andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

The first smartphone based on Google’s Andriod mobile platform could be in the U.S. market as early as October, according to an article that appeared at appleinsider.com (Apple Insider). The ‘Dream’ phone (named via the Internet community) from Google is expected to be the only Andoid phone available in the United States this year, and will be sold exclusively through Y-Mobile, the country’s No. 5 wireless carrier, reports Apple Insider.

Similar to the popular iPhone, Dream will have a full touch-screen and will be able to run numerous applications written by third-party developers for the open-source Android operating system, according to Apple Insider. Android is a software platform and operating system based on the Linus operating system, developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance.

The Dream handset will also feature a physical five-row keyboard that can be exposed by sliding the display component upwards, according to the article. While there has been lots of buzz created by the new device, those familiar with Dream have described it as ‘big and bulky’ and not as sleek as the iPhone, reports Apple Insider. The article also reports that the Android software is said to be inferior to the iPhone, and is not as user-friendly as the Apple mobile device.

The Dream, however, is just one of numerous devices that Google is testing with its new mobile Android software. Other models of smartphones from different manufactures may start be released next year as well, which may compensate for the shortcomings of the HTC handset model that currently supports the Dream, according to AppleInsider.

The Google/Digg acquisition negotiations were going smoothly as of last Tuesday, and the two companies were in final negotiations in the $200 million range. However, by late Thursday or Friday, Google decided to walk away from the deal, according to techcrunch.com.

By the time Google had walked away from the deal, they had had already reviewed Digg’s technology and financial statements. The negotiations were in the ‘term sheet’ stage, by which point the buyer already has a very good idea of exactly what they are purchasing, according to techcrunch.com.

Two sources close to the companies said that an issue that arose during the technical due diligence was to blame for the breakdown of the deal. Another source indicated that the issue was more personality driven, and that Google decided Digg’s top team wasn’t a fit for the search engine enterprise, according to the article.

The deal appears to be dead, and is the latest addition to the long list of failed Digg acquisition deals, including Yahoo Inc. Techcrunch continues saying that when a company is ‘left at the altar’ of an acquisition deal, other buyers are typically hesitant to step up.

Considered inevitable by some, and following in the footsteps of Revver, eefoof and the like, YouTube has announced it will be sharing revenue with its users.

Chad Hurely, CEO and co-founder of YouTube, announced new platforms that would allow the popular video site to share revenue with their users and with copyright holders whose intellectual property may be used in such videos without consent.

In a video posted on YouTube from the World Economic Forum, Hurley discusses YouTube’s future.

YouTube is developing audio fingerprinting, which will allow them to identify music that is being used in one of their users’ videos. If a copyrighted song is identified, some of the ad revenue generated from other people viewing that video will then be shared with copyright holders. Hurley says YouTube is currently “talking with the studios, networks and labels.”

In the next part of the interview, Hurley announces plans that would pay users for content they have uploaded.

While he says they are certainly going to move in that direction, he explains the lag by saying they did not want to develop a system based solely on monetary rewards.

Rather, they wanted to establish a strong user base and a large community before engaging in revenue sharing.

“When you start out with giving money to people from day one, they will just switch to the next provider that’s paying more. We feel that we are at a scale now that will be able to do that and really still have a true community around video.”

While this probably won’t make you rich, exact details are still unkown.

Google and Viacom, which owns MTV among many other media outlets in the United States, have inked a deal which will see the web business expand itself even more.

Reuters is reporting that under the new deal, Google will insert content from Viacom’s television shows into its Ad Sense program as a means of advertising (for example, short clips of “Sponge Bob Square Pants,” the MTV Video Awards or “Laguna Beach”).

If the deal works between Viacom and Google, it is expected Google will be able to sell its Ad Sense to other companies.

On top of the initial deal, Google will also have bonus episodes of shows like “South Park” and “Jackass” available for user download for $1.99 (essentially the same deal MTV currently has with iTunes).

Rumours have been swirling around for the last few months about a possible sale or partnership between AOL and a big Internet firm.

At the time, the companies vying for this partnership included Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Comcast. However, when Yahoo and Comcast removed themselves from the negotiations, it appeared that Microsoft was the new front runner. With a massive bank account and with the most to gain from such a partnership, it seemed like only a matter of days before the deal was announced.

If Microsoft were to sign the deal, it would be a significant blow to Google, who already receives about 10% of its search queries from AOL. But late Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google has now become the sole runner in the deal that could see them taking a 5% stake (approx. US$1 billion) in AOL, boosting AOL’s value to some US$20 billion.

The news sent Google’s shares soaring to a new high of $432.50/share. Although the deal has still not been formally announced, an announcement is expected sometime this week. Should Time Warner confirm that it has in fact entered into an agreement with Google, it would be another blow to Microsoft, who has been eagerly trying to catch up to Google in the online advertising field.

Google is taking over the Internet, one company at a time.

Google Inc. is reportedly preparing an online-payment system that would compete with PayPal, the largest internet payment system and the top choice of the eBay auction site, according to the New York Times.

The Times reported that an online retailer has been approached by Google to help them with this new venture.

Some people have already named the new system “Google Wallet”, according to Scot Wingo, chief executive of ChannelAdvisor, who told The New York Times that several of his clients referred to this as the name of the payment service.

Google’s flagship search engine and its Froogle shopping service attract Internet customers but the company only gets revenue from selling ads that appear next to search results.

This service would allow Google to compete with eBay as well as with the popular free site Craigslist.

A payment system would help Google bring individuals and small businesses who are not authorized to accept credit cards online into its marketplace, says the Times.

As word spread of Google’s plans, eBay Inc. shares fell Monday as analysts believe Google’s plans to expand into electronic payments would overwhelm the online auction web site’s PayPal business, reported Business Week Online.

Shares of eBay Inc. fell 61 cents to $37.44 on Monday afternoon trading of the Nasdaq.

PayPal is one of eBay’s most profitable sources of revenue, accounting for $233.1 million of eBay’s total first-quarter revenue of $1.03 billion, says Business Week Online.