Between the Lines

Google, Inc. (GOOG) - Between the Lines

It took a while, but Google has made its big move as a local shopping inventory gatekeeper. The company said Thursday that it will offer inventory checks on local stores to see if products are available. The program has already enlisted some key retailers including Sears, Best buy, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm. 

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) - Between the Lines

Is Yahoo a business in secular decline that's facing market share losses and advertising hurdles for years to come or a company that's on the rebound? That question doesn't have any immediate answers, but the tug of war between analysts is just heating up. As noted on Monday , JMP Securities analyst Sameet Sinha upgraded Yahoo and argued that the company's search pact with Microsoft will deliver meaningful returns. 

Motorola, Inc. (MOT) - Between the Lines

With Google's future in China uncertain, Motorola and Microsoft cut a deal to put the software giant's Bing search engine on Android handsets in China. In a statement late Wednesday, Motorola and Microsoft announced a deal to put Bing on handsets. Bing will first launch in China in the first quarter via an over the air update for existing handsets. 

Google, Inc. (GOOG) - Between the Lines

With Google's future in China uncertain, Motorola and Microsoft cut a deal to put the software giant's Bing search engine on Android handsets in China. In a statement late Wednesday, Motorola and Microsoft announced a deal to put Bing on handsets. Bing will first launch in China in the first quarter via an over the air update for existing handsets. 

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) - Between the Lines

With Google's future in China uncertain, Motorola and Microsoft cut a deal to put the software giant's Bing search engine on Android handsets in China. In a statement late Wednesday, Motorola and Microsoft announced a deal to put Bing on handsets. Bing will first launch in China in the first quarter via an over the air update for existing handsets. 

Google, Inc. (GOOG) - Between the Lines

Some might say that Google , whose biggest scores for a switch to the cloud include the city of Los Angeles , is still a small player in cloud services, compared to Big Blue. But when Google unveiled a new Apps Marketplace earlier this week and revealed the lineup of companies making apps available for its debut, I couldn't help but wonder if Google had actually unearthed the big pot of gold hidden in a rainbow colored cloud. The pot of gold I'm talking about is the small to medium sized business (SMB) market, a lucrative but challenging market to target because its needs are so varied and it's survival is so closely tied to economic conditions. 

Google, Inc. (GOOG) - Between the Lines

The U. S government may be gearing up to challenge Google's $750 million acquisition of mobile ad company AdMob, according to a Reuters report . The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly seeking sworn declarations from Google's competitors and advertisers, a sign that the agency may try to block the deal or at least modify it. Unnamed sources "with direct knowledge of the matter" told Reuters that at least two companies are being asked to sign statements. 

AdMob, Inc. - Between the Lines

The U. S government may be gearing up to challenge Google's $750 million acquisition of mobile ad company AdMob, according to a Reuters report . The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly seeking sworn declarations from Google's competitors and advertisers, a sign that the agency may try to block the deal or at least modify it. Unnamed sources "with direct knowledge of the matter" told Reuters that at least two companies are being asked to sign statements. 

Google, Inc. (GOOG) - Between the Lines

Google CEO Eric Schmidt told reporters at a media summit in Abu Dhabi today that talks between Google and the Chinese government will soon end and that "something will happen soon," according to a Wall Street Journal report. What "that something" will be remains an unknown. When Google said in January that the company had fallen victim to a sophisticated cyber attack that originated in China, it threatened to stop censoring search results , as the Chinese government requires , and even threatened to shutter its operations in that country. 

Google, Inc. (GOOG) - Between the Lines

Google Apps Marketplace delivers on most of those questions. Overall, the Google Apps Marketplace is well stocked and highlights a budding ecosystem . It has a bevy of business friendly categories ranging from accounting and finance to document management to sales and marketing to security. 

Google, Inc. (GOOG) - Between the Lines

During a presentation in front of the Federal Trade Commission yesterday, Google's Chief Economist painted a picture of a newspaper industry whose demise was caused by a number of sources, not just the Internet. That goes contrary to what newspaper executives have been saying for some time: that the Internet and, in particular, news aggregators like Google have been giving away content that newspapers used to be able to charge for , both in subscriptions and ad revenue. In a blog post , economist Hal Varian explained that his testimony is part of the FTC's exploration of the future of the news industry.