Sprint has inked a deal with Microsoft that will make Windows Live the default search engine on Sprint's deck. Starting Thursday there will be a search bar on top of the home page of Vision. Yahoo and Google have both made pacts with mobile players recently, but this is the first major one for Microsoft. It's also the first major search deal with a national US carrier.
The new Sprint mobile search service powered by Windows Live aims to provide one-stop access to relevant online content associated with a given keyword or phrase. For example, consumers who search for "sports" on their wireless phone can search all of Sprint's content relating to sports, such as ringtones, wallpapers and applications with "sports" in the title, as well as local information available online such as business listings for sports stores, maps, directions and relevant advertisements from local businesses.
Sprint and Microsoft will share the revenue from advertising placed inside the search results pages.