The announcement of the iAd mobile advertising platform by Apple at their iPhone OS 4.0 event on Thursday may have seemed like a big enough kick in the teeth for Google, with Apple directly invading another one of the search giant"s main areas of revenue and expertise. But now it seems that Apple have continued their rift with Google by also removing references to it in the search function of the mobile Safari browser.
The updated Safari app in version 4.0 of the iPhone OS now uses the text "Search" on the search button instead of the previous "Google" branding, as noted by iLounge and picked up by MacRumours. It does, however, still use Google"s search engine to perform the search. The significance of this change is currently unknown, but it could be related to two recent developments.
Rumours have been circulating recently that Bing may replace Google as the default search engine on the iPhone, iPod touch, and now iPad as well. The default search provider is responsible for providing local information in the maps app as well as web search results. It has also been suggested that Apple could build their own search engine in order to prevent Google from gaining valuable analytical data that would give it an insight and advantage in the smartphone and application market.
Image courtesy of MacRumours.com