Bye-Bye Yahoo; T-Mobile BlackBerry Users to Get Google Default Search?

U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile has reportedly ditched Yahoo as its default search engine on BlackBerry devices. Search giant Google is now expected to provide the default search option for T-Mobile BlackBerry users.

By Al Sacco
Mon, March 08, 2010

CIO — Good news for BlackBerry smartphone users in the United States on T-Mobile, at least if you're a fan of search giant Google (GOOG): The wireless carrier will soon swap out the Yahoo (YHOO) default search option within the BlackBerry Browser for Google's industry-leading search engine, according to MocoNews.net and other reports.

T-Mobile BlackBerry "Go to" Screen with Yahoo Default Search

Being a T-Mobile Blackberry users myself and a fan of Google, I'd be pleased, to say the least, if T-Mobile decided to swap out the default Yahoo search option in my BlackBerry browser...but as of nine am EST this morning that still hasn't happened, contrary to a number of news reports.

Yahoo has been the default search engine for BlackBerry users on T-Mobile's U.S. network for a year or so, according to MocoNews. In other words, whenever T-Mobile BlackBerry owners opened up their BlackBerry browsers and navigated to the browser's "Go to" or home page, the on-screen search bar was automatically set to Yahoo--though you could easily switch out Yahoo for Google on your own.

If the recent reports prove to be true, that should soon change so that the BlackBerry default search engine on the browser's home screen will be Google. I've complained in the past about the Yahoo default BlackBerry search on T-Mobile, but it was honestly never really a big deal, because I could always change the option to Google--unlike some Verizon BlackBerry users who are currently being "forced" to use Microsoft's (MSFT) Bing for mobile search.

T-Mobile "Web2Go" Page With Google Default Search

Though I'm still seeing Yahoo as the default search provider in my BlackBerry browser, I noticed that T-Mobile has ditched Yahoo for Google on its "Web2Go" page, an online search and account info page for T-Mobile customers, which seems to suggest it's only a matter of time before Google appears as the default search in the BlackBerry browser, as well.

I reached out to T-Mobile for additional information on the news this morning, but have not yet heard back. I'll update my post with any relevant information I may receive as soon as possible.

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