CES - Motorola joins Google for search, Kodak for pictures
Handsets will boast wireless Google access and improved digital photo functions
Follow @infoworldGoogle and Motorola have joined forces to make it easier for users to search for information from their mobile phones, the companies said Thursday at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Under terms of the partnership, Motorola will put a Google icon on some handset models that will enable users to connect wirelessly to Google's search engine. The handsets will be made available worldwide during the first quarter of 2006, the companies said. They didn't say which handsets specifically would carry the Google icon.
In a separate announcement, Motorola said it had signed a 10-year cross-licensing and marketing deal with Eastman Kodak to improve the digital photography functions of its mobile handsets. Under terms of the deal, Motorola will use Kodak CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensors in its handsets.
Motorola handsets will be able to connect with Kodak printers and retail kiosks to print out images, Motorola said, adding that the two companies will work with operators to make it easier for users to take and print out their pictures.
Kodak will receive a royalty from Motorola as part of the arrangement. Other financial terms were not disclosed.
