Anyone who uses an iPhone or a Mac today and wants to search for information is automatically directed through Google’s search engine, but that could end this year when Apple’s contract with Google is reportedly set to expire.
And who really, really, really wants to be the default search engine for the Apple Safari browser? Yahoo, according to its CEO.
A Yahoo representative said Wednesday that the company is always looking to expand its search presence but doesn’t comment on specific partnership opportunities, but CEO Marissa Mayer was far more open about her desire to link with Apple during Yahoo’s fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday.
“We’re in the search distribution business and anyone who is in that business needs to be interested in the Safari deal,” Mayer told analysts on the video-conference, which can be viewed . “Safari users are the most engaged and lucrative in the world. And it’s something we would really like to be able to provide.”
Yahoo has already seen gains from booting Google off the Firefox browser after a partnership signed late last year with Mozilla, but a partnership to be Apple’s default search engine would be far more significant.
