Mobile Groove

The good news is mobile users are ready to surf the Web. The bad new is usability is so poor most users give up. This is the key finding of a survey of 1,000 students from five U.K. universities following a series of extensive use trials conducted by InfoGin, a provider of content adaptation solutions. Prior to the trials, two-thirds of respondents found surfing the Web on their phones so frustrating they gave up trying. During the trial period, students were asked to surf the Web twice – once usin…

The white label/branded debate that marked the mobile space a few months ago hasn’t cooled; it has taken on a new dimension as it becomes clear that search is the de facto interface to content. As search becomes more central to the content consumption experience, the brand on the search engine will ultimately become core to the operator’s value proposition.

Should operators go with branded search engine providers because of the halo effect it can have on their own often times lacklust…

The following is an in-depth examination of the mobile search and content delivery landscape based on the competitive intelligence white paper presented at the March 2007 mobile search conference.

1. Mobile content: More effort than its worth?
With an avalanche of pre-packaged and user-generated mobile content slated to come online this year, subscribers can’t say they dont have choice. But they can complain about the tedious navigation process they have to endure to find, access and b…

Chetan Sharma
An executive at a prominent mobile operator recently asked me “Is there any money in Mobile Search? Should we just get Yahoo or Google in here and not worry about it? Is there something at stake here that we should worry about?” Mobile Search is a dilemma to many in the value chain. Should they cede control or innovate for the long-term? As the discoverable content increases in depth and breadth, it is inevitable that mobile search will drive user navigation on devices. Whet…

Kris Kolodziej

The key to mobile search is the emphasis on location for content optimization. When the location is known (via inclusion of a city, etc., in the query, or via GPS or Wi-Fi), search results can be filtered with respect to proximity, making them more relevant.Location-based search for mobile users has broad implications for content providers and advertisers. Currently, only about 5% of small and midsize businesses are using paid search, according to consulting firm, The Kelsey Gro…