We're not sure why people wouldn't just... you know, use Gmail, but Japan's KDDI is working with Google to roll out a customized version of the ubiquitous email service for subscribers of its au brand. Called "au one mail," a prototype getting passed around last week showed a mobile interface virtually indistinguishable from its Gmail doppelganger -- except, of course, for the KDDI au branding. Like Gmail, au one mail will be accessible from both phones and desktops; we reckon that's a good thing, though we're still not really understanding the value proposition. At any rate, look for it to launch at no charge to subscribers some time next month.

[via mocoNews.net]

It appears that Google has released a mobile-accessible search page just for iPhone users, which sent us scratching our heads a bit. Isn't the iPhone supposed to give customers "the real web?" If so, why has Google developed a bare-bones search page that appears to be just for iPhone customers? Perhaps this is a work in progress, but since the Safari browser on the iPhone has no problems going to the normal Google search website or Google's xHTML page, what's the point here? Unless you really (really) want a bare-bones Google search page on that new iPhone that doesn't even feature many of Google's search properties, we suggest hitting www.google.com. Sounds pretty easy to us.

[via TUAW]

Google Maps' capability for the mobile environment won us over a long time ago. Alas, it was just a matter of time before GPS integration was unveiled in Google Maps for Mobile. That day recently arrived, and Google's mobile maps software will now use the GPS capability of many newer handsets (with GPS carrier support) to pinpoint your location and make directions and navigation just that much nicer. Right now, handset compatibility is a little hit-n-miss (with carriers too), but that is sure to change soon. We do know that AT&T's BlackBerry 8800 works as well as most Helio models. For Sprint, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile handsets, you'll have to keep checking to see when your day in the sun comes. Our conclusion? Free Google Maps with GPS support is, well, very nice.

[Via The Boy Genius Report]

With Google's wireless phone plans still under close guard, the web search giant may get a little ahead of itself in Europe soon. Rumor on the street is that Google will launch a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) wireless brand in the UK sometime in the early summer of 2007. Google will brand its wireless services in partnership with UK carrier O2 similarly to how current MVNOs brand themselves and work in Europe and in the US. To become a possible Google MVNO customer, a website will be provided -- no stores or other physical locations will be part of the deal. Why would Google want to brand itself as a wireless carrier? Who knows, but perhaps it fits an overall Google world domination strategy or something. Now, it just needs phones.

[Via Wirelessinfo.com]

It looks as if the Google Maps app inside the upcoming Apple iPhone may have gotten a few more useful icons according to recent reports. The"up/down arrows" and "front-facing car" icons in the above image lead us to think that the Google Maps demo by Steve Jobs back during January's iPhone announcement wasn't totally showing the app's capabilities at that time (nor should it have been). Do the arrows signify "directions" and the car icon "traffic?" That sounds plausible to us. Google Maps may be the iPhone's built-in complete navigation solution if this is true. After all, looking at map and satellite images is nice and handy, but a complete navigation solution would be even better to those who plunk down serious cash for the iPhone.

We're not quite sure how Yahoo! claims to have "jumped ahead" of Google in terms of mobile search, but upon investigation here, the Sunnyvale company has unveiled its new "local" search for the first time in the States, delivering locally relevant answers to mobile search queries instead of just relevant but global search results (like Google defaults to with its mobile search). It's true that offering customers search results that are specifically tailored to locality (Yahoo!) instead of a list of relevant but global URLs (Google) are more likely helpful for mobile web searchers, but we're not sure on if this really has Yahoo!'s oneSearch "jumping over" Google's mobile presence. In terms of usefulness, probably. In terms of sheer search volume, well... who knows.

Google sometimes has the uncanny ability to know exactly what we're searching for and can cut through all the results muck sometimes. Not all the time, but nothing is perfect, right? Those Mountain View Mensas are ready to take that to the next level it appears, as Google has just applied for a patent filing that looks like possible precursor to a "Google Phone." If not a Google Phone, then at least a "Google GUI" for a phone. Heck, maybe this will show up in the iPhone upon release or as a software upgrade later. The Google patent appears to contain language and associated mobile processes (user input, of course) that can predict what a user is searching for or the words they are typing in a text message. According to the patent, Google's software takes into consideration the customer location, previous searches (search history) and even SMS history and the time of day when all this search info is requested by the customer. Before we belt out mobile AJAX in our minds, it's just a patent filing, so no dice yet on what this could mean for the future of Google's mobile efforts.

[Via mad4mobilephones]

Apparently the Brits and other European wireless telco carriers want to drop the bomb on Yank mobile search engines like Yahoo! and Google -- so much that Vodafone, France Telecom, Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, Hutchison Whampoa, Telecom Italia and, gasp, America's Cingular are plotting to try and supplant the mobile search services of Google and Yahoo! from their customer's handsets. You know you're performing more Google searches from your wireless 10-key than from your ultra-fast PC, right? Those Europeans are a tad more mobile-focused compared to us here across the pond, so it comes as no surprise really that the big European wireless carriers want to capture all those mobile searches using...their own search service. We're not quite sure how they'll index the mobile (and real) web for all those customers to compete with the years-ahead services from Google and Yahoo!, but we wish them well at 3GSM next week when they pitch this to, well, whoever will listen.