Could Google bring a search engine function to Verizon cellphones? According to inside sources, the two companies are close to reaching a deal that could add more polish to Google’s shine but also cause some problems for Verizon.
Digital Journal — Talks between Verizon and Google are heating up, and a Google search engine box may soon be finding its way on to Verizon phones, sources close to the companies admit to BusinessWeek. In the next few weeks, an announcement could be made that signals Google’s concerted efforts to muscle into the cellphone market.
BusinessWeek reporter Spencer E. Ante offers some insight:
An agreement would mark a major step for Google, which has struggled to extend its dominance on the Web to cell phones, but fall well short of the company’s broader ambition to become as major a broker of ads on mobile devices as it is on computers. For Verizon Wireless, the talks indicate the growing importance of packing phones with cool brands and tools.
And Verizon could benefit by giving customers the ability to search the Net from their phones, a feature that is growing increasingly important in light of high-tech smartphones hitting the market monthly. And by pairing up with the search-engine giant, Verizon adds Google’s reputable name to its list of partners. Wouldn’t customers feel confident knowing that their cellphone is bundled with a powerful search engine?
But BusinessWeek points out a few flies in the ointment. First, Verizon may be undercutting revenue from its own applications that help users find info. The VZ Navigator provides driving maps, directions and local search capabilities on phones equipped with GPS receivers. Adding a Google search engine to those phones wouldn’t be doing the Navigator any favours.
Also, money is a hurdle for the partnership to overcome. As BusinessWeek states:
In its Internet search deals, Google typically keeps the lion’s share of the advertising revenue generated when customers click on the ads that appear alongside search results. But in the wireless world, Google does not have as much leverage.
If and when Google strikes a deal with Verizon, the entire tech world will be watching (not just the wireless carriers). Bringing Google’s search functions to a company as ubiquitous as Verizon could overhaul how every Internet and handset maker operates. In addition, investors may be more confident about Verizon’s stock (no worries about Google’s, of course). The big question is, though, how would customers react to a Google-powered cellphone? Would it suddenly make that phone more appealing, no matter the cost?
