Wikipedia Mobile

Another way to access Wikipedia from your mobile phone. Wap over to Mobile Guru Wikipedia. [via Mocoblog]

Users of Pocket PCs, Smartphones and Java-enabled mobile phones running web browsers can now access a lightweight version of the Wikipedia on-line encyclopaedia. New Zealand-based company Instinct has created a mobile version of Wikipedia for mobile devices, currently available as a beta website.

Other mobile wikipedias:

-- Wapedia

-- Semapedia= Semacode+Wikipedia

-- Wikipedia on Your Cellphone thanks to Via JOCA

Baidu and Nokia Spearhead Chinese Language Mobile Search

Baidu, the leading Chinese language Internet search provider, and Nokia today announced that they are collaborating to make mobile search easier and more convenient in Chinese-speaking markets, including mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

As a result of this collaboration between Baidu and Nokia, users of the Nokia Mobile Search Application on the high-end Nokia N70, Nokia N90 and other select S60 Nokia devices, will be able to access Baidu wireless search services via a user friendly search icon on the screen interface.

A free download of this pilot application will be available from today for select Nokia devices in mainland China from nokia.com/mobilesearch.

[via Nokia Press Release]

Google Launches Google News Mobile

Google has launched a new serivce to their mobile offering, reports Search Engine Journal, Google News Mobile, in beta.

In their own words: Google News for mobile devices keeps you updated on current news articles when you're on the go. You can access top headlines, browse through news categories, or search for exactly the stories you want .

Currently Google News Mobile is only available for access to English language news sources, but Google is planning on expansion.

Vodafone Forms Collaboration With Google

Vodafone said Tuesday that it is collaborating with Google to develop mobile search services for its customers. [Cellular News]

"Vodafone will integrate Google's search capability into its consumer service, Vodafone live!. The new service will offer simultaneous search both on Vodafone live! and the wider Web. "

Avis Offers AskMeNow Mobile Information

Avis Rent A Car and AskMeNow announced an agreement to make the AskMeNow mobile lifestyle network available through Avis' top 100 domestic locations. [via Wireless Developer Netowrk]

"Beginning in January, customers will be able to sign up easily using their mobile phones to get instant access to 411, flight times, restaurants and hotels, directions, weather, stock quotes, and sports, as well as other local information

Avis customers may simply call a toll free number or text any question from their mobile phone and receive the requested information in moments. Avis encourages customers to use this service only when utilizing a hands-free device or when the car is pulled over."

Nokia Adds 4INFO Mobile Search To Cell Phones

Nokia has added 4INFO Inc.’s mobile search service in the United States, the company said Tuesday, reports TechWeb. The service is free; 4INFO's revenue comes from advertising.

"Customers with a Nokia handset can now download the application to query millions of U.S. local directory listings, real-time sports scores, player statistics, local weather forecasts, and detailed movie show times and reviews through 4INFO’s free plug-in.

... The Nokia Mobile Search Application is available for download for all Nokia Series 60 cellular phones and will come embedded on phones from carriers beginning in the first quarter of 2006."

Related article: - 4Info - Mobile Search in the US

AOL develops new mobile search feature

AOL says it has developed a service that will shrink the Internet to fit mobile devices with Web browsers, reports the NY Times.

"Mobile phone users can now perform Web searches much like they would on a desktop computer and then access any Web site. Up to now, the tiny screens on most Internet-enabled PDAs and smart phones have been too small to download many Web pages.

Other mobile services only can download full pages that are WAP-enabled."

WAPedia

WAPedia is Florian Amrhein's mobile encyclopedia. [via everyone's favorite Red Ferret]

In his own words:

Wapedia brings the content of Wikipedia (text) to mobile devices like mobile phones or PDAs.

At the moment it supports three languages: english, german and french. More will follow.

Related: - Semapedia= Semacode+Wikipedia - Semapedia combines the physical annotation technology of http://semacode.org with the availability of high quality information using the free online encyclopedia.

The promise of this system is to provide free relevant ad-hoc high quality information to mobile users in the real world.

Google Adds Two New Features to SMS Service

Gary Price for Search Engine Watch reports on two new features in Google's SMS service: translation and currency conversion.

Translation:

"Translate a word or simple phrase to any of the following languages French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish from or to English."

Conversion

"To convert a currency to another currency simply enter the conversion you'd like completed."

[via Search Engine Lowdown]

Local Search on Mobiles Not That Popular - report

In the newly released report entitled "Mobile Search: Searching for an Audience," JupiterResearch finds that although 81% of online users carry out online searches, few mobile subscribers have used their cell phone for search. [via Cellular News]

"Although the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN have developed mobile search offerings (e.g., SMS, WAP sites), they are not yet monetizing the experience as they do with PCs online."

..."As such, content and information providers must be patient, invest pragmatically and continue to offer free trials while educating consumers and marketers alike about these services".

Google Film Search

Google has just launched Google Film, a new web search feature that enables users in the UK to search for local film showtimes, read critics' reviews, and search for films by plot, genre and more, according to Computer Business Review Online

And it includes an SMS feature that enables users to get film showtimes and cinema listings on their mobile phone or handheld device via text messaging.

Related:

-- Film search by SMS - Following a successful 6 month pilot test, several Australian movie complexes have launched an SMS movie search service, using natural language processing (NLP), enabling movie goers to enquire which films are playing at the movie theater and at what time.

AskMeNow - Homework Help by SMS

AskMeNow will launch a mobile homework service this fall in which people can call or message in a simple question and receive a text reply on their phones within a few minutes.

More than 10,000 are now participating in a free test, and the company eventually plans to charge up to 49 cents a question, possibly less for students. [via The Associated Press]

Film search by SMS

Following a successful 6 monht pilot test, several Australian movie complexes have launched an SMS movie search service, using natural language processing (NLP), enabling movie goers to enquire which films are playing at the movie theater and at what time. [via Geekzone]

"For example, a user could send in "Whats on?", "What time is Wedding Crashers showing at Crown?", "Where can I see Wedding Crashers?" or "What is showing at Crown on Saturday?"

The 1999-FILM service is provided by START Corporation, a provider of SMS solutions for enterprise clients. The SMS natural language processing capability is based on START's TextWise SMS-NLP technology.

"The same technology can be easily deployed to book movie tickets, take pizza orders, make payments and take call-centre enquiries. For example, users can simply text in 'Book two tickets at 2pm' or 'Call me about my account'. The possibilities are limitless," said Mak."

Mobile search is the new black - Roundup

A quick roundup from Engadget on the mobile search space, with relevant links:

-- Google SMS — basic Google searches via SMS, includes local search

-- Google mobile web — searches only sites formatted for mobile devices

-- Yahoo SMS

-- Yahoo mobile — mobile version of the Yahoo portal, with web, image and local search

-- Nokia Mobile Search - Nokia has released their Mobile Search software for certain Nokia smartphones

-- Mobile AOL search

-- Technorati mobile

-- 4info.net — local info, stock quotes, sports scores, movie times

More mobile searches posted by readers in the Comment section.

Nokia Release Mobile Search for Smartphone

Slashphone reports on Nokia's introducton yesterday of a pioneering mobile search software solution that provides users with easy and fast access to leading search engines directly from their Nokia handset.

"The mobile search application is currently being piloted in the UK, Finland and Sweden. The application will be distributed in the standard sales packs of the Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681 and Nokia 6630 smartphones.

Existing owners of these devices can download the search application for free from the Nokia website at www.nokia.com/mobilesearch.

AOL Mobile Search Beta

America Online plans to begin testing a new mobile service that lets wireless phone users search the Internet and link to regular Web pages that it will reformat for tiny cell-phone screens. [via Reuters]

"Users can reach the site directly from their phones by typing in the address mobile.aolsearch.com.

In their own words:

AOL is offering a new search service, which we like to refer to as the "Right-Sized Internet"

Mobile Search Beta will feature: Web, Local and Shopping Search. If you have a WAP 2.0 web browser enabled cell phone, you can try this new service and experience searching the Internet, finding local directory information and comparative shopping.

Google SMS Moves Into Beta

Google has moved the Google SMS service from its 'Labs' section, where its weirder and wackier offerings reside, to official beta status. In Google terms this is as good as putting it live - after all, the massively popular Google News is still in beta, years after its launch.

The service is available in both the USA and the UK and Google themselves don't charge, however, your mobile operator will certainly apply a charge for the texting of the question (or take it from the texts included in your price plan) and may even charge you for receiving the reply.

If you want to give Google SMS a try then there is a mobile emulator that you can have a go on, both in the USA and the UK.

[via TechSmec]

Yahoo! launches mobile price checkYahoo!

Yahoo! UK and Ireland has launched a new mobile service which allows consumers to check prices on the move, using Yahoo! WAP services.

Price and product information will be provided by the Yahoo-owned comparison service Kelkoo. Yahoo! said it will not charge for the service, which is accessible on all WAP enabled phones at standard browsing rates.

[via Netimperative]

T-Mobile teams with Google to open up mobile Internet: Web'n'Walk

T-Mobile has announced it will use the Google homepage as the entry page for its mobile Internet service, in a bid to encourage more of its users to log on to the Web via their mobiles.

The deal is part of the mobile network operator's new strategy to offer its subscribers full access to the Internet, as opposed to network branded portals that restrict access to selected sites.

Ulli Gritzuhn, T-Mobile board member, said: "With the Google homepage we want tell our customers from the first moment that they are carrying with them the Internet they know from home.”

Current mobile internet services, such as T-Mobile's 't-zones' and Vodafone 'Live!', have so far failed to rouse consumer interest, with users finding the services too complicated and expensive.

T-Mobile, the mobile division of Deutsche Telekom, will promote the service with a new campaign, entitled "web'n'walk", launching across Europe from July.

It also plans to introduce mobile devices with larger displays that are better suited for web pages, along with cheaper tarriffs for mobile Internet use.

reBlogged from netimperative

picture and related article from Phonemag

Google Zeros In On Mobile Web

Google Inc. on Thursday started testing a mobile-phone service that searches websites that have been designed to deliver content customized for the small screens of cellular phones, reports TechWeb via Moco News.

To use the Google Mobile Search, people go to the company's homepage via the web browser on their phones, type in their search query and select "Mobile Web (Beta)" as their search option.

Along with the latest service, Google's other mobile features include the ability to search for images and the general web and for products and services offered locally. Google also offers a text-based messaging service.

Ask G.o.d. (Go Online Data)

Next month ASK G.O.D. (Go Online Data) will launch its “phoneternet” information service that “will offer users their own personal internet search expert or “Angel” at their beck and call 24/7, reports Moco News.

After subscribing you call a toll-free number and ask the Angel (all college graduates, we are assured) your question.

They find the answer and tell you (or SMS you, or e-mail you or whatever you want).

The service offers any information you can find on the Internet, which is just about everything — directions, stock quotes, movie times, language translations and so on.

They can even make purchases on your behalf…

Speakeasy - relaunching May 2005

Speakeasy is a community-based telephone service that connects new immigrants with a network of volunteer "Guides" who answer questions, give advice and agency referrals, and offer language interpretation services.

Speakeasy was piloted in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood in the Spring of 2004, and will be re-launched in May, 2005 (thanks to a generous grant from the AT&T Wireless Foundation). Speakeasy also received a $2000 prize from the MIT Ideas Comptetition.

Related:

-- Personal Connection: These Operators Go Way Beyond the Call - WDT is a small telecom carrier geared to Polish and other Eastern European immigrants, with a loyal following of about 80,000 customers across the nation.

Google bolsters mobile search

On Tuesday, the search company plans to introduce two new search options for mobile phones, reports News.com

"One feature lets people with browser-enabled cell phones use Google Local, a Web directory of local businesses and sights, by typing in a name and ZIP code.

Using the second feature, people can text message Google SMS (Short Message Service) with the short code "46645" to receive driving directions to most locations".

SMS directory service coming to SA

An instant SMS directory enquiry service, "iFind", which offers users access to information about where to find businesses or services, will launch in SA this month, reports ITWeb.

"The listing service will be accessible across multiple platforms, such as SMS, USSD, the Internet and call centres, and will also allow businesses to advertise directly to people with specific needs.

This instant directory service is unique in that it provides location-specific results to a user's search, meaning they need only SMS the word of the service or product and the desired location to our service number to receive up to eight matching directory listings.”

He says that for example, a user can SMS ‘Plumber Durban' to 34600 and a number of options will be SMSed back."

Related services around the world:

-- 4Info - Mobile Search in the US

-- Yahoo launches mobile search

-- Google SMS to include driving directions?

-- Cell phone search takes on Net engines

-- Google SMS search beta launches

-- and more in the Ask Experts category of Textually.org.

Answers.com Goes Mobile

Answers.com has released a mobile interface for their database. To access, simply point your wireless web browser to: http://mobile.answers.com. [via Blog SearchEngine Watch via Smart Mobs-

In their own words:

Mobile.Answers.com provides instant answers on over a million topics. Using the same trusted content as the Answers.com site on your PC, this edition has been specially formatted for wireless handheld screens.

Related "ask expert" articles and services:

-- Ask Jeeves Developing Wireless Search Service

-- Can this service put pub quiz at risk?

-- Any question answered

-- Nuggets.net: SMS search engine

-- New service uses linguistics to search for answers and send reply via SMS

-- The Fact Finders

-- Cell phone search takes on Net engines

-- Re5ult

-- Startup offers text message Q&A service

-- Mojo Knows: Google to go

Mobile phones and spirituality

Intel ethnographer Genevieve Bell was featured on BBC Radio 4 about the increasing infiltration of personal mobile tech into spiritual practices around the world.

Sunday: Mobile Phones and Spirituality [5mins 43sec, Real Audio]

Via Matt Jones, who, along with Chris Heathcote, is one of Nokia's oracles!

For business in Europe, cellphone borders fall

For large companies, buying mobile phone service for employees who work in different countries means high prices -Cellphone service is one of the top staff expenses after salaries and leased cars, confusing bills in various languages and many service providers to deal with, explains the International Herald Tribune.

But help may be on the way. Dutch phone company KPN has announced a service called Sympac that will handle the contract negotiations in each country and integrate the many cellphone service providers into one contract, providing a simpler bill, lower prices and easy-to-use service across Europe.

Analysts said that such pan-European projects were a good start but that phone network providers needed to do more for multinational users.

For more than a year, some cellphone network providers have been copying airlines by forming alliances to offer a simpler multinational reach and using scale to negotiate better prices.

Analysts have said that these alliances have been formed partly to combat the international growth of telecommunications companies like Vodafone of Britain, which recently announced acquisitions of wireless businesses in Romania and the Czech Republic.

Still, some analysts are not convinced the alliances are doing enough, as network operators' roaming prices, even with the alliances, were still "completely outrageous."

MOst believe that users probably would see big changes in cellphone service prices or in the ability to roam and connect easily across borders only if regulators at the European Union or in individual countries took action.

4Info - Mobile Search in the US

4Info is a new mobile search service in the United States.

"The service gives a cell phone the power to get local directory and real-time information wherever one is. It's a quick way to get the information when you want and need it. Any cell phone that is text messaging capable can use this free service without registration". [via Smart Mobs via bestkeptsimple.org]

A New Service from Yahoo! Local

Yahoo Local users can now easily and quickly send phone numbers and addresses from the Yahoo! Local database to their cell phones or mobile devices as text messages, reports Search Engine Watch.

The service is free but your phone provider may charge for text messages.

Each Yahoo! Local entry now contains a link labeled, "Send to Phone." Click the link and enter a phone number (U.S. only). Then, click "send." In a matter of seconds the name, address, and phone number of the Yahoo Local entry you've selected will be accessible on your phone or mobile device. Some phones even hyperlink phone numbers so don't even after enter the number.

Ask Jeeves Developing Wireless Search Service

Looking to provide yet another way for users to tap its searchcapabilities, Ask Jeeves is developing new wireless search services to be launched this year, according to a company executive, reports PC World.

"In developing its wireless search services, Ask Jeeves will focus on providing very specific information to queries and not try to replicate the conventional Web searching experience, given the nature of wireless communications and devices, he said."

Related:

-- Yahoo launches mobile search

-- Google SMS to include driving directions?

-- Cell phone search takes on Net engines

-- Google SMS search beta launches

-- and more in the Ask Experts category of Textually.org.