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Google vs. the rest: Is it fair?

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Lashiec:
Earlier this morning, Google introduced a beta version of its new phone application, Google Maps Navigation. As the name suggests, this is nothing more than a turn by turn navigation app, using all the information Google has accumulated over the last years and made available via Google Maps. Nothing really special, except for the fact this is a free application for Google's own Android OS, with versions for other smartphones coming at a later date. The rest of the app details have been covered by Gizmodo in a neat post.

As noted there, Google faces no competition with its newest toy. Similar apps for the iPhone run around $25 per year, while Google is totally free (at least for the time being). Gizmodo is concerned with the severe lack of competition at the same price level, and wrote another piece detailing what's in in for the rest of navigation software makers, who also offer navigation devices that could end up being replaced by the same smartphones Google is offering this app for.


The criticism expressed in the article can easily be applied to any other venue Google is or may be involved in the future. It has been commented several times how most Google products face little to no competition, with most pressure coming from other behemoths like Yahoo or Microsoft, instead of innovative startups like RTM, and one wonders where all that venture capital money went. But I never considered what's in for all the companies making business in fields that Google chose to participate in, and how its lack of a price can seriously damage these companies in little time, possibly putting them out of business. It may be nice to have superb services available for nothing, but man, it obliterates any competition it may have. Not to mention that, while Google main sources of revenue can sustain other ventures for now, in the long term everything could change, and we could end paying for services coming from just one company. Mapping the entire planet is a costly affair.

Ehtyar:
Nice article Lash Man, thanks!

Ars also posted a story on Google recently with some interting points (if a little sensationalist). You can find it here.

Ehtyar.

Target:
isn't this the kind of behaviour that got MS into trouble?

JavaJones:
The video I watched today makes it seem kind of, er, "special". I mean yeah, it's "just" turn by turn directions (and voice) with Google's data, but... It's *with* Google's data. And its search technology. And that's huge. Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGXK4jKN_jY&

As for whether this is scary, unfair, bad for competition, etc... well, the funny thing about Google's revenue model is everyone else can use it too. :D No, seriously, everyone can make money off of ads, Google makes that possible. Now I know, having tried to run an ad-funded site myself (wasn't my idea, :p) that it's not that easy to make money. Google has a lot easier time because it's the hub, the ad provider and, in many cases (e.g. YouTube) also the content provider. Still, it's ads that get Google its money, and if ads are working for them, they can work for others. If they're not working for you, how are they working for Google? Find out and emulate. I know for my own site that it was in large part a lack of effort and applied intelligence that kept the money out of my pockets.

Google makes enough money in some areas to subsidize in others, e.g. making Google Voice, Gmail, Google Directions, and other services free. But what really enables them to do this is leveraging their powerful infrastructure and data store. Surprisingly enough Google makes a lot of this available to others through APIs and other methods. So the power is theoretically available to all for the taking, in some sense.

I won't say that Google does not have some unique and difficult to emulate advantages. But the same is true of almost any large corporation with money, at least in theory. They can always throw more resources at a problem. But quite honestly, if the solutions that come out of Google are consistently better (and, for the most part, they seem to be), I find it hard to complain too much. Google got where it is mostly by being good at everything it does. If that's no longer the reason for their success, or at least a big part of it, I must not be seeing it. If and when that ever does become true - Google continues to succeed while its products become vastly poorer than others in the market - then I'll have a lot more questions and concerns.

- Oshyan

Fred Nerd:
Has anyone else got a catpcha (is that the right spelling) off google?
I went to do a routine search from the box in Firefox (nothing new/updated) and they called me a suspected bot.
The nerve of them, considering their bots do all sorts of things for indexing purposes

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