Google Phone

As we reported was in the pipeline in late December last year, Google and Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo have reached an agreement whereby Google-powered searches will be the default through the operator’s i-mode portal, keyword based AdWords advertising will be included on search results pages, and handsets will have improved access to Google’s online application suite.  Initially, Google Maps will be preloaded on all handsets and, for those devices with full browsers, Google will be the preset homepage; subsequently Gmail, YouTube and Picasa will all be integrated into the i-mode system.

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Just as the creatively overhauled Google interface for the Apple iPhone was heralded as the search company “practising” for their own Android platform, the news that Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo is considering using Google-powered search and email functionality in their own handsets will likely be viewed as further evidence of paving the way for 2008’s gPhones.  Sources quoted in the Nikkei business daily claimed that from as early as Spring DoCoMo subscribers with compatible handsets will be able to access their Google-based email, calendar, photos and searches through the i-mode network.

“We are currently studying the possibility of an alliance in search services with domestic or overseas partners, but nothing has been decided yet” Hiroto Nakagawa, DoCoMo spokesman

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