Hanoi (VNA) – Mobifone, the nation’s leading mobile carrier, on May 8launched Yahoo! oneSearch, Vietnam ’s first-ever search engine designed for mobile users.
The new service will allow Mobifone subscribers to search for anything from stock quotes to celebrity news, sport scores or movie reviews.
The search engine remembers users’ locations and interests and displays search results grouped into categories on a single page.
“About 35 million people in Vietnam have cell-phones, which is about 42 percent of the total population,” said David Ko, managing director of Yahoo Mobile in Asia . “Our goal is to have all 35 million accessing the internet either by PC or their mobile phone.”
The service focused on young mobile users and on “those who want fast results that are easy to navigate, basic information and a focus on local content,” said Ko.
According to Mobifone general director Le Ngoc Minh, the cooperation with the Yahoo, the world’s leading internet search company, will help spur demand for mobile internet in Vietnam .
To use the service, the handset needs to be GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) enabled, allowing users to access the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Minh said.
Established in 1993, Mobifone, which currently holds 40 percent of the nation’s mobile market with 16 million subscribers, is a subsidiary of the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications (VNPT) Group.-Enditem
|
|