Blimey – finally a software company goes into hardware….

does this mean I’ll get Android 3.0 on the Defy? (not bothered actually)

who makes the Xbox, Zune, keyboards, mice, webcams, joysticks etc? Microsoft?

Think it’s more about them getting a bigger portfolio of patents with which to counter the constant sniping of M$ and Apple

You know,

It never ceases to amaze me that Google’s business model actually makes any money, let alone the vast amounts of revenue it seems to.

It never ceases to amaze me that Google’s business model actually makes any money, let alone the vast amounts of revenue it seems to.

I know bugger all about it, but I would have thought when you have an almost monopoly on searches, and the amount of information you can garner from that, and the feeling that companies have about which page of google they turn up on after a certain search, that this would mean you make a lot of money…i.e. countless small amounts of money. Do they sell their mapping services? i.e. I notice TdF uses Bing maps – do Bing pay for this or do TdF choose which map to use and then pay for it? 😕

Genuinely interessted as to why you think this Cougar (because you appear to know more about this stuff, not that I disbelieve you 🙂 )

Is their business model based entirely on ads?

I’m convinced that their business model is to make us more and more dependent on their services and then THEY’LL TAKE OVER THE WORLD

molgrips – yes. Advertising over all their products and services = 97% of revenue.

This was from 2010 “total of $7.29 billion (before deducting traffic acquisition costs). Of that, 67 percent came from ads on Google websites, and another 30 percent came from Google’s ad network (leaving only 3 percent for non-advertising revenue)”

Think it’s more about them getting a bigger portfolio of patents with which to counter the constant sniping of M$ and Apple

If they’d developed a mobile OS that was genuinely their own, instead of firstly, copying WinMob, and then, after their boss left the board of Apple during the development of iOS, abandoning the copy of MS’s mobile OS and doing a blatant copy of iOS, then they wouldn’t have a problem. They are being heavily persued in the courts over clear infringement of patents pertaining to Java as well. Eric Scmitt whining about Apple and others purchasing a raft of ‘bogus’ patents because they are ‘afraid to innovate’ is frankly laughable, as Google were the first to offer $4.5billion for them, and were invited to join Apple and MS in a joint venture to secure them, and Google turned the offer down.
If the patents were ok to make an initial offer on, and then lose interest, how come they’re suddenly ‘bogus’ when Google fail to get their hands on them? Google have no coherent policy regarding being a mobile ‘ware creator. They should have just stuck with being the formost search engine and become more closely involved with the development of iOS. Can I attribute any of these claims? If I could be arsed, it’s all over the webz about emails flatly contradicting Schmitt’s rantings about Apple and MS.

Blimey – finally a software company goes into hardware….

Err Oracle bought Sun?