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Following Microsoft’s recent abandonment of its bitter and drawn out Yahoo acquisition bid, which would have seen the software giant haul back the advertising dominance of Google, the Redmond-based behemoth has announced a new search-related deal with computer vendor Hewlett-Packard.
Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard announce Live Search service deal. Image: Robert Scoble/Flickr.
More pointedly, Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard, the world’s largest personal computer manufacturer, has penned a deal with Microsoft Corp. that will see a Live Search toolbar link incorporated onto all of its new computer systems.
While not quite boasting the same market impact as snapping up the search value of Yahoo Inc., Microsoft’s deal with Hewlett-Packard is certainly a step in the right direction for the software company as it continues its efforts to gain ground on Google.
The Microsoft toolbar link deal, which will come into effect in January of 2009 across North America, will also see the Live Search tool offered as the default search option via the Internet Explorer browser. The deal is also notable as it will coincide with Hewlett-Packard’s decision to drop Yahoo’s search service.
“This is the most significant distribution deal for Live Search that Microsoft has ever done,” enthused Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's platform and services division.
Securing a Live Search deal with Hewlett-Packard is a significant scalp for Microsoft, which could yet further that progression by signing up other major computer manufacturers, such as Dell Inc.
Dell Inc., the world’s second biggest computer maker, is presently signed to a deal with Google that sees Dell computers preinstalled with Google’s Web and desktop search service software. Dell’s deal with Google is due to expire in 2009 and a spokesman for the computer company has intimated that it is certainly open to alternative search partnerships.
The announcement of Microsoft’s deal with Hewlett-Packard comes hot on the heels of a cash-back consumer incentive deal that sees Microsoft tempting away Google’s audience by offering rebates on selected products purchased through its Live Search service.
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