Location-based mobile business directory Free411 claims it monetizes consumers who use its Android application ten times better than those on its iPhone offering.

Free411 applications provide mobile users with location-based business listings based on category. The company claims its Android version performs better across several metrics such as downloads, usage and monetization.

?We?re able to monetize an Android user better than an iPhone user,? said John Roswech, president of Jingle Networks, Menlo Park, CA. ?I don?t know why, but we monetize an Android app ten times better than an iPhone app.

?And, based on a one-to-one download ratio, we see three times better usage on our Android app than our iPhone app,? he said. ?We also see more downloads on Android than on iPhone.

?We think it?s just because Android is less cluttered and an easier approval process.?

Jingle Networks is the developer of Free411.

The company also offers an application for BlackBerry, a PC Web site located at http://www.free411.com and call-in directory assistance, reachable at 1 (800) FREE-411.

How it works
The Free411 application can be downloaded for free in Android Market.

When the application launches, it uses the Android device?s GPS functionality to locate the mobile user?s location to provide the most relevant business listings for consumers.

The application?s homepage features nine clickable icons for different categories of businesses that users can search.

The categories are Stores, Groceries, Pharmacies, Gas, Taxis, Banks, Restaurants, Coffee and Pizza.

The homepage also includes a search bar at the top of the screen, and a Free411 logo that users can click to call the company?s voice-based directory.

When users click on a category?s icon, the application searches the surrounding area for the nearest businesses in that category, and presents the results in list form.

Consumers can access a business?s individual page by clicking on its listing.

On each business?s page, users can:

? Find contact information, including phone number and address

? Add the business to the phone?s contact list

? Click to call

? Pull up a map that shows the business?s location relative to the mobile user

The map functionality marks the biggest difference between the Free411 Android application and its iPhone counterpart.

?The Android app has Google Maps integration,? Mr. Roscwech said. ?The iPhone doesn?t have that slick map interface that you can easily pull up.

?When someone does a search for a business on the Free411 Android app, a nice map or location will come up,? he said. ?On the iPhone you have to do one more click to get it to pop up, and it?s not integrated as well.?

Monetizing business listings
Brooklyn, NY-based Park Slope Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District integrated a mobile Web directory to boost its members? business (see story).

Likewise, Chambers of Commerce nationwide have used an iPhone application called MyChamberApp to engage a mobile audience (see story).

Free411 differentiates itself from mobile offerings such as these in that it is a third-party directory that monetizes its business listings through advertising.

The company leverages its application by interspersing sponsored business listings throughout its search results.

The directory includes 200 advertising businesses, which generate the same way all other business listing do, based on proximity.

Free411 charges advertisers based on pay-per-call, pay-per-click or pay-per-reveal rates.

From a business standpoint, developing for Android was a no-brainer, per Free411.

?Android is growing,? Mr. Roswech said. ?It?s simple ? you have to be on the Android platform, because of the scale it gives you.

?Five years from now, Steve Jobs is going to look at this and say, ?I should?ve made my platform more open,?? he said. ?Just look at what Google?s done with Android ? they?re giving that operating system away and letting anyone use it.

?That?s why Android is where it is today, with the number of operating systems in the marketplace.?

Final Take
Peter Finocchiaro, editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer, New York