It is often heard how Apple’s iPad will cause the doom for the products owned by Microsoft Windows. However, one would hardly ever hear the mention of Google. Strangely, if the reports from the two analysts of Wall Street Journal are to be believed, iPad and its expansion plans poses a great threat towards Google.
A research note released by Ben Schachter of Macquarie says that the rise in popularity of iPad poses a life term threat to Google and it is not because he doubts that Apple will cease to have Google as the default search engine for its own browser, Safari.
He writes, “we think that Apple will continue to push alternative sources such as it has done with Siri and work to de-emphasize Google whenever possible.”
And just for your information, Schachter is not the only one who has the similar opinion.
Anthony DiClemente of Barclays writes, “Siri could potentially threaten Google longer term by diverting search traffic.”
To know more about what DiClemente said, read on further:
“Why could Siri be a threat to Google? Siri is not a search technology; however when paired with services such as Wolfram Alpha and Yelp, it can circumvent traditional search engines and provide the user with answers that may have originally required a search. Because Siri is a non-visual medium, it does not provide the ability to present users with clickable ad links, an area where GOOG derives most of its revenues. Performics estimates mobile could account for 20% of all paid search over the next 6 months, and Google has said 2/3rds of all mobile searches are on Apple iOS devices.
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It may be possible that both the analysts – DiClemente and Schacter are giving undue credit to the capabilities of Siri. It is yet to be seen that people would be interested in talking to their computers, instead of typing. And for reasons better known to Apple Inc itself, Siri was not included in the new iPad. However, for now it should be suffice to know that Apple Inc has not completely given up on Siri. It seems like they have found a new and ground breaking technology with themselves, which they would surely improve over the time, and utilize the power of the same in the long run.
If Siri is able to grow and unsettle the traditional searches, Google might be in for some trouble. Unlike Microsoft, which has a wide range of products and services, Google’s main source of income happens to be search advertisements. Anything which disturbs it, shall have giant Internet corp, Google worried.
Even if Siri does not gets presented the way we are discussing, the rise of iPads still poses a threat to the Google. Ipad pushes its own native applications for browsing through the website and performing web related operations. The more time users spend in Yelp applications, subsequently means less time is being spent on Google or web searching rather.
Though Google is very well placed, and it shall take a highly torrential turn of events, to spin the ball against Google, the rising popularity of iPad, sure is a threat. Perhaps the same has urged Google to acquire Motorola, and put up a fight against the iPads.
Looks like Steve Jobs infected more people with his paranoid obsession of “devastating” or “destroying” Google.
Even if Apple in the near future sold 50% of all computer gadgets in the world, there will always be another half not using Apple’s products, thus not using their pseudo-siri-magical-search-engine.
I don’t even know why these idiots wish so hard for Apple’s dominance. At least Google’s and Microsoft’s technologies are used by several manufacturers, at least they’re driving competition.
The day Apple has the dominant technology (say, over 90%), closed as they are, they’ll be the only company selling it. What’s good about that? There was a Futurama episode that described it best
The reason Android exists in its current form post Google Acquisition, is to avoid being locked out of search on mobile devices. In that end it had been incredibly successful.
I fail to see a compelling reason why Google’s strategy which has been so successful on Phones wouldn’t happen with tablets. I would argue it is already happening with the iPad losing 40% of its market share of the tablet in just 2 years to android.