Yahoo and Microsoft upped the ante in their battle over the latter’s rejected takeover offer, while both brought significant new products to the mobile world, one of the key growth markets where both companies could, if merged, form a powerhouse. Nokia too is busy developing advanced mobile services but was nevertheless the first major to support Yahoo’s OneSearch 2.0, which will run on its S60 smartphones. This highlights the fact that there is more synergy than rivalry between Yahoo and Nokia. For all its plans to increase its direct-to-consumer presence via its Ovi portal, the carriers will remain Nokia’s bread and butter for the foreseeable future. The revenue and brand sharing deals with Yahoo will help persuade operators to adopt Nokia’s web services, interfaces and devices rather than create their own.
Throughout the stand-off with Microsoft, Yahoo has actually been shining in terms of new launches for the mobile world where both companies see growth opportunities, and last week it added voice-enabled search to its mobile platform. The new service is available on an initial trial basis as a download for the Blackberry but will become a general feature of version 2.0 of OneSearch, which will be available to phone makers this summer and should represent a major challenge to Google, which Yahoo is consistently outclassing, in product functionality terms, in the mobile world.
OneSearch was launched in the first quarter of 2007 and the new release, unveiled at CTIA show, improves on the original with voice enabled searches, as well as features that deliver more information to queries than just links. To use the voice feature in OneSearch 2.0, a customer pushes the call button on the handset and says a word or phrase to gain search results – during the CTIA demonstration, saying “British Airways 287” got arrival times, and “3600 Las Vegas Boulevard” got a street map and directions. Yahoo also claims to give fuller answers than just web links – asking the question “where's the best place to play craps in Vegas?”, the service offered postings on the topic from the Yahoo Answers forum. Other results included news stories, graphics, and other content, and for searches on people’s names, their listings in social networking sites.
As well as deals with phone makers and carriers, which should put OneSearch on the front screen of various handsets, the new service can be accessed via Yahoo’s or third party portals, and as a web download. It will generate revenue via advertising, and last August Yahoo bought German advertising specialist Actionality, which has software that inserts ads in content for mobile devices.
Nokia, which is also working hard to introduce advanced features, such as sophisticated location tie-ins, to its mobile search engine, was nevertheless the first major to commit to support OneSearch 2.0, which will run on its Series 60 smartphones. This highlights the fact that there is more synergy than rivalry between Yahoo and Nokia, as the latter ramps up its plan to become an internet services company. If it were not for Nokia’s cultural aversion to major take-overs, and the impact an acquisition would have on its financials and the balance of its business, the Finn would be a logical white knight for Yahoo. It would achieve its aims of releasing a full spectrum of web services and functions far more rapidly with Yahoo’s products and brand on board, and Yahoo has some advanced technology in the mobile market, including in areas like widgets that are dear to Nokia’s heart. It has also made more progress than Google in signing strong carrier relationships, especially in Asia, and these could also be of high value to the handset maker.
For all its plans to increase its direct-to-consumer presence via its Ovi portal, Nokia knows that, for many years to come, the carriers will remain its bread and butter, and it needs to persuade them to adopt its web services, interfaces and devices – and its revenue sharing model – rather than create their own and relegate the Nokia phones to being mere devices to run operator controlled applications. The existing revenue and brand sharing deals created by Yahoo would set useful precedents.
However, such a marriage is unlikely, though we believe Nokia and Yahoo will become closer partners – something not even precluded any more by a Microsoft acquisition, since Nokia and the Windows giant are far more prepared these days to work together against Google rather than regarding each other as arch-enemies.
Throughout the stand-off with Microsoft, Yahoo has actually been shining in terms of new launches for the mobile world where both companies see growth opportunities, and last week it added voice-enabled search to its mobile platform. The new service is available on an initial trial basis as a download for the Blackberry but will become a general feature of version 2.0 of OneSearch, which will be available to phone makers this summer and should represent a major challenge to Google, which Yahoo is consistently outclassing, in product functionality terms, in the mobile world.
OneSearch was launched in the first quarter of 2007 and the new release, unveiled at CTIA show, improves on the original with voice enabled searches, as well as features that deliver more information to queries than just links. To use the voice feature in OneSearch 2.0, a customer pushes the call button on the handset and says a word or phrase to gain search results – during the CTIA demonstration, saying “British Airways 287” got arrival times, and “3600 Las Vegas Boulevard” got a street map and directions. Yahoo also claims to give fuller answers than just web links – asking the question “where's the best place to play craps in Vegas?”, the service offered postings on the topic from the Yahoo Answers forum. Other results included news stories, graphics, and other content, and for searches on people’s names, their listings in social networking sites.
As well as deals with phone makers and carriers, which should put OneSearch on the front screen of various handsets, the new service can be accessed via Yahoo’s or third party portals, and as a web download. It will generate revenue via advertising, and last August Yahoo bought German advertising specialist Actionality, which has software that inserts ads in content for mobile devices.
Nokia, which is also working hard to introduce advanced features, such as sophisticated location tie-ins, to its mobile search engine, was nevertheless the first major to commit to support OneSearch 2.0, which will run on its Series 60 smartphones. This highlights the fact that there is more synergy than rivalry between Yahoo and Nokia, as the latter ramps up its plan to become an internet services company. If it were not for Nokia’s cultural aversion to major take-overs, and the impact an acquisition would have on its financials and the balance of its business, the Finn would be a logical white knight for Yahoo. It would achieve its aims of releasing a full spectrum of web services and functions far more rapidly with Yahoo’s products and brand on board, and Yahoo has some advanced technology in the mobile market, including in areas like widgets that are dear to Nokia’s heart. It has also made more progress than Google in signing strong carrier relationships, especially in Asia, and these could also be of high value to the handset maker.
For all its plans to increase its direct-to-consumer presence via its Ovi portal, Nokia knows that, for many years to come, the carriers will remain its bread and butter, and it needs to persuade them to adopt its web services, interfaces and devices – and its revenue sharing model – rather than create their own and relegate the Nokia phones to being mere devices to run operator controlled applications. The existing revenue and brand sharing deals created by Yahoo would set useful precedents.
However, such a marriage is unlikely, though we believe Nokia and Yahoo will become closer partners – something not even precluded any more by a Microsoft acquisition, since Nokia and the Windows giant are far more prepared these days to work together against Google rather than regarding each other as arch-enemies.
