Archive for February, 2008
KlickTel delivers a news service for PDAs
29 Feb. 2008 | Author: 
[lang_en]KlickTel has rolled out a new mobile information service for internet-ready PDAs and smartphones.
The new application is called KlickTel for PDA, and is an online service, in contrast to KlickTel Pocket that we reported about on this blog. Users of this new service require mobile Internet access.
As announced by KlickTel AG in a recent press release, users with mobile internet access of this new free service, are able to access daily updated phone numbers, names, addresses and local directory information, including inverse searching (that is, the ability to search for a name and address, using only a known number) and also may access Postcode searches. Additionally, the resultant search results can be saved in the (phone) address book, or numbers in the results can be called directly from within the application. If require, an immediate vicinity map can be displayed and a route generated to the destination selected. Also additional information about companies and services, such as opening times, etc. can be also retrieved.
KlickTel for PDA requires an installation on the mobile device. System requirements for an internet-ready PDA or Smartphone are PocketPC 2003, Windows Mobile 5 or 6, with a minimum of 32MB RAM and 1,5MB free installation space. The software can be downloaded at the following URL (www.klicktel.de/kt4pda/), directly from the browser in the PDA.
golocal – another ratings portal startup
At the beginning of March 2008 it should go live – this is the planned date of the launch of the new local ratings platform “golocal”, a product from the makers of online directory GoYellow.
Originally planned for Autumn 2007, the initial launch target was referred to in a presentation of the financials for GoYellow Media AG for 2.Q. 2007. The portal was first conceived as a form of city site, with general/current information, search and some interactivity. In a later presentation in 3.Q. 2007, the product strategy had evolved and its start was shifted to 1.Q. 2008. The planned launch release version of golocal was then clearly aimed at the mobile market, providing its users with local information, including ratings of commercial undertakings and also offering other interactive options.
All in all, the latter strategy of GoYellow was that guiding its release version. However the emphasis at present is clearly on ratings and community, allowing golocal users both at home and mobile-based to benefit from its features. Functionally, the user is able to summon all-important local information as well as ratings from the immediate vicinity. Addresses, news, events, day-trip tips and much more is now presented on a very easily read map. If required, one can even ask direct neighbors for assistance. And users are easily able to post their own ratings on the portal. The portal is clearly positioned to be included in the Web 2.0 branch – their slogan is roughly translated as “golocal becomes THE active local community, with many personal recommendations, advice and interactive possibilities.”
We await with interest, the rite of passage of golocal, and whether it is able to hold its own, against competitors such as Qype, et al.
Qype 3.0
Subsequent to the recent expansion of the search function of Qype (see our report), CEO Stephan Uhrenbacher and team of the local ratings portal have delivered a further upgrade with a somewhat different ‘look’ and some more new features.
As it stands, this is Qype’s third version, and actually went ‘live’ simultaneously in Germany, Britain and France, as stated in a press release by its presenters. Qype 3.0, now visually more slick, has been brightened up, feels more spacious, but does not reflect any shift in strategy, according to Uhrenbacher. However it certainly offers a series of new uses.
For example, one can now display the results of a search on an enlarged map- the coup here is that when the user moves the zoomable map with the mouse, the search results adjust accordingly as the viewable map is redrawn. The functions only when one enters a city/place name in the “Where?” (“Wo?”) section. It does not work this way if the user searches using another new function –location-based search– searching by post code, street name or city quarter.
Brand new is the possibility to link to You-Tube videos—not only for new ratings, but also existing ratings can be pepped up using this new option.
The new function “Town-talk” (“Stadtgespräch”) on the overview page for individual towns and cities allows registered users to communicate directly with other Qypers. Here one member can, for example, let other user(s) know about new events in the town, ask for advice or make an appointment to meet up.
One can discover more about the new Qype in a series of screencasts, where the most important functions are briefly showcased in short videos.
New (German) web directory: glenglobe.de
“…Show yourself” – using this catch phrase, the new local branch-directory glenglobe.de was launched officially early in 2008.
This motto is aimed especially at small and medium-sized concerns, for which glenglobe.de is meant to be a platform. Undertakings are urged to present themselves and their team to the customers at large, and publicize their goods and services.
The management of glenglobe.de GmbH in Berlin, made public the launch in a press statement, and announced various functions available. Company owners are able to upload photo galleries, logos and background information (such as opening times, etc.) In addition, a virtual business card (vCard) is offered, on which they can display an image and contact details. One of the innovations offered (as yet unlike most USA or German local directories or search engines) is the provision of printable coupons/discount vouchers, which customers may download. Further, the visitor can also access events and current themes/news. All these three cornerstones of this service (i.e.. coupons, events and news) are easily edited and updated by subscribing firms and service providers, allowing glenglobe.de to call itself “the living online-directory.”
The location of a participating firm is displayed on a Google Map. Missing however is a route planner, which is unfortunate. However there are a bunch of other features, such as a “Recommend” button, a “Skype” option, or a counter that allows the registered undertaking to keep track of visitors to their entry, or the selection of “glenletters” (flags for future usage). ‘Glenletters’ allow visitors to subscribe to their firms of choice. Subscribers are informed as soon as any of their flagged companies have changed or updated their glenglobe.de presence.
This service is still in the Beta-phase, and at present, a company entry is offered free for 6 months, as announced by glenglobe.de director Anita Tusch in the company blog. The planned monthly cost after the beta-phase has been announced as 9,90 Euro (as seen in the FAQs). Companies need to commit to a minimum of one year’s subscription.
The idea of this offering is good. However at present there are very few entries, as the principle is based on the self-entry and participation of firms or service providers. As a consequence, the service is still relatively unusable by visitors, looking for goods and services in their immediate locality. The question is whether companies will accept the paid subscription model, after the end of the beta-phase. There are already numerous free local search services, such as Google Maps, where one can present a business to the public.
Falk.de now offers local search
Last December we reported about the upcoming Local Search option announced by ‘mobility-portal’ Falk.de, and finally it is now “live”!
As announced by Falk Marco Polo Interactive GmbH in a press release, the user is now able to specify a specific location, and generate landmarks, and tourist attractions, as well as local search/directory enquiries, such as artisans or medical entries. The tourist results are provided from the travel databases of the mother concern Mairdumont, whereas the directory media provider KlickTel delivers the local directory entries.
The new localized search region can be found on the left side of the Falk.de start page. To activate the search, the user uses the standard start address/location entry, as well as additional keywords as needed. If the view requires “Noteworthy Attractions” [‘Sehenswürdigkeiten“], it can be entered as a keyword or selected by clicking “Sehenswürdigkeiten“in the Tag Cloud. The address of the discovered results can be taken over to the route planner, however the start address of the search is not automatically assumed—it needs to be reentered – a disadvantage.
Companies who are not represented on Falk.de are able to submit a new paid (address) entry into the database, or adjust an existing entry (if they happen to appear in the database) to represent additional information. This so-called Premium-Entry service costs Euro 198 per year.
Google improves mobile phone search outside USA
Google has delivered an update for cell phone users of its Google Mobile search option, for multiple language sites, thus providing more relevant results than up till now.
Steve Cheng, Product Manager in Google’s Mobile Search Team, in a post in the Google Mobile Blog, announced that the Mobile Search functions in Canada, Britain, France and Germany have been overhauled and improved. The new mobile search will be able to provide users with all necessary information with more ease.
In so doing, Google is getting closer to its goal to provide a universal search service. In the new iteration of the mobile search, the user enters a single search request, and receives content collected from various Google sources – from Images and News, through websites, to local search results. In the processing of the request, Google tries to interpret the question and then adjust the results accordingly. For example, if one enters the word “sunflower” [this search was made in German], the first result is a photo and web results. However when one searches “restaurant” or “dentist”, Google allows one to enter the user’s location (under “Search in the vicinity”) and then displays the according results.
When using such a local search, Google saves the entered location and will then automatically offer this as the default location. This feature can be deactivated in Settings, if not required, as well as deleting any saved locations.
To use this service, the user needs to enter [in Germany] http://www.google.de/m in the mobile device’s browser. Further information about Mobile Search [in Germany] and other mobile services can be found here.
Spring fever at ‘Lokalisten’
As recently as the start of December, the ‘Lokalisten’ were on the receiving end of several new features (see our post). And now there has been a ‘relaunch’ of this popular local social-networking site.
As described by the undertaking, Lokalisten Media GmbH, in a press release: many new features have made their debut including an interface to external applications online. As a result, users are able to personalize their individual member pages according to their express needs.
This means that users can become more active and creative participants in the community. It is now possible for each member to create and develop their own applications. Assuming that these new programs fulfill a series of security and other requirements, the programs will then be integrated into the catalog of applications offered, and made available to all members.
A further new item is the so-called Activity feed, so that the user can inform friends of changes to their content– such as photo albums, events or other items. In addition, the site has also been visually reworked, and navigation made more user-friendly. Users can now rearrange their pages using Drag and Drop, and place elements as they prefer. New drop-down menus also add to the new usability features of page and navigation components.
Posted in Web Communities, News | 
Tags: Anwendung, Community, Freundenetzwerkes, Lokalisten, Media, Mitglied, Navigation, Pressemitteilung, Relaunch | 
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New functions at Google Maps
The search engine giant has optimized its service “My Maps” as well as the route planner of the local search offering, providing small but useful functions.
Until now, those wanting to generate a set of directions using the route planning facility had to enter a start address under “Calculate Route”, and then enter one for the destination. This is no longer absolutely necessary, according to Nick Lee, software engineer for Google, in a post in the Google Lat Long Blog. Once can now enter simply start location, and a keyword in the end fields, instead of specifying a location or exact address, for instance “pizza, restaurant, hairdresser, movies or museum.”
In this case, the generated results are displayed in a list along side the map. These are sorted by distance from the entered starting point. And if one clicks on one of these generated results, it is then automatically taken as the chosen destination, and the route is planned accordingly. However, one is also able to specify the exact address to speed up the process.
Placemarks, lines and shapes now can be reordered
Another new feature introduced as a result of user feedback is the ability to reorder items to the left of “My Maps”, as described in another post on Google’s Lat Long Blog. Logged-in users are now able to move and rearrange items per drag and drop, according to their needs – geographically, alphabetically or whatever…
Live Search Maps has a new user interface
At the end of last October (2007), Microsoft beefed up its German-edition of its local search service Live Search Maps, which we reported. Recently they have been at it again with a further overhaul, including a new navigations system.
Toni Pelg, Business Manager at Microsoft, referred to this in its Windows Live Blog. The Search section, previously found at the top in the middle, has now slid to the left, and the fields for “Was” [‘What’] and “Wo” [‘Where’] are no longer below, but rather alongside each other. In addition the user can now specifically search according to Company/Enterprise or locality. The links to web, images and news search have now all disappeared.
The links to Route Planning and other options, previously directly above the map view, are now integrated into the new menu bar. As Pelg reported, this allows for better overview, and as a result the map view is therefore noticeably larger than previously – herewith is the Route Planner much easier to locate.
In the Bird’s Eye View [“Vogelperspektive”], one can adjust the views in each of the compass directions, or using the two new arrows, found under the Zoom function.
The Mini-Map is still to be found. This is particularly useful when using the Bird’s Eye View, though since this update, it is somewhat hidden behind the arrow symbol in the right-hand top corner of the map and aerial views. With a click, once can open or close these views.
Things have not only changed in the “visible area”, according to Pelg. Along with the new interface, the performance of the service has been radically improved. The map and search results load noticeably faster (cf. Pelg). These latter results are generated using the local search machine suchen.de, provided by t-info.
meineleute.de: Nicknames are outlawed
As of the beginning of February, the members of meineleute.de [“mypeople”] are no longer able to conceal their identity using nicknames, but are only able to use their real First and family names in this city-networking site.
This was reported by the site’s operators in a recent post in their blog. This new measure comes about as the direct result of numerous requests by its members, as well as market research and surveys, in which 52% of the people interviewed were in favor of the introduction of real names for this site.
Among a number of consequences, it is hoped to reduce the amount of spam and other nuisances. The user, according to the management, will hopefully thereby consider his/her comments before posting, knowing that their true identity is known. Through this new requirement, further advantages for the user are also gained—one can now search for old schoolmates, colleagues, friends or family members.
Questionable is, of course, whether people will actually USE their real names. Any means of truely checking this is almost impossible. So, the honesty of the user is all one can hope for.
meineleute.de was launched at the end of August 2007 (see our report). The regional community is a part of the city portal meinestadt.de and both ventures are run by allesklar.com AG.
Qype improves vicinity searches
The local information and rating portal Qype has expanded its search capabilities. For example, the user is now able to find undertakings in the vicinity of local points of interest, buildings, as well as city sections.
Qype Community Manager Sven Dietrich posted a short video in the company blog, in which he demonstrates the new search capabilities.
Thus, one could search for “Clubs in St. Pauli”, as easily as “museums in Berlin-Mitte.” In addition, also look for areas that are not formally designated city sections, for example the “Schanze” in Hamburg, can also be entered in the “Wo” [“Where”] field of the Search entry. Similarly one can enter famous buildings, such as the “Kölner Dom” [‘Cologne Cathedral’], or the TV Tower in Stuttgart as the “Suchort” [‘Location’] to be sought. Qype then shows the results in the vicinity. One can also enter landscape features like the “Lüneburger Heide” [‘Lüneburger Heath’] can be found under the section “Plätze” [‘Places’].
