Microsoft and Sprint Partner on Mobile Search
Wireless operator Sprint has tapped Microsoft in rolling out a mobile-search service that not only provides information on getting from point A to point B, but also offers the ability to save the query results for future reference.
With the location-based Windows Live Search for Mobile, users enter their location by providing a ZIP code, address, or city and state. Down the road, consumers will be able to allow the application to locate them automatically and show the nearest businesses that match their searches.
Search Made Simple
With the new search service, online content can be found with a simple keyword or phrase. A search for “sports” on the properly equipped phone, for example, will sift through Sprint’s content relating to sports, such as ringtones, wallpapers, and applications with “sports” in the title, as well as local information such as business listings for sports stores, maps, directions, and relevant ads from local businesses.
The service is available at no cost to Sprint PCS Vision and Sprint Power Vision subscribers on all data-capable phones, along with some older models.
The competition for mobile search and browsing has heated up, with Google offering local services that deliver maps, directions, and business listings to next-generation mobile phones and other handhelds.
Yahoo, for its part, is now offering a text-messaging feature that provides mobile users with direct responses to requests for information about local businesses, weather, and stock prices. And earlier this year, AOL rolled out a mobile-search offering that resizes any Web page to fit mobile screens.
Taking It Mobile
The convenience of mobile devices makes them a target for search companies, industry analysts say.
According to a recent survey that AOL conducted with the Associated Press and the Pew Research Center, some 30 percent of adults indicated they want to search and browse the Web from their mobile…
