Dave’s Take

The latest twist in the battle of mobile search engine evolution is the ability to apply local targeting. This technology permits smart phone apps to not only recommend a great restaurant (or whatever else you are looking for) located in your present area, but to deliver ads or reviews for that venue instantly. Already in the game are Yelp, Foursquare and Gowalla, along with the goliath of the industry, Google. Its new Near Me Now and Latitude are cutting edge and promise to grab more market share than all the others combined.

Before Google counts its chickens however, it might want to check out what the little guys are launching to compete. Recently, two daring whippersnappers have teamed up to shake up the mobile search biz and industry insiders think they may be on to something. Loopt, the social networking service that allows users to locate any of their friends’ locations instantaneously via detailed mapping; and Mobile Spinach, the Northern California-based mobile coupon distributor are changing the local targeting landscape by offering the first phone apps allowing for local businesses to offer instant coupons and promotions to mobile surfers.

Scheduled to roll out first in San Francisco, their new service will give local merchants the ability to immediately interact with people who are 100% demographically guaranteed to be interested in their product or service. Imagine being able to not only locate reviewed recommendations of a requested product or supplier, but to receive a mobile coupon good for that business immediately. If any local entrepreneurs needed another reason to cancel their Yellow Pages ad or their Sunday circular coupon budget, this is it.

Well almost. The one fly in the ointment is Apple. Last week, the makers of the Macintosh sent notice to mobile app designers everywhere, warning that future applications with local targeting abilities will not be allowed for the iPhone or iPad. This not only hurts firms like Loopt immediately, but with over 25% of the smart phone market, they can control the entire landscape of the market. Design engineers are wondering what the “think different” people are planning to release on their own. Once again, Steve Jobs has the world awaiting his whim.

Regardless of what Apple does, local targeting is here to stay. Soon, every consumer GPS system and smart phone will incorporate this new technology in one way or another. The only question remaining is whether Apple will play well with others or stay in their own sandbox.