Chinese search engine Baidu, which dominates the search market in China, says it’ll create its own mobile operating system based on the Android OS. It’s called Baidu Yi (meaning ‘easy’) and will integrate Baidu services, including maps, music and Chinese handwriting recognition.
In addition, computer manufacturer Dell has announced a partnership with Baidu to develop mobile phones and tablet devices. It’s thought the first Dell/Baidu handsets could be revealed by the end of this year. Other manufacturers may also be working to produce Baidu-branded devices.
Baidu currently has around 200 million registered users.