If media reports are to be believed, Verizon Wireless is in talks with Google for a mobile search partnership. The deal will apparently make Google the default search engine on all Verizon phones. The earlier part of this year saw the two companies as potential rivals.
Aimed to give Google’s search service a prominent place on all Verizon handsets, the establishment will be a wide range partnership. The deal will also be an added plus point to Verizon’s considerably weak mobile search business. A negotiation of the two companies will indicate the amount of information Google can retain about Verizon’s customers and their searches.
The advertising tied to the searches will generate revenue for the two companies which will be eventually shared. The partnership aspires to centralize all the services behind a single search platform and boost traffic to Verizon Wireless’ web services.
The growing popularity of high-end devices like the iPhone and the future Android phone have made Web searching relatively easier on mobile phones.
Many carriers including Verizon have made innumerable attempts to promote their own branded search services. These however have been unsuccessful in attracting customers. According to estimates from Nielsen Mobile, a company that tracks wireless trends, nearly 13.1 million of the 36 million Verizon Wireless customers who access data using their phones search the web.
This agreement is just an addition to Google’s list of telecom partners. Google already has an agreement with Sprint Nextel and Nokia. Facing a stiff competition from Yahoo, Google, however dominates mobile search services with 61 % of the market share, followed by Yahoo with 18 % and MSN far behind with just 5 %.
With discussions between the companies still in the early phase, a confirmation of the partnership should be expected in a month or two.