A new mobile search service reckons young customers will pay a quid a time for local searches, as long as they're backed by the right brand.

The service comes from Jeanie Media and is accessed through a custom client that allows users to navigate menus to find local places to eat, nightclubs and the like, along with a route planner to get them there. Where this is technically possible, anyway. What's new about Jeanie is that it expects people to pay a quid a time for the information.

Alexander Fairfax, the 22-year-old founder of Jeanie, isn't a complete idiot. He knows that no one's going to pay for information from an unknown company like Jeanie, which is why he's hoping that known brands will take up the service and offer a customised version to their target audience. The company suggests that a men's fashion magazine might like to have its own search system primed with content that appeals to its readers.

Jeanie will happily supply that content, sourced from Itchy City (which produces youth-orientated city guides), as well as the Square Deal and the AA, not to mention the Press Association for some reason.

The first brand to associate itself with the offering is Itchy City, and the initial version covers the 16 cities the publisher already provides information on - for free - on its web site.

The application does offer a better interface, but for a quid a search it really ought to. Or perhaps Reg staff are too far from their own youth to understand how much kids will pay for simplicity. ®

Related stories

• US lost Cold War bomb under Greenland ice (12 November 2008)
• Exclusive Chopping the Long Tail down to size (7 November 2008)
• Yang! tells! MS! to! buy! Yahoo! (6 November 2008)
• York council gets sniffy with Street View (3 November 2008)
• Vodafone pitches Comic Sans as the next Crazy Frog (29 October 2008)
• German privacy watchdogs agree social networking ground rules (22 October 2008)