Kamis, 26 April 2012

No wonder they bought Android: Early Google phone in parade of flops that show search giant doesn't ALWAYS get it right

No wonder they bought Android: Early Google phone in parade of flops that show search giant doesn't ALWAYS get it right

  • Financial secrets of search giant revealed in court battle with Oracle
  • Prototype phone shown off in 2006
  • Details of other disasters such as Google TV paraded in public
  • Search giant attempts to keep details secret

By Rob Waugh

PUBLISHED: 11:52 EST, 26 April 2012 | UPDATED: 12:09 EST, 26 April 2012

Google's Android is now the world's leading phone operating system - far ahead of Apple's iOS - but it wasn't always the case.

In fact, an early prototype of a 'Google phone' shows that the search giant was very sensible indeed to buy up the start-up company that made Android.

The prototype was shown off to mobile phone companies - and have surfaced as part of a dispute between Google and Oracle, which has brought up several other products Google might have preferred to forget...

The prototype was shown off to mobile phone companies - and have surfaced as part of a dispute between Google and Oracle, which has brought up several other products Google might have preferred to forget

The prototype was shown off to mobile phone companies - and have surfaced as part of a dispute between Google and Oracle, which has brought up several other products Google might have preferred to forget

SWITCHED OFF? HOW 'GOOGLE TV' AND OTHER IDEAS FAILED TO PERFORM FOR THE COMPANY

The search giant had high expectations for its Google TV service, but the technology has failed to take off


Google's YouTube business was estimated to generate $5 billion by 2013, thanks to a $3 billion contribution from Google TV, a then-new product that allows consumers to access Google services such as search and YouTube videos on their television screens.     

But analysts say Google TV has failed to catch on with consumers.

Logitech, one of Google's initial partners that developed a set-top box offering the service, said in November it would cease making Google TV devices.

The phone prototype has surfaced as part of a legal battle between Google and Oracle over smartphone technology  - and have shone light onto several Google ventures that have not gone to plan.

Online commerce and an initiative to bring Google services to television were important pillars of Google's growth plans over the past two years, court documents show.

But analysts say neither appear to be on track to deliver the kind of pay-off Google expected.     

‘Google TV and commerce ambitions look aggressive compared to what we believe they are today,’ said Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Herman Leung, who reviewed the Google documents.   

The projections for Google's various businesses were part of a presentation to Google's board of directors compiled by company staffers in October 2010.

They were revealed during the high-stakes trial of Oracle Corp against Google over smartphone technology.    

Google attempted to convince U.S. District Judge William Alsup to keep the internal documents secret, but Alsup denied the request in court last week.    

Google spokesman Jim Prosser said on Wednesday the documents do not represent current thinking about its business operations.    
‘Our industry continues to evolve incredibly fast and so do our aspirations for our various products and services,’ he said.   

Not exactly iPhone: Google attempted to keep the court documents secret - with good reason, it seems

Not exactly iPhone: Google attempted to keep the court documents secret - with good reason, it seems

Other services such as Google's social communication system Buzz were disastrous - and the system was almost immediately abandoned

Other services such as Google's social communication system Buzz were disastrous - and the system was almost immediately abandoned


Plus is built to integrate other Google products such as YouTube

Google's social network Plus has yet to hold most users' attention. Visitors have been spending an average of just a few minutes per month on the network, compared with six to seven hours on Facebook, according to the research firm ComScore


 

Still, the presentation provides a window into Google's strategic thinking at a time when the Web's dominant search engine was facing competitive pressure on numerous fronts.     

Google highlighted the emerging threat from an alliance between social networking service Facebook and Microsoft's Bing search engine, noting that ‘Facebook-Bing users may bypass Google.’

Google also said revenue from its business selling software to companies was ‘disappointing.’    
Oracle has accused Google's Android mobile operating system o f violating its intellectual property rights.


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