A new online yellow pages and local search engine was recently launched called Tyloon that searches US directory listings, accepting both Chinese and Spanish keyword queries, or a mix of those with English. The service also returns maps and driving directions.
Tyloon Inc. cites the rapidly expanding global market and the need to break down language barriers for it to reach its full potential. Right now, the patent-pending search engine returns results in English, Spanish, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, but the company is working to broaden the language offerings to include French, Japanese, and German. Languages can also be toggled back and forth for the current viewing page.
The company says the technology opens up a 15-million-name US business database that could only be explored in English before.
As with using regular online yellow pages, or local search engines, a Tyloon visitor can seek the desired business information simply by typing a city name or a zip code. In addition, Tyloon also allows a visitor to expand the hunt by typing in an area code for a search result covered by that phone area – or a state code such as CA, for a search result of the whole state. You can even leave the location box blank in order to call up a search result for the entire United States.
It doesn’t go both ways, however. A search for Chinese food in China yields disappointing results.
“Sorry, we could not find a result for chinese food in or near china,” it said.
Maybe that’s like searching for French Fries in France? Heh.
A search for Chinese food in Lexington, though, yielded addresses, phone numbers, maps and driving directions for Chinese food places in Lexington, KY, TN, NE, MO, and SC. In Spanish, too.
The Google AdSense ads remain in English, though.
California-based Tyloon has filed two U.S. patents since May, 2005, and one of them is also registered internationally. The company also plans to build a similar system on Chinese and Canadian data in an attempt to create a major commercial information bridge between North America and China.
“Given the fact that Spanish and Chinese-speaking population counts close to 25 percent of the U.S. population — and that there are more than 1.6 billion people speaking Chinese and Spanish around the world,” says Barry Su, President of Tyloon, Inc.
“I venture to say it is something like ‘the second yellow-page revolution’ for Tyloon to help these non-English speaking people to quickly search, and basically understand, anenormous resource of American business information.”
