New Delhi — Mobile service operator Vodafone and Microsoft India on Tuesday jointly announced the launch of “SMS Search” for Vodafone customers in India, powered by Microsoft Live Search service at a rate of 30 paisa per query.
Jointly, Microsoft India and Vodafone aim to provide users a powerful mobile Internet experience, and help customers stay connected and informed, always.
To avail “SMS Search,” all that Vodafone subscribers can simply make use of mobile search services by sending in their query to 55060. The mobile initiating SMS will be charged at a rate of 30 paisa per query. The service does not require GPRS connectivity.
Live Search on Vodafone mobile claims to provide a comprehensive search experience, enabling users search:
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On-portal / deck content like ring tones, images, articles, etc
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Local / directory information like restaurants
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Mobile sites including (WAP sites) and in general the
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World Wide Web (WWW)
Announcing the launch, Gurpreet S. Pall, Director of Live Search and Emerging Markets at Microsoft India Development Center (MSIDC) said, “We have incorporated some very unique features in SMS search service like local results based on the user’s city location, keeping track of user’s search session for 24 hours and delivering results formatted to match the user’s phone capabilities – seen in India for the first time.”
However, currently, the local search/directory information is available in eight major cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad. In addition, 21 more cities are expected to go live soon.
Speaking on the occasion Vodafone Essar, Marketing and New Business Director, Harit Nagpal said “Vodafone customers will now have a complete search experience with this first-of-its-kind service. After providing our GPRS users the ease and convenience of Windows Live Search, SMS Search was the natural next step forward.”
“This is among the several Live Search services aimed at emerging markets currently being developed at MSIDC.”