Businessweek reports that Apple and Microsoft are currently in negotiations to replace Google as the default search engine on the iPhone with Microsoft’s Bing.com. The talks have reportedly been underway for weeks.
Businessweek cites the increasing rivalry between Google and Apple as one of the reasons behind the discussions.
“Apple and Google know the other is their primary enemy,” says one of the people, who’s familiar with Apple’s thinking. “Microsoft is now a pawn in that battle.”
If the negotiations are successful, it could also mean that Bing could eventually replace Google as the default search engine for Apple’s desktop version of Safari as well.
With Google’s entry into the mobile phone business as well as Apple’s recent acquisition of a mobile ad company, the two businesses have encroached on each other’s territories. Apple has even been said to be working on distancing itself from Google’s Maps data in the iPhone.
Even if Apple and Microsoft do come to an agreement, Businessweek notes that this may just be a time buying move on Apple’s part who is reportedly working on their own “skunk works” search technology.
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