Microsoft Nears Deal on Search With Verizon

Microsoft continues to slug it out with Google over search partners.  This time it’s Verizon.  WSJ is reporting that the folks in Redmond want to be the default search provider on the carrier’s cellphones and have dipped deeply into their war chest to make financial guarantees that nearly double what Google had reportedly offered.  Google has been focusing on mobile search and it will be interesting to see how, and if, the search giant responds. Microsoft has shown no signs of conceding the search space to the Google juggernaut without a fight, although these smaller deals don’t seem to solve Redmond’s real search needs. We wonder how Jerry Yang is doing with that AOL deal?