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Application developments, new standards to bring mobile search into mainstream: SES panel

NEW YORK -- A new mobile environment is taking shape what with companies launching mobile applications and standards set by the iPhone and Google's Android platform.

Thus said a panel of speakers at the Search Engine Strategies Conference and Exhibition yesterday as they talked about the recent intersection of mobile and local and how the two are inherently related. The panel said that application developments and new technology will bring mobile search into mainstream adoption.

"Mobile search isn't a new idea," said Tom Limongello, director of Crisp Wireless, New York. "People have had the ability to search and browse on the phones since 1999 and have had the ability to call 411 for information even earlier than that."

Mr. Limongello said that ZIP codes used to be considered the best way to locate stuff around you. However, one doesn't always know the ZIP code assigned to their current location. This dilemma has been solved with GPS-enabled phones have the ability to locate where the user and the mobile phone are.

"There are various ways to play through mobile search," Mr. Limongello said.

It can be done through voice application, scanning a bar code, pushing an SMS text message or managing a mobile search from the desk top.

Mr. Limongello commended cars.com for allowing users to send a link to the mobile phone associated with what they were looking at online.

"Sites like Socialight.com and Whirl.com add a social aspect to search," Mr. Limongello said.

Monetization is a key concern for advertisers looking to advertise via mobile search. Local can help sooth that ache.

"Monetize each transaction a user makes," said Ryan Sarver, director of consumer products at Skyhook Wireless. "Local mobile search ads allow advertisers to do just that."

Mr. Sarver said that location awareness is attractive to advertisers trying to reel in consumers in their area.

Colin Holmes, vice president of product management at V-enable, said that multi-modal mobile search experience is key.

Mr. Holmes said that someone looking for a sushi restaurant in his or her neighborhood should be able to click-to-call and make reservations once they find what they are looking for.

Additionally, the person should be able to text the information to associates that he or she is meeting at the restaurant. And, lastly, the consumer should also have the option of viewing a map and finding, say, a movie theatre close to the restaurant.

Mr. Holmes also said that the first form of search from a phone is very similar to what we are doing today. Dialing 411 from any phone takes consumers to an operator who then searches for the address and phone number of whatever the consumer is searching for.

Today the intent is similar, but the information that's available goes beyond just location.

Kevin Mazzatta, the vice president of business development for ChaCha, talked about what his company went through to become focused on mobile.

ChaCha started off as a Web search company and is now considered a mobile answer service.

"Mobile phones are the fastest growing personal communications device and the No. 1 most commonly used information terminal in the world," Mr. Mazzatta said. "Despite the hype over smartphones, they represent the minority of the handset market."

Mr. Mazzatta said that in order to become a mobile answers company ChaCha needed to learn a thing or two about what users want.

"Users want timely answers and no constraints," he said. "They want whatever services they use to be user-centric and simple."