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Tag: Google

  • Google to team up with Audi for in-car entertainment

    Google to team up with Audi for in-car entertainment

    MUMBAI: Recently the tech giant Apple announced its plan to collaborate with car manufacturers to ‘integrate’ its iOS devices into the cars for giving its consumers a chance to delve in to entertainment even while commuting.

     

    Following the same path, now, according to reports, Google and German auto maker Audi AG too are planning to announce their collaboration to develop in-car entertainment and information systems that are based on Google’s Android software.

     

    In fact, to make the technology significant for the future vehicles, the two also plan to collaborate with other automotive and tech companies, including chip maker Nvidia Corp. The idea behind developing this technology is to give drivers and passengers access to music, navigation, apps and services that are similar to those widely available now on Android-powered smartphones.

     

    Apple, so far, has the support of BMW AG, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz division, General Motors and Honda Motor.

  • Spanish data protection agency slaps Google with a €900,000 fine

    Spanish data protection agency slaps Google with a €900,000 fine

    MUMBAI: Google has been penalised with €900,000 by the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) (Spanish: Agencia Espa?ola de Protección de Datos) for breaking its protection laws. The fine was imposed after Google changed its privacy policy and started combining consumer data, which people registered while using Google’s many services.

    Google also failed to explain to the agency about customer browsing and what it does with that information. The agency claims to have found that Google runs roughshod over local users’ data and treats it in a way that can be considered illegal. 

    The AEPD declared in a statement that Google that has been processing personal data in the framework of its new privacy policy is illegal. 

    Google, according to the agency, has violated the right to protection of personal data laid down in Article 18 of Spanish Constitution and regulated in the LOPD [Organic Law of the Protection of Personal Data]. The search browser has broken three parts of the Spanish law and hence will be fined €300,000 for each incident.

  • Google and Facebook will be the top two ad publishers in 2014: eMarketer study

    Google and Facebook will be the top two ad publishers in 2014: eMarketer study

    MUMBAI: A recent study conducted by eMarketer has revealed that the mobile ad spending in US is expected to near $9.6 billion in 2013 and account for a whopping 22.5 per cent of all digital ad investments.

    The report also highlights that both Facebook and Google are major drivers and recipients of this growing market, domestically and internationally.

    “The rapid growth of mobile ad revenues at Facebook has helped make the social network the second-largest digital ad seller in the US, behind only Google. This year, Facebook will take in 7.4 per cent of net US digital ad dollars, or $3.17 billion, while Google will account for nearly four in 10, or $17.00 billion,” reveals the eMarketer study.

    eMarketer had previously forecast that Facebook would remain slightly behind Yahoo! this year. “But the strength of Facebook’s mobile business has pushed the social network past Yahoo!, whose share is now expected to decline to 5.8 per cent in 2013, from 6.8 per cent last year,” says eMarketer in its report.

    The study reveals that even on a worldwide basis, Google and Facebook will be the top two ad publishers, with 31.91 per cent and 5.64 per cent of the market this year, respectively.

    eMarketer has also found that both Google and Facebook have grabbed the greatest shares of net US mobile ad revenues, with Facebook jumping from 9 per cent to 16 per cent between 2012 and 2013.

    “Globally, Google dominates the mobile ad landscape, with a 48.76 per cent market share,” eMarketer estimates. “Facebook has seen its share of global mobile revenues explode this past year, growing from 5.34 per cent in 2012 to 16.91 per cent in 2013.”

  • Spanish data protection agency slaps Google with a 900,000 fine

    Spanish data protection agency slaps Google with a 900,000 fine

    MUMBAI: Google has been penalised with €900,000 by the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) (Spanish: Agencia Espa?ola de Protección de Datos) for breaking its protection laws. The fine was imposed after Google changed its privacy policy and started combining consumer data, which people registered while using Google’s many services.

     

    Google also failed to explain to the agency about customer browsing and what it does with that information. The agency claims to have found that Google runs roughshod over local users’ data and treats it in a way that can be considered illegal.    

     

    The AEPD declared in a statement that Google that has been processing personal data in the framework of its new privacy policy is illegal.

     

    Google, according to the agency, has violated the right to protection of personal data laid down in Article 18 of Spanish Constitution and regulated in the LOPD [Organic Law of the Protection of Personal Data]. The search browser has broken three parts of the Spanish law and hence will be fined €300,000 for each incident.

  • YouTube ad revenue may rise by 50 per cent to $5.6bn

    YouTube ad revenue may rise by 50 per cent to $5.6bn

    MUMBAI: YouTube, the online video streaming giant, is growing than ever before. According to a new report by eMarketer, YouTube’s advertising revenue is expected to rise by more than 50 per cent to $5.6 billion in 2013, also posing a threat to traditional TV ads.

     

    The report by eMarketer claims that YouTube has become a huge favourite among advertisers and it will account for 11 per cent of advertising revenue at Google, YouTube’s parent. Earlier in May, Morgan Stanley predicted that YouTube’s gross revenue would reach $4 billion in 2013, while Barclays suggested a likely figure of $3.6 billion and Jefferies & Co’s $4.5 billion

     

    Google has not revealed YouTube’s earnings, but eMarketer research suggests that the search engine got a bargain when it paid $1.65 billion for the site in 2006. However, the streaming site does not keep all the advertising revenue as it has to pay a share to advertising partners and providers of content.

     

    Google’s public statistics for YouTube include the fact that the service attracts one billion people watching more than six billion hours of video a month, with 80 per cent of its traffic coming from outside the US, and 40 per cent of its viewing on mobile devices.

     

    Advertisers are keen to buy slots on YouTube because of its young audience, who prefer to watch TV programmes through their computers, tablets and mobile phones rather than conventional televisions.

     

    About 79 per cent of YouTube’s US ad revenue is from video advertising, with an estimated $850 million for the year. That would give it a 20.5 per cent share of the overall $4.15 billion US video ad market. eMarketer estimates that YouTube video-ad revenue would hit $1.22 billion in 2014, taking a 21.1 per cent share.

  • Getting married? Confess your desires

    Getting married? Confess your desires

    MUMBAI: With the wedding season upon us, jewellers, designers, decorators, planners, videographers and photographers are busy vying for attention (and assignments) from prospective brides and grooms.

    In such a scenario, Tanishq, the Tata Group’s jewellery brand, has come up with an innovative digital campaign that may well help it stand head and shoulders above the competition, while putting a smile on the face of the bride-to-be.

    Christened ‘Confessions of a Bride’, the month-long campaign is an extension of Tanishq’s recent wedding campaign and seeks to fulfill the innermost desires of every new-age bride; be it an immaculately designed wedding dress or a personalised jewellery set or even a romantic honeymoon in the Swiss Alps.

    So if you’re going to be a blushing bride, all you need to do is log onto: http://tanishqweddings.com and make your confession. Rest assured, your secret wish is then Tanishq’s command…

    Exults Titan vice president retail and marketing (jewellery division) Sandeep Kulhalli: “As family jewellers in a progressive society, we understand that every Indian bride wants to give an individualistic touch to her wedding and is ready to get out of the realms of comfort to fulfil the same. This campaign attempts to live up to the confessions that the bride makes so as to gift wrap a beautiful experience and present it to her that will go down memory lane.”

    On connecting with the audience, says Titan head marketing (jewellery division) Deepika S Tewari: “At Tanishq, digital campaigns have always been a great medium to connect with our customers. With more than 75% of internet users in India falling under the age of 35 – the digital medium is the best mode to reach out to them. In the past, we have had successful digital campaigns like My Expression, Mia on Wheels etc. which were well accepted by the audience. Confessions of a Bride is an attempt to celebrate differentiated weddings of the progressive Indian bride.”

    Tanishq is pulling out all stops to promote its new campaign, particularly on digital platforms. The brand is promoting the contest and various features of the website organically on social media platforms supported by paid promotions on facebook to relevant audiences, Google search, Google display network, YouTube and chats with stylists on twitter.

     “Bloggers have always been a critical part of Tanishq online campaigns. We reach out to them not only for publicising our digital activities but also take their inputs as they understand the pulse of the tech-savvy audience to refine and streamline our campaigns. For this campaign, we have reached out to bloggers who have been writing on weddings and similar themes to come on board and help us in making this a huge success!” Tewari says.
    Tanishq has partnered with Interactive Avenues on the campaign. 

  • Are Android STBs a step too far for India?

    Are Android STBs a step too far for India?

    MUMBAI: Even as the cable and television industry prepares to take on digitisation, there’s another advanced technology which has arrived rather quietly on Indian shores.

     

    We’re talking Android set top boxes (STBs) from Willett STB Technologies which are in the market since sometime last month. These hybrid STBs carry all the applications available on the Android Play Store and allow customers to switch seamlessly between television and the internet. Given the recent buzz about Google bringing YouTube on TV, such a technology may just be what the doctor ordered. However, for a variety of reasons, the Android STBs don’t seem to be finding enough traction in the industry.

     

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Willett STB Technologies director Deepak Wadhwa refuted the MSOs’ claim that STBs are not upgraded to carry YouTube as a Video-on-demand (VoD) service on television. “The STBs come in different models and frankly, we are ready with the technology. The Android box is the answer to this new development.”

     

    However, Wadhwa was quick to point out that the problem lies in MSOs’ unwillingness to accept the technology. “The MSOs are not ready to promote the boxes. Even though we are ready with the upgraded technology, there are deployment issues,” he said.

     

    So what was keeping MSOs from adopting the new technology? A major reason, according to Wadhwa, was the cost, where each Android STB carried a price tag of Rs 4,000. Additionally, customers would have to pay for video services.

     

    The Willett Android 4.2 STB is a hybrid box, with both Android and DVBC features. “The box allows customers to switch between Android play store and TV channels. It also converts a normal TV to a smart TV,” informed Wadhwa.

     

    Elaborating on the cost factor, he said: “The MSOs are already tied up with MPEG2 boxes. Also in smaller cities, where people are used to viewing TV at Rs 75 to Rs 100, they are opposing STBs which cost Rs 1000, so accepting the Android boxes seems a far thing to imagine.”

     

    Meanwhile, an MSO defended cable operators’ stance saying: “These OTT boxes don’t give us revenue which goes to the service provider instead. So why should we use them?”

     

    Media consultant Sanjeev Hiremath opined: “As far as the cable industry is concerned, technology gets adapted step-by-step. No one is ready to take two steps at a time. Obviously, the advantage of the Android box is that you can incorporate the experience of OTT service also in that. So then you can avoid cable and can directly take a broadband connection and experience both TV and the world of internet. If customers are not ready to pay Rs 1000-2000 for normal STBs, of course they will not buy these at double the rate.”
    Maybe, India needs to work towards faster adoption of new technologies just as it has in developing them…

     

  • Stage set for ID Day

    Stage set for ID Day

    MUMBAI: Global superstars One Direction have further given details about the event, ‘1D Day’ that marks the release of their new album ‘Midnight Memories.’

     

    ‘1D Day’ will give people from every corner of the globe a unique opportunity to enter into One Direction’s world, through a seven-hour live broadcast with the band on 23 November between 7pm – 2am (GMT).

     

    ‘1D Day’ will be broadcast on YouTube & Google+, so One Direction fans around the world can watch live at the same time. The broadcast will include behind the scenes footage, exclusive plays of tracks from their new album ‘Midnight Memories’, Guinness World record attempts, and special guests including Robbie Williams, Celine Dion, Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan, The Muppets and many more.

     

    ‘1D Day’ will also broadcast live into Doctor Who Live: The Afterparty on BBC3. The show will feature a host of previous doctors and their time-travelling companions.

     

    Fans who have taken part in 1D Day challenges over the past few weeks will have the chance to spot their work on screen and people will be able to join in the fun in a variety of ways; using the hashtag #1DDayLive, swiping the screen to get rewards with the Zappar app and play along with the official 1D Day quiz.

     

    The ultimate reward for fans from around the world is getting the opportunity to hang out with the guys and participate live in the stream. The band will be surprising fans by dropping into their Google+ Hangout parties and chatting live face-to-face in a special feature called ‘One Big Drop In.’  

     

    “‘1D Day’ is all about giving back to our amazing fans for supporting us for the past three years. When we suggested it we never thought anyone would let us loose LIVE all day – we cannot wait!” said Liam of the band.

     

    One Direction recently finished a worldwide tour, and are releasing their hugely anticipated third studio album ‘Midnight Memories’ on the 25 November.  The band has also announced a worldwide stadium tour for 2014.

  • Google, Bing join hands to eliminate illicit searches

    Google, Bing join hands to eliminate illicit searches

    MUMABI: While the availability of information online has turned out to be a blessing for almost everybody, it is also disturbing for parents who fear their kids getting exposed to unwanted data. Coming to their rescue are two of the world’s leading search engines — Google and Bing, who will jointly handle the menace of illicit searches made by under age kids on the cyber space.

     

    Now about 100,000 search keywords are going to be listed as illegal words. Moreover, someone searching for those keywords will not only be prohibited from viewing the search results but also be informed that his or her search is illegal. Soon, the strategy will be extended to 150 languages on global scale to make a huge difference.

     

    According to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, child sexual exploitation can be eliminated by terminating such keyword searches.

     

    The parent company of Bing, Microsoft has also stated that they have had zero-tolerance policy for any such material but now they are going to make it stricter.

     

    UK’s National Crime Agency and Internet Watch Foundation will help the internet giants in this initiative.   

  • Twitter: Strong IPO, followed by even stronger opening

    Twitter: Strong IPO, followed by even stronger opening

    MUMBAI: It began with a tweet on its twitter handle which stated: “We just priced our IPO.” Attached with the tweet was a screen shot of the offering announcement.

    And by the time Wednesday 6 November ended, the social networking site that has become a phenomenon across the globe had managed to raise $2.09 billion from its IPO, making it the seventh-largest US tech IPO ever, just ahead of Google, which raised $1.92 billion in its 2004 stock market debut, according to some estimates.

    But there was more in store for stockmarket observers and investors as trading began on Thursday morning. The Twitter share – under the TWTR ticker – spurted 90 plus per cent in value as it soared to $45 per share during early trades and then to a high of $50. This took up the valuation of the firm to $25 billion or 32 billion or so, at the time of writing.

    Yesterday’s $26 price valued the microblogging service at $18.34 billion, on a fully diluted basis. That is 16 to 17 times forecast 2014 sales, a premium to rivals including Facebook, LinkedIn and Yelp, according to some analysts.

    Twitter set an early price range of $17 to $20 for its IPO, which was considered cautious. But there was strong interest from investors, and the company was selling just 70 million of its 545 million shares, leaving an imbalance between supply and demand. That allowed the company and its bankers, led by Goldman Sachs’ Anthony Noto, to raise the range to $23 to $25 and then pick a final price above that.

     

    Analysts felt that the price should have been in the $21 range but the final pricing zipped past that. Other analyst and stock watchers had predicted that the share would go past the $40 market during day one’s trading. The IPO was as much as 30 times over-subscribed.

    While Twitter has a broad and powerful influence, its service is sometimes tricky to understand and use, which has reportedly limited the company’s growth. Twitter has about 230 million users, including heads of state and celebrities, while Facebook has more than one billion.

    However, Twitter lost $65 million in the latest quarter.

    Twitter is expected to generate $1.24 billion in sales in 2015, according to some projections. Its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margins will be roughly 6.5 per cent this year and 8.4 per cent in 2014, according to IPO underwriter forecasts that were shared with investors. In 2015, margins may jump to about 16 per cent, the estimates suggest.

    During an interview given to CNBC, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo is believed to have said that investors should not be concerned about the company’s current lack of profits, since its part of a plan to invest for the long term.

    It looks like the investment community and public is buying his story for now – at least.