Google is rumoured to be developing a new search service especially for mobile content providers.
The Wall Street Journal believes the search giant is readying a facility that will help consumers find and buy ringtones, games and other mobile content, with links and result placements eventually available to the highest bidder.It says Google has been working for months on the project, and is busy indexing the inventory of the content industry’s major brands. However, it also suggests technical issues have delayed a formal announcement and that there is still no date set for launch.
However, if and when it does emerge, the service would pose a serious threat to operators, which are mostly scaling down their portals and turning to white-labelled search boxes to retain their influence in the content space.
The perceived ‘threat’ posed by Google is hardly reduced by the recent announcement that it is now trialling a mobile version of Adsense, the service that brokers ads between advertisers and owners of web sites.
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