• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, July 8, 2005

Continuing to push its mobile services, Yahoo! on Thursday launched a search-via-text-message feature as well as the expansion of its Search on Mobile service to reach most U.S. mobile phones. The text service, dubbed SMS Search, helps users retrieve information like weather or stock quotes, or utilize keypad-shortcuts such as typing in "w" and a ZIP code to get a weather report.

"Just like TV is different from the Web, the Mobile Web is different from the PC Web, so we're creating specific Web tools for mobile," Thad White, head of mobile services for Yahoo!, explained.

Previously only available on "smart" phones with Internet access, Yahoo! Search on Mobile is now within reach of anyone with a WAP 2.0-enabled phone--that is, phones other than those with a black-and-white screen. Over 60 percent of U.S. cell phone owners fall into this category, a Yahoo! spokeswoman estimated.

The tool is offered on all major U.S. wireless carriers--Cingular/AT&T Wireless, Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless--and at no cost to consumers. According to a Yahoo! statement, however, carrier fees may apply based on consumers' phone plans.

But Yahoo! has yet to monetize its mobile search service--in part, said White, because most advertisers' Web sites don't yet provide mobile access. "With paid search, the point is that users will hopefully click through to a company's site, but if their sites don't sync with cellphones there's no point," White said.

Rival Google launched its own SMS--or short message service--last October. In contrast to Google's service, Yahoo!'s SMS users can save query responses and reply to them over time for query updates.