Mobile phone users in Japan will see a healthy dose of Google this spring, with the American search leader exporting various services to NTT DoCoMo.
New phones that have Web access will get Google as the default homepage. Google also will be the default search engine on the front page of NTT’s i-mode portal, the results displaying adjacent to Google Adwords advertising, the companies jointly announced.
In addition, handsets will come pre-loaded with Google Maps. Google’s Gmail, YouTube and Picassa applications also are being considered for pre-loading.
The companies intend to “further study the possibility of new mobile marketing services” and “the possibility of bringing Android-based handsets to the Japanese market.”
A partnership has been expected since last fall when NTT joined Google’s Open Handset Alliance.