google

Now that The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google will announce a new software package that aims at revolutionizing the way we interact and use cell phones, it strikes a bit odd to me that all of this is coming to fruition right now.

Now, obviously I'm not privy to Google strategy sessions, and my proceeding predictions are purely speculation, but doesn't it seem a bit interesting that Google is poised to mount an all-out offensive on the cell phone business? And whether you believe Gphone will be a device or an OS, it doesn't really matter -- that attack has become just one part of the entire mobile assault.

If you ask me, this is looking more and more like a premeditated, 5-year, three-point plan that aims at one eventual conclusion: reinvent the cell phone business.… Read more

Google's shares kissed the $700 mark in early morning trading Wednesday, marking a new first for the Internet giant and its soaring stock price.

Google's stock rose to more than $701 a share, following reports that it is pitching its "Gphone" to Verizon Wireless. The stock was up $4.95, or less than 1 percent, in morning trading, from its close of $694.77 on Tuesday.

Just a little more than three weeks ago, Google shares passed the $600 mark and analysts were speculating its shares could climb as high as $700 within the next year. … Read more

Borrowing a page from Sun's Java playbook, Google is announcing a way for programmers to build social applications for multiple Web sites at once.

Google's version of this "write once run anywhere" concept is called OpenSocial, a set of common application programming interfaces (APIs) that will enable developers to create applications for social networks, blogs and any Web sites that accept the OpenSocial code. Currently, developers have to write new programs for each site, even if the functionality will be the same on each site.

This initiative "marks the first time that multiple social networks … Read more

Google is pitching its vaunted Gphone to Verizon Wireless, but the odds are still against the search giant striking a major deal with the second largest phone company in the U.S.

The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported Tuesday evening that Google is in "serious discussions" with Verizon Wireless to put its mobile "GPhone" software on Verizon phones.

For months, people have been speculating about the rumored Google "GPhone." Most people believe that it's not a specific phone, but is more likely an operating system or software that integrates many of Google'… Read more

Though almost everything Google touches seems to turn to gold, there is one project that never quite became ubiquitous (at least here in the U.S.). Orkut may have found a following in Brazil and Asia, but I don't know anyone who uses the service. As Erick Schonfeld reports in TechCrunch, that may be about to change.

Known internally as Maka-Maka, the project will provide a means for all of Google's existing applications to work together within a social-networking landscape. Google is also building a series of APIs that will allow developers to integrate their own applications into the Google universe.

… Read more

Google is the top choice among developers creating location-enhanced applications for wireless devices. Second choice is Microsoft and then Nokia, according to a new survey from Evans Data Corporation released Tuesday.

The findings come at an opportune time for the search giant. Not a week goes by without some new rumors of a Google phone. The company has declined to comment on the buzz, but word is that it may have something to say next week.

"Google, the premier online Internet company, has intensified its focus on the mobile market over the last year, introducing and enhancing a number … Read more

BOSTON--When it comes to bragging rights and solar power, Google's on top: it has the largest corporate installation of solar-powered electricity yet.

But that apparently is just the beginning. The search giant is also considering other forms of renewable energy, according to Robyn Beavers, the director of environmental programs at Google. Google intends to generate 50 megawatts of electricity from renewable forms for its operations by 2012.

Beavers spoke at the Conference on Clean Energy here on Monday where she outlined a number of initiatives that Google participates in aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Those include the 1.… Read more

Google will unveil its long-anticipated plan to bring its software to cell phones within the next two weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported late on Monday citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

The "Google-powered" phones are expected to make it to market by mid-2008, possibly from Taiwan's HTC, South Korea's LG Electronics, Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA, France Telecom's Orange SA and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.'s 3 U.K., the report says. In addition to the ad-supported phone services bundling Google Maps, YouTube and Gmail, the operating system would be open to developers … Read more