Coming soon to a Dell PC and a Verizon phone near you!

I want to follow up on some of the search news that Steve Ballmer announced in his keynote at CES this evening.

First, beginning in February Dell will distribute Live Search on a majority of consumer and small business PCs that it ships globally. Live Search will be the default search engine in the browser, and the PCs will also include our Live Search-powered toolbar. Dell is the #1 PC provider in the U.S. and #2 worldwide. This agreement will give many new users the opportunity to experience Live Search over the three-year period of the agreement. We’re excited to be working with Dell to deliver a great search experience to its customers around the world. The agreement applies to Dell PCs in 23 countries: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It’s also worth reminding you that, as of this month, HP PCs shipped in North America are also shipping with Live Search as default.

Second, Steve announced a five-year relationship with Verizon Wireless that covers mobile search and mobile advertising. Verizon Wireless subscribers in the U.S. will be able to use Live Search on their mobile devices to find information on local business and shopping information, access maps and directions, find ringtones and other mobile products and services. This partnership will give Verizon Wireless customers great search results and provide targeted, relevant mobile advertising to enhance the overall mobile computing experience.

More details on all of today’s news is available at the Microsoft CES Virtual Press Room, or stop by our booth!

Hope you’re enjoying the show this week.

Angus Norton, Senior Director, Live Search