• Financial Times, Friday, February 15, 2008 11:45 AM

One look at Google usage on Apple's iPhone, and you understand why the search giant is moving into the mobile market. On Wednesday, the company revealed that it's seen 50 times more searches on Apple's smartphone than any other mobile handset.

If the trend continues-- if handset makers follow Apple's lead in making Web access easy--its estimated the number of mobile searches will overtake PC-based Internet searches within the next several years.

How much does Google make from mobile searches? Google doesn't break out those numbers but the business is growing "above expectations." Data from AT&T and O2, carrier of the iPhone in the U.S. and U.K., respectively, supported that thesis. AT&T said that revenue from iPhone users was nearly double the average.

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