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Google Android: The dude? Or big dud?

Mitchell Ashley — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:51:45 -0400

Today's the day Android strutted its stuff to the world. Is Android the game-changer for the SmartPhone industry, a real contender to the iPhone or just another cell phone OS? It's definitely not just another cell phone OS, as evidenced by all the attention around today's launch. Google has technology that other phones use but Google Android will exploit. Google search, of course is the 800-pound gorilla in search. Add Google maps (including a compass feature Google demonstrated in the T-Mobile [HTC] G1 phone), Google Webkit and the Chrome Web browser (a Chrome Lite comes on Android), Google Talk, YouTube, Google Apps, and so forth. This has allowed Google to layer in a single sign-on for all Google apps, and Android syncs data with your Google account for contacts, calendar, chat and likely other applications in the future.

Android's launch today was a much different affair from what the iPhone experienced. While Android's a very big deal, there was no Steve Jobs giving the "we're out to change the world" pitch. And it was missing the whole Apple "we control the vertical, we control the horizontal" Big Brother approach to consumers. Android has much bigger potential to impact the industry than the closed hardware/app store Apple offers with the iPhone. As much as iPhone lovers salivate over their locked-up phones, Android could bust the industry wide open.

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Is Live Search making headway against Google?

Mitchell Ashley — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:11:29 -0400

It's a marginal gain but a gain none the less. The June numbers show Microsoft's Live Search gained 0.3 percentage points, putting them at 9.2 percent. Google lost that same amount. (Yahoo also gained.) Is Microsoft's Live Search strategy working?

Frankly I'm surprised Microsoft is already at 9.2% of the U.S. Web search market. Obviously an acquisition of some or all of Yahoo by Microsoft would greatly accelerate the quest for market share but that's anything but certain these days. While 9.2% is great progress so far, gaining only three tenths of a percent each month will make Live Search's climb up a slow one. Microsoft's got to figure out new ways to pull users off the Google home page and onto Live Search.

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What's the Real Reason AT&T Didn't Like Google Android?

Mitchell Ashley — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:55:05 -0400

It looks like the iPhone isn't the only "cool" phone AT&T wireless has agreed to carry. After meetings with Google, AT&T said their fears have been allayed that Google Android phones would be too Google app centric, giving Google too much control over AT&T's choice of apps and OS customization. Ah... Ahem...Excuse me! Anybody check their iPhones lately to see if Apple has a bit too much control over their iPhone operating system and apps???

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Google Users Older & Big Spenders Online -- Yahoo! Draws Younger Audience

chikt — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:51:18 -0500

Hitwise reported a remarkable demographic shift between the users of Yahoo! And Google. Yahoo! Users have always been seen as the older demographic but this report shows that it is actually the Google users who are older but also the bigger spenders in the audience. This is no surprise! Four years ago the PPC industry saw Yahoo! Users as the older and larger converting audience. That was back when Yahoo! Ads were syndicated across Microsoft Search and others. After Microsoft’s decision to begin their own PPC advertising program the high conversions we once saw with Yahoo! Dwindled a bit. So it isn’t surprising that Google would fill that void.

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Battle of the Search Engines Is On!

Mitchell Ashley — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 12:30:11 -0500

While installing some Windows Live applications on one of my test machines today I received a very interesting balloon message. Google blocked the Windows Live installer from changing my default search engine to Live Search!

Hmm... Are the days of competing software programs playing "nicey-nice" about who the default browser, music player, or streaming video player, now over? When it comes to search engines we're talking big money $$$ on the line and it looks like Google isn't going to take Live Search for granted.

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