Business Development Diary

Business 2.0 :: Online Article :: Wireless Report :: Mobile Search: The Battle Begins: "That's not lost on Yahoo, which has already claimed the pole position. Yahoo's mobile search tools, launched just nine months ago, are already well integrated with its desktop client; users can easily search images, the Web, or local listings. And any preferences, information, or locations a user stores in Yahoo's desktop service will appear on the phone. 'We set up as many shortcuts as possible to give people access to quick bytes of information,' says Yahoo director Thad White. For example, when I used Yahoo's mobile service to search for Starbucks (SBUX) in the 94111 zip code (as if I didn't already know the exact location of every caffeine-dispensing kiosk within eight blocks), I didn't have to enter my address, because I had done so during a previous desktop search on my computer. It's easy to imagine a scenario where Yahoo partners with a carrier like Cingular to bundle its search tool with other mobile services in exchange for a small monthly subscriber fee, much like it already does for SBC's (SBC) DSL service."