Yahoo: One for the Mobile
By Azam on April 4, 2008Yahoo recently announced the launch of OneConnect at the CTIA conference. The OneConnect services is designed to make mobile search smarter, more relevant , and easier to use with such services a voice search and activation technology. OneConnect follows up on Yahoo’s oneSearch mobile application used to aggregate email, instant messages, text, and social networking seamlessly.
Marco Boerries, the company’s executive vice president of “connected life,” introduced the new Yahoo OneSearch 2.0 during a keynote address, promising “instant answers to any query, not just Web links.” This means that search results will expand from traditional hyperlinks into other media–a search for “New York” could yield subway schedules, for example, or a search for local sushi restaurants could bring up Zagat’s ratings and reviews along with one-click reservations. And searching the name of a friend could provide links to the social-networking sites that the friend uses.
“With the launch of Yahoo OneSearch in 2007, we revolutionized mobile search by recreating search specifically for the mobile phone,” Boerries said in Wednesday’s keynote address, adding that a total of 29 carriers worldwide are now OneSearch partners. “With Yahoo OneSearch 2.0, we are fundamentally changing the way consumers use the Internet on their mobile phones.”
Voice Capability
Yahoo is partnering with Vlingo for voice technology. Yahoo announced a lead investment in the 20M series B round of funding. Yahoo secured a exclusive rights with the company for voice technology.
“We liked the technology so much that we invested in the company,” Boerries said during a press conference following his keynote speech. “But we made sure that our competitors can’t use it.”
Vlingo voice powered search is available on newer BlackBerry phones with a download from m.yahoo.com/voice. Yahoo intends to make the service available on other devices in the coming months.
More Relevant Search
Yahoo is leveraging technology to bring more relevant search capabilities with semantic and open API previously announced search tool called “Search Monkey,” with open source tools that allow users and publishers to annotate and enhance search results associated with specific Web sites. Yahoo designs the two applications to share the same APIs making it easier for publishers and uses to customize searches for improved results.
Yahoo is also making text searches better by implementing a more open model that integrates relevant information into the results. The model allows Yahoo to deliver more important content by organizing the information more efficiently. Open search will be available this quarter on initial carrier partners.
Other improvements include predictive text, which means oneSearch will start providing possible search results even as you begin typing. It’s also smart enough to pick out the context of your search and offer related results. This service will only be available on iPhones for now but will expand to other AJAX-enabled devices.
Yahoo will also make search available directly from a cell phone idle screen so you don’t have to open up a browser. That will be available this quarter.
Categories : WirelessTags : mobile, OneConnect, OneSearch, Vlingo, Wireless, yahoo