Norwegian mobile caller ID search startup Mobile Nordic has changed its name to Numo Solutions. Accordingly, the firm's mobile phone number and SMS search products, previously with country-specific localized names, will be branded as Numo Finder and Numo SMS Preview, respectively. The changes preempt new operator deals and handset manufacturer deals in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, said to be announced within a few months. The firm will also open new offices and affiliates in Beijing, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, and Taipei.

Numo's main product Numo Finder provides an automatic network phonebook directory caller ID search, showing the caller's name and address in real time on the screen. The unique selling point is thus being able to decide for oneself before answering calls, and prioritizing important calls while neglecting telemarketers etc.

The application also includes other features like call log search and unlimited manual search for names, businesses, and addresses. Numo Finder is currently available in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Germany, and also fetches caller information from the UK phone number directory (though Brits seem to be much more reluctant to have their number listed in public directories).

SMS Preview on the other hand shows a preview of the incoming text message on the screen automatically after receiving it. It may not be that valuable a feature alone, but notably the application pop up space can also fit in mobile marketing ads in addition to the SMS text. Therefore some operators have shown great interest in the product as a way to deliver mobile marketing, as a Numo representative commented to me directly.

The short video below (still with the old branding) shows how the caller ID search works in practice:

118 Mobile - See who is calling? from Mobile Nordic on Vimeo.

The service is clearly beneficial to all stakeholders - operators get a new billable service, and handset manufacturers, striving to offer the best user experience, could integrate the unknown number search in their new "social phonebook 2.0's" (à la Android Motorola Droid and Sony Ericsson X10), giving users the ability to see detailed information of the person calling (or a missed call), be it a friend or a stranger.

Numo currently supports Symbian S60, Java J2ME, Windows Mobile, and Android platforms. Blackberry and iPhone support is said to be on the way. However, especially with Java and iPhone handsets the functionality is likely to be somewhat limited, as iPhone does not allow background apps and only Sony Ericsson widely supports background Java applications in their handsets. In order to provide a seamless automatic caller ID experience the Numo app would have to run in the background, intercepting and identifying each arriving call. Nevertheless, the easy manual search can still surely be a service which adds good value.

This year, the firm has won a GSMA Mobile Award for Most Innovative Consumer Application or Service, and also been a Red Herring Europe 100 finalist. Numo will face increasingly fierce competition, however, as the technology is not unique and there are other similar solutions. But at least for now the firm has been able to successfully expand quickly across Scandinavia with good quality and a flat rate monthly fee pricing as opposed to previously typical per search charges.

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persson, March 12, 2010

VARNING FÖR DETTA FÖRETAG SOM TAR UT BETALT FÖR NÅGOT SOM INTE ÄR BESTÄLLT-PÅ TELEFONFAKTURAN. DET ÄR OMÖJLIGT ATT KONTAKTA DEM, DET ÄR OMÖJLIGT ATT FÅ DETTA AVSLUTAT SOM ALDRIG ENS PÅBÖRJATS.
RIKTIGS SVINAKTIGA LURENDREJARE SOM JAG NU POLISANMÄLT.

Andersson, May 21, 2010

Samma problem här!!
Har blivit runt skickad mellan olika personer utan resultat! På telefon ränkningen står ett nr 0856866333 det har upp hört att gälla och teliakundbesked hänvisar till ett gammalt NMT nummer 0107190000
Numret går till "Ericsson AB" som ligger i Linköping enl. lokaldelen.se
Jag slog på adressen och det fanns typ 65 telefonnummer dit.
På 0107190000 svarade iaf en kvinna att "det var inga problem" vänta ska jag koppla. "klick" vart kopplad till en snubbe som talade dålig engleska och det lät som han bröt på indiska. Han säger oxå att " No problem Sir! just send an e-mail to ipx.servicedesk@ericsson.com and they will help you. Jag mailade dom och började nu bli ganska förbannad. Fick svar samma där "No problem Sir! Please contact Mobil Nordic at: support.se@numofinder.com and they will help you.
Ja, och nu väntar jag på svar ifrån dem men överväger nu stark en anmälan jag oxå!!