When Xiaomi launched its first tablet in India on March 12 this year, everyone was was surprised at the low price of the device. The Mi Pad holds specifications of a top-end gadget and is pocket-friendly at Rs. 12,999. The budget blockbuster Mi Pad is now going on sale in India today at noon via online retail website Flipkart.
The company has ditched the flash sale model and potential customers can get their hands on Mi Pad without registration. There are no details about the number of units going up for sale.
Recalling the specs of the device, then Mi Pad is thin at 9.4mm and weighs a mere 360g. It sports a 7.9-inch IPS display with a resolution of 2048×1536 and a pixel density of 326 PPI. Corning Glass 3 protects the screen from accidental drops. The tablet is powered by 2.2 GHz Nvidia Tegra K1 SoC ARM Cortex-A15 processor paired with 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM. The Mi Pad offers 16GB of in-built storage space which can be expanded up to 128GB via MicroSD card. The Xiaomi tablet runs on Android 4.4 KitKat with MIUI skin on top.
It sports an 8MP rear camera with Sony BSI sensor for full-HD resolution videos, along with a 5MP front snapper at the top of the display for selfies and video chats. The table is juiced up by a 6700mAh battery that keeps the device running all day long. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac.
The much hyped Honor 6 Plus is finally going to see the light of the day in India. The company will be launching two devices today, one of which, of course, is the Honor 6 Plus. So let’s go on and check out what Honor has in store for all of us.
The Honor 6 Plus offers a Full HD, 5.5 inch display with 401 ppi pixel density. Its processing abilities are handled by an Octa-core, HiSilicon Kirin processor, developed by Huawei. It comes with 3 GB RAM and a massive 36oo mAh battery.
The USP of the Honor 6 Plus is its bionic parallel dual lens camera on the back. It utilizes two 8 MP camera and is said to offer instant focus within 0.1 seconds. The camera also allows for capturing depth information for panoramic images. We had previously seen a dual lens ultrapixel cameras on the HTC One M8 which wasn’t received all that well in the market leading HTC to bring a revamped version called the One M8 Eye. Now we have to wait just a few hours to know if Honor’s iteration of a dual lens camera wins over the efforts by HTC.
Honor has been well received as a brand around the world. According to the company’s statement, it sold 20 million units in 2014 alone. The brand came to India in October last year to similar favorable responses. Now with an identity of its own, Honor will have to take on a plethora of competing brands in India. Let’s see how it tries to win us over. The balls in your court Honor, show us what you got?
Honor, which was the brand name for Huawei’s smartphone line-up, will be holding an event tomorrow where it will be launching two new devices for the Indian market. We gathered up all the available updates to give you a fair idea of what to expect from tomorrow’s event.
The Arrival of Honor 6 Plus
According to various sources, one of the major devices coming from Honor’s stable tomorrow is the Honor 6 Plus. The device features a 5.5 inch, Full HD display with a pixel density of 401 ppi. It is powered by Huawei’s own, HiSilicon Kirin octa-core processor and comes with 3 GB RAM. The device is juiced up by a massive 3600 mAh battery.
The Honor 6 Plus is available with a 16 GB internal storage option for the 3G device while the LTE device is offered in 16 and 32 GB storage options. All versions are expandable up to 128 GB, which makes it a delight for multimedia hoarders. It is not sure as of yet what variant the company would be offering in India.
A DSLR Quality Camera
On the camera front, the Honor 6 Plus features a dual 8 megapixel camera on the back. Honor in its invite also mentioned “two cameras” which means that it was indicating at the Honor 6 Plus. It is the first to flaunt a bionic parallel dual-lens camera. On the front end too, the camera holds an 8 megapixel camera for selfies.
Some leaked images made their way online and were found to be as good as professionally shot DSLR images. The accompanying write-up states that it was taken by a Honor device. Companies like Apple and Samsung have already exhibited unique camera features that produce images that are identical to professional cameras. Does the camera of the new Honor device have what it takes to take on the giants? We’ll find out soon when we get to play with the new devices.
The Rebirth of Honor
We might also get an answer to the question everyone is asking; why did Huawei spin-off Honor as an independent brand. Huawei is a recognizable brand which has been around for a while and is almost a household name. By leaving Honor to compete in the brutal smartphone market its own without the support of Huawei is a risky endeavor. We will learn more about the latest developments in Huawei’s household and the future of Honor as a smartphone brand tomorrow.
So tune in iGyaan tomorrow as we report on all the latest from the world of Honor.
Karbonn, one of the major Indian smartphone makers, is looking to diversify its offerings. Other than its range of smartphones, the company will soon be selling a variety of power banks and screen guards.
The power banks which will be available in three power variants, 5,000 mAh, 7,000 mAh and 10,000 mAh. The 7,000 mAh and 10,000 mAh devices are equipped with dual charging ports, so that you can charge two devices at once. The 10,000 mAh power bank is fitted with a LED torch which can also be doubled up as a TF card reader and has an LCD, which indicates the amount of charge left and power capacity.
Karbonn is also offering screen guards under the brand name ‘Ultra Clear’. The company claims that the screen guards offer high touch sensitivity and include anti-fingerprinting coating.
The power banks will be available March 25th, Wednesday, onwards on Snapdeal. The 5,000 mAh power bank is priced at Rs. 999. As of now, there is no word on the price of the remaining power banks or the screen guards. As for the screen guard, it will be available in retail stores as well as e-commerce portals.
Motorola’s revision to last year’s budget hero, the Moto E, is out and while it’s still called the E, it does have some second gen features to boast.
The newer Moto E comes with a beefier set of specifications and not a whole lot of change in pricing. A new front camera, a larger 2390 mAh battery and an all new rear shell that truly is unique to the new Moto E. The Moto E is priced at Rs. 6999 and comes with Android 5.0 out of the box, yes just like its predecessors it’s stock android, with a bunch of Motorola apps on there.
Build Quality and Hardware
The new Moto E is the same 12.3 mm in thickness, however, feels a lot more robust and a lot more hefty in the hand. The side band comes off to give access to all the card slots, which for the version we are testing, include a micro SD slot and dual SIM slots.
The side band has a ribbed finish adding additional grip and what may be described as a rugged looks to the already smart looking Smartphone.
The front has a 4.5 inch display with a 540×960 px resolution and a 245ppi pixel density which also is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 and has a oleophobic coating, which is highly resistant to oil and smudges. This also makes sliding the finger on the phone to result in an action much smoother than anticipated.
The front camera is a basic VGA camera, but compared to last year’s “no camera” model anything works. The rear camera is a 5 MP camera capable of 720p video and HDR photography.
There are two variants of the new Moto E, the 3G variant comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 and Adreno 302 GPU, while the 4G/LTE variant comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 and Adreno 306 GPU.
While the LTE variant is not yet available, it is expected to launch at Rs 8,999 in India. The 3G version is available today to buy from shopping website Flipkart for a price of Rs. 6999 with additional deals that you can see on their website.
The new Moto E comes with 8 GB of storage and 1 GB of RAM and you can pop-in a microSD card upto 32 GB.
Specifications
Moto E (gen 2)
Moto E (gen 2) LTE
Display
4.5-inch
4.5-inch
Resolution
qHD(540×960)
qHD(540×960)
Chipset
Snapdragon 200
Snapdragon 410
Processor
1.2 GHz quad-core
1.2 GHz quad-core
GPU
Adreno 302 with 400 MHz GPU
Adreno 306 with 400 MHz GPU
RAM
1 GB
1 GB
Storage
8 GB
8 GB
Expandable Upto
32 GB
32 GB
Main Camera
5 MP
5 MP
Front Camera
0.3 MP
0.3 MP
Video
720p HD Video, 30 fps
720p HD Video, 30 fps
Battery
2390 mAh
2390 mAh
Operating System
Android 5.0 Lollipop
Android 5.0 Lollipop
Price
Rs.6999
Approx Rs.8999
Performance and Gaming
[pullquote_right]DO-Not expect a Powerhouse![/pullquote_right]
When you buy a phone under Rs. 7,000 in cost, your prime focus need not be the performance of the handset, but more so the reliability or the fact that the phone will get you through your needs in a trouble free fashion. The Moto E – Gen 2 does that, and it does that for every user who owns the handset.
However score charts do not lie, and Motorola’s success with the first Moto E and this year’s Moto E are wholly thanks to the stock Android that it runs, which is lighter and less resource hungry compared to the custom skins of the mighty elite.
On AnTuTu the score on the new Moto E is at 17629 (varied) which is poor by all means. But this does not reflect in the day-to-day performance of it.
It does support games like Batman Arkham Origins and Modern Combat 5, and even though graphics are lowered to the lowest possible, the gameplay remains smooth which is surprisingly good for a budget device such as the Moto E.
Moto Experience
[pullquote_right]Hello Moto, Funky Moto Tricks Built In![/pullquote_right]
Motorola has added a bunch of cool tricks in this cool budget phone. The new Moto app, allows for you to set a gesture, twist your wrist to launch the camera, and click a picture.
The Assist feature will go into Sleep Mode as well as Meeting Mode as per your settings, which is a neat productivity trick.
Moto Display shows off the notifications when the phone’s display is off, you can also customize which apps will show and which will not and set vibration modes for the notifications and interactions.
Moto Alert is designed specifically keeping India and its lack of safety in mind. You can set a number of contacts that will get updates on where you are and where you are going in case of an emergency.
The device will get quick and regular updates to the best possible supported build of Android, which is an appreciable aspect of Motorola’s promise to service.
Camera and Multimedia Experience
The 5 MP camera boasts focus capabilities and improved low light performance, but, not enough to impress us. The use of the camera will be limited to mostly well-lit environments or outdoors.
[pullquote_left]Why No LED Motorola?[/pullquote_left]
What baffles us is the lack of LED flash, which would double up as a flashlight/torch making life a lot more easier for users of the Moto E2. This LED flash would also drastically improve the poor image quality indoors. Honestly, how much does an LED diode cost anyway Moto? (We found them for as low as US $ 0.04 /piece ).
The front camera is a gimmick at VGA resolutions, poor quality, crushed images with large amounts of noise. Lots of companies are now installing upto 5 MP cameras in their budget selfie phones, however Motorola does not want to seem party to that.
Image Sample Moto E 2
The main camera and front camera are designed to provide lenses for use. However don’t expect them to do magic, because they won’t. If you are looking for a good camera in this price bracket, we suggest you buy a camera and not a phone. That being said, investing slightly more may get you better options.
The Speaker is surprisingly loud and will satisfy the needs of many. It is well balanced, even if it’s not the best speaker. On the other hand if you like listening to music, we suggest a good pair of earphones/ bluetooth speakers.
Phone and Battery
Networks are strong and phone calls are crisp on both sim cards. The audio on both sides of the call is nice and loud and you won’t find yourself complaining. Moto has bundled in a good SIM management right in the settings panel to allow for better organization and usability of both SIM cards, mostly based on what plans you have on either.
Battery is a big improvement, you will find yourself running into two days without charge if you are a moderate user. The non-removable nature of the battery is slightly disappointing, but Motorola has a good record with battery longevity.
Battery Life
Talk Time
6.5 Hours
Internet Browsing
6 Hours
Music
18 Hours
Gameplay and Video
8 Hours
Conclusion
Motorola has been a favorite since rebirth and all their devices including the Moto X, the Moto G and the Moto E have done exceedingly well, especially in markets like India. However, Xiaomi has really hurt their sales at the lower end of the spectrum and OnePlus is taking a stab on the upper end.
[pullquote_right]Reliability and quick software updates are still on Motorola’s fame list[/pullquote_right]
With the Redmi 2 launched at the exact price, with better chipsets, better cameras and a sleeker profile, Motorola may be given a run for their money. On the flip side, reliability and quick software updates are still on Motorola’s fame list and it only gets better with an improved build and customizable options thanks to the new grip bands.
Television advertisement have remained the same for year. The network control the content as well as the advertisement that go with it and everyone watching the content gets the same ads. Google aims to bring a change to this long followed practice and is planning to make ads more personal and identity focused like they are on the internet. The search giant has launched a new local advertising service for Google Fibre that will bring Internet-like tailored commercials on TV.
The data collected from the set-top boxes informs Google, as well as advertisers about the viewership of a particular ad. Through Google Fiber, advertisers can have a close watch at how many times a particular classified ad has been watched in a particular home. Also, Google will follow its online pricing scheme and will only charge for the number of views an ad receives.
Not only that, Google Fiber feature will gauge at what shows you watch and will throw ads depending on the viewing habits of the individual. This means that while watching the same cricket match your neighbour will receive different advertisements than those on your TV set. The advertisers can also ask Google to stop a particular ad for an individual and shift to another commercial.
The new service will cut down the monopoly of cable operators and network operators who have had the last say in what the consumers would watch and how much the advertisers have to pay for promotions.. You can now say farewell to the annoying promotions of your nearby grocery store or car cleaner and can watch advertisements of your choice like of an upcoming movie trailer or a daily soap. It is a flexible approach and is expected to benefit customers and advertisers alike.
Google hasn’t specifically mentioned the technical bits of the program, but it is expected to function on the same algorithms that govern Google AdWords, Google’s online advertising service. Meanwhile, it is also learnt that Google can sense what you wish to absorb at a definite time. Google Fiber can target ads depending upon the time of the day so as to get maximum effect.
The American multinational firm had launched then service in the Kansas City of Missouri for trial. Google Fiber is touted to provide high speed, gigabit internet connectivity to subscribers. Google is in the process of expanding the service to new cities in the United States.
Samsung is ready to let its latest flagships, the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge to take on the world. There is a lot of excitement for these two handsets which is evident from the fact that Samsung received record orders of 20 million units within a week of launch. The Korean electronics giant released these new top of the line phones for sale in India today and here is everything you wanted to know about them.
What’s New?
Samsung had faced a lot of flak in the past couple of years for offering uninspired designs and features in its devices. The company considered the criticisms and said that they would be going back to the basics and create a device from scratch. It was called Project Zero and these two new launches of today are the first handsets to come out of Samsung’s initiative.
The New Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge introduces a premium metal and glass based design. Samsung has put great stress on the design aspects of the new handsets, and the elegant one-of-a-kind design of the S6 Edge is the proof of the hard work undertaken at Samsung’s laboratories. The devices offers unique features such as Samsung Pay, which lets you use your phone for card based transactions. They also offer the most pixel intensive Quad HD display with 577 ppi for a unique, eye-popping multimedia experience. and wireless charging and ultra power saving mode for improved convenience.
Samsung has added a security feature called Samsung Knox on these new flagships which basically lets you use the same device for business and personal purposes. The user presses an icon that switches from Personal to Work use with no delay or reboot wait time. Samsung has claimed this feature will be fully compatible with Android and will provide full separation of work and personal data on mobile devices and addresses all major security gaps in Android.
A Flagship Spec-Sheet
Samsung Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge definitely have a spec-sheet that would be the envy of all the lower end devices in the market. The two devices are almost identical and differ only in terms of their processor and battery power.The S6 is equipped with 64-bit Exynos octa-core while a peppier 2.5 GHz Exynos octa-core chipset is embedded on to the edgy Galaxy S6. Both the devices are available in 32, 64 and 128 GB storage variants and there are no expandable storage options.
The success of the Galaxy S6 is essential to Samsung. The company has been constantly losing its market share in the smartphone game. The phones have been received well by the critics and its now the turn of the end consumers to give their verdict on Samsung’s latest flagships. If the new design is appreciated by the target audience, Samsung might also attempt at bringing the design features in devices which are lower in the food chain. The Korean giant needs to re-establish its dominance in the lower end of the market, and a design revamp of the entire portfolio with boost in specs would be one way of achieving that goal. The market results of this year might be able to predict the future of the company.
Price and Availability
Samsung will be bringing the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge with all their accessories to India and they will be available for purchase from the 10th of April. The Galaxy S6 is priced at Rs. 49,900 for the 32 GB variant, Rs. 55,900 for the 64 GB and Rs. 61,900 for the 128 GB variant.
The curvy S6 Edge is priced at Rs. 58,900 for the 32 GB variant, Rs, 64,900 for the 64 GB and Rs. 70,900 for the 128 GB variant.. The devices will be available in all the colour variants (White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum) that were showcased during their international launch. The Galaxy S6 will have an additional colour option of Blue Topaz while the S6 Edge will be available in Green Emerald.
Samsung has also offered some goodies for folks who pre-order their new phones before the April 10th release date. The company is offering 10,000 points to the customers in case the price of the device falls. It is also offering free screen replacement warranty for twelve months from the date of purchase.
Check out our exclusive hands-on video from Samsung’s MWC 2015 launch below:
In a bid to stop spreading blasphemous content within the natives of Pakistan, the Islamic nation has banned the open-source blogging tool Wordpress.com. The website is not accessible in Pakistan as of now, and all the blogs hosted by the content management tool have been jammed. However, the self-hosted blogs by WordPress are still functional.
Meanwhile, visitors trying to access WordPress are directed to the message, “This website is not accessible.” The error message that appears on the websites in Pakistan is given in the screen-grab below:
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the regulatory body responsible for looking after telecommunications in the nation clarified the ban as a step for the welfare of the nation. It said that WordPress was put under restriction because of a “national security related issue.” According to hackread.com, an insider from Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said that it will be a temporary ban and has been enforced because of its use by the terrorist group Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is operational in Pakistan.
Pakistan has banned many social networking sites in the past. Previously, they imposed a temporary ban on Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, and few more websites. The authority also discontinued YouTube in 2012 saying that it will be for a while, but the locals of Pakistan are not able to open the video-sharing website till date. Seems like Pakistan, just like the Indian authorities, finds it easy to block content they cannot bring under their control.
WordPress is one of the most prominent content management tool which is used by several websites on the internet. For now, the ban is said to be temporary but if it is extended it would be an issue for all the Pakistani websites who use WordPress to manage their content. We’ll bring you more updates as more developments come in. Keep checking iGyaan for more.
The countdown to Huawei’s Honor event has begun. The Chinese smartphone brand is set to disclose two fresh products, which will expand the Honor smartphone series.
Yesterday, Honor sent out press invites for an event scheduled on 24th March. The invite hinted that we were soon going to be seeing two new smartphones. It also teased the fact that the new handset may feature a dual camera. It has now been established that the same handset will be the first smartphone to feature a bionic parallel dual lens.
From the leak, the image quality of the camera seems outstanding. Check out the pictures below:
According to the leak, these shots have been taken from the new Honor smartphone. The quality of these pictures seem to replicate the quality of DSLR cameras; the clarity and the composition is stunning.
The fact that we may be able to achieve DSLR-like picture quality, using a smartphone has been an unachieved dream up until now. There is a race amongst major smartphone brands to bring out a smartphone with the best camera quality. Currently, the iPhone 6 Plus aces the game, with its top notch camera sensors and OIS. Is Honor planning to join the match with its next smartphone? Only time will tell.
Chinese telecom company, Huawei has become an identifiable brand name. You are bound to come across a Huawei branded connectivity devices like modems and dongles. Huawei also makes smartphones, and its Honor line of smartphones have received favorable feedback from the market. There are some speculations in the market that Huawei will spin off Honor as an independent brand.
Huawei has sent out invites for the launch of the Honor 6 Plus. The press release sent along with the invite calls Honor an independent brand and puts stress on the Honor brand name throughout the write-up. The company has also launched a hashtag called #TestofHonor for marketing its new smartphone. The invite too is devoid of any mention of Huawei.
Honor as a smartphone brand has been in India since October 2014 when they launched their first phones on Flipkart. The brand is known for devices like the Honor Holly, 3C, and 3X. The devices run Emotion UI, which is based on Android OS. The devices are good on the design front and have generally received favorable response from the users.
Now it is unsure as to why Huawei would separate its recognizable brand name from its Honor line of smartphones. The brand would have to deal now with the onslaught of brands already competing in the brutal smartphone markets of the world.
Apple is bringing back its focus on Apple TV which has been awaiting an update for a while. Apple is expected to introduce new revamped Apple TV at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). It will have an App Store and a will provide a Software Development Kit (SDK) to help developers populate it.
The reports are still speculatory and Apple hasn’t given any official confirmation yet but several experts are confident of the development. The device is expected to be powered by an A8 SoC along with enhanced storage facilities.
The updated Apple TV will feature SIRI and an App Store.
To make it easier to operate the new Apple TV comes with Siri’s voice assistance. Competing systems like Amazon Fire TV already introduced voice assistance on their devices, so it was about time Apple caught on.
Apple has already said that the Apple TV plays a major role in its HomeKit ecosystem. HomeKit is a framework in iOS 8 for communicating with and controlling connected accessories in a user’s home. It gives users the ability to control their garage doors, light bulb adapters, door locks, and other house hold items. Users would require Siri enabled Apple TV to control these devices. So you can expect Apple to bring more proactive upgrades for the Apple TV from now on considering how crucial it is for its future home automation business.
Ebola is a lethal disease that has claimed thousands of lives in the African nations. The doctors treating Ebola infected patients are also highly at risk. The doctors attending the Ebola victims have to wear protective gears like a moon suit, along with gloves and masks because of the contagiousness of the disease. Google has also involved itself into the battle against the virus and is doing its bit to help fight the fatal disease. The tech giant has built a tablet that could replace the present medical record keeping system.
Until now, the record-keeping method adopted by the doctors was exhausting. The Ebola fighters have to note down the information on paper and then move to the edge of the medical enclosure with the writing. The medical representative would then shout out the information to the person outside the high-risk zone so that the companion doctor can take down the notes. The paper is then destroyed to limit the virus to the contaminated enclosure itself.
The new tablet designed by Google will help in a major way to record and share information on Ebola. The tablet has a polycarbonate coating and hence, can be dipped in chlorine. The gadget has to be dipped in chlorine for about 10 minutes, which makes it suitable to be used outside the infected area without the moon suit. The specialised Google tablet works on Android and lets doctors send the data wirelessly across the globe right from the high-risk zone.
This tablet technology is extremely significant and can serve as a detector to sense the progression of Ebola virus. Meanwhile, medical experts are planning to modify the technology to fight the upcoming epidemics. Scientist Dr. Eric D. Perakslis from the Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, said that he is working with MSF to make the technology “open source”. It would help with free sharing of software and hardware designs at large. “You can think of other highly toxic environments, even laboratory environments, where this could really be helpful,” said Perakslis.
The top tech leader has done many contributions to serve the mankind; it also has a charitable arm called Google.org, which is a crisis response team to help the disaster struck people. The new tablet will mark another milestone for the company in terms of innovations that help make lives of people better.
Facebook might have accidentally popped a small glance at the next major app coming from its stable. A message popped up on the Android app of some Facebook users which gave an indication that the social media giant is working on a new app called “Phone.”
The feature popped out with a FB-only tag and showed a dialer icon. However, on tapping the icon, it led to a ‘no page found’ error. It is said that the feature is still in works and the link might have accidentally showed up in the users feed. A report from Android Police stated that the Phone button seems like a replacement for a dialer and will automatically block spam calls and show detailed information about the incoming calls.
Whatsapp, which was acquired by Facebook last year, has also rolled out their version of the calling feature that allows you to make voice calls to one another using data connection or WiFi data. As of now, the only problem Whatsapp may be facing regarding the calling feature is the lag-time in between a call.
Facebook has already rolled out voice calling feature on Messenger. Android and iOS users in can call anyone through this app, consuming only cellular or WiFi data. The feature came to India last year. Now we hope Facebook doesn’t force us to download a whole new app to clutter our devices again. Instead they can include the feature in their existing app like Whatsapp did with their latest update.
Huawei, the Shenzhen-based company, is geared to boost its Honor smartphone lineage. Today, the telecommunications company started rolling out media invites, and it says that two smartphones will be unveiled in the forthcoming Huawei event scheduled for Tuesday, i.e. March 24.
The firm sent out a teaser for the upcoming smartphones which read –
Join us to celebrate the launch of the two super cool, revolutionary, innovative and ‘brave’ Honor phones. And change the way you picture life.
From the bold statement Huawei has made, we sense something big is headed our way. One of the devices is said to sport two robust cameras; however, there are no details about their specifications. The invite came accompanied with an eyepatch which read “why see the world with just one eye?”. At this time, the cameras seem to be the highlight of the upcoming Honor phones.
More information about the Honor handsets should be revealed soon. Keep checking back for more details.
Google is the gateway to the internet. Without it, let’s just agree that most of us will be lost on the internet. The other search engines don’t even come close to Google’s dominance in the search business. People have now begun to perceive the Silicon Valley giant as the new superpower as it controls a key access to the digital economy. It has now been found that Google used its dominance to take content from websites like Amazon, TripAdvison, and others illegally to further its own business.
The report was filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States of America. The report states that Google manipulated its search results to promote its own services and in turn sabotaged rival companies. The report says that this manipulation caused “real harm to consumers”.
The report says Google picked content from its rivals without giving them any compensation
The websites who complained about Google’s illegal actions include major names such as Amazon, TripAdvisor, Yelp, Microsoft and its search engine Bing, and Expedia. The report states one example in which Google blatantly copied Amazon’s rankings for popular products and used it for its search results.
The infuriating bit about this entire episode is that Google used its position to bully the companies. When the companies complained about the illegal actions, the search giant threatened them with a disappearance from search results.
FTC had voted to end its investigation of Google in 2013. The report was not published until recently. Some claim that Google’s massive donations for President Obama’s re-election campaign led to the federal regulators going soft on the company. In fact, Google was the second biggest donor for Obama’s 2012 campaign. There is already pressure in the European Commission to challenge the monopoly of Google in the European search markets.
Under the settlement conditions, during the closing of 2013 investigation, the companies got the option of opting out of their content getting picked by Google without the threat of removal of their names getting dropped in the search listing. But the real story here is that Google used its dominant position and political influence to blatantly steal content and then bully the owners. This revelation will lead to more people questioning the massive size of Google and how to address its monopolistic attitude.
