Apple, Microsoft in talks to make Bing default iPhone search - report

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in iPhone edited January 2014
Once bitter rivals in the PC landscape, Apple and Microsoft could now partner to make Bing the default search engine of the iPhone, in an effort to counter the market dominance of search giant Google.



According to BusinessWeek, Apple has been in talks with Microsoft for weeks. The publication cited two people allegedly familiar with the ongoing negotiations.



Microsoft could also be looking to make Bing search an option in the Safari browser on the Mac. Currently, Google and Yahoo are the only options.



"Apple and Google know the other is their primary enemy," one of the sources allegedly told BusinessWeek. "Microsoft is now a pawn in that battle."



The source also spoke of Apple's interest in serving mobile advertisements on the iPhone and iPod touch. Earlier this month, Apple purchased mobile advertising firm Quattro Wireless for $275 million, a move that was largely seen as an effort to counter Google's acquisition of ad firm AdMob.



Through the deal, Andy Miller, former CEO of Quattro, was named vice president of Mobile Advertising at Apple, a new position for the company which previously had no role in selling ads.



Last week, one report said that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs hopes to "overhaul mobile advertising in the same way they had revolutionized music players and phones." Apple could offer developers the ability to place advertisements in their App Store software, and take a cut of the revenue much like Google already does.



The alleged negotiations with Microsoft for Bing search are another example of the growing rivalry between Apple and Google. Last summer, Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigned from the Apple Board of Directors as an investigation from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission was looking into the connections between the two companies.



Schmidt's move was seen as necessary as Google and Apple now compete in numerous markets in the technology sector: Google's Android mobile operating system competes with Apple's iPhone; both companies recently made large mobile advertising related purchases; Google's forthcoming Chrome OS will see the company enter the desktop computing space; and the Chrome browser competes with Apple's Safari.



The most public dispute between Apple and Google came last summer, when the Google Voice application was not accepted into the iPhone App Store. The two companies shared barbs with Google alleging the software was outright rejected for use on the iPhone, while Apple said it remained under review and consideration.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 79
    Hmmmmmmmmm.... that sounds grotesque. I would rather Apple developed their own.
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  • Reply 2 of 79
    No. Just, no.
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  • Reply 3 of 79
    No thank you. I really prefer Google for search.
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  • Reply 4 of 79
    As long as I have the option to choose which one to set as my own default, I'm fine.



    If this is like the Bing on Blackberry takeover, then I'm giving up and jailbreaking the phone.
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  • Reply 5 of 79
    2 cents2 cents Posts: 307member
    "Apple and Google know the other is their primary enemy," one of the sources allegedly told BusinessWeek. "Microsoft is now a pawn in that battle."



    So true.



    And I am all for a big can of whupass for google. If you guys think that so much control in the hands of a single corporation will do no evil, you haven't been around the block.
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  • Reply 6 of 79
    jon tjon t Posts: 131member
    I don't think this is likely - at all, but I do like the idea of Microsoft being relegated to the status of a pawn! Finally, it is where it truly belongs...



    Might this not just be a clever negotiating tactic by Apple to bring Google into line?
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  • Reply 7 of 79
    kotatsukotatsu Posts: 1,010member
    This rift that has developed between Apple and Google is worrying. I use several of Google's services (chiefly GMail) so I really don't want to see the iPhone handle these any worse than it already does. GMail is still poor on the iPhone and Google Maps is way behind it's Android Counterpart.



    It surely can't be good for Apple either to go up against Google. Big as Apple are, Google are far more powerful and will only become more so as Android takes over and Chrome OS comes out.



    As for Bing, it works great so why not add it, but as an option.
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  • Reply 8 of 79
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Microsoft could also be looking to make Bing search an option in the Safari browser on the Mac. Currently, Google and Yahoo are the only options.



    There's an option for Safari to use Yahoo for search? Where?



    Not that I'd want to - I'm just curious where this option might be hidden since having searched for several minutes I've failed to find it in any of the obvious places.



    It doesn't seem like a very Apple-like feature to let the user select their search engine; surely Steve Jobs decides which is the best one and that's what you get?



    Socrates
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  • Reply 9 of 79
    Google Maps seems to be another concern for me. I like its presentation and format.



    In comparison, Bing Maps (as seen in the Bing app) render slowly and are plagued with jpeg artifacts (on map, not satellite view).
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  • Reply 10 of 79
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Socrates View Post


    There's an option for Safari to use Yahoo for search? Where?



    Not that I'd want to - I'm just curious where this option might be hidden since having searched for several minutes I've failed to find it in any of the obvious places.



    Settings > Safari > Search Engine
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  • Reply 11 of 79
    I've never seen Yahoo as an option for search, not that I would want to use it.



    And no way do I want Bing either.



    If Apple fight Google, they'll lose.
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  • Reply 12 of 79
    g3rdg3rd Posts: 1member
    I agree with anonymous guy, I want the option of which search provider to use.
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  • Reply 13 of 79
    djrumpydjrumpy Posts: 1,116member
    If I lose the option to choose my search provider, I will ditch the iPhone. I'm not interested in business games.



    If it's just a change of the default, I don't care as I can always change it after the fact.
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  • Reply 14 of 79
    igeniusigenius Posts: 1,240member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by g3rd View Post


    I agree with anonymous guy, I want the option of which search provider to use.



    I want the option to decide which programs run in the background.
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  • Reply 15 of 79
    ivan.rnn01ivan.rnn01 Posts: 1,822member
    Probably Apple has something to let go to MS that will make finder engine out of Bing. Otherwise it just keeps searching...
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  • Reply 16 of 79
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DJRumpy View Post


    If I lose the option to choose my search provider, I will ditch the iPhone. I'm not interested in business games.



    If it's just a change of the default, I don't care as I can always change it after the fact.



    Something similar happened with Verizon and the Blackberry not too long ago: http://www.cio.com/article/511401/Ve...ackBerry_Users



    Seemingly, this move was pushed more by the provider than by the handset manufacturer. But if the manufacturer chooses to make this move, expect the overhaul to be much more dramatic.
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  • Reply 17 of 79
    edorfedorf Posts: 29member
    No thank You! It's terrible in Europe!
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  • Reply 18 of 79
    ronboronbo Posts: 669member
    I don't like the idea of switching to an inferior alternative out of spite.
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  • Reply 19 of 79
    NEVER!



    I will NEVER buy any app that has ads in it. That's part of what you should be getting when you pay for an app; NO ADS.
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  • Reply 20 of 79
    Settings, safari, search engine is where you go to change search providers.
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