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InfoSpace Unveils Local Search Products for Mobile Devices

InfoSpace Inc. today (9/26/05) announced a group of mobile local search products that carriers can integrate to enable subscribers to easily and quickly find everything from nearby restaurants and movie times to maps and driving directions. The offerings are the latest innovations from InfoSpace, which provides nearly half of the mobile content sold in North America and brings content and services to every major carrier, reaching 90 percent of U.S. mobile customers.

InfoSpace's Mobile Local Search products leverage the company's industry-leading knowledge in the online directory space and ability to design location-based mobile customer-focused products that eliminate the need to jump between multiple applications to piece together listings, locations and directions. For example, a user wanting to catch a movie can look up nearby theaters, choose a film, pick a time and get directions to the theater all from one application.

"Search is important to the future of mobile usage," said Joe Herzog, InfoSpace Director - Emerging Products. "With deep roots in mobile content, search and directory services and top-tier carrier relationships, InfoSpace is well positioned to lead the market."

Herzog added that mobile local search is distinctly different from the conventional Web browsing that search engines have provided to the mobile market for local information. "The key is to truly think locally, and factor in time and location," he said. "Consumers will increasingly look to their mobile device for answers to questions like 'What is there to do nearby on a Friday night after 8 o'clock?' With our location-based products, we are catering to people on the go--in search of restaurants, a movie, or other local information."

The new InfoSpace services support all data-enabled mobile phones, with users pinpointing their location through automated GPS or location systems, zip code, address, intersect, or preset entries. The services include:

-- Local Quick Clicks(TM): Find local business listings and locations with maps and driving directions with minimal clicking.

-- One-Stop Searching: A single search location for Yellow Pages, White Pages, Maps, Directions, Movie Listings and more.

-- Find People by Name or Number: Search using only first and last name, or by entering a phone number to find out to whom it belongs.

-- What's Nearby(R): Access details on what's close with one click on the phone, even if the caller doesn't know exactly where they are.

-- Click to Connect: Make phone calls with one click instead of dialing the entire number.

InfoSpace Mobile Local Search is available to carriers today and is expected to be in the market later this year. The products were to make their debut Sept. 26 in San Francisco at the Mobile Entertainment Summit and CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2005.