Taptu introduces new mobile search engine at 3GSM
Rating: a new consumers’ champion?
By Bena Roberts
Taptu is a well funded mobile search engine set to launch at the middle of 2007. I caught up with Taptu’s Steve Ives and Bob Last at 3GSM. I was particularly excited to meet Steve Ives as I’d heard he was a guru from ex-Trigenix employees. (Trigenix was sold to Qualcomm and it’s now the power behind uiOne).
While Steve Ives was not as forthcoming as I had hoped, Bob Last (also ex-Trigenix) overcame any doubts I had on the expertise behind the service.
Taptu will be a pure mobile search engine. Its value-add will be the ability to deliver results accurately, tailored for mobile. Analysis of use patterns and a general understanding of what mobile users needs will, according to Taptu, take mobile search to new heights. Unfortunately, I can’t say any more than Bob Last was a credible source and Taptu aren’t in it for the short haul.
The investment and momentum behind the new, made-for-mobile search will only rock when flat rate data tariffs hit the market. Last year I interviewed Vodafone and was told that it would choose Google for its mobile search as it was the most searched for key word. When data tariffs finally become bucket rates, Taptu hopes to be the consumers’ choice that finds its way on to the decks of mobile devices.
Related News:
Leave a Comment