Mobile marketing, which brings search to on-the-go consumers, has seen rising adoption in the past year. Could automotive search also become a trend of 2011?
At the Consumer Electronics Show, Toyota announced that Bing search is now available in the new Toyota Entune multimedia system. Entune is a combination of automobile hardware and mobile applications, which Toyota describes as an "in-car experience that keeps you and your car connected."
The piece de resistance may be the Bing-enabled navigation system that comes with Entune. It offers voice-activated search – ideal for those with their hands on the wheel.
Other features of the Entune system highlight the rise of local search. The multimedia experience offers users a variety of location-based applications that can help drivers decide where to go, including MovieTickets.com and Open Table.
While Bing may gain some ground in the local search market through this partnership with Toyota, search giant Google has made it clear it hopes to be king of local search. As Brafton reported just this week, Google’s Marissa Mayer confirmed that the company is looking to partner with businesses to incentivize local search – even without Groupon.
