Yandex has just released the Yandex.Market application for the iPhone. Previously we announced the launch of Yandex.Money extending into more countries, but now users can use this iPhone app to shop for products available online.
iPhone owners will be able to search for basic product information, while also being able to search via barcodes. After scanning the product’s barcode number with the phone’s camera, the user can see results for this particular item on the phone’s screen. The Yandex.Market application recognizes about 1.5 million barcode numbers.
Yandex.Market for iPhone is available for download at App Store.
It’s no big secret that the Russian market has been a tough one to crack for major western companies. Nintendo wouldn’t even bother trying to sell the Wii there as they feel Russia just isn’t ready for social gaming and the internet seems to hold less cultural value when compared to other countries.
However, Google are trying desperately to get a firm foot-hold in the market and as such have made a bid of around the $200 million mark for the country’s most popular instant messaging service; ICQ. Skype are also rumoured to be interested in the deal.
AOL owns ICQ at the minute having bought it in 1998 for $400 million (they’ll be making a loss). It now has over 30 million users with in excess of eight million of them living in Russia. So getting such a huge chunk of the market instantly would be a huge help for Google. Or whatever Western company manages to close the deal for that matter.
Skype is the most popular method of making online voice calls across the globe. It’s free, fast and effective. Recently they have brought out numerous updates and upgrades that only improved the service making for better video calls and streamlining the call process. However, a recent surprise concerning Skype came not from the company, but the Kremlin.
In Russia, an activist group called the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs are lobbying to have the service removed or at least hindered in Russia. They argue that the service is not giving Russian services a fighting chance as Skype dominates the market. Other VoIP providers on the hit list were Google Voice which operates a service similar to that of Skype.
“Most I.P. telephony market brands, such as Skype and ICQ, are foreign, and that is why we have to protect the domestic producer.” These domestic producers such as MegaFon would indeed do better if there was no Skype in Russia but it would have disastrous consequences.
For one thing, may Russians rely on Skype as a lo-cost business tool. If it were to be taken away the only way to communicate with other devout Skype users across the globe would be regular phone or a less popular Russian service that would undoubtedly have compatibility issues with foreign VoIP services.
Another is that this would represent a step backwards for the Kremlin towards 1988. I don’t know what I would do if my Skype suddenly vanished – business costs would increase a ton!
