Motorola to add Google button to cell phones

NEW YORK -- Motorola Inc. will soon begin selling Web-enabled cell phones that feature easy access to Google's search engine by clicking on a button on the phone's keypad.

The Schaumburg, Ill.-based company said in a statement late Thursday it will integrate a Google icon onto certain Internet-optimized handsets that will be distributed starting in the first quarter this year.

Financial terms were not disclosed and Motorola spokeswoman Una Kent said she could not give any specifics on what model phones or which operating systems the button will be built into.

Motorola is also working with Yahoo Inc. to bring Yahoo Go Mobile, a mobile version of Yahoo's search and content, to those phones, Marco Boerries, senior vice president of Yahoo's "Connected Life" division, said Thursday.

"Many of our customers have been asking for mobile devices integrated with their consumers' favorite online search services," said Scott Durchslag, vice president and general manager of Global xProducts for Motorola's mobile device business. "Our relationship with Google provides an opportunity for us to offer a high quality mobile search experience -- one familiar to and loved by millions of users across the globe."

In a separate statement, Motorola said it also reached a 10-year global product, licensing and marketing agreement with Eastman Kodak Co. to improve camera phones. The companies will codevelop devices with Kodak sensors that will integrate with Kodak printers, kiosks and other services.

Motorola said Kodak will receive royalty revenue from the agreement, but financial and other details were not disclosed.

Shares of Google Inc. rose $14.42, or 3.2 percent, to close at $465.66 Friday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, while Motorola shares rose 82 cents, or 3.5 percent, to close at $24.34 on the New York Stock Exchange.