China Telecom, mInfo Omnisearch Exceeds 100 Mln Queries in 2011
mInfo PR, 2/21/12
Shanghai-based mobile search provider mInfo and China Telecom's (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) co-developed Best Tone "QuanNengSou" (OmniSearch) SMS mobile search service surpassed 100 mln queries in 2011. The service saw an average of 5 mln active users during the year and reached a single-month peak of 20 mln queries, up 200% from the previous year. Best Tone has set a new target of 300 mln queries for 2012. Best Tone's mobile app will have all of OmniSearch's capabilities included, and be pre-installed on tens of millions of China Telecom smartphones. The application will be available on the Apple iTunes Store and Android Market.
China Telecom mobile phone users can use OmniSearch by sending any question via SMS to 118114. Users can search for local lifestyle information like dining and entertainment, as well as weather, stocks, flight information, train schedules, horoscopes, joke-of-the-day, greetings, and other information. OmniSearch also has guest experts answer users' more difficult questions.
mInfo's system is able to provide automated responses to over 96% of total queries, with the remainder handled manually.
In 2011, Best Tone invested heavily to promote OmniSearch, including provision of some of China Telecom's resources, such as service halls, 114 Directory Hotline, out-of-home displays, and placement of advertisements on Tencent's QQ instant messaging service and SNS Kaixin001's site.
Keywords: China Telecom wireless Best Tone mInfo mobile search SMS active users 0728.HK CHA Quannengsou