The Mobile Discovery Solution for Carriers

Market Needs - Wireless

Consumers find content on PCs by inputting search terms and scanning relevant results, clicking on links from Web portals, or directly typing URLs into a browser’s address bar.

But these techniques are impractical on mobile phones because:

• Search is a challenge on a mobile. In the PC world, consumers have a large monitor, a search bar, a full featured keyboard and a high bandwidth connection. Data entry is a snap, allowing a rich interaction between a site and the consumer. Although carriers have sought to improve mobile search by adding search engines to their mobile portals, the user experience of search on a mobile still lags the PC experience.

• Carriers' portal menus are ambiguous. Due to their hierarchical nature, WAP deck portals often deliver a maze-like experience. Because screen real estate is limited, mobile carriers force users to browse using a laborious menu structure. As a result, quite often consumers do not find their desired content, or at worst do not even attempt to try.

• Content Discovery is a challenge. In addition to the plethora of content that is now available, users are saddled with a user experience that is extremely limiting. Finding a single ringtone from a list of thousands on a small screen is challenging. Search on a small screen is very different from a PC based search.

• Input methods exacerbate the problem. Using mobile search is a cumbersome multistep process requiring many keystrokes. The input process is somewhat simpler when users know the URL of the site they are seeking, yet mobile web site URLs are not always intuitive. Even when available, directly inputting URLs is error prone and limited by users' data entry ability and capacity to memorize an address.

• SMS is good for messaging friends, but bad for m-commerce. Because text messaging was not designed for e-commerce, short code solutions are best used for voting. Game downloads average 30 clicks for short codes, yet can be under 5 with the Mobile Discovery solution. In a cross carrier study, Strategy Analytics has shown the "best in class" required 17 clicks, and that the clicks required to buy music ranged from a best of 18 to a staggering 39.
  

Solution