The Future of the
Mobile Touch Web

Cambridge, UK and Cologne, Germany –May 12 2010 – Taptu, the search and discovery engine that indexes touchscreen content,  and MsearchGroove, a top 50 influential source of analysis and commentary on mobile marketing, mobile search and social media, have teamed up to produce a Virtual Roundtable discussing the advances around the Mobile Touch Web.

The Virtual Roundtable aims to explain the significance of the Mobile Touch Web and the impact of touchscreen devices on how people access, enjoy and purchase content and services. Taptu and MsearchGroove were joined by a wide range of mobile industry entrepreneurs, authorities and pundits including:  Tomi Ahonen (best-selling author); Mark Curtis (Flirtomatic); Carl Martin (Redweb); Andreas Constantinou (VisionMobile);Jonathan MacDonald (This Fluid World);  Martin Wilson (Indigo 102); Dan Appelquist (Vodafone UK);  Christian Lindholm (Fjord); and Peggy Anne Salz (MSearchGroove).

The contributors agree the rise of touchscreen phone shipments from handset manufacturers including Apple, HTC, Nokia and Samsung, and the growth in touch-friendly websites and content will profoundly impact how we live, work and shop. From content creation and publishing, to user experience and design, to commerce to advertising, the Mobile Touch Web changes all the rules.

Christian Lindholm, a partner and director with Fjord, a leading European digital design agency, who contributed his vision to the Taptu Virtual Roundtable, believes the Mobile Touch Web has not only arrived full-force. It marks the beginning of a seismic shift that will spur the creation of new Webs and new device segments. “Within 2-3 years we will have 3 Webs. The 13″ Mouse web, designed for computers, desktop and laptops; the 4″ pocket Touch Web for mobile touchscreen devices and the like; and the 10″ casual Touch Web for devices such as the iPad. Thus, we will have three segments: Phone, Pad and Computer. The Phone and Pad are Web sub-segments, and will require their own discovery, structure and monetization solutions.”

Peggy Anne Salz, founder and chief analyst of MSearchGroove believes the Mobile Touch Web lays the groundwork for a “new kind of interactive mobile Internet, a brave new place where new content, new experiences and even new mobile search services will set the bar.” Salz adds: “The Mobile Touch Web, though growing vigorously as Taptu shows, is not the only game in town. Thus, the pressure is on companies everywhere in the ecosystem to re-think their strategies and create a balance of touch-friendly content for touchscreen devices and the emerging Mobile Touch Web, while not losing sight of the opportunities offered by the other Internets. We face tough choices, but hoping for the Internet to become a unified place where everything is accessible and connected (again) is not an option.”