A Fuller View

Taptu looks like an interesting approach to mobile search and has just launched a public beta at a conference in San Francisco. I am going to checkout the search with a view to user experience (on my new Nokia N95)and report back next week. In the meantime you can check the company website: http://www.taptu.com/ and company blog for more info.

So here is my wrap-up for the week on what I found interesting and what people sent me.

• More Google 411 billboards in the USA - gotta watch the big G.
• Nokia decides to buy NAVTEQ for US$8 billion and change - lots to digest on this deal. Has to mean better mapping and local search on mobile phones.
• Verizon starts to get some traction on their move into local fiber, check the Biz Week piece for details.
• The latest edition of Plaxo is starting to look really useful, but why can’t it support a Nokia synch or the mobile app in Europe?
• I played with Chip In, which to me looks like one of the 1st really useful and fun Facebook apps and this has to be worth more than $10 million.
• We started to see the Ask Jeeves ads on TV in the UK - the new Ask.com and Ask.co.uk looks sweet. Well done No 3 or is it 4 ? - for working harder on a good user experience.
• Internet advertising goes from strenghth to strength (IAB reports: 1st half ’07 up 27% in the US) - I’d say the Gorilla is turing into Godzilla.
• AtlSearchEngines posted their latest top 100 list. And its French search engine Exalead at the top.

More next week of course. Here’s a Friday night video to enjoy (be sure to check the Office Space refs, I know geek humor)… Enjoy the weekend!

A recent study released in the UK indicated that the actual pace of people walking is generally getting faster. No surprise there really, but are the implications on this study for the development of new mobile devices? I am not sure, but its an interesting thing to consider.

London ranked top in the UK and 12th our of the circa 35 cities in the study. The Times piece on the study can be found over here.

The study was led by Richard Wiseman who is a professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK.  This forms part of an upcoming book to be release by the professor called Quirkology.