Baidu Explores the Mobile Web

Chinese search engine company Baidu has released a mobile web browser for Android, Baidu Explorer.

Baidu Explorer, which has apparently been in development since 2010, promises to run 20 per cent faster than its rivals, and incorporates in-browser app and HD video functionality.

Explorer represents an attempt to secure the company's place in the Chinese market, which has 388m mobile web users up for grabs – and where Baidu currently holds a 78 per cent share of the online search market – but it's also hoping to push the browser out internationally. To that end, Baidu has signed a deal with Orange in Egypt to push Explorer out to its subscribers.

The browser extends Baidu's mobile offering – which already includes Baidu Cloud, its own OS based on a modified version of Android, a handful of apps, well as handset partnerships. The company is pushing to monetise mobile, as the majority of its revenue currently comes from online search on desktop rather than mobile.

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