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We are bringing the power of Google Search to users' fingertips

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DQI Bureau
New Update

What made Google India launch this service in India?



Mobile is a priority for Google, and nowhere is it more so than in Asia. The

mobile adoption level in India is among the fastest in the world with more than

six million being added every month. As mobile becomes more important in

people's daily lives, it also becomes more important for Google's mission of

making the world's information universally accessible.

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What is the Google SMS service, and how would an end user avail of this?



Google SMS is a beta offering that enables people to access certain Google
search features by sending and receiving text messages on their mobile phones or

handheld devices. It enables mobile users to quickly and easily get business

listings, movie show timings, and more, all while on the go.

To avail this service, users can text their query to 54664 to get a list of

relevant results on their mobile phone. For example, for queries related to

local business listings, the search will provide the address and telephone

number for each result. The search service helps users access a range of local

business listings from their mobile phone. After multiple searches for the same

area, the service saves the users location, so they don't have to re-enter it

every time they search. If the user is in a different area from this default

location, all he needs to do is specify their current location to get local

listings. What is important to note is that in case there are no results for a

query, the user receives an SMS informing the same.

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What is the USP of this service considering that others (like Yahoo) have

also launched it before you?



We are focused on building a product that delivers the right answer for each

search, every time. We are looking forward to adding more features and improving

performance and usability based on user feedback from this release. Google SMS

search brings the power of Google Search to users' fingertips, making

information available to them on the move, without the need of a computer or an

Internet-enabled phone. Some of the features unique to Google SMS include

personalization and a host of useful features beyond local listings.

Will you be charging users or will it be advertisement driven?



Our strategy is focused on delivering relevant information to users through

the medium of their choice. To use this service, the users would be charged a

premium SMS rate by the carrier. However, we are continually working with our

partners to explore opportunities that add value to the user at the lowest

possible cost.

Do users require high-end GPS enabled handsets? How do you plan to

popularize this service considering that only a very small percentage of mobiles

are high-end in India?



To use SMS Search, users need a basic mobile phone capable of sending and

receiving text messages. To set their location, users can text 'set location'

followed by a valid location (locality and/or city) to a particular number.

Will Google India venture more into the mobile-based service market or

will it be a one-off thing?



Mobile is a priority for Google, and as mobile becomes more important in

people's daily lives, it also becomes more important to Google's mission of

making the world's information universally accessible. We believe that people

world over should be able to access the information and content they need,

whenever and wherever they need it from their desktop to their mobile phone.

Stuti Das



stutid@cybermedia.co.in

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