Google Rumor Mill Cranks Up: Verizon In Talks, France Telecom Not
By James Quintana Pearce - Tue 30 Oct 2007 06:48 PM PST
Google (NSDQ: GOOG) seems to have taken a leaf from Apple’s (NSDQ: AAPL) book: Say nothing officially, but ensure steady leaks to maintain interest. The latest rumor is that Google is deep in talks with Verizon (NYSE: VZ) over “how they would put together a partnership and ways to make money off the developments” according to Bloomberg, although they are not yet close to an agreement. Verizon confirmed the companies had talked but wouldn’t comment further… Reuters and the WSJ said much the same thing and quoted their own sources, which could of course be the same person since they’re all anonymous. Meanwhile, France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) has come out and formally denied being in talks with Google about a handset, reports Reuters.
Cnet reported on a survey by Evans Data Corporation showing that Google was the most popular choice for mobile developers working on location based services, followed by Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and Nokia. Of course, Nokia’s (NYSE: NOK) Navteq buy is still fresh.
Finally, Mercury News has led with Google and Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) in a character piece on Brian Lent chief executive of Medio Systems. He’s keen to be the wind beneath the carriers wings: “For example, it’s Medio that helps Verizon’s 64 million customers and T-Mobile’s 27 million look up ring tones and mobile games from their phones in the United States...In contrast, Google helped an estimated 6 million people search Google.com from their phones in August, according to M:Metrics, a mobile research firm. Yahoo helped an estimated 4 million people who used m.yahoo.com or Yahoo Go.”
Posted in: Companies, Google, Verizon, Mobile
