Veveo Brings the World of Web Videos to Mobile Phones with vTap

ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Veveo, Inc., a technology company delivering the full promise of web videos to mobile devices today introduced the vTap™ web video discovery service at vtap.com. vTap is available immediately to Apple ® iPhone and Microsoft Windows Mobile ® phone users.
The vTap service allows users to quickly and easily search, browse and view web videos available on the Internet from supported mobile phones. With the ever-increasing pool of available web video content, the primary challenge for mobile users is a streamlined means for finding the exact web video they want to see, when they want it, on the mobile platform of their choice. Searching and browsing video content is critically important for users of mobile devices because these devices do not have the full-sized keyboards or large displays associated with typical PC environments.
“Mobile users often find themselves in environments where there is a need for immediate fulfillment of an impromptu desire to be distracted, entertained or inspired,” said Murali Aravamudan, co-founder and chief executive officer of Veveo. “vTap's comprehensive web video index, coupled with its intuitive search and browse discovery mechanisms, delivers a web video experience with the power and functionality of a traditional desktop application, on a mobile device.”
The initial vTap service is already earning industry accolades, even ahead of today’s official launch of the service. Om Malik writes at NewTeeVee, “The service is quite accurate and, in my opinion, impressive.” Robert Scoble writes at Scobleizer.com, “This is killer stuff and works on a variety of cell phones.”
How it Works
With vTap’s character-based incremental search, users begin receiving search results instantly, the moment they type the first character. The results are then refined as more characters are entered enabling users to find what they want without entering full keywords or phrases from constrained keypads. vTap also offers intuitive browsing support and dynamic clustering with hierarchical organization of search results for an effective browse experience.
For example: imagine trying to search for web videos of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger using a typical cell phone keypad. The user would have to type in 40 keystrokes of the keyword just to get "Arnold Schwarzenegger". With vTap just typing “SCH” delivers a folder containing web clips related to Mr. Schwarzenegger. By browsing into the folder, the user can select the specific web clip they want to view.
By combining search and browse rather than treating them separately, vTap creates an incredibly intuitive method for discovering web videos. To ensure that users of the vTap service have access to the most current, timely, relevant web videos including long-tail content at their fingertips, Veveo maintains a comprehensive index of online web videos that is continually updated.
Service Offerings
Support for the Apple iPhone and Windows Mobile phones are available immediately. Apple iPhone and Windows Mobile phone users who want to try vTap can simply point their phone’s web browser at http://vtap.com.
Veveo has plans to release vTap for Javaâ„¢-enabled phones to support users of popular cell phones from Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG, and Sony Ericsson. To sign up for additional information about vTap or to demo vTap from your PC browser go to http://vtap.com.
About Veveo
Headquartered in Andover, Mass., Veveo brings the full power of Internet mobile video discovery—including searching, browsing and viewing—to mobile devices with its vTap service. Veveo is actively working with TV providers, mobile operators, consumer electronics manufacturers and content creators to deploy its vTap service. Veveo is backed by $28 million in venture funding from Matrix Partners, Northbridge Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and OmniCapital Group.
For more information, about Veveo visit www.veveo.net or, to experience vTap, visit http://vtap.com.