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I use Google Earth almost daily, and they've never made a penny off of me. It doesn't even have in-app ads. I guess these days "Totally Blew It" means "Wisely
by 13of40 11y ago
I use Google Earth almost daily, and they've never made a penny off of me. It doesn't even have in-app ads. I guess these days "Totally Blew It" means "Wisely decided not to spend the next two decades hemorrhaging money on the thing."
- fizzbatter 11y agoSo you think Google has been needlessly hemorrhaging money for two decades? Seems like an odd statement. Clearly Google sees the value in it. Even if it is simply brand identity, or "vendor lockin" (for lack of a better description). Clearly there is something that is very meaningful to Google to do it. I bet there are a ton of companies that would love to have their maps product as the "maps app" of choice by the masses. Likewise, i'm sure Microsoft would love if i had to login to bing every time i used Navigation, compared to me never using bing for anything ever. So yea, i don't think "Totally Blew It" is that far off the mark.
- johansch 11y agoTo list just one value: Google maps is a very strong reason why Android device manufacturers feel like they need to go with a Google-service model and follow Google's requirements, rather than do it Amazon Fire style. This alone is worth billions in search revenue. (And Google was smart enough to let it take a decade for this value to materialize.)
- 13of40 11y agoNo, Google Earth has.
- j_m_b 11y agoCharging for the Google Maps API calls is probably where they make money off of it. Lots of apps use it.
- encoderer 11y agoAnd prolific users pay millions/yr for it.