It's not the Gphone, but --- following a recent Sprint Nextel Corp.-Google Inc. mobile Web search deal -
Verizon Communications Inc. is nearing an agreement with Google Inc. on a wide-ranging partnership, including making Google the default search provider on Verizon devices, giving the search giant a share of ad revenue, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Cell phone carriers would like to mimic the feel of a PC, but are having a tough time doing so. The article notes users have to go to different places to look up services such as ringtones, restaurants and Web pages; Verizon wants to create a new search platform that would be a one-stop shop.
User search data is a prized possession and its not clear whether or not Google will get it from Verizon. The Journal says Google wants closer integration with carriers like Verizon so it can enhance the relevance of the ads it shows -- for example, by making them sensitive to a user's location; and Google has tried for more than a year to strike such a deal with Verizon, but the big hang-up has always been how much of a revenue share it would get.
Interestingly enough, there were reports last year that Google was in talks with wireless carriers in the U.S., including Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, (and Vodafone internationally) to
carry a Gphone. That would have pitted it against Apple Inc.'s iPhone, but the two have since launched a
partnership: iPhone Google 1.0 UI combined Google web applications (Google Search, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Reader for RSS feeds) in a single interface.
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Baz HiralalGoogle close to search ad deal with Verizon
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