Is Google simply trying to create a better user experience on the iPhone and iPad or is it trying to "colonize" iOS with its apps? It all depends on your point of view -- though, it's probably a bit of both. When the new Gmail app for iOS was released May 6, immediately, inflammatory headlines appeared, suggesting that Google was "taking over the iPhone." However, that's not exactly the case. Users of the new Gmail app have the (default) option to go directly to the native versions of YouTube and Google Maps, as well as open Chrome via links in email. Previously, such links would have op [...]

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At a Broadway-style premiere this evening at New York's Radio City Musical Hall, Samsung unveiled its heavily anticipated Galaxy S4 handset. The event had the hype and production values of an Apple product launch. But, what barely seemed in attendance was any idea that the S4 is an Android phone or contains Google services. Samsung obviously spent a great deal of money on the show. Parts of it were awkward and many of the scripted jokes fell flat. But, the phone is sure to be a hit. The new S4 looks very much like the Galaxy S III (I watched the live stream and haven't held it in my hand [...]

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Google has decided to break up the unit that formerly combined mapping and commerce in a mini-reorganization coinciding with the transfer of Android to the leadership of Chrome SVP Sundar Pichai. Jeff Huber who formerly ran the combined commerce + local group is now becoming part of Sergey Brin's "Google X" team. According to the Wall Street Journal: The mapping unit will become part of the Google search team, led by Alan Eustace, and the commerce unit will be tucked into the advertising group, led by Susan Wojcicki.  The change may have been prompted by some tension in the combination o [...]

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Facebook can thank Apple for helping making it the top overall mobile app in the U.S. in 2012, according to new numbers out today from the comScore Mobile Metrix service. ComScore says Facebook ended the year with more than 85 million unique adult visitors -- that's on both Android and iOS. It's about 11 million more unique visitors than Google Maps. After Facebook, Google apps hold down the next five spots. Facebook and Google Maps were pretty much neck-and-neck for several months last year, but comScore says Google Maps usage saw a significant decline after Apple dumped it from iOS [...]

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Google has tried its hand over the years at couponing and loyalty marketing. It has done so using a number of different approaches: Google Coupons, Google Offers, Google Offer Ads, Google Wallet and the now-defunct Punchd. Some of these programs have been directed toward small businesses and some more broadly to brands and national marketers. Now comes Zavers, a digital couponing and redemption solution for retailers and manufacturers. Zavers is aimed at large brands and national retailers and intended to help them create and distribute coupons and incentives online and streamline redemp [...]

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This past weekend controversy erupted when someone noticed that Google was redirecting traffic from Google Maps (for mobile web) on Windows Phones to Google.com. Immediately the conspiracy theories began to fly. The claim was that Google had just won an antitrust reprieve from the FTC so now the company was sticking it to competitor Microsoft with impunity. We agree that it looked bad -- and the conspiracy theory made for a sexy and provocative story -- however it simply wasn't accurate. Danny Sullivan wrote an in-depth article about what happened. Google itself offered a number of sli [...]

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Unless you've been hiding under a rock during the last couple months, you know that Apple announced the new iPhone 5 back on September 12, 2012. On this date, Apple also rolled out its latest mobile operating system, iOS 6, which came chock full of new features like enhanced Siri, new 3D maps and deeper integration with social networks Twitter and Facebook. Arguably, the most important new feature to arrive on iOS 6 was something called Passbook, which allows marketers to provide coupons, tickets, loyalty cards and more, all in one place on the iPhone or iPad. [caption id="attachment_26 [...]

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Google's Niantic Labs project, headed by former Google Local/Maps chieftain John Hanke, has just released its first mobile app: Field Trip. Currently it's only available for Android but an iOS version is coming soon. In short it's a customizable "local discovery engine" that runs in the background on your smartphone (or connected tablet, though it's not intended for tablets) and notifies you when you're near something interesting -- across a wide range of categories. Categories include: history and architecture, places and events, lifestyle, offers and deals, food, "cool and unique" and [...]

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It's been a week since Google released its first ever YouTube app for the iPhone and iPad. It's now the top free app in iTunes and may be a harbinger of what will happen with the expected Google Maps app. YouTube Loses Default Status It may sound odd to some that YouTube is new to Apple's iOS devices as an app, but that's because it hasn't needed to be until now. With iOS 6, which will be installed on the iPhone 5 and available as an upgrade for many older versions of the iPhone and iPad, YouTube is no longer a default application. When news that YouTube was being dropped became clear in [...]

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Danny has written two articles about Android, openness and the degree of Google's control over the ecosystem. These were sparked by the recent controversy surrounding computer-maker Acer's attempt to use a non-authorized version of Android (the Alibaba-made Aliyun OS) on mobile handsets: Google: Acer Can’t Work On “Non-Compatible Android” & Be Part Of Open Handset Alliance What Is The One True Android & How “Open” Is It? Aliyun OS "Incompatibility" Acer was set to announce that it was going forward with the Aliyun OS on one or more handsets but abruptly cancelled t [...]

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Google Maps is the top mobile travel app for perhaps obvious reasons. Not surprisingly it also tops the travel category and accounts for a remarkable 78 percent of time spent in the mobile travel usage, according to Nielsen. The firm also reports that the overwhelming majority of mobile travel users' time is spent with apps (vs. the mobile web): Findings showed that U.S. Android and iOS users spent 95 percent of their time accessing travel information from travel apps, versus only 5 percent from the mobile Web. This discrepancy was largely driven by Google Maps—the top Travel category app a [...]

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A new quasi-trade group has formed to promote indoor location and mobile indoor-positioning. It's called "The In-Location Alliance." Its stated objective is to "drive innovation and market adoption of high accuracy indoor positioning and related services." The In-Location Alliance is made up of a group of 22 founding members, led by Nokia: Broadcom, CSR, Dialog Semiconductor, Eptisa, Geomobile, Genasys, Indra, Insiteo, Nokia, Nomadic Solutions, Nordic Semiconductor, Nordic Technology Group, NowOn, Primax Electronics, Qualcomm, RapidBlue Solutions, Samsung Electronics, Seolane Innovation, S [...]

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Google is inviting various media organizations to see "the next dimension of Google Maps" at an event next week in San Francisco. And the timing is just as interesting as what Google plans to show. The event will take place on June 6th, just days before Apple is expected to ditch Google Maps during its June 11 keynote at the Apple WWDC event (also in San Francisco). The Maps app that's on iOS now uses Google Maps, but pales in comparison to the experience that Google Maps offers on Android and the desktop. Apple has been acquiring mapping technology companies over the past few years, [...]

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This morning comes more saber rattling from Iran, the troubled Middle-Eastern regime that routinely issues threats against real and perceived enemies. This time the object of the Iranian leadership's vitriol is Google. Google has dropped the name of the body of water historically known as the "Persian Gulf." The map instead offers no name for the area. According to a report from the Associated Press, "Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says that if Google does not restore the name of the Persian Gulf, it will face 'serious damages.'" The country has threatened to sue Googl [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google | Google: Legal | Google: Maps