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Google to Plough More Money into Mobile?
(01 Apr 2009, BWCS Staff)In a bit of welcome news for the mobile sector, Google has been talking about its plan to launch a US$100-million venture-capital fund. With the internet giant desperate to carve a larger niche for itself in the mobile world, this largely unfashionable move has to be seen as good news at a time when VC investment is becoming a rarity.
According to the company's own blog, Richard Miner, one of the brains behind the Android platform, will be a managing partner in the fund. He and his colleagues will be charged with evaluating new opportunities, though the company made it clear that these will not be exclusively in the mobile sphere or even in the online world. The new investments could be in the world of health care or bio technology.
Last month Vodafone secured the European rights to sell the next generation Google mobile phone, the so-called G2. Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, CEO, Vittorio Colao, confirmed that his company will be the only company allowed to sell the new handset in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, for a limited period. The new device will be made by HTC, the same company that produced the first Google phone last year.
Meanwhile, Google remains the most visited mobile website among unique US users according to browser development firm Opera Software's State of the Mobile Web report. The figures, which were compiled in February of this year, show the search engine giant out in front followed by Facebook, MySpace and Wikipedia. Google is also the most visited mobile site among unique users in the UK.
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