Bellevue-based InfoSpace Inc. is vying to become the Google or Yahoo of mobile-search technology by becoming fast friends with Fast, of Oslo, Norway.
The new relationship will put the companies to work jointly developing search technology for use by cellular providers according to Brendan Benzing, InfoSpace’s vice president of mobile search. Such joint technology would be sold directly to cellular providers for use by customers, who won’t see either company’s name on their screens, Benzing said.Only about 10 percent of U.S. cell phone owners are using the Web browsers built into their handsets, according to JupiterResearch. And of those, “very few people are doing search on their phones,” Benzing acknowledged. The partnership will have a “very, very small impact” on InfoSpace’s revenue this year and next, he said.
Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Hutchison Whampoa, Telecom Italia, Telfonica and Vodafone, as well as American provider Cingular, may develop their own search or announce a deal with an existing search provider, said Tim Bajarin, president of research firm Creative Strategies Inc.
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