We know the importance of a locating device on your mobile for those who have gone astray in various parts of the globe. Thankfully Man gave us the inventive GPS which maybe the perfect device in such a situation, but the GPS is sure to drain your cell phone batteries in no time. This was enough thought for the team at Google to develop a cutting edge Google Maps for mobiles version. This amazing feature can tell your location without the need of a GPS device.

The best part is you do not have to tediously type in the location name for a result. Simply press the number “0” and you will get information on your current location. Your approximate location is triangulated based on nearby mobile-phone masts, meaning users won’t have to type in an address to set their location.

US customers get lucky once again as they get FREE access to this matchless service. Most web-enabled mobile phones like Java, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Nokia/Symbian devices will support Google Maps for Mobiles (it’s not yet available on the iPhone or Palm Treo devices).

With better coverage, interactive maps and of course low battery usage Google Maps for Mobiles sounds like a delightful proposition. So the next time you get out on your African Safari or spiritual trip to Goa, Google Maps for Mobiles may just come in handy.(Justsearching)

Evans Data says it surveyed close to 400 professional developers around the world who are working on applications for mobile devices, and found that 38.4 percent of them preferred using Google technologies for location based development. The closest competitor was Microsoft followed by Nokia.

See more by http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15116/127/

We haven’t heard much about Zingku since we predicted it would be hot in ’07 in the Mashable Social Networking Awards. However, Google now appears to agree with us, acquiring the company for an undisclosed amount. Currently, the Zingku site is closed for new registrations as the company moves to Google.

Google never seemed to do much with Dodgeball, another mobile social networking tool of sorts it acquired, so it will be interesting to find out what the game plan is here. Other recent Google news in the mobile space include the rumored Gphone, and the company’s bid on wireless spectrum in both the US and UK.

[via Google Operating System]

Quality over quantity is usually the way in which we’d like to consider certain things in life, like clothes or the number of tracks on an album. And many of you out there would agree that this mantra applies to search queries as well.

Compete has just compiled a study that shows Yahoo’s superiority over Google when it comes to search results. While we all know that Google takes the cake for dominating the market in terms of search quantity, it’s good to look at quality every once in a while, too. What Compete looked at were the referrals from search queries done across Yahoo, Google and MSN/Live. An entire third of search queries performed on Google led to a dead end, meaning people weren’t clicking on a single search result.

This is the silver lining that so many search engine developers look to when creating their own way to navigate the semantic web. Nearly every search engine that’s come to our attention wants to find better results than Google, in a more efficient manner, whether it be through human interaction as with Cha-Cha and Mahalo, web user behavior as with Krillion, or a combination of both, as with Grayboxx.

It may be important to note here that Yahoo’s received higher honors than Google for consumer satisfaction as well. Does this mean that Yahoo is hands-down better than Google? Not really. It’s just another debatable factor for advertisers and businesses to look at when drawing up an online marketing plan.

At Google Developer Day, New Browser Extension Provided to Developer Community

Google Developer Day 2007

SYDNEY, Australia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) today announced at Google Developer Day 2007 that it is providing developers with Google Gears??, an open source technology for creating offline web applications. This new browser extension is being made available in its early stages so that everyone can test its capabilities and limitations and help improve upon it. The long-term hope is that Google Gears can help the industry as a whole move toward a single standard for offline capabilities that all developers can use.

Google Gears marks an important step in the evolution of web applications because it addresses a major user concern: availability of data and applications when there’s no Internet connection available, or when a connection is slow or unreliable. As application developers and users alike want to do more on the web—whether it’s email or CRM or photo editing—enhancements that make the browser environment itself more powerful are increasingly important.

“With Google Gears we’re tackling a key limitation of the browser in order to make it a stronger platform for deploying all types of applications and enabling a better user experience in the cloud,” said Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer of Google. “We believe strongly in the power of the community to stretch this new technology to the limits of what’s possible and ultimately emerge with an open standard that benefits everyone.”

Google is offering Google Gears as a free, fully open source technology in order to help every web application, not just Google applications. As a first example of what is possible, the Google Reader™ feed reader (http://reader.google.com) is available today with Gears-enabled offline capabilities.

Industry support

Google will be working closely with all members of the web community to converge upon a standard so developers have one consistent API for offline functionality.

“We’re very excited to be collaborating with Google to move the industry forward to a standard cross-platform, cross-browser local storage capability,” said Kevin Lynch, senior vice president and chief software architect at Adobe. “The Gears API will also be available in Apollo, which enables web applications to run on the desktop, providing developers with consistent offline and local database solutions.”

“This announcement is a significant step forward for web applications,” said Brendan Eich, CTO at Mozilla Corporation. “We’re pleased to see Google working with open source and open standards bodies on offline web applications.”

“Opera and Google share the common goal of making Web applications richer and more robust,” said Håkon Wium Lie, CTO, Opera Software. “Developers have long desired the functionality and flexibility Google Gears can offer browsers. Because Opera has always prioritized giving our users what they want, we’re excited to work with Google to extend the reach and power of Web applications.”

Another tool in the application development toolbox

Google Gears builds on the web’s existing programming model by introducing new JavaScript APIs for sophisticated data storage, application caching, and multi-threading features. With these APIs, developers can bring offline capabilities to even their most complex web applications. Google Gears works with all major browsers on all major platforms: Windows, Mac and Linux.

Google Gears is available now at http://gears.google.com/.

About Google Inc.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Google, Google Gears, and Google Reader are trademarks of Google Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Oprah takes us on a tour of what it’s like to what at Googleplex, the company headquarters of Google. If you thought your company had perks, you’re wrong. Googleplex is outfitted with gyms, on-site doctors, dry cleaners, free laundry rooms, two swimming pools, a sand volleyball court, and nearly a dozen cafeterias that charge nothing for the food!
It’s a no-brainer why Fortune magazine just named Google the #1 place to work in the United States. This final quote in the video sums the experience of working at Google:
“I love working at Google. It’s the next best thing to probably not working at all.”

Google will make a significant push toward integrating results from a variety of its search engines in an attempt to deliver as relevant and comprehensive a result set as possible to search queries.

Although Google and its competitors have been moving in this direction for years, Google’s announcement on Wednesday is its clearest and most concrete statement of direction yet regarding its efforts in this area. The announcement was made by Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of search products and user experience, at an event in the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,131929-c,google/article.html

WASHINGTON–With the Internet poised to be the “epicenter” of the 2008 elections, Google is contemplating how best to keep candidate information readily accessible without allowing the Web to transform into a giant tabloid.

One major question the company faces is how to “provide a platform for free expression without exacerbating the ugliness,” Elliot Schrage, the company’s vice president of global communications, said at the annual Politics Online Conference here Thursday afternoon.

Schrage pointed to what he called a “disturbing” video posted by a YouTube user that featured the late son of presidential hopeful John Edwards. He said the company, after much contemplation, ultimately decided it was not in a position to remove it.

“We are redefining boundaries when it comes to the personal lives of candidates and their families,” Schrage said in his conference keynote speech at George Washington University. “We all have to be more vigilant about protecting the truth.”

As more and more candidates and voters use the Web as a soapbox, the public-relations chief acknowledged that the search giant is left in an awkward place. He said he believes that “self-policing” is the best way to prevent online mudslinging.

“We’re not in the business of assessing truth or falsity,” he said in response to an audience member’s follow-up question. “That’s not a path we want to take, or we think is appropriate, or our users would expect.”

Schrage was also quick to point out the unprecedented democratizing benefits he believes the Web has brought to candidates and voters. He said the Internet has led to easier interaction between politicians and constituents, greater accountability for politicians who make missteps and a broader fundraising base.

Google hopes to promote that exchange by creating a special sales team to handle ad requests from political campaigns. It has also invited all of the 2008 presidential candidates to journey to the Googleplex to “talk tech and policy and maybe even grab lunch,” Schrage said.

If the candidates agree to it, Google hopes to film some of the visit and put the videos they produce online, he added. YouTube recently launched a site called YouChoose ’08 that provides an official platform for the presidential candidates to post videos.

Other concerns range from so-called Google bombing–that is, manipulating search rankings to render artificial results–to what Schrage deemed the very real possibility of political spyware planting itself on unsuspecting users’ computers.

For the company that likes to say its mission is organizing the world’s information, it will remain a challenge to give voters the information they need without overwhelming them, Schrage said.

“I defy anyone here to search for ‘Hillary 2008′ and read all the results without passing out,” he quipped, adding: “not because of the content, mind you, but because of the volume.”

PALO ALTO, Calif.–While many investors have knocked Microsoft for not moving as quickly as Google, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer suggested that his chief rival may be trying to grow too fast.

Microsoft took nearly three decades to grow to 75,000 people, while Google has become a very large company in a fraction of that time.

“They are trying to double in a year,” Ballmer told a crowd of Stanford Graduate School of Business students on Thursday. “That’s insane in my opinion.”

But, he added, “it doesn’t mean they won’t do it well.”

There are advantages to the deliberate management structure that Microsoft has put in place, he said, adding that he isn’t sure anyone has proven “that a random collection of people doing their own thing” has created value. Among Google’s perks, the company is widely known for letting its engineers devote 20 percent of their work time to pet projects.

As in the past, he characterized Google as a one-trick pony, playing down the company’s efforts beyond search.

“They do a lot of cute things,” Ballmer said, to huge laughs from the business students.

“We do a lot of cute things too,” he said. “We have a robotics effort.”

Although not in the audience for Ballmer’s chat, Google CEO Eric Schmidt happened to be not far away, eating lunch at the business school cafeteria as Ballmer’s chat began. Schmidt teaches a class at Stanford’s business school.

At Stanford and schools throughout the country, Google and Microsoft have emerged as each other’s fiercest rivals for talent. Ballmer, who attended one year of the two year Stanford Business School program, makes fairly regular stops here, having in 2005.

Ballmer said there are basically four stages in business: coming up with an idea, getting it to critical mass, milking it financially and then finding a new idea.

“Google is in the part of the cycle where they are milking,” Ballmer said, acknowledging that’s a fun stage. “That was the ’90s for us…or I would say the ’80s and ’90s.”

Excerpts from a note published by Citigroup analysts Mark Mahaney and Jason Brueschke released yesterday:

Head of Google (GOOG) in China said that Google is open to using M&A in China as a way to grow its talent base, technology and portfolio.

Our reading of GOOG’s M&A history to date and its strategy is that the most likely M&A candidates in China would be small technology/R&D shops or unique localized applications. That said, there are several potential candidates that might offer distinct advantages in terms of increased user bases or expanded Web traffic.

We think Google is likely looking for companies with unique technology skills sets or companies that can help Google localize its offerings for the China market.

If Google were to depart from its practice of making primarily technology-based acquisitions, it is interesting to consider who, among publicly-listed Chinese Internet/Media companies, Google might consider acquiring:

Baidu.com Inc (BIDU): The Obvious Choice. The issues are likely to be: (1) Management resistance – Baidu founder Robin Li is the obvious person to run the China operations were such a deal to happen, but Google has hired two talented people to run its operations already; (2) Government resistance – While it is a generally held view that the Chinese government is reluctant to allow Sina (SINA) to be acquired, it is unclear if the Chinese government feels the same way about Baidu and the Search market. Our view is that a takeover of Baidu would meet significant government resistance; (3) Google needs Baidu more than Baidu needs Google – Baidu is the leader and appears to be pulling away from Google in China. As a result, there are fewer reasons for Baidu to sell, in our view. Nevertheless, Google already owns a small percentage of Baidu, purchased when Baidu was a private company, so a deal is not out of the question. Near-term, we expect Google to choose to compete with Baidu, rather than trying to take control of Baidu.

Sina (SINA): The Best Fit. Sina has tremendous Internet traffic that continues to grow. Google could benefit from this traffic. Moreover, Sina’s search engine has basically failed, meaning Sina is not likely to effectively monetize its traffic on its own via CPC Search anytime during the next several years, in our view. A deal would thus benefit each party significantly, and they could be natural allies similar to AOL and Google in the U.S. However, the Chinese government would likely prohibit Google taking a controlling stake in Sina. As a result, we believe the most likely result would be for Sina and Google to reach an agreement whereby Sina uses Google’s search engine to monetize its traffic in exchange for most of the revenues — perhaps 90%+ of the search revenues. It is possible that a small equity stake by Google – say 9.99%, which would not trigger the Sina poison pill – could cement the deal without being vetoed by Beijing. However, in our view, such an equity stake is not necessary for such a Sina-Google strategic partnership.

51job (JOBS): Leader in Online Classified Job Market. 51job would bring Google access to the dominant player in the online job market in China. While 70% of 51job’s revenues are print based, its online business and traffic is still the strongest in China, in our view. The #2 player, ChinaHR, is already controlled by Monster Worldwide, and hence is not available. 51job investors recently sold a 15% stake to Japan’s Recruit, with the option to take this stake to 40% over the next three years, which could make 51job a less attractive target for Google (unless an accommodation with Recruit could be reached).

Sohu (SOHU): Strong Assets, But Not Likely. Sohu would be an attractive fit for Google, as its seven properties have traffic levels on par with Sina and Baidu. However, Sohu has a strong search effort fully under way, and Sohu has been publicly quoted as saying it believes Google will ultimately fail in China. With a controlling shareholder/founder determined to beat both Baidu and Google, Sohu seems an unlikely seller, in our view. Finally, Sohu likely faces similar government approval issues as Sina would.

Online Gaming Companies: NetEase (NTES) a Possibility, But Not Likely. While NetEase has significant traffic, much of it is youth-focused due to the company’s strength in online gaming. If Google were to acquire a gaming company, NetEase would be the one, in our view. Shanda and, especially, The9 are more pure-gaming plays and thus likely to be less desirable to Google, in our view.

Wireless VAS Players: Tom Online (TOMO). Like NetEase in Gaming, only one player makes any sense in the WVAS sector: Tom Online. The largest player in this space, Tom excels at monetizing traffic via mobile phones. However, Tom actually is weak in terms of traffic compared to the Portals, and needs to grow its own traffic and brand ahead of full-scale 3G launch in China, in our estimation. Such a deal would add little to meet Google’s most pressing needs, in our view.