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New Media News Every Morning

Is Google Giving Up On Native iPhone Apps?

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Ever since Apple banned Google Voice from the iPhone, the search engine giant has not been too keen on releasing native apps for Steve Jobs greatest creation (after the iPad that is).

Take Google’s recent release of Google Finance for mobile. While the web app compliments the functionality of their main site, they seem to take a jab at the iPhone with their latest post:

Our new design gives you a unified experience across desktop and Android or iPhone phones, offering nearly all the same features and functionality on both. You can easily access the new site when you do a Google search for stock tickers or company names on your mobile device, or when you tap the “Finance” tab on the Google mobile homepage. […]

Prefer it in app form? Android users can also get the Google Finance app in Android Market. (Google Mobile Blog)

Note: Emphasis mine.

Google seems to be taking a “web app only” approach when it comes to iPhone users, as their recent launches of YouTube mobile as well as Gmail and Google Calendar (via the Google Mobile App) highlight web apps at the expense of native ones.

Even native iPhone apps that Google does maintain (like Google Earth) seem to play second fiddle to their Android brethren, which is probably a sign that Google iFans may not receive priority when it comes to new Google features, and may have to choose (more expensive) alternatives in the future.

Although the iPhone is too big for Google to ignore, we may not see much attention paid to the iDevice in the future, with Google choosing instead to give its best features to Android all the while giving web app scraps to the iOS.

Originally posted on August 25, 2010 @ 11:29 am

Is Google About To Kill Another Industry? (YouTube Live Stream)

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After allowing users to upload longer videos to YouTube, Google has announced to the world that they will be testing out a new video service which has the potential of (once again) disrupting an entire industry.

Today and tomorrow, tune in as we open a new chapter of YouTube live streaming. Starting at 8:00 a.m. PT, we will begin a limited trial of a new live streaming platform in conjunction with four of our partners: Howcast, Next New Networks, Rocketboom and Young Hollywood.

This new platform integrates live streaming directly into YouTube channels; all broadcasters need is a webcam or external USB/FireWire camera. Included in the test is a “Live Comments” module which lets you engage with the broadcaster and the broader YouTube community. For the purpose of the trial, this offering will only be available today and tomorrow. (Official YouTube Blog)

[Read more…]

Originally posted on September 13, 2010 @ 1:27 pm

YouTube Not Welcome In Germany? (Copyright)

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After knocking out Viacom in the US over copyrighted videos submitted by users, it looks as if the German courts did not rule in YouTube’s favor.

Google Inc.’s YouTube video service lost a Hamburg court ruling over copyrighted video material that was posted online without permission for rebroadcast.

YouTube may be liable for damages involving material shown in violation of copyright law, the Hamburg Regional Court said today in an e-mailed statement. (SFGate.com)

Even though Google has a fairly strong content ID service, it seems as if a few videos sneaked through its defenses (thus the reason for the lawsuit).

Google is already appealing the ruling, which has the potential of handicapping not only YouTube, but every other hosting service in the country (as manually pre-screening every user submitted content could stall the growth of many German tech companies).

Hopefully the higher courts will be able to see YouTube’s reasoning (or rather the reasoning behind America’s Digital Millenium Copyright Act) lest Germans lose out on one of the largest video sites on the web.

Originally posted on September 3, 2010 @ 4:02 pm

Needed: Google Safe Android Apps

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Whether you love them or hate them, you have to admit that Google has done an impressive job cultivating a free market Android app system that is second only to Cupertino’s curated iOS app store.

Unfortunately for Google’s beloved Android , fake, illegal or unethical Android apps are appearing in greater frequency, a trend that will only increase when (not if) Android surpasses Apple in the number of available apps.

After the wall paper scare, Google can not afford to risk the reputation of its mobile OS, especially with the media already shooting down the search engine giant every time something evil happens.

In order to ease the fears of users downloading apps, Google may want to establish a review team to verify Android apps that are safe to use for the end consumer. [Read more…]

Originally posted on August 16, 2010 @ 1:20 pm

Google Updates Mobile App, Endangers Default iPhone Apps

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After releasing a web app that made the native YouTube iPhone app irrelevent, it looks like the boys and girls at Google have (finally!) updated their mobile app with push notifications for Gmail and gCalendar fans.

Ever missed an appointment or important email because you were away from your desk? Now Google Mobile App can help with push notifications from your Google account to your iPhone — an icon badge shows you’ve got new mail in Gmail, and Google Calendar event reminders appear right on your home screen.

We’ve also added spiffy features to get you information faster — when looking for flight info, weather, stock quotes or currency conversion you’ll see answers before you even hit ‘Search’. (Google Mobile Blog) [Read more…]

Originally posted on August 23, 2010 @ 3:30 pm