4 ms·

their core product is advertising; and all these other services exist to augment such. google's leadership is quite clearly on their A game.

cabalamat 17y ago
You're right. If the future of computing is Apple's locked down iPad and iPhone platforms, Google will lose big time. Google therefore needs to prevent that future from happening.
- cgranade 17y ago
  This cannot be emphasized enough-- Google does not want a future where their entire business model can be effectively turned off by another company. This is why they fight for openness in platforms, and for net neutrality. For Google, playing nice in those ways isn't a moral decision, but a business decision that has served them very well.
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    While that is certainly true I think it is also a little unfair to Page/Brin et al to shine it in only that light. I think they've demonstrated that they believe it is the moral thing to do as well.
    - cgranade 17y ago
      That may certainly be true, but what I was referring to is the behavior of Google as a whole company, under the influence of shareholders as well. I have a lot of respect for Page and Brin, and don't mean to malign them at all.
      - drats 17y ago
        Those shareholders being Page and Brin in majority until very recently. http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/22/technology/Google_founders_stock_sale/index.htm http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/22/technology/Google_founders_s... Even after the sale they are still 48%.
- axod 17y ago
  >> "If the future of computing is Apple's locked down iPad and iPhone platforms" This is why I love not being in Silicon Valley. Anyone who thinks the iPad/iPhone is the future of computing is either mad, or in silicon valley.
  - dannyr 17y ago
    Definitely agree. I moved to the Bay Area over a year ago. Most people think that the IPhone rules the mobile phone market. Some people even say that Android will be dead soon because everybody would just buy an IPhone. The truth is go outside the Bay Area and IPhone is not as prevalent. My non-Bay Area friends have an Android or Blackberry aside from the IPhone. IPhone is also not the best-selling smartphone line in the US. It is the Blackberry.
    - dustingetz 17y ago
      "iphone..not best selling smartphone..blackberry" this claim is meaningless, and probably irrelevant, without defining your terms and supplying data
    - brianobush 17y ago
      It depends on market segment: among teenage girls, I don't think the blackberry is the device to own. Of course, it is for corporate users. Overall, I don't know what the breakdown is, but a chart would be enlightening.
      - awad 17y ago
        Actually, you'd be surprised. This is purely anecdotal, of course, but around New York City, I see more girls with a Blackberry than iPhone. BBM is really hot. I would say it's the new AIM.
    - krobertson 17y ago
      They may not be dominant, but they've certainly carved off a sizable chunk. Recent figured I saw had RIM with 40% market, and and iPhone with 25% (just smartphones, not phones overall). I imagine the iPhone has an even large market when you narrow the demographics (teens and twenties, metropolitan areas, etc). Even though the iPhone may not be dominating the market, they've carved out 25% of it in 3 years, while RIM has been in the market for far longer. Not to mention Windows Mobile being in the market for longer and accomplishing not much. I'm not saying iPhone/iPad is the future of computing, but they've innovated in ways others haven't. Until someone 1-ups them, they'll continue to grow their share, in and outside of silicon valley.
- mkramlich 17y ago
  Google's best chance to prevent that future from happening is to build some sort of Terminator unit, and send it back in time to kill Steve Jobs and prevent Apple from being founded. Android: coincidence?
macrael 17y ago
I don't think so. Advertising is where they make their money, but Google's core competency is storing and making sense of massive amounts of data. That is what they do better than everyone else, advertising is just how they monetize it.
- ryanhuff 17y ago
  I agree, and that's why I think its hard for Google to do high-touch consumer services, and why I am pessimistic about their ability to pull off a mass-market consumer oriented tablet.

cabalamat 17y ago

You're right. If the future of computing is Apple's locked down iPad and iPhone platforms, Google will lose big time. Google therefore needs to prevent that future from happening.

cgranade 17y ago
This cannot be emphasized enough-- Google does not want a future where their entire business model can be effectively turned off by another company. This is why they fight for openness in platforms, and for net neutrality. For Google, playing nice in those ways isn't a moral decision, but a business decision that has served them very well.
- ErrantX 17y ago
  While that is certainly true I think it is also a little unfair to Page/Brin et al to shine it in only that light. I think they've demonstrated that they believe it is the moral thing to do as well.
  - cgranade 17y ago
    That may certainly be true, but what I was referring to is the behavior of Google as a whole company, under the influence of shareholders as well. I have a lot of respect for Page and Brin, and don't mean to malign them at all.
    - drats 17y ago
      Those shareholders being Page and Brin in majority until very recently. http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/22/technology/Google_founders_stock_sale/index.htm http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/22/technology/Google_founders_s... Even after the sale they are still 48%.
axod 17y ago
>> "If the future of computing is Apple's locked down iPad and iPhone platforms" This is why I love not being in Silicon Valley. Anyone who thinks the iPad/iPhone is the future of computing is either mad, or in silicon valley.
- dannyr 17y ago
  Definitely agree. I moved to the Bay Area over a year ago. Most people think that the IPhone rules the mobile phone market. Some people even say that Android will be dead soon because everybody would just buy an IPhone. The truth is go outside the Bay Area and IPhone is not as prevalent. My non-Bay Area friends have an Android or Blackberry aside from the IPhone. IPhone is also not the best-selling smartphone line in the US. It is the Blackberry.
  - dustingetz 17y ago
    "iphone..not best selling smartphone..blackberry" this claim is meaningless, and probably irrelevant, without defining your terms and supplying data
  - brianobush 17y ago
    It depends on market segment: among teenage girls, I don't think the blackberry is the device to own. Of course, it is for corporate users. Overall, I don't know what the breakdown is, but a chart would be enlightening.
    - awad 17y ago
      Actually, you'd be surprised. This is purely anecdotal, of course, but around New York City, I see more girls with a Blackberry than iPhone. BBM is really hot. I would say it's the new AIM.
  - krobertson 17y ago
    They may not be dominant, but they've certainly carved off a sizable chunk. Recent figured I saw had RIM with 40% market, and and iPhone with 25% (just smartphones, not phones overall). I imagine the iPhone has an even large market when you narrow the demographics (teens and twenties, metropolitan areas, etc). Even though the iPhone may not be dominating the market, they've carved out 25% of it in 3 years, while RIM has been in the market for far longer. Not to mention Windows Mobile being in the market for longer and accomplishing not much. I'm not saying iPhone/iPad is the future of computing, but they've innovated in ways others haven't. Until someone 1-ups them, they'll continue to grow their share, in and outside of silicon valley.
mkramlich 17y ago
Google's best chance to prevent that future from happening is to build some sort of Terminator unit, and send it back in time to kill Steve Jobs and prevent Apple from being founded. Android: coincidence?

macrael 17y ago

I don't think so. Advertising is where they make their money, but Google's core competency is storing and making sense of massive amounts of data. That is what they do better than everyone else, advertising is just how they monetize it.

ryanhuff 17y ago
I agree, and that's why I think its hard for Google to do high-touch consumer services, and why I am pessimistic about their ability to pull off a mass-market consumer oriented tablet.