Google's Main Focus Will Be Mobile, Not Desktop Search

By Kevin Parrish
published

Google now considers itself as a "mobile first" company.

During a presentation at the 2012 Open Mobile Summit in San Francisco, three Google executives reportedly said that a majority of Google's users will access its services through mobile devices in 2013. The news actually arrives by way of Morgan Stanley who echoed the Google execs' comments to investors.

According to Business Insider, the Google trio included global marketing director for mobile and social advertising Rikard Steiber, YouTube’s global director of platform partnerships Francisco Varela, and general partner at Google Ventures Rich Miner. All three admitted that Google now considers itself as a "mobile first" company.

Over the years Google has built its current reputation by not only becoming the world's top desktop search engine, but offering additional valuable services like Gmail, Calendar, and more. Google+ takes socializing in a new direction, and YouTube continues to serve as a visual form of expression for millions of users worldwide. Google Drive keeps your documents safe in the cloud while tunes stored on Google Music can be accessed from any device, anywhere.

Not to just be an online entity, Google branched out from its search engine roots to build its own mobile platform with Android and Google Play. This platform has taken control of the smartphone market, and is challenging Apple's iPad through Google's own Nexus 7 and Nexus 10, and other Android-based tablets. Because of this, it's understandable why the search engine giant is now making mobile a priority.

During the presentation, Steiber said that mobile will be the primary way people will access Google and its many services. Backing that up, mobile searches have reportedly increased 200-percent to date in 2012.

The Google trio also revealed that 25-percent of YouTube traffic and 40-percent of YouTube views now stem from mobile devices, a 300-percent increase in 2012, they said. Varela added that total mobile traffic to YouTube could soon surpass 50-percent as seen in Korea.

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Kevin Parrish
22 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Rich Miner. Lol.
    Reply
  • bllue
    Seems like every company is going mobile first now
    Reply
  • ojas
    bllueSeems like every company is going mobile first nowMy thoughts exactly...
    Reply
  • rocknrollz
    And for good reason, mobile is the future. A computer (smartphone) almost as powerful as desktop's that are 20 inches tall and taller in some cases, packed in a package a couple of inches big. Company's would be dumb not to start investing their time into the future.
    Reply
  • chewy1963
    rocknrollzAnd for good reason, mobile is the future. A computer (smartphone) almost as powerful as desktop's
    And where is this mythical smartphone that is almost as powerful as a desktop? Ever try to write a document of work on a spreadsheet on a smartphone? How about playing an immersive 3d video game on a smartphone? Smartphones have their place, but so do desktops and PC's in general.
    Reply
  • enzed
    rocknrollzA computer (smartphone) almost as powerful as desktop's that are 20 inches tall and taller in some cases, packed in a package a couple of inches big.As advanced as mobile technology is getting, desktops will always be more powerful and several steps ahead. Of course, the average customer who browses the web and sends e-mails doesn't need something as powerful as a high-end desktop. Hence why Google is focusing on mainstream users who only require a smartphone or tablet for their daily uses. But as much as mobile is the future, so are desktops. They aren't going anywhere.
    Reply
  • rocknrollz
    chewy1963And where is this mythical smartphone that is almost as powerful as a desktop? Ever try to write a document of work on a spreadsheet on a smartphone? How about playing an immersive 3d video game on a smartphone? Smartphones have their place, but so do desktops and PC's in general.
    I am not talking about thousand dollar computers, I am talking about the average computer you see the average person using. For facebook, twitter, web browsing. Smartphones have reached that, and are continuing to grow. And to answer your question, yes smartphones can write a document, and they can play 3D games. But it doesn't mean it is practical to write business documents on a phone. And you used "immersive". You are talking about your own opinions about whether a game is "immersive". I have met many people who believe angry birds is immersive, so it really isn't in your place to judge what others call a good game. There are 3D games that people find fun and playable.

    My point being is, smartphones have really developed to the point where company's need to start thinking about what their main goal as a company is Which is usually money, and if they want that money they need to maintain their position on where the consumers lead them. And as we are seeing, smartphones are it. Whether you like it or not.
    Reply
  • jnffarrell1
    A 64bit Android with two or more desktops and separate sandboxes/desktop, multi-windows and reliable voice commands will make 90% of PC activities doable by tablet. Tablet Plus phone via telco or internet will be available from screens 5, 8 and 13 inch sizes. Smart monitors will be the new PC/TV with or without keyboard inputs. Nowhere is there a requirement for user to be tied to a desk or a couch.

    Apple started the revolution against feeding data to the computer in dehumanizing ways. Google AI for man/machine interfaces will finish the job.
    Reply
  • mstngs351
    rocknrollzI am not talking about thousand dollar computers, I am talking about the average computer you see the average person using. For facebook, twitter, web browsing. Smartphones have reached that, and are continuing to grow. And to answer your question, yes smartphones can write a document, and they can play 3D games. But it doesn't mean it is practical to write business documents on a phone. And you used "immersive". You are talking about your own opinions about whether a game is "immersive". I have met many people who believe angry birds is immersive, so it really isn't in your place to judge what others call a good game. There are 3D games that people find fun and playable.My point being is, smartphones have really developed to the point where company's need to start thinking about what their main goal as a company is Which is usually money, and if they want that money they need to maintain their position on where the consumers lead them. And as we are seeing, smartphones are it. Whether you like it or not.
    I can spend a few hundred dollars and buy a PC that will have more processing power than a smartphone. Your analogy only holds water if you're not talking about a new PC or a bottom dollar turd monkey.

    You decided to pick on his use of the word "immersive" despite the fact that you knew darn well what he meant. A game that has a broad scope and depth with graphics to match. The small form factors are limited by being a small form factor. The graphics they are capable of today was surpassed by PC's some 5-7 years ago. It's also about controls that are available and most people don't use with a portable.

    I do agree that companies do need to position themselves. However things like this are about the company positioning you. Considering they don't have a real stake in PC's Google stands to make more money by pushing people away from the PC to the Android dominated market with tactics like this.
    Reply
  • Solandri
    chewy1963And where is this mythical smartphone that is almost as powerful as a desktop? Ever try to write a document of work on a spreadsheet on a smartphone? How about playing an immersive 3d video game on a smartphone? Smartphones have their place, but so do desktops and PC's in general.It's pretty obvious smartphones are where we're headed. 15 years ago I could have just as easy written "And where is this mythical laptop that is almost as powerful as a desktop?" Yet laptop sales have long since surpassed desktop sales, and most people now use a laptop as their only computer.

    The CPUs in the latest smartphones today are about as fast as laptop CPUs from 8 years ago. About 3 years ago we hit a point where low-end laptop CPUs were "fast enough" for most people's purposes, and Intel found themselves increasingly competing based on power efficiency rather than pure performance. So it doesn't take a genius to figure out that in a few years smartphone CPUs are going to be "fast enough" for most people's purposes. Current smartphones are already 50x faster than the Cray 1 supercomputer which was the benchmark back when I was in jr. high.

    The only thing holding smartphones back as the next personal computer is input and display size. Between bluetooth keyboards/mice and WiDi wireless displays, I don't see this as a long-term obstacle. Your smartphone is going to be the guts of your "personal computer." Your tablet and laptop will just be a display and keyboard/mouse you can bring along to interface with your phone if you want a bigger screen or non-touch input.
    Reply