The top executives at China Mobile (Hong Kong) and Google have discussed how to make Internet search capabilities available to mobile-phone users, an executive confirmed Friday.During a press conference Thursday, Wang Jianzhou, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of China Mobile, revealed he had twice met with Google CEO Eric Schmidt to discuss the possibility of moving Internet search from fixed-line Internet connections to mobile phones, said Rainie Lei, a China Mobile spokeswoman.At this point, the two companies have no plans to introduce a mobile search service, Lei said. “It’s in the very early stage right now,” she said.A partnership with China Mobile would be a boost for Google, which once dominated China’s Internet search market but now trails far behind local rival Baidu.com. China Mobile is the country’s largest mobile operator, with 261 million subscribers at the end of March. China Mobile’s subscriber base is growing quickly, adding more than 4 million new users every month. At the same time, the average monthly revenue earned from each subscriber is falling, from 92 renminbi (US$11.50) to 86 renminbi between December and March.As China’s mobile market grows, handset makers are looking to offer mobile search capabilities. Earlier this year, Nokia teamed up with Baidu to bundle its mobile search application on Nokia handsets, the top-selling brand in China. Baidu is also working with Intel to develop mobile search technology. Google isn’t far behind. The company has signed deals with several handset makers, including Motorola and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, and is working with operators in several countries. Most recently, Japanese operator KDDI announced plans to add a Google search box to its EZWeb mobile Internet service.IDG News Service’s parent company, International Data Group, holds a stake in Baidu through its venture-capital arm, IDG Ventures.For related news coverage, read Google, China Mobile Mull Cell Phone Search and Google, Nokia to Release Web-Surfing Device.Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage.— Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service Related content feature Key IT initiatives reshape the CIO agenda While cloud, cybersecurity, and analytics remain top of mind for IT leaders, a shift toward delivering business value is altering how CIOs approach key priorities, pushing transformative projects to the next phase. By Mary Pratt May 30, 2023 10 mins IT Strategy IT Leadership opinion Managing IT right starts with rightsizing IT for value While there are few universals when it comes to saying unambiguously what ‘managing IT right’ looks like, knowing how to navigate the limitless possibilities of IT is surely one. By Thornton May May 30, 2023 6 mins Digital Transformation IT Strategy IT Leadership brandpost Designing the campus of the future starts with high-quality 10Gbps connectivity By Huawei May 30, 2023 4 mins Network Architect Networking Devices Networking feature Red Hat embraces hybrid cloud for internal IT The maker of OpenShift has leveraged its own open container offering to migrate business-critical apps to AWS as part of a strategy to move beyond facilitating hybrid cloud for others and capitalize on the model for itself. By Paula Rooney May 29, 2023 5 mins CIO 100 Technology Industry Hybrid Cloud Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe