The folks at Yahoo oneSearch just announced the new oneSearch Shortcut application with a new auto-locate feature that determines the users location using cell-tower positioning and wi-fi triangulation. This combines with the existing voice search and oneSearch clusters to create what is in my opinion the best mobile search experience in the business (especially on Nokia S60 devices). Read on for a quick description of the user experience:
The Shortcut application starts off by showing you a small text entry field on the idle-screen of you mobile phone. The text field has a small note telling you to hold down the “Call” button and speak. I think I’ll give Slumdog Millionaire a try.
Once you have said the search term the app “thinks” for a couple of seconds before showing you the search term for confirmation. Just hit the “Search” button to start the search.
Which results in a search results page that automatically determines your current location (Sunnyvale, CA in my case) using cell-tower and wi-fi beacon positioning. Additionally since oneSearch knows that “Slumdog Millionaire” refers to a movie, it automatically displays the movie information along with the showtimes from the nearest theaters. You can even use the “Buy Tickets” link to buy your tickets so you wont have to wait in line when you get to the theater. Click through on the image above to see the full search results page which includes things like the trailer, official website, movie reviews, etc…
And of course movies aren’t the only thing you can search for this way, Shortcut helps you find any local content (restaurants, stores, etc…) based on your auto-locate location, as well as regular web content. And for those of you who prefer typing it also has search assist which allows you to auto-complete your search terms. In my opinion this integrated solution that allows users to find information (local and otherwise) by just saying what they want is the ultimate mobile search experience. Get it on your Nokia S60, Blackberry or Windows Mobile phone by visiting http://mobile.yahoo.com/onesearch/shortcut.
P.S.: For those of you who remember my Foodfinder hack from YRB – yes that’s exactly what auto-locate does đŸ™‚
P.S.S.: I do work at Yahoo! but these are as usual my personal opinions and do not reflect on the views of Yahoo!
