By Jennifer LeClaire TechNewsWorld Part of the ECT News Network
01/09/07 11:34 AM PT
Samsung brought two fierce competitors together Monday when it announced the preloaded software to be included on its new cell phones. Google and Yahoo utilities will share deck space on Samsung's latest mobile devices. With mobile advertising on a rapid growth track, search providers seem willing to coexist on users' cell phone screens in order to get their portion of ad dollars.
eMarketer Whitepaper: Optimizing the E-Commerce Experience
From the Web to the Contact Center, are you prepared to proactively engage and keep your savvy customers? Read how e-commerce leaders are optimizing their sites with ratings, reviews, live help, Web analytics, mobile and more.
Appearing to hedge it search bets, electronics giant Samsung on Monday announced partnerships with competing search engines Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO).
Samsung will preinstall mobile search software and services from the two leading search engines on millions of its mobile phones.
"Samsung is trying to create consumer appeal that is as broad as possible," Greg Sterling, Principal of Sterling Market Intelligence told TechNewsWorld. "Partnering with both companies is a bit of hedging, but Motorola (NYSE: MOT) did the same thing. Why would you sign an exclusive agreement with either search provider and potentially alienate a large group of users?"
Making the Most of Mobile Advertising
Samsung will preload Yahoo services, including a content personalization feature called Yahoo Go for Mobile 2.0, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Messenger, and Yahoo oneSearch on its mobile phones beginning in the first half of 2007.
Yahoo oneSearch is a revamped mobile search product the firm introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday. The platform will include sponsored search results to tap into mobile advertising and marketing opportunities, which could grow to reach $10 billion a year by 2010, according to The Shosteck Group.
"As recently as eight months ago, the whole arena of mobile advertising and mobile data was very speculative relative to today," Sterling noted. "Now Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Google and Yahoo are all actively running mobile advertising. Mobile advertising is ramping and growing so rapidly. It's on an accelerated growth track."
Google's Fair Share
Google, the king of paid search advertising, is getting its fair share of the Samsung mobile pie. Samsung mobile phones will also come preloaded with Google applications that let users search for information, find locations, and manage their e-mail while on the move.
Specifically, Samsung handsets will include a Google icon in the application menu for one-click access to Google search. The phones will also come equipped with Google Maps for mobile, an application that lets users view maps and satellite imagery, find local businesses, and get driving directions.
Tit for Tat
Samsung was smart to include both search services, Sterling said, because Google and Yahoo each has unique strengths and Samsung likely sees the two search players as complimentary to its mobile strategy.
"You wouldn't want to exclude Google because Google is the dominant player in search and now it is also comparable to or dominant in mobile search," Sterling explained. "Yahoo, though, has mail, news and other content that is enormously popular. Samsung may not have wanted to do an exclusive."
Indeed, when it comes to mobile marketing and who gets space on the deck, handset makers and carriers have some bargaining power, Sterling noted.
Search companies that may have demanded exclusivity in past partnerships might now be more willing to share space with competitors in order to garner mobile search exposure and the revenues that are expected to come with it.
Upstart Search Engine Wikiasari to Take On Google December 28, 2006
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales will be entering an already-crowded category with his new wiki-based search engine reportedly in development. The key differentiator will be Wikiasari's open source search technology and ranking methodologies, which will be based on Wikipedia's model of user-driven content -- a sharp contrast to Google's proprietary search algorithms.
Google Launches Patent Search Beta December 14, 2006
Google has released a beta version of its new Patent Search tool that lets users search the full text of the U.S. patent corpus to locate patents of interest. An "Advanced Patent Search" page allows users to drill down to specific criteria, including patent number, inventor and filing date. Google Patent Search uses much of the same technology that powers Google Book Search.
IBM Seeks Enterprise Search Partner, Finds Yahoo December 13, 2006
IBM and Yahoo have teamed up to challenge Google with an enterprise search product, IBM OmniFind Yahoo Edition. The joint solution offers a way for companies to analyze information to resolve customer issues, spot trends, recognize business opportunities and become more flexible, the companies said.
Related News Alerts
More by Jennifer LeClaire
The Digital Car: Cool Automotive Accessories, Part 2 January 16, 2007
Not all the latest high-tech automotive electronics are built to entertain. Many give the driver more information and more control. Vehicle tracking devices can tell where the car is at any time, software installed in a smartphone can turn off a vehicle's security system whenever the owner approaches, and diagnostic tools can tell what's wrong with the engine -- and how much it'll be to fix it.
'World of Warcraft' Wows 8 Million Subscribers January 12, 2007
"World of Warcraft," the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, has reached the 8 million subscriber mark. Since debuting in North America in Nov. 2004, "World of Warcraft" has become the most popular MMORPG in the world. The franchise is available in seven different languages and is played on at least four continents.
AT&T Bids Goodbye to Cingular Brand January 12, 2007
Starting Monday, AT&T will launch a multimedia campaign to transition the Cingular Wireless brand name into its advertising and customer communications. The campaign will integrate popular imagery, phrases and icons from Cingular's traditional advertising, including the "raising the bar" tagline, the "Jack" character and the color orange.