Mobile local search
Encyclopedia
Mobile Local Search is a technology that lets people search
for local things using mobile equipment such as mobile phone
s, PDA
s, and other mobile devices. Mobile local search satisfies the need to offer a mobile subscriber spontaneous access to near-position services and information such as businesses, products, events, restaurant, movie theatre or other local information.
Mobile Local Search is the search and discovery of persons, places, and things within an identifiable space defined by distinct parameters. These parameters are evolving. Today they include social networks, individuals, cities, neighborhoods, landmarks, and actions that are relevant to the searcher’s past, current, and future location. These parameters provide structure to vertically deep and horizontally broad data categories that can stand-alone or are combined to comprise searchable directories.1
Mobile local search is usually based on organized directories accessed through specialized search tools, rather than the web, although mobile local search often provides links to mobile (WAP
) web sites. It is also an application of a Location-based service
.
, which, without prior consent, may cause privacy concerns. Furthermore, recent surveys expect merely 10% of mobile devices worldwide to be equipped with GPS chips in 2011.
Alternatively, Mobile Local Search can also be done without mobile operators and GPS systems involved. This is possible through access to the SS7 protocol, which mobile operators have. However, having access via the mobile operator is very hard since the mobile operators sell it at a premium rate, if at all.
Although GPS-enabled devices are not prevalent yet, industry experts show that consumers are demanding mobile local search now, with an expected growth of 91% from 2007 to 2011. As a consequence, there is a gap in this opportunity that can be cleverly addressed by mobile operators and service providers with access to the SS7 layer.
application.
Screen-based search using the keypad to enter search terms into a form on the mobile screen is the most common access method today. It has the advantages of working in a noisy environment and avoiding speech interpretation problems. But the user has to enter search terms using a small keypad typical of most mobile devices, with results displayed on a small screen. Screen-based search may be awkward for people with coordination or vision handicaps.
Screen-based search may be supported by a specialized application such as where.com
running on the handset, by an SMS short code, or by a WAP
or XHTML-MP
website page on a remote server displayed by the handset browser. Although most search tools today are based on handset software, the trend seems to be towards web-based services.
Also, when the consumer receives a reply to his search request, the most common way of delivery is via SMS
.
Voice-based search is becoming viable due to advances in speech recognition
technology. It is useful for people who have difficulty using the small keypad, or who need to get information while driving. Spoken prompts guide the users through the local directory to find an entry. The service may include fallback to a live operator if the speech technology has difficulty understanding what they are looking for, or a 'silent agent' may assist the speech recognition software.
Results may be spoken and/or delivered to the handset in SMS
or MMS
format, where they may be stored for future reference.
Most often, voice-based search uses the voice channel to deliver the caller's utterance to a server-based search application. In some cases, a small application on the mobile device undertakes the first part of speech recognition, breaking down the utterance into a series of elementary components or 'phones', and then sending the phones over the data channel to a server application.
Multimedia-based search will be prevalent as a hybrid form of both "voice-based" and "screen-based" search that will establish a time-memory tradeoff in the implmentation process of fast-evolving mobile equipment.
A search for businesses is the mobile equivalent of the printed Yellow Pages, but the search may focus on a small geographical area. For example, the caller may be looking for a nearby pharmacy or restaurant, or may want a local pizza delivery
. The more advanced local search tools will vary the search radius depending on the type of business and the density of this type of business in the local area. For example, a caller looking for a coffee shop will probably want one within walking distance. If they are looking for a home furniture store they will expect to travel further. If they want a taxi, distance is not important: the taxi will come to them.
A search for products is more specific than a search for businesses. The user is looking for a particular product and wants to find a local business that stocks this product.
A full-function mobile local search service will go much further, particularly as smartphone penetration increases. For example, mobile users may want to find where a particular movie is playing, what restaurants are near the cinema, read reviews about those restaurants, and book reservations or buy movie tickets. They may want to hear about traffic conditions, the score from the local football game, the winning lottery number or where to go to vote.
Some of the advancements by the major portals in Internet search, such as Google's famous page-ranking scheme, do not apply in the wireless world since people are not searching for Web sites as much as answers to specific questions. 2006 showed a significant movement to the question-answer model. In this model answers are sent in reply to directory service queries similar to the nature of conventional 411 operators. AskMeNow
, Ask.com
and Bing.com all made efforts in this regard.
The services are provided through a caller-pays, advertiser-pays or hybrid business model.
In a caller-pays model, as with voice-based directory enquiry services, the caller pays each time they access the service. Caller-pays voice-based local mobile search services are common outside North America, but have been slow to emerge in the USA due to regulatory restrictions.
In an advertiser-pays model, standard for screen-based search and starting to emerge with voice-based 'Free DA' services in North America, businesses pay to be placed early in the list of results, or pay each time a caller chooses to connect through.
In hybrid models, advertising revenue lets the service provider offer reduced rates.
As with TV, magazines and other media, mobile local search services will most likely continue to be offered under all three models, but the hybrid model may predominate. That is, callers will probably accept a limited amount of advertising (which they may actually find useful) in exchange for reduced prices, but may be less willing to use a free service where they are bombarded with advertising.
The value to an advertiser will vary depending on their type of business, and may range from a dollar or less for a taxi or sandwich shop to well over ten dollars for a real-estate broker, attorney or debt consolidation
service. Consultants forecast that the global industry will grow to over US$1 billion by 2010.
, AT&T
, Vodafone
, T-Mobile
, Sprint Nextel
, Orange SA
and so on.
Many Directory Assistance providers also offer mobile local search, including free DA providers Jingle Networks and 1-800-San-Diego in the USA, Yell Group
, Pages Jaunes, Seat Pagine Gialle
, Eniro etc. in Europe, and many others. One of the more fully functional services is provided by Contact Center Americas in Colombia.
The Yellow Pages Group
in Canada provides one of the first voice-enabled local search services.
Search engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
for local things using mobile equipment such as mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s, PDA
PDA
A PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...
s, and other mobile devices. Mobile local search satisfies the need to offer a mobile subscriber spontaneous access to near-position services and information such as businesses, products, events, restaurant, movie theatre or other local information.
Mobile Local Search is the search and discovery of persons, places, and things within an identifiable space defined by distinct parameters. These parameters are evolving. Today they include social networks, individuals, cities, neighborhoods, landmarks, and actions that are relevant to the searcher’s past, current, and future location. These parameters provide structure to vertically deep and horizontally broad data categories that can stand-alone or are combined to comprise searchable directories.1
Mobile local search is usually based on organized directories accessed through specialized search tools, rather than the web, although mobile local search often provides links to mobile (WAP
Wireless Application Protocol
Wireless Application Protocol is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network.A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that uses the protocol.Before the introduction of WAP, mobile service providers had limited opportunities to offer...
) web sites. It is also an application of a Location-based service
Location-based service
A Location-Based Service is an information or entertainment service, accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the mobile device....
.
Technology behind Mobile Local Search
Mobile Local Search involves in some cases GPS trackingGPS tracking
A GPS tracking unit is a device that uses the Global Positioning System to determine the precise location of a vehicle, person, or other asset to which it is attached and to record the position of the asset at regular intervals...
, which, without prior consent, may cause privacy concerns. Furthermore, recent surveys expect merely 10% of mobile devices worldwide to be equipped with GPS chips in 2011.
Alternatively, Mobile Local Search can also be done without mobile operators and GPS systems involved. This is possible through access to the SS7 protocol, which mobile operators have. However, having access via the mobile operator is very hard since the mobile operators sell it at a premium rate, if at all.
Although GPS-enabled devices are not prevalent yet, industry experts show that consumers are demanding mobile local search now, with an expected growth of 91% from 2007 to 2011. As a consequence, there is a gap in this opportunity that can be cleverly addressed by mobile operators and service providers with access to the SS7 layer.
Access methods
Mobile Local Search may be screen-based using the keypad and display on the mobile device, or voice-based using spoken commands that are interpreted by a speech recognitionSpeech recognition
Speech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...
application.
Screen-based search using the keypad to enter search terms into a form on the mobile screen is the most common access method today. It has the advantages of working in a noisy environment and avoiding speech interpretation problems. But the user has to enter search terms using a small keypad typical of most mobile devices, with results displayed on a small screen. Screen-based search may be awkward for people with coordination or vision handicaps.
Screen-based search may be supported by a specialized application such as where.com
Where.com
Where, Inc. is a location-based media company in North America. Their main product is the WHERE consumer application, with over 3 million active users. It helps users discover, save and share local places by putting high quality local information at users’ fingertips and integrating promotional and...
running on the handset, by an SMS short code, or by a WAP
Wireless Application Protocol
Wireless Application Protocol is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network.A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that uses the protocol.Before the introduction of WAP, mobile service providers had limited opportunities to offer...
or XHTML-MP
XHTML Mobile Profile
XHTML Mobile Profile is a hypertextual computer language standard designed specifically for mobile phones and other resource-constrained devices....
website page on a remote server displayed by the handset browser. Although most search tools today are based on handset software, the trend seems to be towards web-based services.
Also, when the consumer receives a reply to his search request, the most common way of delivery is via SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
.
Voice-based search is becoming viable due to advances in speech recognition
Speech recognition
Speech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...
technology. It is useful for people who have difficulty using the small keypad, or who need to get information while driving. Spoken prompts guide the users through the local directory to find an entry. The service may include fallback to a live operator if the speech technology has difficulty understanding what they are looking for, or a 'silent agent' may assist the speech recognition software.
Results may be spoken and/or delivered to the handset in SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
or MMS
Multimedia Messaging Service
Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length.The most popular use is to send photographs from...
format, where they may be stored for future reference.
Most often, voice-based search uses the voice channel to deliver the caller's utterance to a server-based search application. In some cases, a small application on the mobile device undertakes the first part of speech recognition, breaking down the utterance into a series of elementary components or 'phones', and then sending the phones over the data channel to a server application.
Multimedia-based search will be prevalent as a hybrid form of both "voice-based" and "screen-based" search that will establish a time-memory tradeoff in the implmentation process of fast-evolving mobile equipment.
Types of information
Mobile search content may include more location-based and more street-smart information on businesses, products, services, events, human relations and other local specifics,which require immediacy and spontaneity. Besides,the location-based content may be formulated by accumulative data mining on consumer behaviors and whereabouts,which may trigger privacy concerns,commercial come-ons and, if necessary, some legislative justifications.A search for businesses is the mobile equivalent of the printed Yellow Pages, but the search may focus on a small geographical area. For example, the caller may be looking for a nearby pharmacy or restaurant, or may want a local pizza delivery
Pizza delivery
Pizza delivery is a service in which a pizzeria delivers a pizza to a customer. Delivery is normally made with an automobile, motor scooter, or bicycle.- Ordering :...
. The more advanced local search tools will vary the search radius depending on the type of business and the density of this type of business in the local area. For example, a caller looking for a coffee shop will probably want one within walking distance. If they are looking for a home furniture store they will expect to travel further. If they want a taxi, distance is not important: the taxi will come to them.
A search for products is more specific than a search for businesses. The user is looking for a particular product and wants to find a local business that stocks this product.
A full-function mobile local search service will go much further, particularly as smartphone penetration increases. For example, mobile users may want to find where a particular movie is playing, what restaurants are near the cinema, read reviews about those restaurants, and book reservations or buy movie tickets. They may want to hear about traffic conditions, the score from the local football game, the winning lottery number or where to go to vote.
Differences from Web search
As opposed to Web search, mobile local search requires more immediacy and street-smart knowledge and information, local events and driving directions. The technical difference from web-based search is that, whether using the keypad or voice commands, the caller has limited 'bandwidth'. They do not want to hear or scroll through long lists of results. They want to "quickly and unobtrusively" zero in on the type of local information they are looking for, due to privacy, safety and time pressure.Some of the advancements by the major portals in Internet search, such as Google's famous page-ranking scheme, do not apply in the wireless world since people are not searching for Web sites as much as answers to specific questions. 2006 showed a significant movement to the question-answer model. In this model answers are sent in reply to directory service queries similar to the nature of conventional 411 operators. AskMeNow
AskMeNow
AskMeNow Inc. was an American public corporation, specializing in mobile search and mobile advertising. The Irvine, California based company officially launched in November 2005 and ceased operations in late 2008...
, Ask.com
Ask.com
Ask is a Q&A focused search engine founded in 1996 by Garrett Gruener and David Warthen in Berkeley, California. The original software was implemented by Gary Chevsky from his own design. Warthen, Chevsky, Justin Grant, and others built the early AskJeeves.com website around that core engine...
and Bing.com all made efforts in this regard.
Business models
Mobile local search services are usually provided today by mobile carriers, directory enquiry providers, mobile messaging operators or Yellow Pages publishers. Behind these outlets, there is a growing network of agencies, distributors and software providers, some of whom are now starting to offer service direct to the public. Search giants, like Yahoo and Google, and big web publishers, such as Amazon.con and eBay have already embarked on this potentially lucrative market segment.The services are provided through a caller-pays, advertiser-pays or hybrid business model.
In a caller-pays model, as with voice-based directory enquiry services, the caller pays each time they access the service. Caller-pays voice-based local mobile search services are common outside North America, but have been slow to emerge in the USA due to regulatory restrictions.
In an advertiser-pays model, standard for screen-based search and starting to emerge with voice-based 'Free DA' services in North America, businesses pay to be placed early in the list of results, or pay each time a caller chooses to connect through.
In hybrid models, advertising revenue lets the service provider offer reduced rates.
As with TV, magazines and other media, mobile local search services will most likely continue to be offered under all three models, but the hybrid model may predominate. That is, callers will probably accept a limited amount of advertising (which they may actually find useful) in exchange for reduced prices, but may be less willing to use a free service where they are bombarded with advertising.
The value to an advertiser will vary depending on their type of business, and may range from a dollar or less for a taxi or sandwich shop to well over ten dollars for a real-estate broker, attorney or debt consolidation
Debt consolidation
Debt consolidation entails taking out one loan to pay off many others. This is often done to secure a lower interest rate, secure a fixed interest rate or for the convenience of servicing only one loan....
service. Consultants forecast that the global industry will grow to over US$1 billion by 2010.
Service providers
The most direct way to find more about what is happening in the MoLo space is to check out the websites of the MoLo service providers and see what they are offering. There are many of them. Almost all mobile carriers have mobile local search offerings, including Verizon WirelessVerizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
, AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
, T-Mobile
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
, Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
, Orange SA
Orange SA
Orange is the brand used by France Télécom for its mobile network operator and Internet service provider subsidiaries. It is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world, with 210 million customers . The brand was created in 1994 for Hutchison Telecom's UK mobile phone network, which was...
and so on.
Many Directory Assistance providers also offer mobile local search, including free DA providers Jingle Networks and 1-800-San-Diego in the USA, Yell Group
Yell Group
Yell Group plc is a multinational directories company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. As well as the United Kingdom, it has operations in the United States, Spain and some countries in Latin America...
, Pages Jaunes, Seat Pagine Gialle
Seat Pagine Gialle
SEAT Pagine Gialle is an Italian telephone directories and street maps publisher, active also in the online advertising sector. The UK subsidiary is Thomson Directories Ltd.-External links:***...
, Eniro etc. in Europe, and many others. One of the more fully functional services is provided by Contact Center Americas in Colombia.
The Yellow Pages Group
Yellow Pages Group
Yellow Pages Group is a Canadian directory publisher. YPG published its first directory in 1908. YPG is the incumbent directory publisher in Québec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, the Territories and Atlantic Canada...
in Canada provides one of the first voice-enabled local search services.