by As long as people are aware of mobile search, the user base will be very large.
Shanghai. July 15. INTERFAX-CHINA - Recent events have given Alvin Wang Graylin, CEO of mobile search company mInfo Inc., plenty to be confident about. mInfo was recently declared the mobile search service provider for the official mobile site of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and just last week entered into an agreement with Nokia to deliver its search solution on Nokia's mobile applications platform.
Despite such developments and annual profit growth of 300 to 500 percent in recent years, Graylin says that public awareness of mobile search services is still low in China.
"Our recent research shows that only 25 percent of people know about mobile search," Graylin said. "However, once the concept is explained to them, 70 percent said they would be interested in trying it," he said. "As long as people are aware of mobile search, the user base will be very large."
mInfo operates Chinese-language mobile search services supporting SMS (short message service), WAP, instant messaging and embedded java applets in China. In addition, the company has an English-language SMS listings service, Guanxi, which allows expatriates and tourists to search for restaurants, shops and bars in 20 Chinese cities by using text messages.
Born in China and educated in the United States, Graylin's career began at IBM, designing next generation processors for the AS/400 mini-computer family. In the mid-90s, he helped to establish Intel's Shanghai operations. Graylin co-founded mInfo in early 2005. Before mInfo, he has also founded and led two other IT start-ups in the United States.
According to Graylin, mInfo's biggest advantage is its special China-oriented mobile search service.
SMS is far more popular in China than other countries, so we designed a system that allows natural language SMS searches in both Chinese and in English.
"SMS is far more popular in China than other countries, so we designed a system that allows natural language SMS searches in both Chinese and in English," he said "We have applied for a patent."
The service allows users to send fully formed questions rather than keyword searches regarding the weather, transport or listings. Within a few seconds their query will be answered by text.
"SMS search services are far more convenient than calling operator-based phone search services or logging on to Web or WAP sites, so we hope to see their popularity rise," he said. "The services are all free, with revenues coming from advertising. For example, we place our clients' ads, on their behalf, in locations where we know our users are likely to go based on search patterns."
Graylin said that the difficulty of developing natural language SMS search technologies means there will be few competitors. "[Natural language search via SMS is] our original creation and there isn't another in China or, as far as I know, the world."
As well as SMS search services, mInfo also provides searches via WAP, instant messaging and downloadable search software.
Both its appointment as official Olympic mobile search provider and its partnership with Nokia are in line with mInfo's strategy to compete with large global search service providers like Google and Baidu. "Our services are better than other companies, I mean more accurate and more convenient," he said. "Since we are a relatively new and small company, it is our strategy to cooperate with other companies to promote our own brand."
The Olympic mobile site is the product of cooperation between the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), China Mobile and mInfo. "While neither the logo of China Mobile nor ourselves appears on the site, we are happy to be contributing our support to the Olympics," Graylin said. "What's more, we can observe how people use the site and better understand what users need."
We had to undergo a long and thorough process to win the appointment as mobile search provider for the Olympics.
"We had to undergo a long and thorough process to win the appointment as mobile search provider for the Olympics," said Graylin. "It started about six months ago. Our suitability, technology and service security were all investigated. Almost all the famous search service providers in the industry applied. I'm not supposed to name them, but mInfo was the winner."
The site was put into operation around two weeks ago. According to Graylin, between 20,000 to 30,000 users log onto the site each day. The number is expected to increase by a factor of between 50 and 100 during the Games. "At present, most users look for timetables and player profiles. When the Olympics start, users will focus more on venue information, services available nearby and results of the events," Graylin said.
The company has global aspirations for its search services.
"We have already been contacted by some foreign telecom operators," Graylin said. "Last year, we set up a partnership with Seattle-based Medio Systems Inc. Under the agreement, Medio and mInfo will work together on both technical and business levels to develop a flexible mobile search, advertising and content delivery platform for the Chinese market."
It is not just for expansion that the company is looking overseas.
"We aim to list abroad in three years' time," Graylin said. "To date, the only Chinese foreign-listed search service provider is Baidu."
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