Google could soon be the search engine of choice for Verizon Wireless phones — that is, if the two companies hammer out a partnership deal in the next month or so, The New York Times reported Friday.
The growing popularity of sophisticated mobile phones with simplified Web searching makes the prospective deal with Google especially attractive for Verizon Wireless, the Times noted.
“There is demand for Google search despite what the carriers put in front of them,” Roger Entner, a telecommunications analyst at Nielsen IAG, told the Times. “Consumers want brand names they know.”
The deal also makes sense for Google, which has been working to gain a foothold in the fast-growing mobile search market, the Times reported.
According to Nielsen Mobile, about 3.8 million of Verizon Wireless’s 68.7 million customers use their phones to conduct Web searches via Google or Yahoo. Only about 2.3 million Verizon customers use Verizon’s Web search tool.
Overall, 13.1 million Verizon customers conduct Web searches via their phones, according to Nielsen Mobile.
