Targeting consumers and businesses seeking offerings that combine mobility with software smarts, Sprint Nextel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. today announced a strategic alliance, with the first fruit being a location-based service, available now, that lets customers use Windows Live Search on Sprint wireless phones to search Internet content, such as nearby stores and restaurants.
Windows Live Search for mobile combines Microsoft Windows Live Local Search features, such as maps and directions, with capabilities allowing the indexing and discovery of relevant mobile content. This approach delivers search results grouped in useful categories and in a format appropriate for a user's specific mobile device.
The location-based offering available today from Sprint and Microsoft requires users to input their locations by entering their ZIP codes, addresses, or cities and states. The alliance partners claim future versions of the service are planned to enable consumers to give permission to locate them automatically and show the nearest businesses that match their search.
The service is available immediately at no additional cost to Sprint PCS Vision and Sprint Power Vision subscribers on all currently available data-capable phones, along with many popular older models.
Finally Here?
After suffering from several years of slow development, location-based services are enjoying a resurgence in several major global markets, according to a report from ABI Research. “Initially over-hyped in the late 1990s through early 2002/03, the technology has reacquired a following based on the success of handset-based, GPS-enabled location services. These range from consumer-oriented offerings in Asia, business- and consumer-oriented applications in North America, and personal navigation services in Europe,” according to the company. “Legislation as well, mandating location-enabled technology for wireless callers to emergency numbers in the United States, and talk of similar services scheduled for later in the decade in parts of Europe and Asia, have also played a role.”
A recent ABI study projects that in 2011, the total population of GPS-enabled location-based services (LBS) subscribers will reach 315 million, up from 12 million in 2006. That represents a rise from less than 0.5 percent of total wireless subscribers today to more than 9 percent worldwide at the end of the study's five-year forecast period.
The duo says the new service also provides new opportunities for highly relevant and targeted local advertising, which will benefit businesses and consumers alike. It aims to provide one-stop access to relevant online content associated with a given keyword or phrase.
For example, the partners explain, consumers who search for "sports" on their wireless phone can search all of Sprint's content relating to sports, such as ringtones, wallpapers and applications with "sports" in the title, as well as local information available online such as business listings for sports stores, maps, directions and relevant advertisements from local businesses.
"Microsoft and Sprint share a vision that mobility is about helping customers access the information they need while on the go. The new alliance will deliver on that vision for consumers and businesses," said Mark Schweitzer, chief marketing officer at Sprint, in prepared comments. "Microsoft's innovation in search and advertising makes them a logical choice for us to work with to realize this vision."
Steve Berkowitz, senior vice president of the Online Services Group at Microsoft, said that in recent years the search box has fundamentally changed the way people interact with the Internet. But “we have only just begun to scratch the surface for what search and live Internet services can do in the mobile space,” he added.
ABI Research www.abiresearch.com
Microsoft Corp. www.microsoft.com
Sprint Nextel Corp. www.sprint.com
