PRPOV » technology http://www.prpov.com PR and Stuff... Mon, 06 Jun 2011 02:55:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Five things I like this week… http://www.prpov.com/2010/04/14/five-things-i-like-this-week%e2%80%a6/ http://www.prpov.com/2010/04/14/five-things-i-like-this-week%e2%80%a6/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:14:59 +0000 Eric http://www.prpov.com/?p=259
  • Nintendo Wii will be streaming Netflix. At this point the only place Netflix doesn’t have a streaming deal is with my Microwave. But although it will be standard definition, this will be a great addition to our Family Wii room – 

    Click here to view the embedded video.

How to Program a Message on Your MEDEA Bottle from Medea Spirits on Vimeo

  • 16 Reasons the iPad sucks by “Sebastian” at iPhoneDownloadBlog.com. Okay, there are like a million of these stories out there. If I had 499 to burn on this, I probably would just buy my wife some jewelry instead. There is at least some guaranteed return on this investment. – http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com/2010/01/29/ipad-sucks/
]]> http://www.prpov.com/2010/04/14/five-things-i-like-this-week%e2%80%a6/feed/ 1 China vs. Google = a dubious mobile experience for Chinese consumers http://www.prpov.com/2010/03/26/china_google_mobile_phones/ http://www.prpov.com/2010/03/26/china_google_mobile_phones/#comments Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:04:26 +0000 Eric http://www.prpov.com/?p=216 I was quoted in a PRWeek story by Aarti Shah today (“Google’s China move affirms reputation“). The article focusses on the Google brand and how its decision to “not censor” search and move their operations to a Hong Kong server might impact their brand reputation.

I think the simple answer is: only in good ways. Why? Because they stayed true to their Philosophy and chose to not compromise. Regardless of how you might view Google’s business overall (selling advertising and collecting data about people), you won’t be able to corner them for being hypocrites!

But this does bring up an interesting point not being debated as much right now:  Why go into China in the first place? Did they really think this wasn’t going to be an issue?  Google is a smart company, with some of the smartest people in the world.  Naïve isn’t  a word I would use to describe them. But let me table that for another day (and another blog)!

What I think is most interesting is how this act will impact mobile-focused companies doing business in China that rely on Google to help monazite their products and services.  For example,  OEMs like Motorola are breaking ties with Google in China. This is most likely a pragmatic act of  solidarity with the Chinese Government as Google might not be available in China in the near future anyway…so why not hedge their bets?

Google Android Mad!

Google Android devices will suffer in China without Google services


But to understand fully the implications here, you have to remember that Google isn’t just a web search being used on LAPTOPs and PCS. Google today is about mobile phones, mobile search, and location based services.  When looking at the global usage numbers these are consistently the big drivers in mobile data traffic. This is why people PAY for data plans.


But now, Motorola is going to remove Google search from the Android devices that they are marketing and selling to Chinese consumers. That’s like trying to sell a three-legged horse. Which is to say: useless!

As I mention in the PRWeek story, moving its servers to Hong Kong was a hell of chess move by Google. But the fall out from this decision — including the subsequent business decisions made by OEM’s like Motorola and any actions the Chinese Government might take —  could be a huge blow to mobile consumers in China.
]]> http://www.prpov.com/2010/03/26/china_google_mobile_phones/feed/ 0