What is mobile search?
A search for “mobile search” on Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary returns only paid search terms. I will refrain from comment. Wikipedia returns the following:
“. an evolving branch of information retrieval services that is centered around the convergence of mobile platforms and mobile handsets or other mobile devices.”
I think this is a good definition to begin this conversation. Information retrieval may be from the phone itself (e.g., Dad’s cell number, the photo I took of my cat). There is an entire industry of vendors comprised of search and UI specialists trying to improve this experience. The other kind of search is that for information which does not reside on the cellphone or portable device, but on the Internet, within the wireless service provider’s content or an entity’s proprietary database. Although companies like Google Inc. are working to migrate consumers toward a single search mindset, most consumers look for information differently on their device than they do on the Internet. For the purposes of this conversation, I’ll limit the scope to Internet search.
Mobile Internet search excites wireless carriers, location-based services companies, advertisers and search engines alike. JupiterResearch reported that paid search alone on cellphones was close to $100 million last year – a substantial number given how few use cellphones to browse the Internet or retrieve information beyond paid 411 calls. Search players together with the wireless service providers can layer location and device context onto search terms thereby increasing their revenue per search term. Advertisers love the idea of “consumer intent” while consumers are on the move in the market to buy. (I imagine cartoons of people using cellphones to find the nearest movie theater portrayed as marionettes by advertisers as they pull strings to manipulate their actions.)
At less than 50 cents per wireless subscriber in the U.S., the numbers are still low by industry standards, and JupiterResearch forecasts tremendous growth. Consumer demand and interest in using their cellphones as an information source is growing. Network speed, user interface, and the cost of data plans has inhibited uptake of data services to date, but these obstacles are being torn down quickly especially as devices such as Apple Inc.’s/AT&T Mobility’s iPhone operating on Starbucks’ Wi-Fi network are breaking new ground with their service offerings and business models. Voice and SMS are giving developers and service providers alternatives to shrinking the PC experience on to a cellphone or portable media player.
A vision of the “end game” for search on cell phones is something we have not yet glimpsed. Search on portable media players (e.g., Apple iPhone/Touch, Nokia Corp. 810) may more closely resemble the experience on a PC as consumers will use a mix of the browser and applications or widgets to retrieve information. Consumers will be less likely to seek Web pages or URL listings on a cellphone – they are more likely to want discrete answers or options (e.g., list of Italian restaurants nearby). Moreover, they’ll want this information integrated into features on their phones – click-to-call, calendar, community applications, etc. Shrinking the PC experience onto a cellphone will provide a substantial market in the next few years especially as the number of smartphones or devices with QWERTY keyboards grows, but I believe there will be more spectacular growth when a new paradigm built for cellphones emerges and is adopted.
As a research director with JupiterResearch, Julie Ask focuses on evolving trends in the telecommunications – specifically wireless – industry, examining both the marketing and technology issues these companies face as they look to deploy new technologies and services to enhance their businesses. JupiterResearch’s wireless coverage examines business models, technology trends, and consumer behavior and attitudes to provide strategic advice and insight to those in the industry or those looking for a presence on the “third screen.”
