China Unicom is reported to be pushing Android handset suppliers to offer a range of search options on their handsets, in a move which is being seen as as response to Google's travails in the country. The decision comes a few days after Google closed down its locally hosted search services and started moving them to Hong Kong.
"We are willing to work with any company that abides by Chinese law. ... We don't have any cooperation with Google currently," Lu Yimin, president of China Unicom, was quoted by the Financial Times as saying.
According to official Chinese figures, the country has 384 million internet users, but 745 million mobile subscribers, and it was widely expected that much of the growth in Chinese internet traffic would come from smartphones in the future.
Motorola recently inked a deal with Microsoft to put its Bing branded mobile search engine and maps services on its Android based smartphones. The global agreement launches with new smartphones being sold in China this month.
Search and Maps capabilities through Microsoft will initially be available in China, starting in Q1 2010, through either pre-load or over-the-air updates for devices already in market.
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