Can Google squeeze the juice from Apple’s ipad?

Apple’s iPad IS the tablet of choice but this may soon change. Google wants a squeeze.

Google’s Android operating system (<OS2.2) isn’t very good on a tablet. In fact it’s downright amateurish. It works well on a phone but stretch it to a 7 or 10” tablet size and it’s almost cartoon like in quality. This is about to change with Honeycomb otherwise known as Android 3. It’s built for a tablet.

What does this mean for the iPad and can Google emulate their success with Android on mobiles?  Up until now nothing has touched the iPad. On the day of release it sold over 300,000 units (I was one of them) and more than 15 million have been shipped since Spring 2010. Android will ship on anything that supports it, and the manufacturers can have it for free. (We’re ignoring Windows 7 on purpose. As brilliant as it is on a laptop/desktop, it’s pure excrement on a tablet)

“Honeycomb brings Google closer to parity with Apple and underlines the battle between these two titans,”

Ben Parr, co-editor of Mashable

Who Is In The ring?

Google with Android (Or Chrome OS. Hang on… 2 OS’s from the same vendor with 3+ different names that run on the same kit. Yes, it can be confusing but bear with it), Apple iOS, RIM Blackberry PlayBook, (Win-doh’s 7), HP’s Palm and Nokia’s Symbian, who went Open Source a few days ago so may now throw their hat into the ring.  More on the competition later but back to Google and Apple…

Google’s Tablet

“Google has its strengths especially in the cloud, with their open source platform and integration with other Google products like Gmail and Google Docs,” he said. “But Apple has the design edge and a vast number of apps as well as a new iPad expected in the next couple of months.” Ben Parr, co-editor of Mashable

The Google Tablet will offer similar functionality to a laptop however, its Chrome OS has been specifically optimised to run on tablets too. Of course this also means that the Google Tablet will be prone to variances in content reliability, although most users probably won’t mind too much given all the functionality that the device offers.

“No wires & no synching with computers. None of that nonsense. Everything is connected,” said Chris Yerga, Android engineering director

Hugo Barra, Google’s director of products for mobile, told BBC News “This is a serious investment of years of design and engineering to really nail the experience for a larger screen,”

Predicted Sales Forecast For The Google tablet

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/tablet-sales-to-spike-in-2011-forrester-says/

When companies start to imitate one another, it’s usually either an extreme case of flattery – or war. In the case of Google and Apple, it’s both. Here we find ourselves again in a scenario with a clashing of these two titans.

Which Operating System Is Best?

Each to their own but the number one draw for iOS users is ease of use. Your toddler and your grandmother can both pick up one of these devices and figure out how to use it. As Jerry Pournelle (Tech Journo) says, with Apple products. “Everything is either very simple or it’s utterly impossible. The utterly impossible side is where we find Apple’s first weak spot”. For the non- Apple fanboys, once off their own personal bandwagon, even they will admit Apple’s triumph of innovation and design. The iPad’s design stands out in marked contrast to other tablets as well as countering the bulky laptop paradigm. All of us who struggle with an unwieldy keyboard, chunky folded design, bulky weight or delicate screen AND don’t need full operating system functions will continue to take to the tablets form (And an iPad probably).

So far Android has more than 100,000 Apps in its Store, Apple’s iOS has more than 300,000. Android has recently announced a new in App payment system which will bring developers back round to Android thinking.

In Summary

Apple iPad

• Attractive design
• True multi touch display
• Comes with a pen/stylus input
• Can only be loaded via Apple’s iTunes/App Store
• Cannot read/display Flash content
• Fewer hardware choices

Google Tablet

• Poised to capture the low-end tablet market
• Cheaper than the iPad
• Open platform
• Offers numerous options in applications and programs
• Ecosystem chaos
• Wildly inconsistent experiences

What about Microsoft, HP, BlackBerry, and Nokia?

Unfortunately, it looks like these behemoths are too late to the party and reduced to challenger status for 2011 at the very least. Both Microsoft (with Windows Phone 7) and HP (with Palm webOS) could have snatched some of the momentum away from Apple and Google a year ago in the smartphone market, but they’re a little late now. Even though both have solid(ish) products, their timing is poor and they have a lot of ground to make up.

BlackBerry and Nokia both have a large customer base to sell but it’s also too little too late even with favourable Playbook reviews at CES this year. Oh sure, they will continue to hold on to nice chunks of old market share in some places, but both will likely continue their decline at accelerating rates in 2011.

The Black Fly in Apples Chardonnay

Retrevo (http://www.retrevo.com) recently announced results from a study post intro of the Apple iPad. It looked at consumer interest in buying the new iPad(2) due mid-year 2011. When asked before the announcement if they thought they needed the tablet, 49% of respondents answered “no” with 30% saying they needed to know more about it before they could decide. Post Apple announcement, they were even less ‘sold’.

http://www.retrevo.com/content/blog/2010/02/apple-ipad-hoopla-fails-convince-buyers

“Not only did Apple fail to convince new buyers, it may have lost potential buyers who now say they don’t think they need an Apple tablet computer”.  Says Retrevo,

In conclusion

The bottom line is that both Android and iOS are going to be wildly successful in 2011. Google and Apple will dominate most of the new sales in the smartphone and tablet markets, there is no doubt. Unless more people get sick of being locked into the iTunes ecosystem, there is no sign of that yet, or get fed up with the crapware and delayed updates from Android (only a few instances where the masses have noticed), then the 2010 growth trajectory of both platforms will likely hold true. If you thought Google Android and Apple iOS butted heads in 2010, wait until you see what they do in 2011, its exciting times ahead!

One top tip. If you want a solid reliable device, you’re probably better off with the iPad. If you’re a tinkerer, go Android. Enjoy!

Is Baidu the new Google?

Baidu is the largest search engine in China. It’s their answer to Google with a 75% market share in China (63% Global share) compared to Google’s dwindling 20% (27% Global share). It is China’s first company to be included in the NASDAQ 100 with 2010 showing revenues of $1.2bn, profits totalling $534m and a market cap of $40bn (Google’s is 5 times that but impressive stuff all the same).

http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Baidu.com_(BIDU)

Is it better than Google? Will it become the biggest search engine in the world? Will it capture any of Google’s search revenue (notably the ONLY cash generator in the Google stable).

Under the bonnet

Look familiar?

The direct translation of Baidu is ‘hundreds of times’ which is said to describe the never ending service that it provides, and that you will get great service ‘hundreds of times’. Ok, doesn’t translate so well but hey, we’re not Chinese.

Baidu Growth

This is the impressive bit. The company’s profits more than doubled for the last quarter in 2010. This puts their net profits 171% higher than the same period in 2009. Total revenue for the year increased by 78% to $1.2 billion. So, time to take note huh.

Google Baidu Differences

The Differences: Well to start, it’s in Chinese (Simplified Han) which to me is ‘wow, what the hell is that and where do I start’. Under Chinese law you can download mp3’s completely legally (http://bit.ly/axWiQW). Other clever apps and services increase its stickiness, with e-commerce and social media being two massive growth areas Baidu is investing.

“Social search products represent a significant portion of our total traffic,” Baidu CEO Robin Li said. More here

Is Baidu better? Well no is the short answer. In blind tests Google proved better as people find what they want quicker:

Motorola will add the first search and map widgets from Bing.com to its Android handsets in China in the next few weeks. It changed the default search from Google to Baidu months ago. However, people spend longer on Baidu which suggests it’s not as efficient as Google:

Mobile Search

Worldwide, mobile services are huge business and 2011 will continue to grow exponentially. China has approximately 338m internet users but an estimated 600m residents have mobile phones. So we’re talking $billions in potential mobile revenue. As smartphones spread in popularity, Baidu and Google are locking horns for their share. Since September 2009, Google has been no.1 for revenue generation in the global mobile internet market. In China it is tied with Baidu.

Can Facebook succeed where Google failed?

Google pulled out (Kicked?) early 2010 and now run operations from Hong Kong. Mark Zuckerberg the founder of Facebook, visited China late last year and his first stop was Baidu which is understandable but also raised some eyebrows. Russia and China are vast markets Facebook has yet to conquer. Like many other online services, Facebook is blocked in China. Does Zuckerberg have a plan to overcome the great firewall of China, and can Baidu help him do that?

To Conclude

So far the vast Chinese market has proved to be an unsolvable riddle for Western companies. The Chinese economy will no doubt continue to grow and although Google’s perch has been nobbled, 96% of visitors to baidu.com are Chinese, loving the local service. If Facebook manages to convince China to open the doors to its 1.3bn users it will be a huge win for the site and hopefully other platforms including the re-introduction of Google but it’s a long shot. Currently there doesn’t appear to be any real threat from Baidu as a global offering so if you want to invest in a ‘Search+’ business, continue to invest in Google. However, does Google want, nay need, a piece of the Chinese pie? Damn right, especially the mobile market, but will they get it? We don’t think so.

[It must be noted that Google isn’t officially ‘in’ China and hasn’t been since March 2010. It moved operations to Hong Kong which weirdly sits outside of Chinese law in many respects.Read more .]