Maxis Launched Finder301 Malaysia First Mobile Directory

MALAYSIA’S FIRST MOBILE DIRECTORY IN YOUR HANDS
FINDER301, a location based Malaysian mobile directory – Best way to find what’s good around you!

Maxis Berhad (‘Maxis’), Malaysia’s leading integrated communications provider, today officially launched FINDER301, the country’s first location based mobile directory that allows Maxis customers to locate and share information.

Customers on FINDER301 can find the closest service points in the country for key services such as from more than 230 Maxis stores nationwide, emergency services such as hospitals, clinics and police stations and products from other leading merchants in Malaysia including banks. FINDER301 offers the largest listing of verified food outlets in Malaysia with over 12,000 listings.

FINDER301 is a service that appeals to the most basic of mobile users, the SMS user, and is scalable to fully integrated multimedia experiences for users of the most sophisticated devices such as the iPhone and Android phones.

Maxis is the first communications provider in the world to integrate the Wikitude Augmented Reality technology on the FINDER301 application for iPhone and Android phones, enabling users to operate their mobile phone’s camera to view what is around them by simply panning the camera by 360 degrees.

Whilst traditional voice directory services only return one result and charge high rates, FINDER301 offers several results, sorted according to the location’s relative distance from the customer, with user-reviews to help the customer choose the right product or service destination, and a map to help him or her find it. There is no premium or registration charge to use the directory and only normal SMS and data charges apply.

In addition, customers enjoy special offers and promotions from various merchants on the platform. The service is easy to use; the customer just needs to type keywords such as “food” or “bank” in an SMS message and send to 301.

T. Kugan, Maxis’ Vice-President and Head of Product, Device and Innovation said, “Maxis has established itself as a regional leader in mobile content through its constant stream of innovative offerings to the Malaysian market. It is our aspiration to enrich the lives of our customers by offering them variety and depth in our content offerings. Today, we are pleased to take this position one step further with the introduction of FINDER301, a service which has received excellent response from the market since its soft launch in October 2009.

“As of June 2010, 34% of Maxis’ active mobile data customer base is on FINDER301 and they have performed 3.7 million searches across the various categories. The service ranked among the top five services offered by Maxis within three months in terms of customer take-up. FINDER301 was also an awards finalist at the global MEFFYS (Mobile Entertainment Forum) Awards 2010, in the category of “Mobile First Innovation” being nominated by 45 journalists from across 60 countries.

“Today FINDER301 offers customers Malaysia’s largest food directory with over 12,000 listings of food outlets sourced by teams on the ground. In addition, the service presents an open directory where registered customers can contribute content, enabling others to enjoy a wide variety of food reviews by independent parties.”

Andreas Hauser, Chief Innovation Officer of Mobilizy GmbH, Maxis’ partner for the Wikitude Augmented Reality feature on FINDER301, said that he was delighted with the strategic collaboration with Maxis adding that the telecommunications giant is Mobilizy’s preferred partner for its large customer base. Hauser said, “Our venture with Maxis means that more Malaysians will enjoy even more value-added services with the augmented reality feature and enhance their multimedia experience at work and play,” he said.

Finally, Maxis is pleased to offer a boost to Malaysian businesses through the FINDER301 service enabling them to communicate their locations, touch points and promotions to customers. Key corporations in Malaysia are using the service including banks, credit card companies, oil and gas companies, food and beverage outlets and recycling centres. In the long term it is an ideal platform for location-based advertising opportunities and loyalty offers.

For more information on FINDER301, please visit www.maxis.com.my