Searching for the Right Handheld Option

TechnNewsWorld writes about search companies entering into the mobile world and gets comments from analyst who track the search industry.. Matthew Brown at Forrester Research said, "Mobile search is an area of keen interest to both users and vendors."

Stephen Arnold at Arnold Information Technology added, "The challenge for the search vendors has been to transform the search experience found on a PC to a mobile device."

The article discusses the various methods the industry is trying to get search to the mobile masses, including SMS and dedicated buttons on handsets/screens.

Arnold said, "The mobile user experience still leaves a lot to be desired. It is still not easy to enter information or find needed data."

On the topic of integrating local and mobile search functions, Whit Andrews at Gartner said, "In most cases, mobile users are searching for spur-of-the-moment data, like a local restaurant or directions." Local search was noted as not being a current strongpoint currently.

One question no one has the answer to is how will companies make money on mobile search. Forrester's Brown remarked, "In the mobile search market, a lot of business models are being tested, but it is not clear which will be viable."