Is not being Google a Competitive Advantage?

For any major tech battle, we have always had a few names that dominated the field. Some have survived over the years and moved from battle to battle as new names joined in. Artificial Intelligence is the latest battleground — from digital assistants all the way to autonomous driving. While we are still very much … Continue reading Is not being Google a Competitive Advantage?

Living the Daydream: Google’s New VR Platform takes Shape

I’ve been testing hardware that runs Google’s virtual reality (VR) platform called Daydream. It’s a little rough around the edges and is clearly pushing its brand new hardware to its limits. But overall, it’s a pretty good experience and it shows the potential for mainstream VR going forward. That said, my time inside Daydream further … Continue reading Living the Daydream: Google’s New VR Platform takes Shape

Why Google, Not Apple, Risks Losing the AI Platform Battle

I know how crazy the title of this post sounds. It’s hard to think of another company better positioned than Google and their decades-long business of machine learning to succeed when it comes to AI. However, there are some underappreciated elements of this debate I’d like to throw into the discussion. Baseline Assumptions and Market … Continue reading Why Google, Not Apple, Risks Losing the AI Platform Battle

Has Google Set Up Google Home to Disappoint?

When I saw Google Home for the first time back at Google I/O, I was excited at the prospect of having a brainier Alexa in my home. Like others, I waited and almost forgot all about it until it was reintroduced last month when I actually could go and pre-order it. I got my Google … Continue reading Has Google Set Up Google Home to Disappoint?

Pixel and Surface: Comparing Google and Microsoft’s Hardware Game Plans

Google’s recent launch of the high-end Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones marks the company’s first self-branded entrance into the market, after dabbling via partner-branded Nexus products and a short run as the corporate owner of Motorola. Like Microsoft in 2012 and Apple decades before that, the company clearly understands that, to drive the best possible … Continue reading Pixel and Surface: Comparing Google and Microsoft’s Hardware Game Plans

Podcast: Google Hardware Event

In this week’s Tech.pinions podcast Carolina Milanesi, Ben Bajarin and Bob O’Donnell analyze the announcements coming out of Google’s recent hardware event, including their Pixel smartphones, Daydream VR Headset and Google Home smart speaker. If you happen to use a podcast aggregator or want to add it to iTunes manually the feed to our podcast … Continue reading Podcast: Google Hardware Event

The First Time Google Alerted Me to Leave for an Appointment

The first time Google alerted me to leave for an appointment, it was one of those “Aha!” moments. I thought to myself, “That’s amazing!” as I realized it was smart enough to check my calendar, learn where and at what time my appointment was, calculate the time I needed to leave to arrive on time, … Continue reading The First Time Google Alerted Me to Leave for an Appointment

Google’s Potential Strategic Blunder with Pixel

A few posts came out yesterday that provided greater clarity on Google’s ambitions with Pixel and how those ambitions may impact the overall Android ecosystem. First, an interview with Hiroshi Lockheimer came out yesterday where he explained in detail how Google is separating the hardware team from the Android team. Hiroshi leads the Android team … Continue reading Google’s Potential Strategic Blunder with Pixel

Google’s Pursuit of Happiness: #MadeByGoogle

After weeks of speculations and leaks, Google finally announced its first #MadeByGoogle smartphones called Pixel and Pixel XL. Yet, the phones per se were the least interesting part of the event in my opinion. What was really interesting was Google’s focus on AI as the next platform after mobile and how, in order to be … Continue reading Google’s Pursuit of Happiness: #MadeByGoogle

Why “Made by Google.”

Understanding the why behind so many things is perhaps the single most important knowledge we can strive for. I’ve been saying all week I was hoping Google would explain why they needed to make their own first-party hardware in a range of categories, smartphones in particular. They have just told us all we needed to … Continue reading Why “Made by Google.”

Questions for Google’s Big Event

Google is holding an event today where it’s expected to unveil several new products — a new phone, its Home speaker device, and possibly a new operating system named Andromeda. As usual, what’s leaked are specs, pictures, and some other details but none of the rationale or strategy behind these moves. As with Apple’s event … Continue reading Questions for Google’s Big Event

Microsoft and Google First Party Hardware

On October 4th, Google is having an event, likely to launch both the Home, their Amazon Alexa competitor, as well as their own branded smartphone. It is safe to assume at this point that Google is getting more and more serious about Google-branded hardware in a number of categories. Google’s efforts remind me of Microsoft’s … Continue reading Microsoft and Google First Party Hardware

Google Android – Closed Source

I think Google may make Android proprietary in 2017. Google has launched Android N but, without the ability to distribute updates, the software is virtually useless. To make matters worse, I think Google is effectively doing research and development where its competitors benefit more than it does. Android M (6.0) is currently on just 18.7% … Continue reading Google Android – Closed Source

Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Millennials

The venture capitalist Marc Andreessen recently retweeeted Ben Throop, who wrote: Can we just take a second and recognize what a god damned miracle Google docs is? The collaboration tools are ridiculous. — Ben Throop (@ben_throop) July 25, 2016 Throop surely wasn’t trying to, but he actually expressed the sentiment of US millennials. We at … Continue reading Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Millennials

Facebook is the New Google for the Next Decade

I once had a theory that Facebook would not survive the segmentation of social networking. The time-tested observation that, as markets mature, they segment, was the basis for my point. What I did not predict was Facebook would buy all or as many as the social networking branch-offs like Instagram, WhatsApp, and more coming, to … Continue reading Facebook is the New Google for the Next Decade

Unpacked: Amazon Echo, Siri, OK Google Frequency of Use

One of the thing we sought to understand in our quantitative study of Amazon’s Echo, Apple’s Siri, and Google’s Ok Google was how often people are using their voice to interact with their devices. We did this with our early adopter panel and what I want to unpack is the usage frequency of each by … Continue reading Unpacked: Amazon Echo, Siri, OK Google Frequency of Use

Time for Google to have Consumer-Facing Customer Service

One of the themes coming out of the Google I/O conference last week was Google plans to make a more aggressive push into the consumer hardware business. The company announced the Home product, an AI-oriented service to compete with Amazon Echo; a VR headset; and a new smartphone division that will build and ship its … Continue reading Time for Google to have Consumer-Facing Customer Service

Podcast: Google I/O, Nokia Phones, Apple in India, Maker Faire

In this week’s Tech.pinions podcast Ben Bajarin, Carolina Milanesi and Bob O’Donnell analyze Google’s I/O event, discuss Microsoft’s sale of its featurephone and Nokia’s licensing of phones, address Apple’s efforts in India, and describe a new agreement between Indiegogo and Arrow to enable low-volume manufacturing for members of the Maker Movement. If you happen to … Continue reading Podcast: Google I/O, Nokia Phones, Apple in India, Maker Faire

Google’s Custom Chip may be the Biggest I/O Announcement

Near the end of Google’s two hour I/O keynote, they snuck an announcement in which may be the biggest deal of the whole event. Google officially announced a project they have been working on for over a year — building their own custom ASIC designed specifically for machine learning applications. Google calls this chip a … Continue reading Google’s Custom Chip may be the Biggest I/O Announcement

Podcast: Apple-Didi Chuxing Investment, PC “Replacements”, Google I/O Preview

In this week’s Tech.pinions podcast Tim Bajarin, Jan Dawson, Carolina Milanesi and Bob O’Donnell, discuss Apple’s investment in Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing, debate the problems with 2-in-1s as “replacements” for PCs, and preview their expectations for Google’s I/O developer conference. If you happen to use a podcast aggregator or want to add it to … Continue reading Podcast: Apple-Didi Chuxing Investment, PC “Replacements”, Google I/O Preview

Google, Amazon, the Chinese, and the Hardware Brands of Tomorrow

Google’s hardware strategy has always felt less like a strategy and more like a string of experiments. It is understandable why a company like Google is interested in their own hardware. In many ways, Google and Amazon are alike in that their business model opens the door to a “hardware as a service” offering. They … Continue reading Google, Amazon, the Chinese, and the Hardware Brands of Tomorrow

Podcast: Tech Earnings from Intel, Microsoft, Google and Verizon

This week Tim Bajarin, Jan Dawson and Bob O’Donnell discuss recent earnings reports and related news from major tech companies Intel, Microsoft, Google and Verizon. If you happen to use a podcast aggregator or want to add it to iTunes manually the feed to our podcast is: techpinions.com/feed/podcast

Google’s EU Antitrust Battle

In a less than surprising move, the EU has declared Google in breach of antitrust regulations and has abused its dominance. There are three major arcs to their claims: In today’s Statement of Objections, the Commission alleges that Google has breached EU antitrust rules by: requiring manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Google’s Chrome browser … Continue reading Google’s EU Antitrust Battle

Why Google needs an iOS Keyboard: Desktop Search is Dying

An iPhone, a keyboard: can Google replace Apple’s? Casey Newton’s scoop at The Verge, revealing Google is developing a third-party keyboard for iOS, is one of those revelations which doesn’t surprise, it just slots in to make perfect sense. Of course Google would want a keyboard that would feed back the data about what users … Continue reading Why Google needs an iOS Keyboard: Desktop Search is Dying

Google and Facebook’s Battle for Virtual Reality and Apple’s Entrance

Between a recent virtual reality/augmented reality study I did and a host of conversations and demos I’ve had at the Game Developer and VR Developer Summit this week, I have been able to form some important perspectives. The virtual reality market is unquestionably gaining steam. To highlight this, I was talking to a Best Buy … Continue reading Google and Facebook’s Battle for Virtual Reality and Apple’s Entrance