Mobile content is a vast field of items, especially now that software development has all but expanded explosively. Just like the mobile phones — that serve as their platforms – have transformed from the clunky, oversized gadgets they once were to the sleek and classy mobiles they are now without losing a whit of functionality, the mobile content that we currently have has expanded and diversified considerable over time. Whereas mobile content was once mostly focused on graphics and music in the form of wallpapers and ringtones respectively, mobile content has now gone further to include software applications and the like.
This is not to say that ringtones are no longer a big deal – even though sales have slowed down noticeably enough in 2008 and 2009 [due more to users being increasingly tech-savvy enough to sideload their own ringtones than a drop in interest], ringtones continue to be a popular way to personalize and customize one’s mobile experience. They even still serve as an effective way to promote movies and television programs, as tie-in soundtracks and character quotes make for solid-selling ringtone items across the many distribution methods available through which users can avail of the latest theme song or sound byte from their current favorite movie or show.
Even Microsoft has gotten in on the ringtone act with ringtones based on their Bing search engine. Promoted as a “decision engine” that goes beyond mere search engine offerings, the engine started out as MSN Search from 1998 to 2006. Initially offering search results culled from Looksmart and Inktomi [and, for a while, Altavista], MSN Search was eventually upgraded in 2004 to feature its own search results. Eventually MSN Search became Windows Live Search in 2006, including Web, news, image, and Encarta search results and focusing on the target of making their 2.5 billion worldwide monthly queries “more useful” and “more precise”.
Live Search was eventually separated from the Windows Live services family, becoming its own thing in 2007. Eventually, realizing that there may be brand conflicts as long as “Live” was part of the brand name, Live Search was replaced with “Bing” on June 3, 2009. Bing now incorporates the showing of real-time search suggestions as search queries are entered, and uses Powerset semantic technology to add an “Explorer pane” that shows a listing of related search queries to the left of the search results.
Perhaps banking on how ringtones make almost anything accessible and potentially popular to anyone with a mobile and a taste for music, Microsoft has tapped this branch of mobile content to help promote its as-yet new search engine brand. As such, the “sound of found” has been made available as a collection of Bing ringtones in MP3 format for Windows Mobile-enabled [and other] phones. While the download site specifies Windows Mobile 5.0, Windows Mobile 6, and Windows Mobile 6.1 as the main supported operating systems, the MP3 file format of the ringtones makes them useful to anyone with a phone that is capable of supporting that particular format, Windows or not. This expands the reach of the promotion considerably, spelling a potentially powerful marketing tack.
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