News Analysis: Google has taken the stage at its I/O conference to talk about its future product development plans. Those plans reveal a lot about where Google sees the potential for growth in the next few years.
At the first day of Google I/O 2011, it was clear
that the search giant had a mission. At its keynote address, the company
indicated that over the next several months and years, it wants to have a
presence in as many markets as possible. The days of just relying upon search
and advertising are officially dead.
Of course,
that isn't much of a surprise. For years now, Google has been building its
share of the smartphone market with its Android operating system. The firm's
acquisition of AdMob in 2009 ensured that it would also play a bit role in
mobile advertising. Now that there are some Android-based tablets on store
shelves, Google has its sights set on Apple's iPad.
But Google
didn't focus all its time on mobile communication or mobile advertising at the
I/O Conference keynote. The company touched on a number of additional markets
that it believes it can perform well in. It talked about new ways it will grow
in its established markets as well as how it plans to grow in new market
sectors.
Here's what
Google's I/O announcements reveal about the company's future growth roadmap.
1. It has its sights set on iTunes.
Arguably the
biggest announcement Google made at its I/O conference was Google Music. The
service, which is currently in beta, offers users in the U.S. free access to
songs over the Web. Android owners will also be able to access tracks from the
cloud. For now, Google Music isn't much of a threat to Apple's iTunes platform.
But it's apparent that the cloud is the next frontier in music. Now, Google is
laying the groundwork to become the dominant player in that market-much to
Apple's chagrin.
2. Google is more
committed than ever to smartphones.
Google spent a
considerable amount of time at the I/O conference talking about its presence in
the smartphone market with Android. The company stated clearly that it won't
slacken its effort to keep expanding its mobile business. According to Google,
over
100 million Android devices have been activated.
Moreover, over 400,000 Android-based products are being activated each and
every day. There is good reason for Google to commit itself to smartphones.
3. Google wants
to keep expanding the tablet market.
Google didn't
just stop at smartphones. The company also showed that it wants to build an
even bigger presence in the tablet market. And it plans to start that charge by
releasing Android Honeycomb 3.1,
an update to the OS running on Android-based tablets.
With the update, consumers will find a number of performance and bug fixes. It
will also address an issue with image rendering. By the looks of things,
Android 3.1 might just be Google's best answer yet to iOS 4 running on the
iPad.
4. It's committed to mobile entertainment.
As the
popularity of smartphones and tablets increases, people are looking to do more
with those platforms. That's why Google's announcement of the Movies service,
allowing users to rent films from the Android Market makes a lot of sense.
Mobile devices are becoming increasingly important for people who want to be
entertained while on the go. Google wants to be at the center of that
changeover.
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