Google Sees the SMS App Opportunity

"In many places around the world, people look to their phones, rather than their computers, to find information they need in their daily lives."
--Google, June 29, 2009

We were interested to see this announcement by Google yesterday. Like us, the search giant understands that there are markets with millions of users who don't have access to a full-featured computing device but are avid cell phone users, so they're releasing a suite of SMS applications for search, sharing information, and exchanging goods. And, Google says, they'll be paying more attention to this space going forward. For now, Google's SMS services are focused on Africa.

Google's Trader SMS app works a lot like iPling Instant Classifieds, offering buy, sell, and browse functions through text messages. At the moment, Trader is only available through one carrier in Uganda.

It's exciting to see Google starting to pay attention to the potential of SMS; it signals a new round of interest, innovation, and technology enhancements. This summer is a great time to be launching iPling Instant Classifieds!