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Google: Mobile to overtake PC search
Published: 5 March, 2009
Tags >> Google
Google's mobile strategy is at the very heart of its growth plans, and CEO Eric Schmidt does not believe the firm has a lot of time to ensure its dominance of the new platform. In a speech during this week's Morgan Stanley Technology Conference, he said mobile search revenues will overtake those on a PC within a few years, "not decades", driven by the new sophistication and falling prices of smartphones.
"The fact of the matter is that mobile devices are going to be the majority of the way that people get information," he said. Google seems to be on track so far, despite losing several major carrier deals - Microsoft stole Verizon's default search engine deal, while Yahoo has been very successful among Asian cellcos. This week, NetApplications said Google accounted for over 95% of smartphone searches round the world in February.
However, as Internetnews.com reports, Schmidt is not complacent about Google's fortunes amid the current recession. "For the next few quarters, things are going to be very, very tough," he said, and is not looking for an industry turnaround until 2010. "Google management spends most of its time doing business reviews today," he said. "I think the situation is pretty dire. The combination of everything that we have seen does not appear to have a current bottom."
