Despite growing competition between Apple and Google in the mobile space, the companies have recently extended its search deal, according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
In an interview with Charlie Rose, Schmidt said:
Apple is a company we both partner and compete with. We do a search deal with them, recently extended, and we’re doing all sorts of things in maps and things like that. So the sum of all this is that two large corporations, both of which are important, both of which I care a lot about, will [remain] pretty close.”
This should put to rest all those rumors we’ve seen about Apple switching to Microsoft as its default search engine for the iPhone. Apple did make Bing a search option but the default provider is used by most of the customers.
The iPhone and Android rivalry has already taken its toll on the companies, as Schmidt had to step down from the Apple board because the companies compete in multiple areas including phones, browsers and music (soon).
The beef looked like it would cost Apple iPhone owners the ability to use Google Voice with a native app, as Apple blocked the service because it supposedly “duplicated functionality.” Steve Jobs’ company has apparently taken a chill pill regarding its developer rules and multiple Google Voice apps are now back in the App Store.
But we all know that Jobs hates having to cede so much control to a rival, so look for Apple to provide its own solutions over the next few years. I wouldn’t expect it to launch a search engine, but the company has made some acquisitions which could lead to an eventual competitor to Google Maps.
[Via The Register]