DoCoMo And Google In Japanese Mobile Partnership

Reuters and InfoWorld describe a new partnership between Japan’s largest wireless carrier, NTT DoCoMo, and Google. NTT DoCoMo is a member of the Google-sponsored Open Handset Alliance, as is Japan’s number two carrier, KDDI, which is a Google partner as well.

The Google-NTT DoCoMo relationship will mean that Google is the default start page on mobile Internet browsers on DoCoMo phones. The companies will also work to optimize a range of Google applications and services for DoCoMo phones, including Maps, Gmail, and YouTube, and for its popular I-mode Internet service.

DoCoMo anticipates bringing out an Android platform phone this year that will feature Google advertising and a revenue split between the companies.

In Japan, on the desktop, Google trials Yahoo, which is the leading search engine in the market. Yahoo Japan, which is partly owned by Softbank, has a mobile search and ad deal with Softbank, which is the number three Japanese mobile carrier.