I’m here at the Googleplex in Moutain View, where any minute, Google plans to update the world on all things Android. We expect news about Android 3.0 — “Honeycomb” — and perhaps Android tablets. Stay tuned. Andy Rubin, leader of all things Android is up, saying we’re going to hear about Honeycomb, the Motorola tablet […]
Google’s Shopper mobile app is being introduced for iPhone. It already exists for Android devices. Shopper allows users to search for products by voice, with the camera, via barcode scan or by text entry. Users can also share products on Facebook, Twitter, SMS or email. Google Shopper shows prices, product reviews and local inventory availability […]
It’s all starting to come together. Yesterday Google announced that it was adding check-ins (and loyalty categories) to Latitude. It also announced the global expansion of HotPot, its recommendations tool. Google Places apps for both iPhone and Android allow people to rate and review businesses (HotPot’s objective). And on Places Pages, in Android, you can […]
Google has finally added full check-in capabilities to its Latitude product, following in the footsteps of Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp, Facebook, and others that have been doing check-ins for some time now. Latitude has been a tool that lets one user share his/her location with friends, but now it goes further and allows users to check-in […]
Google’s streaming-from-the-cloud-to-any-device music service was supposed to launch at the end of last year. Vic Gundotra demonstrated it at the 2010 Google developer conference. However music-rights and licensing issues have so far delayed it according to several reports. This, despite Google offering boatloads of cash to music labels. Now several outlets are reporting that the […]
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 Executive Believed Missing After Egypt Protests There are several reports that a Google executive based in the Middle East is missing after taking part in the protests in Egypt last […]
There’s a lot of discouraging news for the yellow pages industry these days. A combo of unhappy financial numbers mixed with reorganization and layoffs has demoralized many in the industry. Is it “game over” for yellow pages companies? Not necessarily. Not if leadership works on future strategy. A few years ago, I warned the industry […]
According to new data released by Canalys, Android shipments in Q4 passed Nokia to put it in the top spot among smartphone operating systems. This does not mean that Android currently has the greatest smartphone market share globally or in the US. What it means is that more Android handsets were shipped in Q4 than […]
I’ll expose my bias up front: I’m a fan of Blekko and its audacious project to make search better. Now the site that bought you the “spam clock,” has launched mobile apps for the iPhone and Android. It’s a logical and even necessary step for Blekko, given the strategic importance of mobile. Registered users can […]
Google announced two winter features for the Google search results. The first one is a live snapshot of the snow conditions in a particular area. The second is a special new mobile version of weather, which is interaction. Live Snow Conditions: Google now shows you live snow results on the search results for your favorite […]
9to5Mac reports Google’s instant previews is now on Google’s search results on iOS devices. Instant Previews, which was introduced on Google’s desktop results back in November 2010, enables you to see a preview of the web page before you click through to that page. Many iOS users on both iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad devices […]
We just got invited to Google’s upcoming Honeycomb (Android 3.0) event and tablet coming out party on February 2 at Google HQ: There will be demos, presumably of several tablets, at the event. We’ve seen the screens and videos. Now we’ll get to see the actual goods. Motorola’s Xoom was the most well-received of the […]
We’re watching something really fascinating happening at Google: a very public effort to prevent the company from falling prey to the kind of bureaucratic molasses that has enveloped so many companies before it. Many have complained that Google is already there. Perhaps. But it’s nothing like at Nokia, for example, which continues to struggle with […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Yahoo Reports Lackluster $1.5B Revenues, But Display Up 17 Percent Yahoo reported Q4 2010 earnings this afternoon. Revenues were slightly up vs. the previous quarter but down compared to the same […]
Yahoo reported Q4 2010 earnings this afternoon. Revenues were slightly up vs. the previous quarter but down compared to the same period a year ago. CEO Carol Bartz called them “encouraging.” Gross revenues were $1.53 billion, down 12 percent from 2009. Search revenues were down; though in a surprise bright spot for Yahoo display ad […]
Finally, anyone can port their mobile phone number to Google Voice. I’ve been doing so for the past six months. Thinking about making the jump? Here’s my experience, which is largely good. Plus, some thoughts on how this gives Android an added boost ahead of Verizon’s iPhone launch.
Google’s simpler AdWords program, Boost, is getting its national roll-out, after a three-month test period in certain cities and states, the company is set to announce. The search giant also said it will begin displaying Boost ads for searches done on iPhone and Android devices. Google spokesperson Jim Prosser wouldn’t say what kind of usage […]
SayNow has announced Google has just acquired them. SayNow has a platform that allows voice messaging, one-on-one conversations, and group calls to be instantly integrated into Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Android, or iPhone applications. SayNow’s cofounders, Nikhyl & Ujjwal, said: We are thrilled to announce that we have been acquired by Google. Since 2005, we’ve explored […]
Ever wonder how your AdWords ads look on different devices in different places? Google has added some features to its AdWords Preview tool in an effort to address these issues. In keeping with Google’s effort to monetize searches on mobile devices, changes to the tool are designed to help marketers aiming to optimize mobile ads. […]
Welcome back, Larry! When you were last CEO of Google in 2001, the company was a much loved scrappy underdog with a bright future. Ten years later, you’re coming back to the helm. Things have changed. You’re soon to be steering a massive battleship that’s taking on water from a number of hits over the […]
Wow. Just announced, Google CEO Eric Schmidt is stepping down from that position, to become “Executive Chairman,” with Google cofounder Larry Page stepping into the CEO role. Below, some reflection on how Schmidt came into the role that Page once held and why the company may be making a change now.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt, writing in the Harvard Business Review (via RWW), says that Google’s 2011 initiatives are “all about mobile.” In his short piece he explains that geolocation on smartphones enables contexual personalization and a range of new possibilities and user experiences. But to realize that vision there are three infrastructure elements that must […]
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 Knol Still Alive & Fixed, But Questions Linger About Its Future Google has fixed a bug that temporarily made Knol look like a ghost town this week. And, without exactly […]
The annual Sundance Film Festival is about to converge here in Utah January 20-30, 2011, with Bing.com and YouTube as Leadership Sponsors. Bing is the official search engine of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival website, and YouTube has two special channels for the event, the main Sundance Film Fest channel, and the YouTube Screening Room, […]
Last week I wrote briefly about Google’s John Hanke’s move into a new role, based on a Forbes interview with him. Yesterday I got to speak directly with Hanke about his “new gig,” as they say. The former CEO of Keyhole came to lead the “geo team” (Maps, Earth) at Google after Keyhole was acquired […]
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 New China Plan: Target Display Advertisers, Report Says Despite its ongoing struggles in China, Google reportedly has a new plan for its business there: targeting display advertising, particularly amongst the […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Extreme Email Experiment: How Much Is Too Much? With some simple analytics in place, you can pretty easily establish the ideal frequency of your B2B email campaigns. Based on the results […]
There’s a Maps app on your iPhone, a Google Mobile app that includes access to Google Maps, and now there’s a third option for Google-based local search and discovery: a dedicated Google Places app. It’s just announced today and is already available in the iPhone’s app store. The app seems to focus more on the […]
In the event you were “off planet” yesterday you still might not know that Verizon is getting its own version of the iPhone on February 10. There are some differences between the Verizon and AT&T versions of the iPhone beyond their underlying technology (CDMA vs. GSM). Among them Verizon is offering an unlimited data plan […]
With mobile searches growing by leaps and bounds, Google has introduced an option on its keyword tool that lets marketers find keyword suggestions for mobile devices. The company says mobile searches on Google climbed 130% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2010, and search queries have grown more than five times over the past two […]
Google Goggles will be the death of Sudoku. Really, what’s the point in staring intently over a grid of lines and numbers and trying to figure out which missing numbers belong in which empty boxes when you can just fire up Google Goggles and solve the whole puzzle in a matter of seconds? Like this: […]
Nearly three months after Google TV hit the stores, Hulu Plus has yet to come to the service. Is the technical development really taking that much time? No. It seems more like Google and Hulu are still working out a partnership deal. Hulu Works For Samsung TVs Last week’s Consumer Electronics Show got me thinking […]
Last year at a conference in London I was told by someone that Google Maps’ John Hanke was changing roles and that Marissa Mayer had taken over Local. The latter was obviously proven out by very public announcements. An article in Forbes now confirms Hanke’s role as the head of a new Google “entrepreneurial lab” […]
Two sets of data released today show that Google’s mobile strategy is working incredibly well, if not flawlessly. Its AdMob unit reported that it now sees more than two billion ad requests on a daily basis. And comScore also stated that, according to its survey data, Android has just passed the iPhone as the number […]
Perhaps this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) should be renamed “AES” for Android Electronics Show — given all the handsets and tablets featuring the Google mobile OS that are being shown and rolled out. And today Google provided a sneak preview of the tablet version of Android (3.0), dubbed “Honeycomb.” The screens and the video […]
Google has its eyes on a mobile payment service that would allow users to pay for common goods and services by waving or tapping their mobile phones. That’s according to a BusinessWeek report that cites “two people familiar with the plans.” BusinessWeek’s sources say the payment service could debut this year. It would be based […]
Over the past few months, I’ve been testing various Android phones. Overall, the platform has continued to improve, to the degree that I can easily swap an Android phone for my iPhone 4 and not feel a loss. But unlike the one-size-fits-all iPhone, each Android phone has its own individual characteristics. Below, a look at […]
Google’s Android smartphone operating system is poised to overtake Apple’s iPhone for market share, and its Chrome browser has reached a major milestone, capturing 10% of the market. The smartphone figures come from Nielsen in November, while the browser numbers were measured in December by Net Applications, an Aliso Viejo, Calif. company that tracks market […]
The end of the year is the time when people feel more free to make wacky statements and dubious predictions. Whether it’s the season, too many rich desserts or the additional alcohol people consume it’s not clear. But one such prediction is that Google might seek to become a full-fledged phone company in 2011. Having […]
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 Vows To Look At Deceptive Cloaking Techniques Google’s Matt Cutts tweeted that Google will be looking more at Cloaking in the first quarter of 2011. Cloaking, as defined by Google, […]