Google

Motorola contributes over $1B to Google, but still a drag overall

Google beat analyst expectations for the second quarter of 2012 and reported a little more than $1 billion in revenue from its new subsidiary Motorola.

Google said that Motorola contributed $1.25 billion in revenue ,or about 10 percent of the company's consolidated revenue, in the second quarter of 2012. The company reported total revenue of $12.21 billion for the quarter. About $843 million of Motorola's revenue came from its mobile business, and another $407 million came from the business unit that builds set-top boxes for the home.

Even though Google beat expectations overall and Motorola contributed … Read more

Larry Page absent from Google earnings call

As anticipated, Google CEO Larry Page did not speak at Google's Q2 2012 earnings call today. Speaking instead were Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette, Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora, and SVP of Advertising Susan Wojcicki. Google's earnings release did include statements attributed to Page.

Google said on June 21 that Page had missed his company's annual shareholders' meeting owing to the loss of his voice but provided no other details. On June 27 at the Google IO conference, Google co-founder Sergey Brin would not answer questions about Page's absence, other than noting that Page was a … Read more

Google earns $2.79 billion in Q2, stock bumps up after hours

Following the closure of the Motorola Mobility deal, Google did pretty well for the second quarter of 2012.

The Internet giant reported second quarter earnings of $2.79 billion, or $8.42 a share, on revenue of $9.61 billion excluding traffic acquisition costs. Non-GAAP earnings came in at $10.12 a share (statement).

Including traffic acquisition costs Google revenue for the quarter was $12.21 billion. TAC totaled $2.60 billion.

Wall Street was looking for second quarter earnings of $10.04 a share on revenue of $8.41 billion, excluding traffic acquisition costs.

Google shares … Read more

Nexus 7 users reporting screen problems, easy fix for some

Google's excitingly cheap new Nexus 7 tablet has been plopping into mailboxes around the world (my 16GB model just arrived this morning, thanks for asking), and Android fans have been eagerly coming to grips with the Jelly Bean-powered slate.

Inevitably with such a popular gadget -- and such a vocal fanbase -- some Nexus owners have discovered manufacturing faults. Twitter user Faux123 posted a nasty-looking picture, spotted by Pocketnow, of light bleeding out of the side of his tablet, like a punctured angel.

Read more of "Nexus 7 users reporting screen problems, easy fix for some" at … Read more

The 404 1,093: Where we're monitoring that scan you just interfaced (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 show:

- Guy gets butt kicked for wearing digital eye glasses inside McDonald's.

- Burger King employee stands on lettuce, gets busted by Internet.

- This is how you paint a 150-foot Batman.

- Does this photo of yesterday's storm in New York deserve an Instagram filter?… Read more

Use YouTube Feather beta for low-bandwidth connections

When you load a video on YouTube, you're getting a lot more than just something to watch. There's an information panel that goes along with the video mentioning credits, keywords, and other interesting tidbits. Below the video and top comments, you'll find video responses to the one you're watching. On the right-hand side of the page, you'll see a long list of suggested videos that might be related to the one you're watching. All of these things, along with less obvious ones like buttons that interact with each comment for thumbs up/down, are … Read more

HTC prepping Android 4.1 update for One XL and One S

Users of HTC's One XL and One S phones are on the Android 4.1 update list, at least in Australia.

An update page posted by Australian mobile carrier Telstra points to an Android 4.1 'Jelly Bean' update in progress for both phones. The carrier says that HTC is preparing the update but has yet to confirm a date in which it will be sent to Telstra for testing.

No further beans were spilled as to a possible release date or availability for other HTC devices or other carriers around the world. But the handset maker has revealed … Read more

Apple iPhone 5 vs. Android 4G duel set up at Verizon

Verizon continues to sell more Droid devices than Apple iPhones largely due to 4G LTE capability. The Apple-Android duel will be become a lot more interesting when the iPhone 5 launches with LTE. 

The iPhone 5 is still a few months away, but analysts are already upbeat. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster argued in a research note that 80 million iPhone 5 units are in the bag. Munster said:

Our recent survey of 400 consumers confirms our belief that the iPhone will take share over the next few years. In our survey, 65% of phone owners said that their … Read more

Isis mobile pay service may start trials in August

Isis, a joint venture among Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile USA, will likely start trials of its mobile-payment service in August, according to a person familiar with the launch plans.

The August target, however, isn't set in stone. CNET has gotten indications elsewhere that the timing may change. A representative for Isis only said the service would begin trials in Salt Lake City and Austin, Texas, this summer, pushed back from the prior forecast of a mid-year launch.

Isis will join Google Wallet in its attempt to get people to start paying at cash registers with their … Read more