Yell Wirelessly To XDAs

Europe : O2 and Yell.com today announced that they have joined forces to enable access to www.yell.com, the UK's leading online classified directory service, using the xda from O2, a combined colour Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and mobile phone (GPRS) handset. Under the new agreement the Yell.com service will enable O2 users to search for information on more than 1.7 million UK businesses. This facility marks the first agreement of its kind for Yell.com.

Yell.com's directory service is accessible through the myO2 zone, a wireless assistant that makes the xda work smarter. myO2 comprises selected online content and services that are optimised for the xda, making them more interactive and easier to use, enabling browsing offline and the ability to personalise the xda's features.

Users can search the directory by business type or name. Once they have found the information required they have the option of directly dialing the business number, saving the details to the Microsoft Outlook contacts folder on their xda or emailing them to a friend. Details saved to the contact folder reside on the device, which means they can be browsed at leisure even when offline.

Dr. Eddie Cheng, eBusiness director of Yell, said: "Our priority is to provide users with relevant information quickly, through whatever medium suits them and their lifestyle. We see PDAs as the next logical, integral step for providing information on the move. So now whatever an xda user wants, be it a restaurant, hotel or locksmith, our unique Yell.com directory service ensures that the essential details are always readily
to hand."

Laurence Alexander, Director Products, O2 UK, said: "The Yell.com directory service and the xda from O2 are great examples of branded services that people trust. The result is the blending of Yell.com's content with our communication, which goes far beyond just browsing. The customer experience is now enriched with a whole range of interactive wireless features. Effectively our customers can now have the whole Yell.com directory service in their hand."

In addition myO2 boasts news, weather, email and a specially designed PDA version of the AA's Route Planner, with traffic and travel information supplied by AA Roadwatch. All myO2 services are specifically designed to interact with the other applications available on the xda, such as email, calendar and phone book.

Customers can sign up to the service by registering with myO2 via the myO2 zone on their xda. The myO2 service comes pre-installed on the xda. Users only pay their data tariff charges for the data transferred in setting up and using the services. There is no additional charge for utilising the Yell.com service.

The technology behind myO2 is provided by Action Engine's Mobile Services Platform, which deploys easy to use web services and data on smart mobile devices. Action Engine's Mobile Web Services Platform uses a browserless approach, which does not require a constant network connection. Instead the software is embedded directly onto the device, resulting in a faster, more user-friendly experience.