Google is in talks with Verizon Wireless, the number-two U.S. mobile carrier, about putting Google applications on its phones, Reuters reports. The Google-powered phones are expected to meld several of its applications into a single package for Verizon customers, including Google Maps, News, YouTube and Gmail. Google shares rose 2.3 percent on Tuesday to $694.77.
"There are good useful talks going on and they could result in a deal," one of the sources cited by Reuters said. Denny Strigl, Verizon's chief operating officer, said during an investor call Monday that the operator talks to a lot of companies, including Google, but he did not elaborate. (More Google stories.)