Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres
Exactly.
Those moonshots (Google glass, for one) tend to be risky but they come with the potential to open entirely new markets and are *exactly* the kind of stuff a cash flush company *should* invest in. But it requires sticking with the effort, not giving up after a year or two.
Creating new markets can be pricey but the payoff is you get to *own* that market for as long as you outrun the inevitable me-too followers (c.f., Palm) but you can make more money and build up brand equity instead of friterring it on the tenth photo hosting or RSS reader app on the market.
Wave was risky, it was innovative, and it offered a way to move creative work online. Instead of working to show this, Google just killed it. Now Microsoft is coming in and looking to fill the same niche with Office 365. Not as ambitious, not as innovative, but since it's Microsoft's biggest cash cow, they're not likely to drop it and leave its users high and dry.
Or Glass:
http://www.cnet.com/news/google-glas...in-the-shower/
Again, ambitious. Needed support and reworking.
Instead, Google lost interest and moved on.
(Microsoft, which has been working on Hololens since before Glass was launched is still building it up slowly, focusing on specific uses and markets. A long shot but one that might hit.)
Now Google is promoting Android payment to compete with Apple and VISA and Amazon... Wouldn't surprise me if they did get into banking.
And while they run around all over the place, more focused competitors are quietly creating new markets all around them in home automation, wearables, internet of things... |
Google already was into payment system with google wallet 5-6 years ago but the telcos in the US blocked access on their devices and built their own competing service which failed and Google has now bought that service.
Google's announced Glass is "graduating" from the Google X experimental projects incubator to become its own independent division — a division that will report into Nest's Tony Fadell. Current Glass head Ivy Ross will retain day-to-day authority, but she'll report to Fadell.
http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/15/75...orer-shut-down
Google is and has always been an artificial intelligence company all its products are targeted toward that goal. Wall Street expecting them to produce devices are just being stupid. Google does not want to build devices they just want access to devices from all manufacturers so that they can get the data. And if no one is manufacturing it or not working on it fast enough they start doing it themselves to push others to move faster.
Google Fiber made other providers start providing faster speeds at cheaper prices. Introduced chrome browser and made the whole web move forward. Made Google self driving cars and pushed the car industry forward who were thinking about it but at their pace it would not have not come before 2030-2040. Now they are going to provide cell phone service and make this industry move to faster speeds and cheaper prices. Google loon to provide cheaper internet to remote areas
All this Google has done is not to sell devices but to move more people information and data into the internet as it needs that for artificial intelligence. SKYnet is not far off with the way they are going
