Alphabet Inc (GOOG)

[SeriousMoney]

Vying for Position in Mobile Search
Start-Ups Like InfoSpace Tap Into Network Carriers To Challenge Yahoo, Google
By CHRIS REITER, WSJ.com, May 11, 2006

A group of start-ups aim to give Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. a run for their money in the race to bring search to the mobile Internet, and network operators may prove to be key allies.

As music, news, stock quotes and even social networking site MySpace become accessible via cellphones, search is becoming increasingly important for consumers to find what they are looking for.

There are about two billion mobile-phone users world-wide -- compared with one billion Internet users, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit -- and their phones are almost always on and at hand. Analysts project the mobile directory-assistance market could top $3 billion this year.

Numerous start-ups such as 4INFO Inc., Medio Systems Inc., and JumpTap Inc. have sprung up to tap into the nascent market for mobile search services, creating competition for search giants Google and Yahoo. Local search company InfoSpace Inc., which generates much of its $340 million in annual revenue by selling ringtones, has already hooked up with major telecom carriers.

Aside from the new competition, the entrenched search leaders face another challenge as they seek to go mobile: namely, the carriers. Network operators exercise much more control over what services a user can easily access than traditional Internet service providers, and Cingular Wireless, Verizon Communications Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. may be inclined to push their own branded search services, powered by technology from start-ups such as InfoSpace, ahead of Yahoo and Google.

"Carriers are very focused on creating branded experiences," said Mark Donovan, analyst at mobile market research firm M:Metrics. "You'll increasingly see search integrated throughout."

InfoSpace is powering Cingular's MEdia Net offering, which lets the carrier's 55.8 million customers search the Internet and find phone-specific content such as wallpaper, games or ringtones. Sprint offers InfoSpace's Find It service, which the company says is the first search service to use a phone's location data.

Still, the search-engine giants have made their own strides. Yahoo Go Mobile comes on some phones from Cingular Wireless, a joint venture between AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp., while Google is included in some phones from British carrier Vodafone Group PLC. Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile is making the Google search feature the first thing customers see when they turn on their phones.

Google and Yahoo hope consumer demand for their services and content will keep them in the mix. Yahoo, in particular, believes user-generated reviews on local restaurants and businesses will make it a sought-after service.

So far, carriers are honing their offerings in anticipation of more widespread adoption. "We're looking very closely at the space and looking at what consumers want," said Dan Gilmartin, Sprint's marketing manager for location-based services.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114730545777849622.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo