While Google has attracted much of the technology press attention this week with its I/O conference, Yahoo is hoping to grab the spotlight next week. The venerable Internet company has announced a major press event for Monday, when it’s expected to reveal a new collaboration with Nokia.
The content of the event has not been announced, but many industry observers expect the launch of a collaboration in which Nokia brings Yahoo’s search, e-mail and other applications and sites to its mobile devices, possibly replacing the handset maker’s Ovi service. According to news reports, the effort has been code-named Project Nike — with no reference to the sportswear maker that has appropriated the name of the Greek goddess of victory.
‘A New Era’
Some Nokia devices already offer Yahoo services, as do mobile products from Samsung that are built on the Android or Bada operating systems.
The press invite said Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz will have “an exciting announcement about providing global consumers with rich online and mobile experiences, and bringing forward a new era in keeping consumers connected.” The press conference is scheduled Monday morning in New York City.
If Yahoo does connect with Nokia in a substantial fashion, it could help counter efforts by its two main competitors in the search space, Google and Microsoft. Google has developed a large and growing mobile ecosystem, based around its open-source Android and Chrome operating systems, and Microsoft has Windows Mobile 6.5 and its new Windows Phone 7 Series platforms.
Nokia is the largest handset maker in the world, and its Ovi service offers a store, mail, music, contacts, maps, a calendar, remote access to a user’s files, and more. Most observers believe the announcement will not specifically proclaim a “Yahoo phone.”
Ovi ‘Morphed Over Time’
Avi Greengart, an analyst with Current Analysis, said “Ovi has morphed…