Google shipped out demo versions of the Nexus 5 late last week. People are still receiving them today. I got one on Friday and have been using it on WiFi ever since. (I haven’t tried it on a wireless network and can’t speak to the LTE experience.) The phone immediately sold out of its initial […]
With Google Now coming to iOS, a whole new audience using iPhones and iPads are about to meet Google’s predictive search service. It’s a feature that’s gone from interesting novelty to being downright amazing, in less than a year. Here’s a look at how the “predictive search” service has evolved and where it may head […]
Pick your survey, and one of the top activities on a smartphone is to use Facebook. That’s what the new Facebook Home is all about, making it easier for Facebook users to get Facebook. But it also makes another top activity — search — harder to do. On Android devices, search is almost always just […]
On Friday, Windows Phone users supposedly found themselves unable to access Google Maps. But Google said it made no sudden change on its end to cause this. What happened? It seems likely many people simple noticed for the first time long-standing redirection that Google had in place for those not using Android or iOS devices. Windows Phone […]
Two months ago, Google previewed a new Google Search app that it said would be coming to iOS, bringing with it what seemed a blend of Siri and Google Now-like features. Despite being submitted to the Apple App Store back then, Apple’s still not approved the app. Why not? Apple didn’t have any comment, when I […]
Apple’s iPhone 5 sales appear to be rolling along as the handset receives high praise in most reviews — except for Maps. And as the drumbeat of criticism over Maps continues, some tech journalists wonder if this “fiasco” would have happened if Steve Jobs were still alive. The NY Times Joe Nocera calls Maps an […]
The Atlantic published an article about what Google calls “Ground Truth,” its allegedly top-secret map-development process. As the name implies, the idea is to create digital maps that more accurately reflect the ground truth of the real world vs competitors’ offerings. The trigger for the article is undoubtedly Google’s desire to expose the complexity, layers […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Getting Dev Team Mindshare For Your SEO Projects Getting in the development schedule in an enterprise environment can be one of the most challenging parts of the job for an SEO […]
Bryson Meunier spotted new mobile icons in his mobile search experience on Google. He was searching Google on his Galaxy Nexus running Jelly Bean and noticed a new smartphone icon labeled on some of the search results. The icon symbolizes if the web site you are about to click on is smartphone-optimized or not. Google […]
I keep hearing people talking about Apple finally going “thermonuclear” on Google with the forthcoming iOS 6 mobile operating system. No, it hasn’t. In fact, there are good reasons why it can’t, though Apple is certainly exercising a much more subtle and smart containment strategy. Themonuclearly Renewing With Google The thermonuclear reference comes from the […]
In 2002, the US Federal Trade Commission created guidelines on how search engines should disclose paid placement and paid inclusion listings. It’s become clear to me over the past two weeks that the search engine industry has either largely forgotten these guidelines or is ignoring them. That’s why I’ve written a letter today to 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: Five Key Learnings From A Local Marketing Success Story One of our most compelling speakers at the 2012 Local Search Association annual conference was Mary Boysman, VP Brand Marketing and Advertising […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Breadcrumb Trails Come To AdWords Display URLs on AdWords search ads are getting another element — breadcrumb trails, a set of links next to the URL that lets users navigate directly […]
If Siri is the differentiating feature of iPhones, then Google Maps (and Navigation) are that for Android. It’s the most popular Android app as well as unquestionably the most useful. Today Google announced a new release of Maps for Android (6.5) featuring a richer UI and other improvements. Most of those have to be experienced, […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Googlebot Identifies Smartphone Content With New User-Agent Google has announced that its mobile crawler now has a user-agent that’s specific to smartphones. The company has already had a user-agent that targets […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: SMX West Super Early Bird Rates Expire Soon – Register Now, Save $400 February 28 – March 1 in San Jose, CA Attend SMX West and get expert insights and real-world-proven […]
It’s being reported today (originally by VentureBeat) that Verizon has blocked implementation of Google Wallet on the new Galaxy Nexus handset. Verizon is the exclusive US carrier of the heavily anticipated device. According to a statement issued to Bloomberg, Verizon is citing security as the rationale: Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. wireless carrier, blocked Google Inc.’s […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Wolfram Alpha Offers New Twist On Flight Search: Literal Answers To What Planes Are Overhead You may not love this as much as I do, but that’s okay. Wolfram Alpha has […]
It is potentially the smartphone I’ve been waiting for since last year: the latest Android version, a “pure” Google experience and the ability to use what I consider the only real “4G” out there — Verizon. The Galaxy Nexus has arrived, at least with reviewers. There’s still no sale date announced for the US. I’m a […]
With a wide array of new features and upgrades, Android 4.0 (“Ice Cream Sandwich”) launched last night in Hong Kong. The new version of the operating system unites Android for tablets and smartphones, though there are not yet any Ice Cream tablets. Honeycomb, which proved to be tablet-only, was largely a failure. (Android boss Andy Rubin says […]