Google mobile updates hit movies and coupons

If you’re working in any area of mobile or on-line services, the presence of Google in your market is as constant as death or taxes. It’s always worth keeping an eye on what it’s up to - and this week Google has advanced its mobile platform in both search and coupons.

Movie Search:

Back in the olden days of early November, Google announced an update to its movie search feature. The service displays search results for when movies are playing in local movie theatres. The November update provided more info on individual movies, along with filters by genre and a map view to show you precisely where the cinema is.

Two weeks later, the service launches for mobile. You can now access time and location specific info for cinema on iPhone, Android and Palm phones.

You can check out more details on the Google blog

Coupons:

When I saw that Google was offering coupons, my jaw nearly hit the floor. The mobile coupon space is crowded with competitors, some of them on the verge of international success. For Google to get stuck into that space will really mix things up.

The strength of the Google coupon offering is that it syncs straight in with Google search. If you search for a business on Google (either through mobile Search or mobile Maps), you’ll be able to see if that business has any coupons registered with Google. You can then access that coupon and use it at the store.

For businesses, it really is as simple as making placing your coupon into your listing in the Business Centre.

What we think?

The movie search option is a handy extra. But will the coupon function really mess with the competition?

I don’t think so. Functionally it’s very limited. If you are searching for a business on Google that has registered its coupons with Google, then you have the choice of accessing them. But the majority of other mobile couponing services aren’t that wide-shot. They depend on the idea that their users actively want to use coupons on their mobile. So they offer search, storage and accessibility options that Google doesn’t.