Yelp accuses Google of being involved in deceit.
Google Inc. claims that the algorithm for mobile search of the company’s search engine has a bug that was deduced by a code push recently. The company is striving hard to resolve the bug. During the weekend, top executives belonging to Yelp and TripAdvisor – the Internet based company talked about a trend that they have witnessed on the smartphone searches of Google.
They pointed out that the results for mobile searches for these companies were sabotaged by the tech giant by camouflaging them under the results that were provided by the company itself. So now the company was being accused by the corporate sector, however Google clarified itself by saying that it is not a practice by the company to deliberately manipulate the market. However, there is a minor anomaly in the coding mechanism that needs to be resolved.
It was initially reported by Re/Code that the top execs at TripAdvisor and Yelp along with other similar firms did not resist about tweeting regarding the changes that were visible on the search engine along with expressing the dissatisfaction on the matter. When considering the complex history of Yelp and the search engine giant, the facts remains unchanged that Yelp is actually quite dependent on Google for its business. Moreover, they also failed to chalk out any other possible reason behind the shortcoming but directly pointed out to be the ulterior motive of Google.
The executives belonging to the company claim that Google on purpose chose to hide the links by Yelp so that it can promote its own location search businesses. This is actually a massive allegation for Google who are blamed for being involved in deceit.
The primary task of Yelp is to come up with reviews and locations regarding restaurants present on the Internet. The company is extremely dependent on the search engine of Google when visitors require information. So this actually makes a lot of sense to find the tech behemoth’s activities suspicious. Jeremy Stoppelman, the chief executive and co-founder of the company published a tweet which claimed, “no limit to how far @google will go, tricking consumers when they ask for Yelp or Trip. Everybody loses.”
Hence now the company not only needs to satisfy TripAdvisor or Yelp but it also needs to clear on the allegations which have been implied on them. It seems legit of Yelp to voice their concerns but they also need to cite these concerns with proofs to support their argument.
Alpahabet to modify Android One to cater to Indian consumers.
It has been more than a year where Alphabet Inc. owned Google has launched the Android One. The company will now device new rules that will bolster Android One that will help them in luring the market share as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The modifications will enable the manufacturers to add new features along with the freedom to select the components that will be functional on the Android One devices.
The publication giant has cited sources that have knowledge about the matter. According to them the manufacturers will have the leverage to choose their own prices. So this will assist them in maintaining the cost efficient status.
The previous year in September, the search engine giant launched the Android One photos that had an aim to attract the target audience in the Indian market along with other emerging markets. Manufacturers at this point complained that the requirements by GOOG were extremely complex and strict that has only one or two components options.
So the Android One service will be launched in the Indian market with several amendments revealed some sources on Wednesday. By coming up with program reboot, the cellular companies can pick out the processor partner. This will enable them to battle out with other smartphone manufacturers that encompass extravagant features that are running on the custom Android versions.
An India based cellular company known as Lava International will launch the Android One in India. The core competitors of Android One are Apple and Android manufacturers.
The previous year, the chief executive officer of the company Mr. Sundar Pichai launched the Android One. The core aim was to conquer the market share in the “fastest growing” cellular market across the globe. When it was launched only 10% of the Indian market utilized a smartphone that has extensive features.
According to STGIST, “The first set of Android One offered price tags from $105 to $120 — cheaper than devices from Samsung Electronics, LG and other Android manufacturers. But Android One failed due to “limitation of devices.””
At this point of time, the smartphones belonging to Apple Inc., Nokia, Samsung Electronics are being used in the Indian market.
Apple iPhones are extremely popular in the region where many people aspire to buy them. iPhone owners have developed an elite image in the Indian community. Usually these iPhones are bought on installments.
The company has now a great chance to attract audience towards Android One.
Google gives a tough time to Microsoft VR kit through its Cardboard.
Google Inc.’s virtual reality venture Cardboard is an easy on the budget virtual reality box. The company has come up with a foldable box that allows you to mount the smartphone. The reason why Google came up with this system is that it wanted to encourage virtual reality developers to experiment and come up with various applications. Google rolled out the venture in 2014 under I/0 which was under the able leadership of Damien Henry and David Coz.
Virtual reality is gaining momentum in the tech world with a steady pace. Facebook is one of those companies that also invested in the venture by purchasing Oculus whereas Microsoft also came up with HoloLens. Google decided to come up with a device that was not only cheap but gave a canvas for developers to experiment. This device is relatively different from Oculus or HoloLens that are high end and expensive.
The good thing about Google’s Carboard is that it does not rely on vendors or external manufacturers. The design is extremely systematic with a procedure that prompts users as to how the device can be created by materials easily accessible at their homes. A cardboard simply needs to be cut into a particular shaped prescribed by the company that is equipped with a lens having a focal length of 45mm. apart from that you will need magnets, rubber band, loop fastener that can also be paired with an additional near field communications tag. Moreover, if you do not want to make one, there are preassembled kits easily available in the market priced as low as $5.
Microsoft on the other hand has become relatively active in the virtual reality domain especially when it comes to HoloLens that will work on all devices that have Windows 10 installed. The device is likely to be hefty priced and will only use by those companies who wish to experiment and develop it further. HoloLens is not the competitor to Cardboard since they are two products extremely different in nature. However, now Microsoft is all set to come up with a similar device like the one Cardboard named as VR kit, which will be a cost alternate for developers to experiment.
Google is present in the virtual reality industry since a long period of time thus the search engine giant has already established its niche. Microsoft will not be giving a tough time to Cardboard immediately unless it comes up with an extraordinary device that is budget-friendly.
Google Cloud Computing has ample growth potential reports Baird.
Google Inc. has been accelerating its effort to bolster its cloud computing business in order to give a tough time to Microsoft Corporation and Amazon.com Inc. both of which are playing a significant role in shaping the cloud computing space. Despite the fact that Google’s cloud computing platform is in its initial stage its future is still promising. The reason behind this assumption is that the company is making several innovations on a rampant pace.Baird Equity Research, the popular Investment firm in an updated note provided to investors and clients appreciated the search engine giant’s effort to bolster its cloud computing space.The company while visiting Google Nest – where a great chunk of Google’s cloud computing is housed observed two major things. Firstly, analysts at Baird were enthralled to see that the company is extremely open about its cloud computing division. Google has opened a great chunk of its cloud and networking infrastructure to third party app which is an uncommon practice when it comes to enterprise service.Secondly, the cloud computing division of Google is technologically linked to their core business similar to Amazon. So if they start to use this as an advantage, the company will be able to direct their enterprise clients in an effective manner to certain of its services which is relatively difficult for other companies to accomplish.Baird also took into consideration that the company provides testimonies from a few of their top notch high profile clients which includes JDA software, PricewaterhouseCoopers along with SunGard Financial Systems so that they can prove that its cloud computing platform is extremely capable. Apart from that the company has many big names like HTC, Best Buy, Coca Cola and General mills as its enterprise client.However the only reason why Google is not doing relatively well is due to the technological loopholes in its system. But many analysts believe that the company’s aggressive pricing strategies along with its open nature of the cloud computing business can overcome the shortcomings its dealing with currently.According to BidnessETC, “Baird notes that during the event Google management shed light on the superior economics of sustained use discounts for its compute engine in comparison to Amazon Web Services’ elastic compute.”Google at this point also stated that it wishes to containerize its cloud computing division so that the developers can move application on various cloud architectures. Thus Baird at this point believes that the company has potential in cloud computing all it needs to do is work on the shortcomings.
Google's autonomous car prototypes seen in California.
Google Inc. the search engine giant recently announced that it is working on a prototype of its self-driven cars. These prototypes were expected to hit the Californian roads soon. In accordance to a report published by the tech based website The Verge such prototypes have now been spotted at the Grand State.Ironically, things are not as they were shown the previous year. Previously, these cars were said to be completely self-driven. However, the cars that have been seen on the roads come up with a professional driver along with override controls that can be sued for manual use. The reason why the company has come up with these features is to make sure that the vehicle does not lose control and accidents do not occur. So this actually means that these vehicles are similar to the Lexus SUVs that are autonomously governed through the “Google’s Mountain View Campus”.As reported, the self-driven cars by Google are extremely safe and do not boast of any problem whatsoever. But this is actually very weird, since it has been reported earlier that these self-driven cars of Google earlier caused 11 accidents in total. As a response to this allegation, Google Products and services went into the details of the incident to actually give a clearer picture.According to the tech behemoth, the incidents termed as accidents which actually took place were extremely minor and did not post of big vulnerabilities. They also argued that the behavior of individuals which is extremely prone to errors can actually lead to a better algorithm. This actually results in more safety for the consumer.Other than that, the company has also come up with a website that will allow drivers to gauge their experiences while experiencing the self-driven vehicle. This will allow other people to know more about the project through firsthand experience. Moreover, it will also allow Google to know what the audiences think about its product. As mentioned by the company earlier, Google is keen to conduct self-driven pilot projects in the coming few years before it actually officially launches these cars to the consumers across the globe.Hence in a nutshell, Google has come up with something relatively different than what it promised earlier. Initially, the concept behind this car was completely autonomous but now it has a human touch to it. The idea to give manual power is actually a good decision as it curbs the chances of mayhem but kills the feeling of an autonomous car.
Launched last year, the feature did not prove to be too popular amongst users.
After several months of silence, Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has come out in the open, albeit quietly by confirming that it has ripped out the new bookmark manager, and will revert back to the old one.
Apparently, users found the new application, which launched late last year, to be too complicated to understand, let alone know how to operate – and it did not prove to be popular amongst its users.
It did not happened after a long span of experimentation, when Google launched the new bookmark manager last year, complaints started to quickly flow into the Google Product Forums, pointing to the difficulty in using the software, as well as confusing enough to understand it’s working.
Despite the U-Turn, the company has still committed to improving the bookmark experiences of its customer, whereas for those who enjoyed it can install an extension for the application.
While many users have expressed their dismay of how they have been stuck up with the application, for the same reason though, there have been some who are helpful enough to understand what should be corrected.
For starters, most of those who comment on the forum said that the bookmarks manager was slow in operation; it was useless when there are several different layers of bookmarks or folders, more like a tree structure. It seems that some of the “screen grab” images give no idea about what page it is representing.
Some also compared the working of the previous bookmark manager to the new one. As mentioned, speed in the previous one was almost at an instantaneous rate, many things could be seen at once. When bookmarks are listed, the whole URL can be seen, many folders can be seen in the dropdown (in contrast to the folders and sub folders in the new one), and last but not the least, files can be easily shared, as well as exported and imported.
The endnote from consumers is that the search engine giant is requested to not throw half-baked products into the market. From a customer point of view, try to experiment with the products themselves before they roll it out in the market. They should understand that everyone is a tech savvy and do not want to be boggled down with complex products, which can totally throw the product into a disarray.
Google’s stock price ended the previous day at $543, a decline of 0.80% from the previous day.
The search engine giant is looking for ways to invest in more energy projects and analysts believe it could be considering investing in a project based in Africa.
Google Inc has lately been thinking about starting a project in Africa which involves the wind powering, as reported by a news article published by CNBC on May 12, 2015. Africa, being a continent that has been witnessing exponential growth over the period of time, is still reportedly facing issues where electricity is concerned. The search engine giant is planning to expand the already working projects working in the region in order to produce more electricity.On the other hand, Lake Turkana Wind Power project is being worked upon a massive 40,000 acres and is valued up to around $700 million and the electricity power that it has been designed to create has come around 310 megawatts. If everything goes according to plan, the electricity capacity of Kenya is predicted to grow by a massive 20 percent.However, sources to have proper knowledge of the activities and plans of Google are of the opinion that the tech giant taking part in the project has not been confirmed yet. If it plans to involve itself in the energy production, the stakes that it is expected to have are not too much anyway. CNBC, on the other hand, was seen to try get in contact with the search engine in answer to which they were told by the representatives of the firm that the company is yet not involved in any such project and no deal has been signed in LTWP. It was also recorded that the firm has not agreed on anything yet with the other party.Analysts, however, believe that keeping in mind the previous activities of Google business where it has been seen to get itself associated with different energy projects shows that this is another project that the firm could be thinking. The Silicon Valley-based company has been working towards eradicating energy issues for quite some time now and by getting involved in the African project, it could help in solving electricity problems even in the region.Google has reportedly been looking for new significant projects to invest in, and these projects have not been limited to only in the United States as the firm is ready to accept new ventures in other countries as well. In South Africa, the tech giant signed up for Jasper Power Project two years back in a deal worth $12 million. The software company has also said in a press release that is working towards providing more and more energy to the people which will help the energy to become easily available for the customers as well as for the firm as well.
Xiaomi, Huawei, LG Electronics and Lenovo are potential candidates to win the Nexus Smartphone alliance.
Google Inc. the search engine giant is on a roll and has vowed to come up with more flagship smartphones by expanding it's Nexus smartphone series. This has provided a platform for several Chinese vendors to come on board with the company to carry out the cooperation plan.
According to Digitimes, the company is gearing towards making its way in the international fraternity, as said by the Taiwan Supply Chain industry today. The company is said to join hands with giants like LG Electronics, Xiaomi Technology, and Lenovo etc.
So far, LG is said to be the top most candidate to take the lead for the Nexus smartphone. The reason why LG has a clear advantage over other companies is simple because it earlier came up with Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 making it the best possible choice for Google at this point of time. Moreover, there is also a strong possibility that GOOG will use the scenario to its benefit and strengthen its position in the Chinese market.
This is a fairly great initiative for the company since now they will not just be focusing in the largest consumer market across the globe but just by having new manufacturing alliances will help them to break the monopoly of the top notch smartphone manufacturers. These partners will act as a driving force for Google by pushing the creative barriers through such alliances.
At this point Lenovo needs to step up, the company is not just popular in China for its personal computers but has a strong presence globally. Lenovo at this point of time has been struggling with its smartphones where it's products have not come on par with Chinese manufacturers like Huawei and Xiaomi. However, Lenovo certainly has an edge over other companies.
Google has already taken Motorola on board after they manufactured smartphones for the Chinese vendor. So now it is said that a bunch of smartphones will actually create a positive environment to strengthen a long term relationship.
So now Google is providing a great platform for all those who are interested in China to cash the opportunity. However, the company is generally more inclined towards LG who gave them Nexus 5 which was extremely popular among the masses. So now the LG has an edged but other companies like Xiaomi and Huawei also have a fairly amazing portfolio of smartphones that have become excessively popular. Thus, the company has a fairly difficult choice to make about the future of Google Nexus smartphones in the times to come.
Google Wallet integrates its payment service with numerous merchants.
The search engine giant, Google (NASDAQ: GOOGLE), is recently on a roll with its mobile payment system, Google Wallet , purchasing Softcard’s point-of-sale tech and also advancing in international market for its services.Google goes one step ahead in partnering with numerous merchants and various restaurants. Users that use Android apps from Seamless and Dunkin Donuts, and merchants platform Shopify will allow customers to use Google Wallet to make quick payments.The tech giant has now made shopping more convenient and easy free the consumers, especially loyalty card holders. Yes, loyalty cards are a great source of benefit for the consumer who owns them, but may not be prove to be advantageous at all if you forget them. But Google Wallet now allows you to add and manage your loyalty cards, by signing up for them. However, as of yet, not every company's loyalty program is available figure is ever growing. In November, Google integrated its mobile payment service with Papa John’s Android app, and other merchant platforms such as Stop gate and ChowNow. Google Wallet initially had a slow start until today, as the service at first was just integrated with 30 apps and around 30 mobile sites.Currently, Google Wallet payment service is only limited to United States users and business. However, the tech giant has started with its service to transfer funds to international markets, making it available to Gmail users.Mobile payments have been of great interest for tech companies like Apple and Samsung are also introducing their payment systems in the market. The concept behind making payments quickly and conveniently is not only secure, but it also lets consumers purchase more things while they browse. Clearly, this idea has convinced users that taking out a smartphone is more convenient than presenting cash or card.Along with competing rivals such as PayPal and Apple Pay, Google Wallet aims to make it simpler by reducing the steps when paying for stuff through smartphone, by saving authentication details, safely storing card numbers and shipping details in its system.For Shopify, the online platform for merchants to do business to add Google Wallet was a good move. As mobile payments grow, Shopify would need to add whatever mobile payment services with which its users are registered in order to not let any customer go with an empty shopping cart. The company is also said to be planning on to add Apple Pay.
