Interactive Local Media Advisory

The iPhone Era: Mobile Local Search Gets its Due
Michael Boland , 7/25/2008

Summary: Earlier this month Apple released its much anticipated iPhone 3G. The new device comes with 3G mobile network access, faster download speeds and a price tag roughly half that of the original model. The launch coincided with the debut of Apple’s new App Store — the culmination of independent third-party application development that followed the February public release of the company’s software development kit. The App Store’s easy access for consumers and open standard for developers will revolutionize mobile search quality standards. It will bring mobile search closer to the open innovation that has driven the Web’s growth and move away from the carrier control that has traditionally ruled the mobile environment. It could also do for mobile applications what the iTunes Store has done for digital music. As mobile and local are inherently related, a great deal of innovation, development and consumer adoption will involve local search applications. Following closely behind will be monetization strategies and directional advertising models. Companies already in the local search space will seek to add mobile marketing to existing advertising packages, which they continue to diversify with print, online display, search engine marketing and video. ILM clients who have logged in may also access a companion slide presentation by clicking on the second PDF icon above. The slides provide at-a-glance information about 25 representative local search applications for the iPhone.

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