Ever since Chinese government surrogates unsuccessfully hacked into Gmail in early 2010, Google has struggled with its "China policy." It threatened to withdraw from China and then reversed itself. Mountain View has been unable to resist the lure of the world's largest internet and mobile market. Google's PC search share in China is a very distant second to Baidu. However it is apparently and somewhat unexpectedly dominant in another Chinese market segment: mobile in-app display advertising. Bloomberg reports that Google's AdMob has staked out a leadership position and a big lead among a [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Android | Google: International | Google: Mobile

Apple has been waging a proxy war with Google and Android through its global litigation with Samsung. Now the companies will be directly battling it out in a new action filed by Google subsidiary Motorola before the US International Trade Commission (ITC). Motorola filed and partly won a patent case before the ITC, prior to the Google acquisition. But this is the first case filed under Google ownership. The earlier Motorola ITC patent victory was based on a single claim related to wireless 3G standards. Motorola seeks an import ban on iPhones in that case. A final decision from the administ [...]

Related Topics: Apple: iOS | Apple: Siri | Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Acquisitions | Google: Android | Google: Business Issues | Google: International | Google: Legal | Google: Mobile | Legal: Antitrust | Legal: Patents | Top News

Apple released beta 4 of iOS 6, their latest iPhone and iPad OS to developers today, and one glaring omission in the version was the YouTube app. Bad news for Google, or perhaps with some perspective, a benefit? YouTube, along with Maps powered by Google Maps, were some of the first third-party powered Apps to be found on the iPhone, even before there was an app platform. In iOS 6, Apple is replacing Google Maps with their own Apple Maps, and now it appears Apple is dropping YouTube with no replacement. Apple told The Verge that Google and Apple did not renew the license rights to the a [...]

Related Topics: Apple: iOS | Channel: Video | Google: Business Issues | Google: Mobile | Google: YouTube | Top News

Although in most respects Google Wallet is still waiting for consumer liftoff, that company is taking it into the cloud. Today Google announced that it was adding a number of new features, including the ability to pair the service with any credit or debit card. Having launched in September 2011 with Citi MasterCard exclusively, Google Wallet will now be compatible with any Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. Credit card numbers can now be entered by consumers online, in Google Wallet (formerly Google Checkout), or the Google Play store. Additional benefits of operating in t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Android | Google: Mobile | Google: Partnerships

Several analyst firms have recently released tablet market-share estimates; however these are based almost entirely on "shipments," which are not reflective of actual device sales or usage. By contrast, ad network Chitika released data today showing the breakdown in actual usage by device type in North America. As the chart below illustrates, the iPad still overwhelmingly dominates with more than a 90 percent share of tablet-generated web traffic. However a few Android devices seem to be gaining. Source: Chitika Among the gainers are the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Google Nexus 7 (just i [...]

Related Topics: Apple | Apple: iOS | Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Android | Google: Mobile

Measurement firm comScore today released some new survey data that show an increasing percentage of US feature phone owners are making the switch to smartphones when replacing their devices. As they do they overwhelmingly favor Android, followed by the iPhone and then Windows Phones. Just over 61 percent of first-time smartphone buyers opted for an Android phone compared with 25 percent who bought an iPhone. In a hopeful sign for Microsoft, 7 percent of those first time buyers (which is where the opportunity is for Windows Phones) chose the Microsoft OS. A smaller percentage of existing sma [...]

Related Topics: Apple: iPhone | Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Android | Google: Mobile | Statistics: Market Share | Statistics: Mobile Marketing | Statistics: Popularity & Usage | Top News

Back in May, a sleek, highly visual iPhone app was launched that retooled the entire look of Google+ on mobile. Today Google has finally released an official iPad app that follows suit and places an emphasis on the visual presentation of user posts. In addition to the slick look, some beneficial features accompany the new app making it a breeze to use Google+ on an iPad. Visual Appeal Surprisingly the iPad app looks quite different than the web version of Google+. Bigger visuals, different sized content boxes and action buttons overlay-ed atop the graphics to create a flipboard-esque exper [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google | Google: Google+ | Google: Mobile

The number of malicious Android apps has quadrupled so far in 2012, according to the antivirus/security company Trend Micro, and some of those apps are making their way into Google's official app store, Google Play. The company reports that it identified about 5,000 malicious Android apps in the first quarter of 2012 -- a number which rose to 20,000 by the end of Q2. The number doubled from 10,000 to 20,000 in just one month. Trend Micro also reports that it found 17 malicious apps in Google Play, Google's official Android marketplace, and those apps were downloaded more than 700,000 tim [...]

Related Topics: Apple: iOS | Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Android | Google: Google Play | Google: Mobile | Mobile Marketing | Top News

Samsung has built a range of Android tablets: the 5-inch Galaxy Note, and the 7, 8+ and 10.1-inch Galaxy Tabs. Almost none of them have succeeded save the 7-inch version, which has sold modestly well mostly in Europe. In the end, however, there will be two tablet sizes: 7-inch and roughly 10-inch versions. Apple owns the larger category and until last week Amazon's Kindle Fire dominated the smaller category. But with the release of the Nexus 7 at the Google developer conference, Mountain View now "owns" the 7-inch category. The NY Times' gadget reviewer in chief David Pogue loves the Ne [...]

Related Topics: Amazon | Apple: iOS | Channel: Retail | Google: Android | Google: Mobile

As expected, Google launched Chrome for iOS and it is now available for free download in the Apple App Store. The app currently has 3,615 ratings with an average rating of four and a half stars. Not only is it available and have that many positive ratings, it is the top free app in the app store right now. On the desktop version, Google announced at Google I/O that Chrome has 310 million active users, which is almost twice as many active users as last year. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content Marketing | Google: Chrome | Google: Mobile

[caption id="attachment_15261" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image Credit: Gizmodo"][/caption] It was something of a non-secret that Google would be launching a 7-inch tablet this week at its developer conference, Google I/O, in San Francisco. However we get an early look (apparently) at the device courtesy of Gizmodo Australia and CNET. What's being reported is that there are two models: a 8GB unit that will cost $199 and a 16GB model coming in at $249. The hardware maker is apparently (as rumored) ASUS. However the tablet will be branded Google Nexus according to reports. [...]

Related Topics: Amazon | Channel: Retail | Google | Google: Android | Google: Mobile | Top News

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was mulling whether to reopen the Google Street View "Wi-Spy" investigation. This was prompted by the US Federal Communications Commission report that found the collection of so-called consumer payload data by Google was intentional. The ICO investigation has now been reopened, accordingly. The original 2010 investigation was closed without any penalty being assessed against Google. But the subsequent finding of intentional conduct by Google and executive knowledge of the capture of payload data was sufficient to justify reopening the inve [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Critics | Google: Legal | Google: Mobile | Google: Street View

Most of the major internet companies are either actively in market with mobile payments or flirting with the idea. This includes Google, eBay/PayPal, Amazon and Facebook with Credits (there's an article to be written about the future of Credits). And there are scores of startups and others also competing for consumer attention and merchant adoption of their mobile payments systems: Square, Intuit, ISIS, Groupon, Visa, FirstData, LevelUp, Jumio, Card.io, Boku, Tabbedout, GoPago and many others. The list grows longer by the week it seems. Joining that list, as of yesterday, is Apple -- almost [...]

Related Topics: Apple | Apple: iOS | Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Mobile | Mobile Marketing | Top News

Google is finally and fully integrating AdMob's mobile app inventory into AdWords. The company says, "Starting today, over one million AdWords advertisers will now be able to reach engaged consumers on more than 350 million mobile devices in the AdMob network and in some of the world’s most popular mobile applications." Google says AdMob inventory includes more than 300,000 mobile apps and reaches people in 23 countries. Source: IAB Google is also making it possible to target specific smartphones and tablets on top of existing mobile targeting options, which include mobile carri [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: AdSense | Google: Display Advertising | Google: Mobile

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, [...]

Related Topics: Apple | Channel: Local | Google | Google: Maps | Google: Mobile | Top News

According to reports just coming out, the jury in the Oracle-Google trial has found that Google did not infringe any of Oracle's patents with Android. Thus there are no damages that Google must pay to Oracle. This is near total victory for Google. In an earlier phase of the trial Google was found by the jury to have violated Oracle's copyright in using some Java code in Android APIs. However, the jury deadlocked on the question of Google's defense of "fair use." The status of that portion of the trial is still unresolved. Final determinations about the copyright issues will be mad [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Android | Google: Legal | Google: Mobile | Legal: General | Legal: Patents

After government approval from China, contingent upon Google's agreement to keep Android "free and open" for at least five years, Motorola Mobility is now part of Google. European and US approvals happened some time ago. The deal is worth $12.5 billion -- Google's largest acquisition by far -- and includes some 17,000 patents that Google can use to defend Android against litigation and threats of litigation from Apple, Microsoft and any others who might go after it. Some have questioned whether the value of those patents justified $12 billion. Yet Google also gains a hardware business that [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Acquisitions | Google: Android | Google: Business Issues | Google: Mobile | Google: Partnerships | Top News

Apple has been busy scooping up mapping companies over the past three years. So it was only a matter of time before Cupertino decided it would replace Google Maps with its own product. That's apparently what's going to happen when Apple releases iOS 6 later this year, according to the 9to5Mac blog. "Trusted sources" cited Citing "trusted sources" the blog says that Apple will completely control the back end and that the new mapping experience will be "much cleaner, faster, and [a] more reliable experience" than what currently exists. Google has been steadily improving Maps for Android but Go [...]

Related Topics: Apple | Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google | Google: Mobile

Love or hate Google+ itself, there's one thing that almost everyone could agree on: Its iPhone app has looked and behaved like something Google cooked up as a last-minute afterthought. No more. Google has just announced a much-needed overhaul of the Google+ iPhone app and ... while I can't speak to how it works yet ... it sure looks great based on the screenshots from Google's blog post. Have a look for yourself at a few that stood out to me: In addition to the full-screen images/display, Google points out that the new iPhone app has crisper fonts, bigger profile photos and a [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Google+ | Google: Mobile | Top News

Google Maps 6.7 for Android brings richer indoor mapping with walking directions. It also incorporates nearby Google Offers and displays those on a map. The "nearby offers" functionality has been available on apps such as Foursquare and Yelp for some time. Other mobile deal apps, such as Scoutmob or Citysearch, also show you nearby offers on a map. It was also one of the central features The Dealmap, which Google acquired. Accordingly putting "nearby offers on a map" isn't groundbreaking or in and of itself a big deal. The big deal is that Google Maps can offer massive distribution and e [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Android | Google: Mobile