through Live Search.

In addition to such "house ads", there's evidence that Microsoft is stepping up efforts to integrate and leverage its diverse set of Web services. A search for movie listings through MSN mobile can culminate in the purchase of tickets through its existing relationship with MovieTickets.com. Mobile subscribers will also find more seamless links between content on the Microsoft Live Portal, so a request for "more info" from the movie site in mobile, will yield information from Live Search.

Microsoft already offers mobile display advertising in five countries thanks to its acquisition of ScreenTonic last May. They are Belgium, France, Japan, Spain and the U.K.

AdMob Also Benefits From iPhone Traffic

Google and Yahoo! aren't the only ones seeing spikes in mobile usage from the iPhone. So is AdMob. VentureBeat reports on an AdMob year-end report showing the growth of overall ad impressions on its network. The following reflects growth by phone type:

As we reported previously, the iPhone has thus far proved a more effective mobile ad vehicle than other smartphones.