In the same way that Apple’s iPad gained consumer acceptance where other tablet devices failed, Google TV may finally be coming to market at a time when the user mindset — and the supporting online services — might actually be ready for such a product. Read more »
It’s becoming clear that Apple needs to improve MobileMe. Obviously, Android is now Apple’s biggest threat in the mobile space and Google’s innovation wheel isn’t slowing down. To fully understand just how bad Apple is at running Internet services, let’s take a trip back in time. Read more »
Google is expanding its Ontario, Canada-based engineering operation, which has either developed or worked on most of the company’s recent mobile offerings, including Gmail for the iPad. Steven Woods, the unit’s director, said that his staff are currently focusing on ideas related to HTML5. Read more »
The smart grid may indeed become an opportunity that’s bigger than the Internet, but like the Internet, it won’t be without its stumbling blocks. Fortunately for us, some web pioneers are unwittingly providing utilities and energy management firms with an education on privacy, one of the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Intel could add Google’s WebM to the list of video formats that have hardware acceleration built into its processors for consumer electronics devices. But that support won’t come in time for the first generation of Google TV products to leverage it. Read more »
Apple’s iPhone production is ramping up to levels that suggest it’s “increasingly becoming carrier-agnostic” and could mean we’ll see a Verizon iPhone sooner than expected, according to one analyst. If such a deal is inked by year’s end, he sees quarterly sales rising to 17 million. Read more »
The smart grid may indeed become an opportunity that’s bigger than the Internet, but like the Internet, it won’t be without its stumbling blocks. Fortunately for us, web pioneers are unwittingly providing utilities and energy management firms with an education on privacy. Read more »
Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Epix and Nickelodeon are just a few of the video publishers that have created Flash-enabled websites that are optimized for viewing on Google Android devices, according to an Adobe Mobile Showcase page that has since been taken down. Read more »
The end of another week is upon us and that means it is time to share my week in Mobile Tech Manor with you. This week saw gadgets littering every surface in the Manor and I spent hours playing with them, er, evaluating them. Read more »
When open web champion Tantek Celik announced he was joining the Mozilla Foundation, not everyone was happy about the news, since he marked the third open web proponent who has joined a large corporate entity. Can open web advocates still be effective if they aren’t independent? Read more »
Google is adding a new User Experience Director for Android and it’s none other than Matias Duarte, the designer behind Palm’s beautiful webOS interface. But this isn’t the first time Duarte has worked with Andy Rubin — before Google, these two collaborated on the Danger Sidekick. Read more »
Google Buzz, which stumbled out of the gate due to privacy concerns, has made up for lost time by adding an average of a feature every week, says product manager Todd Jackson. The newest feature to be rolled out is a “reshare” button for the service. Read more »
In a case that is increasingly starting to look like a battle between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, eBay, Facebook, IAC and Yahoo an amicus brief in support of YouTube in its case against Viacom, arguing that a decision in favor of Viacom could stifle web innovation. Read more »
As Google tries to extricate itself from the privacy furor over personal data collected from Wi-Fi networks by its Street View cars, the company says it has hit a roadblock that prevents it from complying with authorities who want the data turned over to them. Read more »
Google unveiled Google TV at its I/O conference on May 20, promising to revolutionize the TV ecosystem by giving people “the power to experience what they love on TV and on the web on a single screen,” while turning the living room “into a new platform for innovation.”
It’s a promise made by others (including no-less formidable innovators such as Microsoft and Apple) but never delivered on. Much has changed since Microsoft failed with Web TV, however, and even since Apple introduced (and has since largely ignored) its Apple TV. The amount of premium video content available on the Internet has grown exponentially, while faster broadband connections have made delivering high-quality video over IP networks feasible. In this research note, we look at why the time is ripe for Google’s offering to succeed, what it si, and its potential impacts on the TV ecosystem, including users, hardware providers, app stores, content providers, distributors, and competitors (including Apple, Microsoft, and independent IP video platforms). Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Google exec Nikesh Arora says video on the web will drive a huge shift in advertising dollars over the next five years, but that the industry still has a long way to go to figure out how best to monetize those video on the web. Read more »
After working with Keynote on the iPad for the last month, I’ve come up with five presentation tips I want to share with you. Used properly, and in a situation that allows it to play its strengths, the iPad can be an effective presentation tool. Read more »
Given its history, Sony’s early involvement with Google TV can only be seen as a major departure for the company. Not only does it suggest a new willingness to work collaboratively with other technology providers, it marks a rare embrace by Sony of a technology platform ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
According to Google, the company’s search and advertising businesses helped generate an estimated $54 billion in economic value for the U.S. last year, an estimate that’s clearly an attempt to promote the company’s value at a time when it’s coming under fire from legislators. Read more »
An inteview with lead engineer Andy Rubin at Google answered some questions about patents, fragmentation and other hot topics in the Android world. His answers make sense but make it clear that Google may be playing with fire given the fast development rate with Android. Read more »
Google dominated the technology conversation last week with its annual developer conference, Google I/O, the focus of the which was the Android OS and the mobile ecosystem it’s spawned. Chrome, meanwhile, appeared to have become little more than an afterthought for the company. Read more »
The recent launch of a series of new products and services shows that Google clearly wants to be the champion of the “open” model and defend it against proprietary offerings. For the most part, that means going head-to-head with ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
In linking with Google Android for a Chevy Volt mobile application, GM has taken an important step to adapt its OnStar service to the specific needs of electric vehicle drivers. Android could eventually take on a much larger role in connected vehicles. Read more »
General Motors moved this week to link its upcoming Chevrolet Volt and in-vehicle communications system, OnStar, with Google navigation tools and smartphones based on the search giant’s Android platform. This marks a key intersection in the trajectories of automakers and Internet giants and could pave the way to much more comprehensive partnerships across previously disconnected industries and systems. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
I wrote last week that the time might be right for Amazon Web Services to launch its own platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering, if only to preempt any competitive threat from other providers’ increasingly business-friendly PaaS offerings. That stance is firmer than ever now that Google has introduced ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
I wrote recently that the time may be right for AWS to launch its own PaaS offering, if only to preempt any competitive threat from other providers’ increasingly business-friendly PaaS offerings. The time is indeed right, now that Google has introduced App Engine for Business. Read more »
The fragmentation that has long plagued the mobile industry gets worse by the day as new operating systems and app stores come to market. WebKit will emerge as an effective tool for developers as we move toward web-based apps, but won’t be the panacea that some ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The iPhone may have given up its edge in the U.S. market over Android recently, in terms of smartphone OS share, but globally it still leads Google’s mobile OS. That’s according to market research firm Gartner, who recently conducted a survey of the global smartphone terrain. Read more »
The claws were out at Google I/O today, where Google VP engineering Vic Gundotra gave his best Steve Jobs impression — by which I mean, an on-stage presentation of new launches that featured ample use of passive-aggressive jabs, delivered to a rapt and supportive audience. Read more »
Google is free to complete its purchase of AdMob after the Federal Trade Commission decided unanimously that the deal is unlikely to harm competition in the mobile advertising market. Ultimately, it was Apple’s plans to launch its own competitor that paved the way. Read more »
Miro has introduced the first tool designed to convert files to the just-released VP8 video format. The release of Miro Video Converter 2.0 will leverage Google’s new open video format, which was announced as part of its WebM Project earlier this week. Read more »
Google made waves earlier this week by releasing its VP8 codec under an open source, royalty free license, providing an open, high quality alternative to H.264 and Ogg Theora. But if MPEG LA gets its way, the codec might not remain free for long. Read more »
In an interview with Fox Business Network, Eric Schmidt said Google TV is about “building a platform with millions of people using these technologies” and that thanks to the ability to target advertising, ads on the new Google service “should be worth a lot of money.” Read more »
Google has let Android 2.2, dubbed Froyo, out of the bag and today shared a lot of information about it. I watched the keynote while playing with a Google Nexus One phone running Froyo, and have captured the key points about Android 2.2 for your convenience. Read more »
Google and its partners Sony, Logitech and Intel plan to launch first Google TV devices this fall, but it’s still unclear how much of the web users will actually be able to access with it, and what kind of ads they’re going to see in the future. Read more »
In the latest volley in the war over making Flash on mobile devices, Adobe has teamed up with Google to make Flash-based video and applications on mobile devices. At Google I/O, Adobe announced that it will make Flash Player 10.1 available on phones running Android 2.2. Read more »
Google, as expected, has unveiled Android 2.2 — aka Froyo — at its I/O developers conference. In conjunction with this announcement, Adobe formally introduced Flash 10.1 for Android. You can see both Froyo and the new Flash in action in this video. Verdict: sweet. Read more »
Google TV officially introduced its Google TV platform at its i/O developers conference today, showcasing a customized version of Android that will offer full web access through an search bar and an integrated Chrome web browser. Read more »
With Microsoft’s work with Ford and GM’s recent partnership with Google on the Chevy Volt, it’s looking like automakers are teaming up with various Internet giants. How will the unions play out? Read more »
Research firm Gartner has published the latest quarterly smartphone numbers, and it’s easy to see why the honchos at Google are all smiles at the I/O conference this week. Android grew an impressive 8% of smartphone market share this year, moving it into fourth place overall. Read more »
