Google

Google’s Brin says Apple is “balkanizing the web”

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Unless I and pretty much every other journalist out there extrapolated the original report, it appears that Google co-founder Sergey Brin has called out Apple and Facebook for running closed platforms that, in his mind, are "balkanizing the web".

Why? Because apps, media and other content served within these ecosystems is not crawlable by the almighty Google search engine. And even though Google's built an empire on other people's content, Google's co-founder calls the latest trends "scary".

Don't laugh, Brin actually realized a pattern his role model Steve Jobs laid out two years ago...

Jobs’ biographer says the CEO’s disdain for Android was real

Cody Lee ∙ April 5, 2012

Yesterday, Google's Larry Page sparked some controversy with some comments he made regarding Steve Jobs. In an interview with Businessweek, the CEO suggested that Jobs' disdain for Android was more for show than anything else.

But Walter Isaacson, author of the Apple founder's popular biography, tells a different story. Isaacson gave a lecture at the Royal Institution in the UK last night, and had no problem clearing the air about Jobs' feelings on Google's mobile OS...

Google CEO says Steve Jobs’ hatred for Android was “actually for show”

Cody Lee ∙ April 4, 2012

Steve Jobs' distain for Google's mobile OS was well documented. There's a famous quote from the late CEO's biography that goes something like, "I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this."

But according to Google's CEO Larry Page, a large part of Jobs' hatred for Android was merely for show. He believes that it was more of a way to rally his troops at Apple, rather than evidence of bad blood between the two companies...

iOS earns Google four times the revenue of Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 24, 2016

Though Google does not profit directly by giving away Android software to phone vendors, they do take 30 percent cut on app sales, just like Apple. This is peanuts compared to Google's indirect, mobile advertising-based revenues. Understandably, of course, as Google's ad-based business model benefits from people using their many services on the go, such as maps and search.

The more people use Google on their handsets, the higher advertising revenues the company pulls. At Android's scale, it's easy to think that Google gets more revenue from Android phones and tablets than Apple's iPhones, iPads and iPod touches.

According to a newspaper article today, based on court documents, Android’s total revenue from the launch of handsets at the end of 2008 through to the end of 2011 was $543 million. Still, Google made four times as much revenue during the same period on iOS devices.

Tim Cook views Android litigation as “a necessary evil”, not a thermonuclear option

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 11, 2017

Remember how Steve Jobs told his biographer Walter Isaacson that he is willing to wage a "thermonuclear war" on Android because it's "a stolen product"? Having already spent an estimated 100+ million dollars on war on Android, Apple certainly means business. Sadly, the larger contest between Apple and Google is nowhere near resolution.

According to a fascinating cover story by Bloomberg, Apple is in it for the long run. The company is well-aware that many people have yet to choose a smartphone, a decision which usually entails loyalty to that phone's operating system. Yup, it's all about the same ol' lock-in.

iPad apps outperforming their Android counterparts

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 27, 2012

The iPad Vs Android tablet argument is one that has been waging for longer than we care to think, and it is one that shows no sign of going away anytime soon.

As if the fire really needed any more stoking, PC World's Sasha Segan has sought to fan the flames of fanboyism by comparing Android tablets and the iPad in the app stakes, with the number of apps and their perceived quality being put to the test across a range of categories.

The result? Well, the iPad comes up trumps as we would probably expect, but did we really expect a different outcome? Nope...

Apple to add Baidu as default iOS search engine option in China

Cody Lee ∙ March 26, 2012

If Apple's multiple mapping firm acquisitions and recent iPhoto makeover haven't convinced you that the company is trying to distance itself from Google as much as possible, maybe this will.

Sina Tech is reporting that it has learned that Apple is looking to add Baidu, China's market-leading internet search company, as a default search engine option in iOS. So long Google...

Apple imposing Nano SIM standard on Motorola, RIM and Nokia

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 21, 2012

When Apple was designing the iPhone 4, the company had adopted the smaller Micro SIM format for space constraints. Smaller in size compared to the standard Mini SIMs, Micro SIMs do the exact same job while using less space. But with mobile devices getting even slimmer these days, even Micro SIMs waste too much valuable space inside thin mobile gadgets.

Apple thinks smaller is better so last summer the company submitted a new requirement to the European Telecoms Standards Body for the use of even smaller SIM cards in mobile phones (AT&T followed suit). But the battle over the upcoming Nano SIM standard has put Apple once again on a collision course with its rivals in the smartphone space, namely the opposing group led by Android maker Google and joined by the ailing BlackBerry maker Research In Motion and Nokia of Finland, reports the Financial Times (subscription required)...

Apple subpoenaed by the FTC regarding its search engine deal with Google

Cody Lee ∙ March 13, 2012

So this is pretty interesting: AllThingsD is reporting that Apple has been subpoenaed by the Federal Trade Commission as part of an ongoing anti-trust investigation into Google's business practices.

It seems the FTC is particularly interested in the agreement Google made with Apple to become the default search engine in iOS. The deal, which we talked about a few days ago, is rumored to be worth more than a billion dollars...

How much Google pays Apple to get its search onto iOS devices

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 10, 2012

While it's true that users can switch between Google, Bing and Yahoo when deciding which search engine to use in Safari on iOS, it's debatable as to whether anyone does actually change it. We're going to put our money on the percentage being on the low side!

That's why being the default search option on iOS is so important. If you're the one chosen out of the box, then the chances are you'll be the one that gets the vast majority of hits from users. Right now, that default choice is Google, and they pay handsomely for the privilege according to Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter.

Just how handsomely, you ask?

OpenStreetMap admits it’s behind iPhoto for iOS mapping service

Cody Lee ∙ March 8, 2012

Yesterday we reported that Apple's new iPhoto app for iOS is using the company's own internal mapping solution instead of Google's. This was a big deal because Apple has used Google Maps in nearly everything for the last 5 years.

Well it looks like we got it partially right. The maps used in iPhoto's geotagging service isn't Google Maps. But it isn't Apple's either. As it turns out, the data is coming from an open-source mapping company called OpenStreetMap...

New iPhoto app doesn’t use Google Maps

Cody Lee ∙ March 7, 2012

Earlier today, Apple unveiled a new iPhoto application for iOS during its iPad 3 event. The app is essentially a mobile version of its popular photo editing and management software for the Mac.

While we've already outlined most of iPhoto's components, a new discovery has been made regarding one of its features. It appears that the app doesn't use Google Maps for any of its GPS-related tasks...