Deal with Microsoft may cut risks if Google pulls out of the market.
Motorola has announced a deal with Microsoft to preload search and mapping services from the latter's Bing brand on its Android smartphones in China.
The first Bing-enabled Motorola smartphones will be out in China this month, with existing devices getting Bing via over-the-air updates.
That means Bing will be going head-to-head with Google's search and mapping on the latter's own smartphone platform.
"We believe that consumer choice is one of the most critical components to ensuring a rich and seamless client experience," says Christy Wyatt, corporate VP of software and services in Motorola's mobile division.
The temptation is to view this as Motorola snubbing Google in favour of Microsoft. However, it's more likely to be risk-mitigation in the face of Google's dispute with the Chinese government.
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If Google decides to pull out of China, Motorola will have a readymade replacement for its search and mapping services on its handsets already.
