Google on Mobiles

Search giant Google has signed a deal with Safaricom- a leading mobile phone service provider in Kenya. The deal will enable Safaricom subscribers with data enabled handsets to access free e-mail from Google. There are an estimated 2.7 million users of the internet in Kenya. Safaricom has an estimated 8.5 million subscribers and about 1.7 million of these are expected to benefit from the service. This is a good timing for Google especially in Kenya where PC based internet access is concentrated only in urban areas but mobile phones are widely used throughout the country. Safaricom is soon launching a 3G wireless service and this will open up new services like Google maps versions of Kenya.