Google, Yahoo to offer local services on mobile

Google, Yahoo to offer local services on mobile

Bigwigs of the web, Yahoo and Google are now looking to spread their net wider. Both the famous web portals disclosed their strategies to make some of their services available on mobiles.

Yahoo has plans to collaborate with SBC Communications Inc. to distribute phones that carries Yahoo's Web-based services like e-mail, photos and calendar information. The mobiles are likely to ship early next year on the Cingular Wireless network. The handsets would also incorporate an MP3 player, a 1.3-megapixel digital camera and a wireless Bluetooth connection.

In addition, Yahoo also joined hands with digital-recording company TiVo Inc to introduce a service through which customers can record television programs from the Yahoo Web site.
Looking to expand its business, Yahoo will be ready to carry weather and traffic information to television sets through the service, according to a company spokeswoman.

Sponsors

Naveen Chopra, director of business development for TiVo, feels there is a big chunk of online and other media corporations that are competing to gain superiority by entering into the consumer's drawing room through various tactics. Chopra is confident that, with close 3.6 million subscribers, TiVo is the perfect gateway for these media firms.

And while Yahoo is making such waves into the entertainment industry, can Google be far behind?

Google publicized their plans of a new local search service which would permit customers to look at satellite maps on their mobiles and even get the detailed directions to particular locations.

While Google itself hasn't chalked out any plans to put advertisements on the new service, many analysts are of the firm view that this will indeed turn to be a good medium for advertising as there is a giant market for local restaurant, movie, traffic and other information.

It is noteworthy that Google already offers a service through which consumers can get weather information and directions on their mobile phones just by sending a text message.

Google's latest offering is compliant only with phones having Java-based software, or approximately half of phones from carriers such as T-Mobile USA Inc., Cingular and Sprint.

In the long run, Google says, it will tap the global positioning system data in phones through which it would be possible to automatically recognize the customer's location and plot directions and even locate landmarks; e.g. the closest café corner.

Presently, Google does offer mapping and local search products on the computer. As Deep Nishar, a manager for Google's mobile products puts it, "Local information is one of the first things you need."