In Pictures: The evolution of Google’s driverless car May 28, 2014 It’s here, it’s finally here. Well, not actually here, Google’s hallowed driverless car is still in Silicon Valley – still, we imagine, driving around the Mountain View-based, Googleplex car park. But we’ve seen photos, so we know a fully-fledged prototype exists. Google's Sergey Brin calls it “chauffeur.” The car has had mixed reviews, with [...]
Brand Index: Google could gobble up big slice of comparison market May 27, 2014 WITH Google making tentative steps into the price comparison market, the sector could well undergo a shake-up over the coming year. Using YouGov’s BrandIndex tool, I have assessed the main players in the market currently – Gocompare, Comparethemarket and MoneySupermarket. So competitive is the sector that the brands rely on high-profile advertising campaigns to make [...]
Google has set aside $30bn as it mulls foreign takeover targets May 21, 2014 GOOGLE has set aside a warchest of up to $30bn (£17.8bn) overseas in order for the US search giant to pursue foreign takeovers according to a regulatory disclosure made in December and published on Tuesday. The disclosure also revealed that Google’s hunt has already led it close to a purchase worth $4bn to $5bn for [...]
Google takes a bite out of Apple as world’s most valuable brand May 20, 2014 GOOGLE has dethroned Apple as the world’s most valuable brand, as its total value soared to nearly $160bn (£95bn) this year, according to new global research. The online search giant’s rise is due to its booming financial performance – Google’s revenues last quarter grew nearly 20 per cent to $15.42bn – and Apple’s lack of [...]
Online giants to be hit as Google loses EU data case May 13, 2014 US INTERNET giants could be hit by tight new rules on personal data, after Google lost a landmark case in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which ruled that EU citizens can demand any outdated data is removed from servers. The verdict is expected to throw up a host of technical challenges and extra costs [...]
Three-year delay hits Google’s London HQ May 13, 2014 WORK ON Google’s planned £650m headquarters at King’s Cross could be delayed for another three years, the boss of the contractor appointed to build the scheme warned yesterday. In its annual report released yesterday, BAM Construct chief executive Graham Cash said it was “disappointing” that the building has been pushed back to “at least 2017” [...]
Moneysupermarket hopeful as Google agrees to search solution April 23, 2014 PRICE comparison website Moneysupermarket yesterday said that group revenues rose eight per cent in the three months to the end of March, in line with expectations. However revenue from online insurance sales was flat in the first quarter, with visitor numbers down four per cent compared to the same quarter last year. A penalty applied [...]
Race heats up as Google swoops on drone maker April 14, 2014 TECHNOLOGY giant Google has snapped up Titan Aerospace, a start-up that develops drones, for an undisclosed sum. The purchase, announced by Google yesterday, is the latest in a series of high-profile acquisitions of drone makers. Facebook bought UK-based Ascenta for $20m last month, while Amazon is already testing drones to be used for deliveries. Titan [...]
Google focuses on wearable tech March 10, 2014 Google is set to release an Android-based software development kit for wearable devices, its Android chief Sundar Pichai said yesterday while speaking at the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Texas. “In two weeks we are launching the first developer SDK for Android,” Pichai said. “That will lay out the vision for developers in how [...]
Google just lifted the lid on its new investment arm February 19, 2014 Tech giant Google has finally given some details on Google Capital – a new arm intended to "invest in the most promising companies of tomorrow". The company, famous for its search engine, says that its approach will have one important difference to its established Google Ventures team. While Ventures is all about the early-stage investments, [...]