Google announced it is making its Google Mobile Apps available on Windows Mobile phones, letting Windows Mobile users download the app and run Web searches about 50% faster than via the phone’s browser. And while the move is good for Windows Mobile users (who doesn’t want faster, easier search?) it’s also aimed at helping Google keep its lead in the burgeoning mobile search market.
By making its search available on multiple phone platforms (Google previously made Google Mobile available on its own G1, Apple’s iPhone and the Blackberry, as well as models from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson), Google aims to make its search the defacto mobile standard. As it says in the Official Google Mobile blog announcing the move:
Google Mobile App gives you faster searching on your Windows Mobile device, with easy access to your favorite Google applications from the Today screen. There’s no need to wait for a browser to open to begin a search, and with search history available to reduce typing, you can get your search results with fewer clicks than before. For an even speedier experience, Pocket PC users can add the Google Mobile App to the start menu (Settings: Menus) or configure a hardware key (Settings: Buttons) to provide easy access from within any application on your phone.
In effect, Google’s providing all mobile phone users with a fully integrated mobile search experience–for free. So much for Microsoft snagging that search deal with Verizon. Rather than having to rely on carrier deals to bundle its search tools with their phones, Google’s simply taking an end run around the carriers–and other OS makers like Microsoft–via Mobile Apps. Not a bad strategy, and one that’s sure to keep Google at the top of the mobile search heap.
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