The long-awaited mobile search service from GetFugu is set to launch this September. September 9th, actually, for the 09.09.09 launch date. In order to attract a chunk of users on day one, the company has announced it will be giving special GetFugu debit cards to the first 100,000 subscribers.
What will GetFugu do?
It’s a mobile search engine with four services integrated into one. GetFugu refers to them as See It, Say It, Find It and Get It:
See It makes use of augmented reality. It’s based on brands – so if you snap a company or product log on your mobile devices camera, GetFugu will automatically provide you with links, information, adverts and purchasing options relevant to the item.
Say It is a voice recognition programme. The idea being that when you think of something you want, you just tell GetFugu and it does the rest. Again, this works best with brand names or generic terms like “clothes”
Find It is a location-based search service. Or it might be called Get It. GetFugu isn’t clear on that – they call this part of the service “Find It” on the press release, but “Get It” on the website. Either way, it’s a proximity based search that pulls up the best deals near you.
Buy It is something GetFugu is quite pleased with. It’s a service based around “hotspotting” and it only works on touch-screens. It allows advertisers to place touch-screen adverts within a mobile video. So if a customer sees a product from one of Getfugu’s clients in a video, they can simply tap the product on the screen to purchase or get info.
What does the card do?
GetFugu is very much tied in with brands and advertisers, and the card is the purest expression of that. Basically, it allows users to get paid for watching ads. Apart from anything else, GetFugu is a highly targeted ad-serving platform. If you are a GetFugu card holder and you view an ad that GetFugu sends you, you earn a small amount of cash. It is stored on your debit card, which you can use to purchase stuff through GetFugu.
Being a card holder pretty much makes you a “premium” GetFugu user. You get access to special offers, promotions and mobile content like games and apps.
How does it work for the advertisers?
Brands and advertisers pay to get their logos and products on GetFugu. After all, those four core technologies are pretty much based on searching through a brand library. Small businesses pay $9.99 a month, and larger businesses pay $99 a month for a single logo or keyword on the Getfugu search engine.
What we think?
GetFugu is a very specific type of search engine – it’s for brand retail. If I want a new pair of boots, I will say “Doc Martens” to GetFugu. If I want cinema timetables, I’ll go elsewhere. I do like the idea of the GetFugu debit card. It’s a good way of getting subscribers involved with the service and involved with the ads it serves. Issuing 100,000 of the for free is a good opening gambit, and one that I hope pays off.
Killer site! Nice read, I’ll visit for more.