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Google has partnered with O-Zone to offer free WiFi for Google+ users across India, according to Business Standard. This initiative is to increase the mobile internet usage and let the consumers experience Google+ and YouTube on their portable devices.

Google+ users will get free and unlimited access to Google+ on the Wi-Fi network at all O-Zone hotspots across the country. They can also watch exclusive movie clips and promotions on YouTube for 10 minutes each week at no cost. Ozone has 5,000 Wi-Fi access points across India in various locations such as Coffee shops, Hospitals, Hotels, Book Stores, Restaurant etc.

This would go live this weekend and would be available for 3 months across India at all O-Zone Wi-Fi hotspots. O-Zone is also in talks with Google to make it a long-term contract. O-Zone plans to have 50,000 hotspots and become India’s largest Wi-Fi services provider by 2013.

Apple’s mobile strategy for 2011 is straightforward: pick a release date for the iOS 5 based iPhone 5 on Verizon and AT&T (and perhaps Sprint and T-Mobile) along with the iPod touch 5 and iPad 3. But mobile rival Google’s strategy for the rest of the year is suddenly more hazy, as the company just bought the mobile division of Motorola, the company which manufactures the Verizon Droid among other Android based phones. This changes the landscape both in terms of the role of the Droid even as Verizon has set its sights on the iPhone 5 as its flagship instead, and it puts the fate of Google’s own Nexus line of Android phones in question. But how does this all relate to someone who’s already decided the iPhone 5 will be their next smartphone? Indirectly, of course.

So what will Google do with the Nexus now that it’s got the Droid and other Motorola-based Android phones in its pocket? That remains to be seen. Google recently made a deal with AT&T to sell the Nexus phone, but that could go by the wayside if the Moto acquisition means the end of Google’s Nexus focus. Whereas up until now, Google’s strategy was to get the Android OS onto as many different hardware variants as possible from as many manufacturers as possible, the fact that Google now has the Motorola Android phones and tablets in house means that that strategy could change. Android makers HTC and Samsung are in the midst of getting destroyed in the legal system over their Android-based phones and tablets which Apple says borrow way to heavily from the iPhone and iPad. With those companies now suddenly on the outside of the Android hierarchy looking in, could they end up dropping their Android OS based devices altogether so as to make the legal crucification go away? After all, with Motorola’s Android products clearly going to be the ones which Google is now pushing, Samsung and HTC and others will now need to rethink their Android involvement in terms of cost vs benefit. The benefit is likely set to shrink, and the cost may end up being the financial solvency of the company.

This makes for the prospect of far fewer Android-based phones on the market in the future, if not by the time of the iPhone 5 release date then almost certainly by the time of the iPhone 6 next year. Third party licensees are always less likely to get involved when the licensor has their own powerful in-house competing brand, particularly if it turns out that phones like the Droid end up seeing favoritism in terms of promotion, software updates, carrier negotiations, and so on. Instead the iPhone 5, iPad 3, and Apple’s other iOS 5 based devices could be competing with a smaller number of more centrally-promoted Android devices. Which come to think of it, means the Android lineup will come closer to resembling Apple’s tightly focused iOS lineup going forward than in Android’s comparatively “wild west” days up until now. From an iPhone user’s perspective, at least you’ll only have to be barraged by ads for a fraction as many Android phones you have no intention of ever touching. From an Android user’s perspective, we’ll see what this all means.

Source - [ beatweek.com ]

This week opened with an announcement that has taken the tech world by storm: Google (GOOG) is buying Motorola (MMI) for $12.5 billion.

This is a huge, huge move. In fact, it is hands down the most important development in the industry this entire year. Google just played a card that no one saw coming, and the full ramifications of this acquisition is something that won't be seen for quite some time.

Sure, there were rumors of Google's interest in acquiring Motorola's cell phone division that extend back as far as January of last year, but this was just idle gossip on the grapevine. No one took it any more seriously than any of the recent rumors that Google might be looking to buy Research in Motion (RIMM).

What was once just a rumor has transformed into breaking news today. At this juncture, we don't have nearly enough data to form any tangible conclusions, but my gut reaction is that this is a desperation play by Google. Google investors seem to share my ambivalence: at the time of this writing, the stock is in the red while the broader market is up.

That Google would make such a move seems odd given the explosive success the Android OS has enjoyed so far, at least on smartphones. But let's take a look at CEO Larry Page's official blog post about the acquisition that went up this morning. Filter out all the noise about how great Motorola is and how this buyout is going to "supercharge the Android ecosystem," and we find only one clue as to what drove Google's decision to buy Motorola: patent assaults by Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL).

Motorola comes packaged with 17,000 issued patents, which adds a lot of ammunition to Google's patent arsenal. In truth, I believe that this acquisition is about more than just patents, because Google can build a much larger patent portfolio with $12.5 billion than what it receives by gobbling up Motorola. But Page's words show that this is, in part, a defensive move. You don't make defensive moves because you want to, you make them because you have to, because your competitors force your hand. Would Google be buying Motorola if it wasn't feeling the heat from its enemies in the mobile wars, if its partners weren't getting attacked from every angle with infringement lawsuits? Maybe, but I doubt it.

Then there's the issue of how much Google is paying to acquire its Android partner. $12.5 billion is $40/share - a full 63% premium over Motorola's Friday closing price. For an all stock purchase, this is a significantly higher premium that most companies usually pay for an acquisition. This purchase will burn up a full third of the war chest Google's assembled over the years from the profits it has generated from its core search business.

From a fundamental standpoint, the Motorola buyout still seems a great deal cheaper than the $8.5 billion Microsoft (MSFT) paid for Skype earlier this year. However, the difference between Microsoft's Skype acquisition and Google's Motorola acquisition is that with Skype, Microsoft acquired a valuable technology that it can leverage with its core products. Other than Motorola's patent package, it doesn't seem like there's anything in this deal that can add value to Google's current product line. Also, the patents themselves don't enhance value, they are necessities to ensure Android's continued survival.

There's also the extremely important question of how this move is going to affect Google's other Android licensees, like Samsung (SSNLF.PK) and HTC (HTCXF.PK). On today's conference call about the acquisition, Page and his team assured analysts that they've spoken to their top five Android partners before making this announcement, and all were "enthusiastic" about it. They didn't give any more detail on this, even when pressed by analysts, and I'm not sure I buy it.

Sure, Google's partners benefit indirectly from the vast legal resources Google will gain access to through Motorola's patent portfolio, resources that Google will no doubt utilize to assist them in their own legal battles. But they would probably much prefer it if Google just purchased Motorola's patents directly like the transaction it made with IBM (IBM) instead of acquiring the entire company outright. With Motorola under its wing, Google now has a dog in this fight. Despite the company's famous "do no evil" motto, I have serious doubts about whether or not it can retain its neutrality, doubts that are likely shared by Google's licensing partners.

Whether or not this move will benefit Google in the long run remains to be seen, but it is almost definitely going to benefit Google's competitors. Many OEMs who were formerly loyal to Android may defect to Microsoft's Windows Phone OS. You may have to pay a fee when you license with Microsoft, but at least you know you'll be getting the same package your competitors are. Apple's (AAPL) strategy to create the whole widget in-house just got vindicated by Google's copycat venture into hardware. Not everyone is a winner though. Wireless patent developer InterDigital (IDCC) saw its stock take a 16% plunge in the pre-market after this news broke. InterDigital's stock had run up recently on speculations of a potential takeover bid by Google, but with Motorola's portfolio in its arsenal, investors realized that Google doesn't need InterDigital quite as much anymore.

Make no mistake: Google's acquisition of Motorola is a game changing move with massive ripple effects that'll reshape the entire landscape of the mobile computing industry. Some will win, others will lose, but when the dust settles, things aren't going to be the same ever again. The mobile wars are just beginning, and the ultimate victors are far from decided. Google has made a very bold play here. Whether or not it's also a smart play remains to be seen, but I, for one, will be sitting tight to see how the rest of this story unfolds in the days to come

Source - [ seekingalpha.com ]

This morning, we got tipped to check out wdyl.com. The tipster noted that it was apparently a new Google site attempting to “create a unified UI to search in multiple channels”. Sure enough, visiting the URL brought up a Google page — but it was a 404 page. Turns out it needs the “www” in order to work. Yes, wdyl.com is not quite ready for prime-time. But it is out there, live!

The new service, which Google apparently did launch this morning, is called What do you love? (hence, wdyl.com). While it seems to be more of a cute gimmick at this time, the idea is to return users a single page of relevant results across many of Google’s products for whatever query is typed into the wdyl search box. The “search” button is even a heart. Cute.

The best queries are for vague, broad terms like “love“, for example. On the results page you’ll find pictures of love, patents about love, love on Google Trends, videos about love, how to say love in different languages, books about love, etc. It can be interesting. But the results showcasing Gmail, Calendar, Chrome, and a few others again show that this is meant to be more of a promotional tool for Google products rather than anything hugely useful. A button at the bottom of each widget takes you directly to the Google product showcased.

The most striking thing about the new site is that it seems pretty well designed — not always a given with Google.

Update: According to a source, wdyl.com quietly rolled out several days ago and the formal launch was set for yesterday, but engineering issues have been holding it back. At least they’ve finally fixed the “www” issue.