Microsoft has taken steps to further enhance its mobile internet search services with the aim of getting a much bigger share of the market which is still dominated by Google Inc. In order to gain headway in its current campaign, it has resolved to ink a five-year agreement with Verizon. The deal was essentially to make Bing and other Microsoft products as default options of cellphones subscribed to Verizon’s wireless services. With this deal, Microsoft hopes to gain significant points that may bolster its chances of becoming the leader of mobile internet software. Verizon is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S. and its millions of subscribers are actually the market that Microsoft is hoping to cover.
The deal between Microsoft and Google was made sometime in 2009. Although the former’s objective in entering into such agreement was primarily to put itself in a more competitive position and to ultimately dislodge Google, observers of the mobile internet software industry have doubts about its success. According to them, the result of the agreement has instead provided Verizon the discretion to apply the search engine of Google if the devices being used are operated through the Android software, Google’s operating system for phones capable of mobile internet. They said that with this, Google should not be worried about Microsoft eating a huge chunk of their market.
Sources from the wireless communications giant, however, confirm of their company’s plan not to use Google search on future phones subscribed to Verizon. According to them, in the Google search engine’s stead, the Bing will be used. This may be the actual result of the agreement between Verizon and Microsoft. This may indeed be a piece of information worth celebrating by Microsoft. What should make its Bill Gates and his fellow executives in the software company is that installing Google and changing Bing with it as default may be impossible. Apparently, Bing has been embedded into the phones’ firmware. This makes it impossible for users to discard Bing and to use other search engines other than those made by Microsoft.
Market observers say that the deal that Microsoft and Verizon forged may be to the best interests of the former. While this may be true though, many of Verizon’s avid internet users admit that having Bing and other Microsoft software apps on their phones provides them with many advantages. Nevertheless, they still think that they should still have to the option of being able to revert or to install Google’s apps as well. Although they may have benefits with Bing and a host of other Microsoft apps, they also deem it necessary for them to be able to avail of the distinct advantages that Google may provide them.
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