Topic: Android

Baidu Squeezing Google Out On Chinese Android Phones

Open source is a double-edged thing. Whereas the free and “open” Android platform has been a boon to Google in most places around the globe, in China the story is apparently different. The Next Web reports (based on third party information) that the general manager of Baidu’s wireless unit claimed 80 percent of Android-based handsets […]

Search Engine Land’s Gadget Release Calendar

Wondering when that next tablet or smartphone will be coming out? We do, too! To keep track, here’s a rundown of what we know about particular devices. Devices below are listed roughly in order of release date. I’ll add more items over time. This isn’t a complete list of all coming gadgets out there. Far […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 26, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google: 50 Percent Of Those Exposed To Mobile Ads Took Action Google today released findings of a smartphone-user study that the company did with Ipsos OTX at the end of 2010. […]

Google Challenges Apple, Netflix, Hulu with Video Rentals Service

Google is about to launch a premium video on demand service through YouTube that will directly challenge iTunes, Netflix, Hulu and even cable TV. In the past YouTube tested video rentals (and has continued to do so) but the titles were limited and the results have been muted. The new service appears to be called […]

Yahoo Snaps Up Video Check-In Start-Up IntoNow

How badly does Yahoo want to skip ahead to the forefront of media and social check-ins? Badly enough to spend a reported $20 to $30 million to buy TV check-in service IntoNow, which launched its iPhone-based service just 12 weeks ago. IntoNow’s main “secret sauce” is the proprietary “Soundprint” technology that recognizes television shows by […]

Google Instant Provides A Hint For Local & Mobile Optimization

Undoubtedly, you may have seen Google’s Instant Preview interface which provides glimpses for webpages listed in SERPs. What you may not be aware of is that they’ve added sophisticated code to make it unique on mobile devices. These Instant Previews provide compelling evidence that mobile optimization continues to be important. Google rolled out Instant Previews in November 2010, […]

Apple, Google In Privacy Hot Water Over “Locationgate”

Apple and Google are helping intensify an already intense digital privacy debate with last week’s revelations that both companies’ mobile software track your movements in detail without your affirmative consent. This morning the Wall Street Journal reported that the iPhone stores user location data even when location-services are entirely turned off: Apple Inc.’s iPhone is […]

Five Visionaries Sum Up The Future Of Search: Part II

Over the past several months, I’ve been trying to crystal ball what the future of search might look like. I’ve had fascinating discussions with several visionaries in the industry, including Stefan Weitz (Microsoft), Shashi Seth (Yahoo), Hampus Jakobsson (RIM) and John Battelle (Federated Media). In my last column, I started to sum up the overarching […]

Google Loses Patent Case Over Linux Servers

The FOSS Patents blog reported that Google lost an important patent case on their Linux server kernels they have been using throughout the company. Bedrock Computer Technologies was awarded $5 million for Google infringing on their patent (U.S. Patent No. 5,893,120) named “Methods and apparatus for information storage and retrieval using a hashing technique with […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 19, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Dutch Agency Orders Google To Remove Data About Citizens’ WiFi Routers Dutch data officials have ordered Google to give the country’s residents a way to remove data that Google has about […]

comScore: Apple’s iOS Reach Is “Double” Android’s

Android has been outselling the iPhone for many months now, and it’s widely assumed that Android has all but eclipsed Apple in the market and among developers for mindshare. However today comScore released a more “holistic” look at iOS vs. Android that includes iPod Touch and iPad owners, which contradicts that conventional wisdom. When all […]

Groupon Signals Possible Future Plans With Pelago / Whrrl Buy

Groupon’s purchase of Pelago, the parent company of Whrrl, offers an interesting glimpse into what the local daily deals powerhouse might be up to next. With the acquisition, which was for an undisclosed amount, Groupon gets a team that’s been focused on consumer check-ins at local businesses and offering relevant suggestions — similar to the […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 15, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Intros New Privacy Controls For Mobile Consumers To date Google has not used the mobile handset UDID “device identifier” to target mobile advertising via its AdSense for mobile and AdMob […]

Google Intros New Privacy Controls For Mobile Consumers

To date Google has not used the mobile handset UDID “device identifier” to target mobile advertising via its AdSense for mobile and AdMob networks. For several reasons that have to do with ad performance, Google has decided to use the device identifier going forward. That will enable the company to do frequency capping, behavioral targeting […]

Antitrust Trouble For Android In South Korea

NHN Corp. and Daum Communications have filed antitrust complaints with the South Korean equivalent of the US Fair Trade Commission. The complaints assert that Google is blocking them from putting their search applications on Android phones in South Korea. Leading Engines Claim They’re Blocked NHN and Daum run the two largest web portals in the […]

Google Q1 Revenues $8.58 Billion, Some Investors Unhappy

Google had a strong Q1 with $8.58 billion in gross revenue. Net revenue was $6.54 billion. Both figures were somewhat better than some expected, although many are calling them “mixed.” Growth was 27 percent year over year. Expenses and costs were higher and some investors are expressing disappointment; Google shares are down almost 5 percent […]

Google’s Executive Reorg: Does It Matter?

As we and others reported yesterday, Google CEO Larry Page is shuffling the deck with his executive team, with a reassertion of engineering across the board it appears. Here’s the Google roster of top executives as it still reads on the site: Larry Page, CEO Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman Sergey Brin, Co-Founder Nikesh Arora, Senior […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 7, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Should You Ban A Country From Visiting Your Website? Website owners often put a website online and let the entire world access its contents. Essentially, they are claiming to service the […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 6, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Cosmo Quiz: Should You Get In Bed With An SEO Agency? I’ve spent the past 5 years in-house and over that period, I’ve never hired an SEO agency; however, I’ve been […]

Funny: Search For “Tilt” On Google

Go to your iPhone or Android phone and search for the word [tilt] using Google. The search results displayed will all results at a slight tilt to the right. Our understanding from Google is that this is an April Fools joke that’s still running. Here is a picture on the iPhone (it does the same […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 4, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Twitter Improves “Who To Follow” Results & Gains Advanced Search Page Twitter announced that it has improved its “Who To Follow” feature with better people search results and added a new […]

ComScore: iPhone Most Popular Handset In February

Today comScore released US mobile subscriber and market share data for February. The data are based on a survey of 30,000 US users over age 13. The metrics firm said the Verizon iPhone was “the most acquired handset in the month of February.” According to comScore 69.5 million people have smartphones, representing 29 percent of […]

It’s Over: Google Has Already Won April Fools Day 2011

It’s not even April 1st in Mountain View, but the April Fools Day comedy game is already over and I’m declaring Google the winner. Hiring autocompleters? YouTube 1911? Gmail Motion? Chromercise? Ding, ding, ding and ding. Game over. If you’re planning any big pranks tomorrow, skip it. Below, what’s out there now — and a […]

Microsoft Comes Out Of Shadows With EU Antitrust Complaint Against Google

In the past Microsoft has been accused of orchestrating third party legal complaints against Google like some behind-the-scenes Cardinal Richelieu or puppet master. But now Redmond has come out of the shadows and joined the list of companies that have filed formal complaints against Google in Europe. “Microsoft is filing a formal complaint with the […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 29, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google’s Android To Dominate Globally In 2011: Report Tech consulting firm IDC has predicted that Google’s mobile operating system will become the dominant mobile platform this year, achieving a global market […]

Google’s Android To Dominate Globally In 2011: Report

Tech consulting firm IDC has predicted that Google’s mobile operating system will become the dominant mobile platform this year, achieving a global market share of 39.5 percent. The next in line would be former global leader Nokia with 20.9 percent. Apple comes in at 15.7 percent. Windows Phones to Overtake Apple (via Nokia) These figures […]

Amazon Preempts Google Music With Cloud Player Streaming For Android

It would appear that Amazon is becoming Google’s best frenemy. The company launched its well designed Android app store last week and yesterday surprised a lot of people by introducing Amazon Cloud Drive and Cloud Player. No, it apparently doesn’t work on Apple devices. Beating Google Music to market it offers music storage and streaming […]

Google Joins Forces With MasterCard On NFC To Test The Future Of Digital Marketing, Analytics

Google’s Gingerbread (Android 2.3) offers near field communication (NFC) support, which can be used for both “contactless payments” and marketing purposes. People tend to think about and discuss NFC in the context of “mobile wallets” and payments exclusively but there’s a great deal more it can do. For example, Google has been testing NFC-based marketing […]

Was Android Tablet OS (Honeycomb) Rushed to Market?

Google said that it’s not going to release its tablet version of Android, Honeycomb, to the broader market for several months yet. This comes despite the fact that an onslaught of Android tablets using the software have been announced, some of which are now hitting the shelves (e.g., Xoom) Big mobile hardware makers and close […]

Bing Mobile Updated: Improved HTML5 Features, App Search & More

Microsoft’s Bing team announced some significant changes and updates to Bing For Mobile. The core changes include better HTML5 support, better and faster image search, real-time transit and directions, iPhone app search, improvements to shopping, weather and movie search results. The new interfaces and features currently work on all smartphone browsers that support HTML5, so […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 22, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Touts Conversion Boost With Call Tracking Solution Call tracking pre-dates the internet. At times it has been the subject of intense debate about its use in online (local) marketing (see […]

Survey: Android Most Desired OS By Non-iPhone Users

GetJar released data from a “global survey” about mobile apps and user behavior that offers positive news for the Android platform, which reportedly beats the iPhone in terms of “next phone” purchase demand by more than 2 to 1. The survey was sent to 25 million users in 190 countries. However there were only 2,500 […]

AT&T-Mobile Makes Google-ITA Antitrust Issue Look Trivial

The big tech news of yesterday was the announced $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA by AT&T. In less than 24 hours almost every potential angle has already been covered at length. Both AT&T’s and Deutsche Telekom’s boards have already approved the deal. So now it’s on to the regulatory drama. If approved by US […]

Chinese Hacking Google Again To Stop “Jasmine Revolution”

As popular unrest has spread throughout the Middle East and led to the overthrow or ouster of governments in Tunisia, Egypt and potentially elsewhere (stay tuned), pro-democracy activists in China have also called for protests and a “Jasmine Revolution,” which is a reference to the Tunisian revolt. Ever vigilant against democratic reforms, the Chinese government […]

Google To Test Mobile Payments In NY And SF

While Apple has reportedly decided to forgo NFC-related hardware/software in iPhone 5 because of a lack of standards, Google is to begin testing NFC-based mobile payments at selected stores in New York and San Francisco according to an article in Bloomberg: The company will pay for installation of thousands of special cash-register systems from VeriFone […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 14, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Twitter Says Activity Levels Are Soaring With the five-year anniversary of the first tweet approaching, Twitter says user activity is soaring. In a blog post that details tweet and account activity, […]