Microsoft has adroitly taken advantage of Google’s troubles with the Chinese government, planting its Bing search engine on some Android-powered mobile phones being used in that country.
UK-based tech news website The Register says that Google has confirmed a ban on its search engine and applications on Android phones for the Chinese market, "leaving the likes of Motorola to use alternatives."
ZDNet reports that, although Motorola has cast its use of a Bing widget and search box on Chinese phones as being "about choice," Google’s app ban may be a sign that the search giant is considering pulling out of China entirely. The company’s future in China has been up in the air since a widely publicized cyber attack on its servers in January, which Google says the Chinese government had a hand in.
Mobile search engine optimization (SEO) in one of the world’s fastest-growing technology markets will be deeply affected by Google’s decision to ban its products from Android phones, regardless of the company’s broader decision to cease Chinese operations completely.
