In case you missed it, here’s some general comparison engine news from this week:

PriceGrabber launched a comparison shopping section for Cell Phones, Plans, and Accessories in conjunction with InPhonic (a great company out of DC…ok, I’m biased, I worked withInPhonic’s CIO at VarsityBooks.com years ago.)

eyefortravel conducted an interview with Keith Melnick, VP BizDev Kayak.com. This guy seems damn cocky…nice to see some attitude.

Become.com moves into Japan through a partnership with Transcosmos. If you read this blog, you knew this announcement was coming. I think Become.com is onto something big, but the company needs a lot of help with messaging. I’ve started to refer to Become as the Consumer Reports of the 21st Century…while I’m not sure this will stick, it starts to explain Become’s model.

SideStep signs deal with Hilton Hotels Corp. Travel providers love the travel comparison engine (travel search) model as they get to own the customer. While there will always be a place for online travel agents (OTAs) like Travelocity or Expedia, I love the model that SideStep, Kayak, and Mobissimo have adopted.

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