Yahoo! with Microsoft: way ahead of Google & Android

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 07 February 2008 07:30

Opinion and Analysis

Commenting on the proposed Microsoft Yahoo! merger, Ovum analyst John Delaney said: "So far, the Internet portal players have failed to achieve a convincing level of scale or momentum with their forays onto the small screen. Nor have any of the mobile operators achieved de facto dominance with their portal brands. When it comes to Internet services on mobile phones, everything is still to play for in a potential market measured in billions of people."

Nor would a merged Yahoo!/Microsoft be starting from scratch. According to Delaney, "Microsoft and Yahoo have a track record of co-operation with the mobile operators in developing mobile Internet services, with numerous partnerships in place for several years for mobile access to their email and Messenger services. Yahoo is also building a set of partnerships with operators in the embryonic area of mobile advertising, including AT&T in the US, and Vodafone & T-Mobile in the UK."

Google and Android will have a very long way to go to catch up. And there is no doubt that the percentage of Internet access undertaken from mobile devices will grow rapidly in coming years as mobile broadband speeds get faster, as costs fall and as a host of specific devices and applications emerge.