EDM08: SEARCH IN THE MOBILE ERA CONFERENCE TO BE HELD JUNE 9TH, 2008 IN LONDON

Growth in mobile penetration leading to increased use of mobile devices for information access, leading to more mobile applications, leading to further increased use of mobile devices for information access; providers race to develop innovative applications to increase usage; revenue to grow 500% in five years.

London (PRWeb) April 21, 2008 -- Whitaker Associates (www.whitaker.com) has announced that this year’s European Directory Marketplace 2008 (EDM08) conference, Search in the Mobile Era, to be held on June 9^th, 2008 in London, will focus on the explosive mobile search market. This market is the focus of broad and high level interest, as reflected by Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin’s recent call for wireless operators to become the primary vehicle by which to access information.

Mobile search can be conducted using voice (voice search), telephone keypad, telephone touchpad (data search), or some combination. Users search for a wide range of information, including “buddies,” business listings, movie listings, restaurant reviews, music, video, pictures, news, sports, maps, directions, and mail. Revenue from mobile search is being generated increasingly by advertising, as well as by subscriber fees.

Driven by increased mobile penetration, deployment of more sophisticated handsets, development of more sophisticated applications tailored to the mobile environment, 3G, and other factors, some estimate that data mobile search revenues will rise by over 500% during the next five years to over US$ 5 billion. This growth is expected to offset revenue from traditional voice mobile search.

Mobile search is one of the most hotly contested markets today. Market participants include leaders from multiple segments, including the information service providers (Google, Yahoo!, Yell, BT, The Number, etc.), operators (Vodafone, BT, O2, etc.), technology providers (Nokia, Google, Apple, etc.), content providers (yellow pages, social networking sites), and advertisers (yellow pages, other advertisers). Market participants also include numerous “disruptors,” new firms eager to seize the opportunities that this market presents. The EDM08 conference sessions will cover:

Information Service Providers: what will be the mix of voice versus data search, who will be the information service providers of the future, what will they be delivering?

Advertising: what role will advertising play?

Operators: what role will operators play and how will they work with other participants?

Technology: what technologies will have the greatest impact on information service?

Content: what content will be in demand, and how can one deliver it?