O2 and Yell.com announced that they have joined forces to enable access to www.yell.com, UK's online classified directory service, using the xda from O2 (ak.k.a QTEK). Under the new agreement the Yell.com service will enable O2 users to search for information on more than 1.7 million UK businesses. This facility marks the first agreement of its kind for Yell.com.
The Yell.com's directory service is accessible through the myO2 zone. myO2 comprises selected online content and services that are optimised for the xda, enabling browsing offline and the ability to personalise the xda's features.
Users can search the directory by business type or name. Once they have found the information required they have the option of directly dialing the business number, saving the details to the Microsoft Outlook contacts folder on their xda or emailing them to a friend. Details saved to the contact folder reside on the device, which means they can be browsed at leisure even when offline.
In addition myO2 boasts news, weather, email and a specially designed PDA version of the AA's Route Planner, with traffic and travel information supplied by AA Roadwatch. All myO2 services are specifically designed to interact with the other applications available on the xda, such as email, calendar and phone book.
The technology behind myO2 is provided by Action Engine's Mobile Services Platform, which deploys easy to use web services and data on smart mobile devices. Action Engine's Mobile Web Services Platform uses a browserless approach, which does not require a constant network connection. Instead the software is embedded directly onto the device, resulting in a faster, more user-friendly experience.
