Nokia Adds Google to Mobile-Phone Search Engines (NewsFactor)

In keeping with their strategies for the highly competitive mobile environment, Google and Nokia announced Tuesday that the popular search engine will be integrated with the Nokia Search application.

The deal was announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The plan is for Google search to be available to customers in more than 100 countries on a variety of Nokia handsets, but the deployment will begin with the Nokia N96, N78, 6210 Navigator, and 6220 classic in select markets.

NOT EXCLUSIVE DEAL

Nokia Search can access Web information, as well as content that is local to a device and on local search engines. The company said direct access is available on many of its devices with one click from the active standby screen. Retrieved information can be used by applications such as maps, messaging and the Web browser.

The combination of Nokia applications and Google search can "provide an excellent overall experience," said Google Vice President Vic Gundotra. He added that the "fast, relevant and comprehensive search experience" will be familiar to people who use Google to search the Web from their desktop.

Chris Hazelton, an analyst with industry research firm IDC, noted that the on-device search is controlled by Nokia and, when a user wants to search the Net, he or she is given several options -- Yahoo, Microsoft Live Search, and now Google. The deal doesnt give Google exclusivity, he noted, but those who use that search engine on a computer may choose the same tool on their Nokia device.

A SOFTWARE AND SERVICES COMPANY

"Nokia is only allowing all of these search engines to compete on a Nokia device," he said. "Nokia still maintains the platform ownership."

This is where Nokia wants to be, Hazelton said. It is the worlds leading mobile-device manufacturer, he added, "but they want to transform themselves into a software and services company, because thats where they see the future going."

Rather than simply sell a device and conclude the relationship -- and revenue stream -- with the user, Hazelton said, Nokia wants to position itself as a provider of ongoing services. He noted that Nokia acquired in late January a Norwegian company, Trolltech, which allows the development and delivery of applications across platforms -- on Nokias devices, on the Net, and on PCs.

Google is similarly looking to offer its applications and services across platforms, although it is migrating from the opposite direction -- PCs. The search giant is looking to pollinate as many mobile devices as possible, but it also has a new approach -- its own open-source platform, Android. Hazelton said that, by allowing other services to compete on a platform it owns, Nokia is also trying to position itself for the coming of Android.