Google will provide embedded Web search on Chungwha Telecom’s mobile phones starting January, Marketwatch reports.
“This is the first step of cooperation and we will offer more services with Google in the future,” said Ho Chen Tan, chairman of Taiwan’s largest phone company by revenue and the dominant fixed-line and broadband Internet operator on the island. The next phase of cooperation will be offering Google Earth and Google Maps through the company’s Yellow Pages unit in Q1 2007.
Chungwha Telecom has 840,000 users on its 3G network, says Marketwatch, and is aiming for 1.5 million in 2007.
While the deal establishes Google’s foothold in Taiwan, the search giant hasn’t been faring as well in mainland China. Google is struggling to compete with Chinese search engine Baidu; both companies are making moves in the video sector. Baidu also recently signed a paid search deal with Microsoft.