A new deal between Research in Motion, producers of the BlackBerry, and Microsoft was announced on Thursday. This deal will integrate Microsoft's Live Search with BlackBerry Browsers and BlackBerry Maps.In addition, Live Search will be incorporated into the Mobile.BlackBerry.com site. The inclusion of Live Search in BlackBerry Maps will allow for location specific searches and include local points of interest. Mark Guibert, Vice president, Corporate Marketing at RIM said:
"Offering Live Search on BlackBerry smartphones extends choice for our customers and allows users to conveniently and quickly search the Internet when they are mobile."
This deal is part of Microsoft's continued campaign to expand the user base of Live. Examples of this have been seen throughout this year with its cash back scheme and its deal with Hewlett Packard. Brian Arbogast, corporate vice president of the Mobile Services organisation at Microsoft has said:
"This joint endeavor with RIM is a strategic indicator of our increased focus on securing broad-scale distribution for Live Search. Microsoft is committed to extending our services across mobile platforms and we are very pleased to be joining forces with RIM to help bring Live Search to millions of BlackBerry users worldwide."
The results of this deal are expected to be available by the end of the year.
