Customer Challenge
Ziplocal, a US local search company, is focused on providing a fresh, innovative approach to search at the neighborhood and city-wide level. With a new and very experienced CEO at the helm, the vision was to bring a rich and engaging experience to mobile users too. Ziplocal wanted not only to make search easier, but also to bring fresh, inspiring and ground-breaking capabilities to users on-the-go.
Solution
Ziplocal asked Conquer Mobile to create a speech driven search application for the iPhone and iPad. Conquer Mobile responded with a powerful yet intuitive voice-powered app. Users simply tap the screen to speak, tap when they’ve finished and see their results in seconds – in a list or on a map.
The app needed to be highly versatile – to fit the many different ways that people like to search for information on-the-fly. Some people are looking for a specific business and need directions, maps and traffic cams to identify the fastest route. To save time, users can tag favorite businesses, friends or traffic cams. A ‘Recent’ list also saves time by enabling a quick repeat of previous searches. Reverse look-up is also speech-driven.
Other people simply want to find their nearest ATM, car park or sushi bar. ‘Nearby’ search does that, enabling users to pick a category and see what their nearest choices are. For instance, selecting ‘sushi’ will show all the options in the vicinity. Users can then view maps, photos and videos to narrow the choice and phone direct to make a booking.
Finally, some people simply want to see what is available right on their doorstep. This is where the augmented reality eye comes into its own. Users just point the camera in any direction while searching and get a cityscape view with listing details overlaid.
By understanding the very different ways that people like to search for information, the Ziplocal app achieved its goal. Now Ziplocal users have a cutting edge mobile app to find exactly what they are looking for close-by.
Impact
- A key component of Ziplocal’s mobile offering, bringing fresh, rich and relevant local content to mobile users.
- Highly rated on iTunes and well received by Ziplocal customers – iPhone and iPad versions available.
