Google, Yahoo Extend Mobile Offerings

The two largest search engines are set to offer new services aimed at mobile phones with feature sets that make them similar to their desktop equivalents, according to press reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Yahoo is working on its own cell phone with SBC Communications, and Google is planning to make its services more accessible through wireless devices and smartphones.

With cellular data speeds now approaching the level of broadband connections, feature-rich mobile applications are now becoming possible.

For example, starting today Google will enable users on select phones scroll through satellite maps much like they do on its Web site. The service would also allow users to directly dial the business or location they search for from numbers provided in the Google listing.

In order for the feature to work, a phone must support Java applications, and users would also need to download the Google Local software.

A member of the company's mobile team went even so far as to write a song about the new service, which was posted on the Google Blog Monday. "Zoom in, zoom out, drag maps up down left right and you'll see... where you want to go on your mobile phone, in lucid satellite imagery," Google's Matt Waddell wrote.

According to the WSJ, about 100 phones currently work with the service. Google plans to increase that number over the coming months.

According to sources, Nokia will release Yahoo's cell phone at a price of between $200-300 USD through U.S. carrier Cingular early next year. The phone would be able to sync to a user's Yahoo address book, as well as access the customer's Yahoo music, photo and e-mail accounts.

Although Yahoo would not confirm the existence of the cell phone, the WSJ reported that it will likely feature a 1.3-megapixel camera and an MP3 player, along with the capability for expandable memory - all common features on recent smartphones.