Virgin Mobile announces flat-rate web deal

Virgin Mobile has said it's launching a flat-rate mobile internet deal next week. From 8th December, customers in the UK will be able to browse mobile internet sites for 30p a day on 'pay monthly' and prepay tariffs. (Exceeding the 25MB 'fair usage' cap will incur additional charges). There'll also be a new Virgin Media branded portal featuring Yahoo’s oneSearch service. We interviewed Virgin Mobile MD Graeme Oxby in October for the Mobile News podcast -more details are here. [Press release; promotional site]

Yahoo launches voice-enabled mobile search in UK

Following April's USA launch, Yahoo has launched its voice-enabled oneSearch mobile service in the UK. Instead of using a keyboard, users can speak their internet search queries. It's currently available on some BlackBerry devices and Nokia S60 phones. [Source: ZDNet.co.uk]

Google is top mobile search engine

Figures from Nielsen Mobile show that Google is the most-used mobile internet search provider. Research in the first three months of this year shows that 61% of mobile searches were conducted on Google. with the next-closest being Yahoo!, which had 18% of all mobile searches. In addition, Google searchers used the search facility around nine times each per month, compared with 6.7 times per month for Yahoo. [Source: BWCS.com]

Icahn considering Yahoo/Microsoft move?

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who has recently campaigned successfully for changes to Motorola's management, is now reported to be turning his attention to the failed Yahoo/Microsoft merger. He's apparently bought around 50 million Yahoo! shares and could be planning to replace the company's board of directors, according to the Wall Street Journal. Any merger between Microsoft and Yahoo! would have a dramatic effect on the mobile industry, as we reported in our podcast in early February.

Microsoft walks away from Yahoo! deal

Microsoft has said it's no longer interested in buying Yahoo! because the two companies can't agree on a price. Microsoft had originally offered $44.6 billion three months ago, later raising the bid to $47.5 billion. Yahoo! said it wasn't prepared to accept less than $53 billion. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO, has said the company doesn't plan to launch a hostile bid because it could result in Yahoo! working more closely with Google. [Press release]

Yahoo! to launch voice search for mobile web

Internet giant Yahoo! has launched a voice-controlled search engine for mobile devices, although it's currently only available for certain BlackBerry models in the USA. It also says that Yahoo! oneSearch 2.0 will include its own predictive text service later this year, completing the words you're typing with the most common search queries. [Press release]

Yahoo! announces new mobile internet service

Yahoo! has announced a new mobile service called onePlace, which organises personalised information using your mobile phone's browser. Everything is kept up to date automatically, whether news feeds, websites, videos, images, email or search queries. The Yahoo! onePlace content management service is expected to launch by summer 2008. [PDF press release]

2008 not the year of the mobile internet

This year will be an interesting year of development for the internet but it won't be the year of mobile, according to a report at Mad.co.uk from MediaTel’s The Future of Online. Adam Freeman, commercial director at Guardian News & Media, is quoted as saying the mobile internet is "a fantastic opportunity to build on, but it’s not ready yet". Similarly, Richard Firminger, regional sales director for Northern Europe at Yahoo!, said mobile access to the web needed to improve.

Yahoo! and Google sign mobile search deals

Yahoo! been named as T-Mobile's new mobile search provider in northern and central Europe, replacing the network's previous deal with Google. Google, meanwhile, has come to an agreement for its search application to be added to Nokia devices including the new Nokia N96.

New mobile phone podcast now online

This week's downloadable podcast from TheFonecast.com takes its usual look at mobile industry news and gossip from the last 7 days, with a special focus from James Rosewell on the proposed Microsoft and Yahoo! deal. Iain Graham talks to Faisal Sheikh from Fone Doctors about the problems with faulty phones, and Mark Bridge takes a look at Garmin's nűvifone. Each weekly broadcast can be downloaded automatically by including us in your RSS reader, by using iTunes or by visiting the Mobile News website.