T-Mobile Revamps On-Portal Search Strategy In Europe

By Ingrid Lunden - Tue 11 Sep 2007 07:21 AM PST

Another attempt by a mobile operator to make the mobile Internet more useful—and more used: T-Mobile has relaunched its t-zones on-portal search service across its European footprint. Customers in the UK, Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Czech Republic (latter available only later this month) can now search based on different categories such as music downloads, games, pictures (wallpapers and logos) videos, news and other information—the results will all be items available within the t-zones walled garden. To keep users on-portal, the search service will also bring up results from the wider mobile web reformatted for the user's phone.

The new search service is being provided by Medio, the white-label search provider that already works with Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile in the U.S. T-Mobile also plans to provide a search-based advertising service with Medio by the end of this year. The Medio deal replaces a search service provided by MotionBridge. Pointedly, T-Mobile did not opt to use Google for its on-portal search and advertising provider. Google already has a deal in place with T-Mobile for its off-portal mobile Internet service web'n'walk. release