CTIA: Search

It's virtually impossible to discuss mobile advertising without factoring mobile search into the conversation. In recent months most of the debate on mobile search pitted white-label solutions such as Medio Systems and JumpTap against branded services from Google, Yahoo! and other online search giants, but Microsoft's recent acquisition of voice-recognition technology firm Tellme Networks--a deal rumored in the neighborhood of at least $800 million--promises to be the talk of CTIA. Tellme executives claim their search services serve more people than Google and Yahoo! combined, and the company recently initiated tests on new mobile directory assistance searches employing both voice and data services. Late last year, research firm The Kelsey Group issued a report forecasting that voice-enabled mobile search will reach 1.45 billion queries in 2010, representing 18 percent of total directory assistance call volume in the U.S.--the question heading into CTIA isn't whether the integration of Tellme's directory assistance services with Microsoft's mobile operating systems and global reach will shake up the mobile search landscape, but just how dramatically it will upset the balance. -Jason