TECH
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 06, 2015
PUNE
Nature’s super waste management crews
The first two video games copyrighted in the US were Asteroids and Lunar Lander in 1980. http://www.wtfdiary.com/
Flyover construction causing chaos at CoEP
P 13
P 15
Future uncertain, but crucial
Google’s $50 million Android is essential to the search giant’s growth but faces threats from high and low-end competition
In 2005, Google bought a tiny mobile software company named Android, and almost nobody in the technology industry saw its potential — not even Eric Schmidt, Google’s chairman and then-chief executive. “One day Larry and Sergey bought Android, and I didn’t even notice,” Schmidt told reporters in 2009, referring to Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google’s founders. A company spokesman later assured me that Schmidt was joking; Android reportedly cost at least $50 million, a big enough sum for the chief to get involved. But the joke suggests how little regard even Google’s executives held for Android a decade ago. Android, which is software that runs smartphones, tablets and a variety of other machines, was a side bet, and few considered it consequential to the search company’s fortunes. Things have changed. In an era ruled by portable computers, Android has become essential to Google’s future. Like an unstoppable friendly bacteria advancing upon a powerless host planet, Android, in the past five years, has colonised much of the known world. Android is now not just the globe’s most popular smartphone operating system but the most popular operating system of any kind. More than 1 billion Android devices were sold in 2014, according to the research firm Gartner. That’s about five times the number of Apple iOS devices sold, and about three times the number of Windows machines sold. In other words: About 1 of every 2 computers sold today is running Android. Google’s once underappreciated side bet has become Earth’s dominant computing platform. Yet all is not well on planet Android. Cracks are emerging in Google’s hold over the operating system. Google’s version of Android faces increasing competition from hungry rivals, including upstart smartphone makers in developing countries that are pushing their own heavily modified take on the software. There are also new threats from Apple, which has said its recent record number of iPhone sales came, in part, thanks to people switching from Android. Hanging over these concerns is the question of the bottom line. Despite surging sales, profits in the Android smartphone business declined 44 per cent in 2014, according to independent analyst Chetan Sharma. Over the holidays last year, according to research firm Strategy
Analytics, Apple vacuumed up nearly 90 per cent of the profits in the smartphone business. The stark numbers prompted a troubling question for Android and for Google: How will the search company - or anyone else, for that matter - ever make much money from Android? Google is sanguine about Android’s prospects and said the company’s original vision for Android was never solely about huge profits. “The bet that Larry, Sergey and Eric made at the time was that smartphones are going to be a thing, there’s
advertisers). Because Google pays billions to Apple to make its search engine the default search provider for iOS devices, the company collects much more from ads placed on Apple devices than from ads on Android devices. A recent analysis by Goldman Sachs estimated that Google collected about $11.8 billion on mobile search ads in 2014, with about 75 per cent coming from ads on iPhones and iPads. A brighter spot for Google is the revenue it collects from sales via Android’s app store, called Google Play.
Android is the most popular operating system in the world by far, but it is under siege by low-end upstarts and fares poorly versus Apple’s iOS in ad revenue
going to be Internet on it, so let’s make sure there’s a great smartphone platform out there that people can use to, among other things, access Google services,” said Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google’s vice president for engineering for Android. Google points out its bet has benefited users. The fact that Google does not charge for Android, and that few phone manufacturers are extracting much of a profit from Android devices, means much of the globe now enjoys decent smartphones and online services for low prices. So we should all be thankful for Google’s largess - but, at the same time, given the increasing threats to Google’s advertising business, we might also wonder how long that largess can continue. Google faces several major Androidrelated headaches. First, while Google makes most of its revenue from advertising, Android has so far been an ad dud compared with Apple’s iOS, whose users tend to have more money and spend more time on their phones (and are, thus, more valuable to
And now, an app for local retailers BY ANIRBAN GHOSHAL
CHENNAI: After the onslaught by e-commerce sites, here comes an app which helps you to buy offl ine from your neighbourhood retailer. Started for residents here, VBuy is app-based product pricing search engine for local retailers and consumers. Developed by Chennai-based VS Online Services, the app started its journey on the web before arriving at the Android platform two weeks back. “The app provides hyperlocal (within 25-km radius) retailer price search engine solution for the consumer to compare prices and availability of electronic, home and kitchen products,” says Sivakumar Anirudhan, founder and CEO of VBuy. The company expects to expand to other cities in a few months. Anirudhan said: “Amidst the growing tussle between retailers and e-tailers, local retailers also need online presence and this is where we step in and redefine the shopping experience. Our model is research online and buy offline.” According to Anirudhan, VBuy’s marketing team identifies and verifies retailers providing them with a login to keep their prices updated. “Going by the response we have received, we will venture out to other cities in six months and start adding other categories,” Anirudhan said. Although Vbuy has only 10 employees now, it is also planning to start its logistics service to compete with rivals like shopCity. Soon, the app will also nestle a feature that reminds the user to shop for something he had searched for when he is near the local retailer or outlet. anirban.g@ians.in
For years, Android apps were a backwater, but sales have picked up lately. In 2014, Google Play sold about $10 billion in apps, of which Google kept about $3 billion (the rest was paid out to developers). Apple makes more from its App Store. Sales there exceeded $14 billion in 2014, and rising iPhone sales in China have led to a growing app haul for Apple. Still, Google’s app revenue is becoming an increasingly meaningful piece of its overall business, and it is also growing rapidly. Google is investing heavily to make sure that continues. Purnima Kochikar, business development director for Google Play, told me her team supporting Android app makers grew “by 15 times” in the past 2 1/2 years. She added that even if hot Silicon Valley start-ups still create apps for iOS first, app makers in other parts of the world see Android as a surer path to the masses. But how long Google can expect Play to keep paying remains an open question, thanks to the second Android-related headache. Google’s strategy of giving
Android to phone makers free has led to a surge of new entrants in the phone business, several of which sell high-quality phones for cut-rate prices. Among those is Xiaomi, a Chinese start-up making phones that have become some of the most popular devices in China. One software startup, Cyanogen, has raised about $100 million from several investors — and has signed a “strategic partnership” with Google’s arch-competitor Microsoft — to sell phone makers an alternative user interface that works on top of Google’s Android. “We share services revenue with the phone makers — and today they get very little of that from Google,” said Kirt McMaster, Cyanogen’s chief executive. “There are very few companies in the world today that really like Google. Nobody wants Google to run the table with this game. So it’s a good time to be a neutral third party. We’re Switzerland, and we want to share that revenue with our ecosystem partners in a meaningful way.” Google, for its part, said there was ample room in the Android world for a variety of services to thrive. “It’s up to any party in these ecosystems to figure out how they want to make money,” Lockheimer said. The final threat for Google’s Android may be the most pernicious: What if a significant number of the people who adopted Android as their first smartphone move on to something else as they become power users? In Apple’s last two earnings calls, Timothy D. Cook, the chief executive, reported “a higher rate of switchers than we’ve experienced in previous iPhone cycles.” Apple has not specified the rate of switching, but a survey by Cowen & Co found that 16 per cent of people who bought the latest iPhones previously owned Android devices; in China, that rate was 29 per cent. For Google, this may not be terrible news in the short run. If Google already makes more from ads on iOS than Android, growth in iOS might actually be good for Google’s bottom line. Still, in the long run, the rise of Android switching sets up a terrible path for Google - losing the high end of the smartphone market to the iPhone, while the low end is under greater threat from noncooperative Android players like Xiaomi and Cyanogen. Android has always been a tricky strategy; now, after finding huge success, it seems only to be getting even trickier. © 2015 New York Times News Service
Centre launches ‘Khoya-Paya’ to trace missing children Says putting up details on portal is not a replacement for filing FIR with police NEW DELHI: The government has launched an exclusive web portal dedicated to tracking down missing children. The website called ‘Khoya-Paya’ aims to help trace missing children by allowing citizens to post information about a child who is not to be found. Simu lta neously, anybody who has seen a child alone or with suspicious people can post information or photographs of the child on the portal. Information about missing and sighted children can be uploaded at khoyapaya.gov.in. The portal is also available as a mobile application. “Th is website would be different from the website called ‘track child’ which is at present being maintained by the home ministry,” Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said at the launch of the web portal here. “The plan originated from the prime minister,” she said. Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar
Make travel easy and memorable LiveATC
Android: Rs 164 Stuck in the airport terminal with endless delays? Have you always wondered what pilots talk to air traffic controllers about? Now you can stop wondering and tune in live! LiveATC for Android provides a quick and easy way to listen in on live conversations between pilots and air traffic controllers near many airports around the world. LiveATC for Android lets you browse by state or by country to find an airport and listen in to live air traffic conversations at or near a given airport. You can also use the ‘Nearby’ feature to find an airport near you. You can then add any channel to your Favorites list for quick and easy access.
Indian Train Status
IOS/Android: Free This app gives quick and easy access to live running train status, train numbers, station codes, PNR status and a unique berth and seat calculator for Indian Railways. You can also add home screen widgets for ultra-quick, one-touch access to train, station and time tables. It also features the handy berth and seat calculator for the times when you want to quickly know whether it’s a lower berth or an aisle seat. The reservation date calculator helps to find the reservation opening date for a given date of travel, and also set reminders for it.
HERE
Android: Free Here’s to finding your way no matter where you are. Here’s to having the confidence to live your life, because you always know exactly where you’re going. With HERE, you can plan your journey ahead of time and save a map of your destination right on your phone. With maps for more than a 100 countries around the world, you’ll never be lost — even when offline. See exactly where you are and find the best way around with a route planner that shows you driving, public transport and walking options at a glance.When you’re ready to head out, turn-by-turn, voice-guided driving and walk navigation takes you right to your destination you can use their public transport maps and schedules to get around by train or bus. With HERE, your maps are always loaded and ready to use, and you never need to rely on an internet connection. Find restaurants and shops in your area and browse ratings and reviews from TripAdvisor, LonelyPlanet and more to plan your night out. You can take a peek inside shopping centres and airports with 3D indoor maps that show you the locations of stores, elevators and other facilities.
PackPoint Premium packing list
IANS
BY FARHAD MANJOO
APP WORLD
Android: Rs 126 PackPoint is a travel packing list organiser and packing planner for serious travel pros. PackPoint will help you organide what you need to pack in your luggage and suitcase based on length of travel, weather at your destination, and any activities planned during your trip. Once your packing list is built and organised, PackPoint will save it for you, and then you can choose to share it with your friends and family in case they need help packing too. Punch in the city you’re going to travel to, the departure date, and the number of nights you’ll be staying there.
Goibibo - Hotel Flight Booking Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad (left) and Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi at a press conference organised to launch ‘Khoya-Paya’ in New Delhi
Prasad said the portal was a step towards the government’s vision of bridging the digital divide. “Th is website is likely to benefit the poor and underprivileged sections more,” he said. Gandhi said the website was an enabling platform, where citizens can report missing children, as well as sightings of
their whereabouts without wasting much time. Found children can also be reported on the portal. Citizens can also provide information about abandoned, lost children and those sighted with suspicious people. Th rough this portal, they are also advised to inform the nearest police station. Officials of the women
and child development ministry, however, clarified that putting up information on the portal was not a replacement for fi ling an FIR with police. As per information provided by the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of children who go missing every year is about 70,000. IANS
Android: Free With the Goibibo book hotels, flights and buses now becomes an easy task! You are sure to get the best deal on accommodation and intercity travel at anytime. Need a hotel booking, a flight schedule, a bus booking, they bring you great options. Find the best hotels, over 20,000 bus routes and great deals on flight bookings. You can also find and book a room securely with over 14,000 hotels throughout the country. For cheap hotel rooms or 5 star luxury suites you can search by city or hotel name or find properties close to landmark, location and locality. Check out their nifty sorting filters such as price point, city localities and important amenities and facilities.