Are consumers and corporate users happy with the quality of mobile
search available today? The answers is a big no. If you don't believe when your
colleagues and friends complain, listen to what experts have to say.
"Unfortunately, there is little 'joy of use' in the current mobile search user
experience", says an analyst at Ovum.
The interesting thing is that search quality at the desktop Internet, which
is growing much slower than mobile Internet, is far superior. Google or Yahoo
search on the desktop is an exhilirating experience and a frustrating experience
on the mobile phone. Try navigating through a long search chain on your mobile
phone that has a little screen and not very comfortable keypad. Mobile search
needs a completely different approach and therefore, a new solution.
Poor mobile search will have a far reaching impact. Telecom operators who now
hope to make money from content and value added services will have to wait. Many
of these operators have now offerings for business customers that will just not
take off. Guys in content and VAS business will get stuck. Vendors selling
mobile devices are likely to see a slow down. And enterprises might not be able
to reach out to their mobile customers.
While traditional search companies, telecom equipment, handset vendors, and
operators are at it, there is another approach that should be explored. Can CIOs
and operators join hands and see what best can be worked out with whatever is
available. For instance, can Airtel or BSNL offer a special package to all
courier companies in India-large, medium or very small-where all courier packets
can be tracked online and an SMS delivery report can be generated to the
satisfaction of the customer. Today, this facility is available with just a few
courier companies and that also does not work half the the time. I have often
heard industry members complain that mobile applications are really not the
priority for CIOs, and whatever applications and network capabilities are
currently available, they are not really being used.
I am confident if just this can be taken up, the benefits will be immense,
and will give a major thrust to a mobile application that is likely to touch
thousands of lives every day. Let us try and push these small and apparently
mundane services, and we could see the big landscape of mobile services getting
galvanized. Pressure on higher value and advanced services like mobile search
will automatically go up.
Ibrahim ahmad
ibrahima@cybermedia.co.in