Source: today.reuters.com

Ask.com has partnered with the LYCOS Network to provide the search results and sponsored listings on Lycos properties. Under the agreement, Ask.com will provide branded algorithmic search, including Web Search, Image Search, and Zoom Related Search, as well as the Ask Sponsored Listings advertising product across Lycos.

Implications? According to their press statement Lycos is a top 20 U.S. Web property, with more than 6 million monthly unique visitors using Lycos Network Search. Lycos will also be dumping its InSite AdBuyer for Ask Sponsored Listings. If Lycos searches will result in quality clicks, traffic and conversions for Ask.com customers, the end result would only be a positive for Ask.com and its growing revenue base. It’s also good branding of the Ask.com name for those people out there still using Lycos properties.

Of course, the opposite result would backfire for Ask.com and its growing Ask Sponsored Listings program. Something that Ask.com and IAC has more than likely done their homework with.

“Ask.com has worked very hard to develop one of a kind search technology and search features that help users get the information they want more quickly,” said Jim Lanzone, CEO of Ask.com. “With stiff competition in the marketplace for syndication deals, we are pleased that LYCOS recognized the merits of our search technology and advertising products. This new relationship will enable Ask.com to broaden its search offering to new users while also increasing the reach of Ask Sponsored Listings inventory.”

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Source: googleblog.blogspot.com

Google introduced today a custom version of its Gmail e-mail service that can run on any phone with Java software.

The new service will allow Gmail users to read emails, reply and view attachments including photos, Microsoft Word™ documents, and PDF files.

Users can also search through their emails, organize e-mails according to conversation, and automatic synchronization so any e-mail read on the phone show up as already read when you sign on a computer the next time.

The mobile Gmail client can be downloaded free of charge from Google, and is compatible with all J2ME-enabled phones in the United States.

Users of Google’s e-mail service can already access their messages via mobile browsers, but the new mobile Gmail client offers readers benefits above and beyond that of a conventional mobile browser:

•  Up to five times faster access and use, thanks to automatic pre-fetching of messages
•  Drastically reduced clicks and scrolling to access email
•  Fewer keystrokes for reading, composing, or searching mail
•  Attachments, including files and photos, viewable and automatically resized to fit the user’s phone

"Google’s mobile products are designed to enable people to quickly and easily get the information they want on the go," said Deep Nishar, director of product management at Google.

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