Google is fighting the war for dominance on all fronts. Currently, the company is ranked as the top search engine in the world, but they continue to push for greater share and recognition across the globe — with recent television advertisements garnering them the number one position in yet another country, leaving only five left to be conquered. However, beyond search, the company is working to edge its way into social, take over the local search field, and have the winning OS for mobile devices.
For a brief stint early this year, Google held the lead over Apple in mobile operating systems (Blackberry’s RIM still technically holds first place, but is being cannibalized rapidly by both Apple and Google; give RIM one year at best for its top slot position). However, the release of the iPhone for Verizon changed the game practically overnight, and iPhone once again took the lead.
It’s still neck and neck, however, and considering how new Google is to operating systems — and the lead that Apple had on them — the competitive position is still impressive. Eric Schmidt, soon to be former CEO of Google (he steps down on April 4th), stated throughout 2010 that Google was focusing on mobile innovations. More recently, Schmidt confirmed in a Harvard Business Review piece that Google will be working on three major fronts to improve their position in mobility. Those three fronts are:
- Improvements in the LTE (the underlying fast networks), allowing for greater entertainment and social applications.
- Innovations in financial technology in phones (possibly including NFC payment technologies).
- Lowering the cost of mobile smartphones (it’s expected that Android run phones that cost $75 prior to carrier discount will be released in 2011).
Google’s new development will certainly be seen in other areas as well, but according to Schmidt, these three sectors are key in Google’s mobile success.
Jen Williams
Latest posts by Jen Williams (see all)
- When Social Media Causes Disaster to Your Business - June 7, 2012
- Creating a New Link Building Strategy - June 7, 2012
- Social Media Marketing Mistakes to Avoid - June 6, 2012
