Posts tagged Nexus One
What Apple’s purchase of Quattro really means
Jan 8th
Search giants are scrambling to protect revenues and tap into new areas of advertising
Apple has confirmed it has acquired the agency Quattro Wireless. Is it odd that a primarily tech company has acquired an ad agency?
My answer is no. Apple has gone to great lengths to establish itself as not just a tech giant but also a media company over the past few years – iSlate anyone?
It’s acquisition of Quattro (which was a reported $US300m)spells the next phase in its advertising strategy and ambitions to bolster its advertising capabilities across its iPhone platform and therefore implement a new revenue stream.
However, Apple is probably less interested in profiting from ads than in making the iPhone the most attractive device for developers to build applications. It should also attract new brand advertisers that have previously been cautious of mobile marketing.
Quattro has an ad serving, tracking and analytics platform to help advertisers engage with mobile consumers. Its Q Elevation platform can be used to target ad campaigns based on consumer demographics, location, time of day and other factors.
Mobile advertising is considered a hot market because of the potential to reach consumers on devices that they carry with them everywhere and personalise.
The market for mobile advertising is still relatively untapped, with effective approaches just beginning to emerge as spend on the medium expected to grow to £1 billion by 2013, as smartphones become increasingly popular.
Apple could be using the advertising platform to generate more revenue from the iPhone, and potentially from the tablet computer it is rumored to be developing and launching later this month.
Also, keep in mind that this isn’t Apple’s first attempt to get in the ad game. The tech giant also reputedly wanted to purchase mobile ad company AdMob, only to have it snatched out from under its nose by Google.
Google bought AdMob in November for $U750 million. However, the deal is currently being investigated by US antitrust regulators, and two consumer groups have called on the government to block it.
Here’s an interesting pattern: Apple launches iPhone. Google buys AdMob. Apple buys Quattro. Google launches Nexus One.
The two are heavily pitted against each other. We’re excited to see what will happen next.
The real strategy behind Google’s mobile venture
Jan 6th
There’s more to Google’s mobile strategy than just the handset, retail.
Well it’s official, the Google Nexus One is here and it’s here to take on Apple. But what does this new smartphone mean for mobile phone market?
Google said at yesterday’s launch that the Nexus One is only the first Google phone of many, with one store to sell them all – the Google Store.
The idea of the Google phone store is simple. Buy the handset you want, then shop for the price plan you want, from the carrier you want.
That’s right, soon they’ll be no more wars over distribution as there was for, say the iPhone (which went to O2 in the UK).
However, the current Nexus One is so far only to be available through T-Mobile. But Google hopes to expand its online phone store by selling more phones, from Google and other companies, each with a choice of operators. It’s a noble ambition, to really shake things up, to put some fear into the entrenched industry players – and of course, one step closer to total world domination – if an online store succeeds then it will take control of distribution away from the mobile operators.
It is interesting that Google has been getting more involved in shaping the user experience on Android handsets. But the real story is in the distribution. The new phone is really intended to draw traffic to a new online Google phone store. It will be tested first in the US, UK, Hong Kong and Singapore, but eventually extend to many more countries and cover multiple handsets and service plans from many different operators.
Google is getting into retail with the chance that it can nudge more phone purchases online, and can use this both to extend the reach of Android faster while at the same time neutralising one of Apple’s key differentiators – the real-world Apple stores.
Google may or may not be right about people’s willingness to buy phones without touching them first (the Nexus One is only available online) but it doesn’t seem a big risk to take, and it could be one way to outflank the iPhone – or at least give Apple something else to worry about.
One further advantage of bringing people to a Google store is the chance to integrate a phone purchase with Google Checkout giving Google a credit card number and a relationship with a phone customer – useful things for the future as it tries to build a market around its online application store.
Countering the iPhone is an overriding priority for much of the mobile world right now. Vodafone needs an answer to the iPhone in Europe, and the buzz around Nexus suggests this is the closest thing yet. Microsoft’s execution in mobile software has been floundering, and Google is the best alternative to Apple right now.
Google’s Nexus One marks a new era for search giant
Dec 14th
Can Google crack the handset market too?
Google has been forced to confirm that it is currently testing out its own branded mobile handsets after rumours surfaced on the internet over weekend. A rare but strategic move for Google…can it possibly pay off though?
Dubbed the ‘Nexus One’ and made by smartphone maker HTC, the phone will run on the search giant’s Android operating system and will be sold online, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal.
Looks like Google is desperately trying to cling to its market share and internet monopoly as in the past few months, the search engine giant has announced a number of new products as competition from tech giant Microsoft heats up.
But, can Google be everything to everyone?
It’s one thing to be a leader in search – an area where Google has established itself as one of the most enterprising, innovative and ‘cool’ brands of the decade. But will consumers follow the brand through to its new endeavors?
There is no doubt that Apple’s iPhone will have little competition over the next year or so. It’s virtually pushed Nokia out of the market as its profits and sales dipped dramatically this year. Even BalckBerry is suffering declines as consumers are wooed to Apple by its ‘wow’ factor.
However, Google’s Android phones have won attention in the mobile industry lately, with Motorola and Sony Ericsson choosing to launch it with their new top models.
But perhaps Google isn’t after ‘world domination’ with this new venture. Analysts have said that the company is aiming to gain access to valuable consumer data that can be used to sell ads at premium prices. So perhaps Google is just going that one step further to confirm it is still the King of search engine marketing.
Producing its own phone would be seen as competing with its partners and would represent a rare venture by Google. By the time January comes around (when the launch is predicted) we’ll have a much clearer explanation as to why Google has chosen to go down this route. For now though, it seems like the giant is just looking to stay ahead – by any means possible.
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