Blackberrys will search on Bing

Microsoft Corp’s Bing will be the default search engine and map application on Research In Motion Ltd’s BlackBerry smartphones, a boon for the software maker as it seeks expand in mobile devices and catch up with Google Inc.

Bing will be “deeply integrated” into the devices, creating “unique experiences for millions of BlackBerry customers,” Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said today in an unbilled appearance at the annual BlackBerry World trade show in Orlando, Florida. He said the partnership will be ready in time for the holiday shopping season later this year.

Microsoft is trying to challenge Google, whose share of the US search market is more than four times larger than that of Bing. The RIM partnership also advances Microsoft’s efforts to expand in mobile devices, a campaign that includes a pact with Nokia Oyj, the world’s largest mobile-phone maker by unit sales.

Microsoft has added search features, stepped up the marketing of Bing and teamed up with former rival Yahoo! Inc. to increase its market share. Google had 65.4 per cent of searches in February, compared with Bing’s 13.6 per cent, according to Reston, Virginia-based research firm ComScore Inc.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, fell 11 cents to $25.55 on the Nasdaq Stock Market at 11:23 a.m. New York time. Google, based in Mountain View, California, declined $1.21 to $537.35. Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM added 17 cents to $48.27.

Facebook, Angry Birds
RIM, the second-largest North American smartphone maker, is trying to pack more features into its handsets and PlayBook tablet to challenge larger rival Apple Inc. The Bing announcement was one of many that RIM made to generate buzz for the PlayBook and a touch-screen edition of the BlackBerry Bold it debuted at the show.

The phone maker is looking to counter mixed reviews for the PlayBook and a plunge in its share price caused by the company cutting its sales and profit forecasts last week.

RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said that the popular game “Angry Birds” will be available on the PlayBook soon. RIM executives demonstrated a new PlayBook app for social-networking website Facebook and the Android player, which allows BlackBerry users to download apps originally built for Google’s Android platform.

The new Bold, which has a faster browser, is designed to replace the current Bold and other aging models, which have lost market share to Apple’s iPhone and devices using Android. RIM’s forecast cut, which the company said came because new products were taking longer to develop than originally anticipated, triggered the stock’s biggest drop in 19 months.