Qype Launches Mobile Versions In Germany And The UK
Just in time for the launch of the iPhone in Europe (Nov 9 in Germany and UK, Nov 29 in France) local review service Qype has finally launched mobile versions in Germany and the UK.
The mobile site is not very fancy – your phone won’t start to vibrate when you pass by a shop which currently provides a coupon or special offer for Qype users when walking down the street etc. – in fact the site is pretty minimalistic:
You enter what you are looking for and where you are (future versions will provide geopositioning via GPS) and places nearby which match your search will be listed. These places are ranked by distance from your current location and basic infos like address, phone number, ratings, reviews and the position on a map will be displayed.
But even if simple since Qype is all about discovering places the mobile version adds a lot of value to the site. You can quickly check the reviews for a restaurant you don’t know before you go in, you can search for the next Gelateria when you suddenly are in desperate need of a huge cup of ice cream or you can look for free WLAN nearby.
Qype is a great resource (more than 3,000 cities are covered in Germany, the UK is catching up fast) and has a strong community, but the web is a big place and it is hard for any informational site to be sticky, there is always more information available just a mouseclick away. On the road you want infos you can act upon and you want them fast, so Qype mobile might increase identification with the brand and trigger positive feedback loops for the main site too.
You don’t need an iPhone or expensive data plan by the way, the mobile version has been designed to have a small footprint and to run on any web enabled phone.
(This article originally was written for blognation Germany. Since blognation is gone I have reposted it here)