Microsoft's 'Bing' to Take on Google - Live Search Cashback Going Away?
daddymc
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Microsoft Corp. mounted a renewed effort against Google Inc. with the announcement of a new Internet search engine called Bing designed to make hunting for online information easier.
The Redmond, Wash., company is expected in the coming weeks to support the launch of Bing with a major new advertising campaign in print, television and on the Internet, spending $80 million to $100 million on the effort, according to people familiar with the matter. Microsoft said it will launch its new search engine at Bing.com on June 3.
It appears that Microsoft is giving up in Live Search. I'm hoping that part of the marketing effort will include something similar to the Live Search cashback incentive though.
The Redmond, Wash., company is expected in the coming weeks to support the launch of Bing with a major new advertising campaign in print, television and on the Internet, spending $80 million to $100 million on the effort, according to people familiar with the matter. Microsoft said it will launch its new search engine at Bing.com on June 3.
It appears that Microsoft is giving up in Live Search. I'm hoping that part of the marketing effort will include something similar to the Live Search cashback incentive though.
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Count on it.
......
But, the chance of Bing having much impact on GOOG
is about ZERO.
Bing, reportedly, will be based, in part, on an algo similar
to that used by EBAY.
It will show you what "you meant to ask for," and NOT
necessarily what you wanted.
GOOG makes good and reasonable suggestions, but it
seldom tries to show you what you "really meant," until
AFTER you have asked it to do so.
Once a thing like GOOG wins the war, the other fighters
really should just hang it up and go do something else.
.........
Maybe MSFT should have spent some cash to fix Vista,
instead of squandering shareholders' funds on a "new"
search engine that nobody needs or wants.
<< <i>I couldn't agree more. When the company's name has become a ubiquitous verb other companies are better off just letting them have that space in the marketplace. Microsoft should just stick to making operating systems that piss people off but somehow end up on every company's desktops. >>
I don't think Microsoft will do anything to take away Google's dominance, but Yahoo used to be THE search engine before Google, and Mapquest was THE map/direction site before Googlemaps.
So by that logic, Google should have never gotten into the business to begin with.
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
is about ZERO."
agreed. they are throwing money away.
<< <i>
<< <i>I couldn't agree more. When the company's name has become a ubiquitous verb other companies are better off just letting them have that space in the marketplace. Microsoft should just stick to making operating systems that piss people off but somehow end up on every company's desktops. >>
I don't think Microsoft will do anything to take away Google's dominance, but Yahoo used to be THE search engine before Google, and Mapquest was THE map/direction site before Googlemaps.
So by that logic, Google should have never gotten into the business to begin with. >>
Yahoo may have been the premier search engine for a while, but no one, that I can recall anyway, ever said they were going to "Yahoo" the answer to a question. My point was not that the number 1 can't be taken down but that when the number 1's name becomes a ubiquitous verb it gets awfully difficult for other companies to take their throne.
On the other hand, I have heard people say "Just MapQuest it" and although I don't have any proof to back this up, I get the impression that a lot of people still use MapQuest because of the name recognition even though Google Maps is a superior service.
<< <i>"But, the chance of Bing having much impact on GOOG
is about ZERO."
agreed. they are throwing money away. >>
It's definitely not zero. At this point, MSFT would be be very content to be runner up in search (currently held by Yahoo at 20% share). Can they improve from their miniscule 8% share (at the expense of Google)? Absolutely. Will they? Who knows, though the internet, consumer behavior on the internet, and internet advertising, has never been part of their core strengths.
Google has yet to make a major misstep in its core search business. If they do, Microsoft may be able to make a very sizeable dent in their market leadership.
Also, I don't think this is a futile move by microsoft. There is ton's of money to be made in "internet traffic control", which is essentially what search engines are. Plus I see a real need for the specialized search engines as we move forward. Google seems to have changed their algorithm as I am getting more of those "this is what you meant" results. Try searching "Broder card" all the results are "border card." wtf.
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BLOOMBERG
Google’s Android to Run Laptops, Taking On Microsoft (Update1)
By Tim Culpan
June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc.’s free mobile-phone operating system will begin running computers next quarter, entering a market dominated by Microsoft Corp.’s Windows and deepening the rivalry between the two companies.
Acer Inc., the world’s second-largest laptop maker, will release a low-cost notebook featuring Android in the third quarter, Jim Wong, head of information-technology products at the Taipei-based company, said today. Asustek Computer Inc., pioneer of the sub-$500 laptops known as netbooks, also developed a model that runs on Google’s software, Chairman Jonney Shih said.
The development of Android netbooks indicates that the software is powerful enough to replace Windows, which runs about 90 percent of the world’s personal computers. Google’s move into PC operating systems escalates the pressure on Microsoft as it prepares to introduce Windows 7, according to Calvin Huang, an analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc.
“This is a negative and may force Microsoft to lower the price of Windows 7,” said Huang, who covers the computer industry from Taipei. “More and more vendors are adopting Android and non-Windows in their products, so this is a very good chance for Android to penetrate the PC market.”
Acer’s Android-based Aspire One netbook will be cheaper than the Windows XP model, though the two products will have the same electronic components, such as Intel Corp.’s Atom processor, Acer’s Wong said.
Right to Choose
“Competition in the marketplace is good and people have the right to choose software that is best for them,” Amelia Agrawal, a Singapore-based spokeswoman for Microsoft, said in an e-mailed statement. “Microsoft remains confident that people will keep buying Windows, as evidenced by the robust Windows growth on small notebook PCs.”
Google, based in Mountain View, California, dropped 66 cents to $425.90 at 11:10 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Microsoft rose 31 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $21.71.
Google introduced Android in 2007 as a software system for mobile phones. Android is based on Linux, an open-source operating system that’s free and developed by hundreds of engineers worldwide. Asustek said in February that its engineers were trying to develop an Android-based netbook this year.
“Anyone can take the Android platform and add code or download it to create a mobile device without restrictions,” Google said in an e-mail. “We look forward to seeing what contributions are made and how an open platform spurs innovation.”
Microsoft’s Bing
Microsoft also is challenging Google’s main business. Last week, the Redmond, Washington-based company unveiled Bing, an Internet search engine designed to compete against Google’s.
Asustek released the Eee PC netbook in October 2007, initially only offering Linux software. Microsoft jumped into the market and was able to grab 85 percent of mini-notebook sales by the fourth quarter of 2008, according to estimates at research firm Gartner Inc. Linux accounted for the rest.
“Google really does have the brand name and the financial resources to be able to be a rival to Microsoft,” Warren East, chief executive officer of chip designer ARM Holdings Plc, said in an interview today. “The whole Linux community is a bit fragmented when you compare it with Microsoft.”
ARM Chips
ARM, based in Cambridge, England, is a potential beneficiary of Android’s success because Microsoft’s Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 don’t run on ARM-based computers.
“Microsoft going forward may have to work on an ARM-based solution,” said Daiwa’s Huang. “If Microsoft doesn’t want to see Google Android get into the PC market, they will have to support ARM; otherwise, ARM will go perfectly with Android.”
Qualcomm Inc. and Freescale Semiconductor Inc., which make chips based on ARM’s technology, said they expect to release products this year for netbooks that run Google’s operating system.
Google’s cachet will help get the computers into retailers such as Best Buy Inc. or France’s Fnac electronics chain, said Henri Richard, chief sales and marketing officer for Freescale.
“It’s important to be able to convince Fnac or Best Buy to put a product on their shelf, and that’s where I think Android is going to be more helpful,” Richard said in an interview.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tim Culpan in Taipei at tculpan1@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: June 2, 2009 11:11 EDT
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<< <i>Maybe MSFT should have spent some cash to fix Vista,
instead of squandering shareholders' funds on a "new"
search engine that nobody needs or wants. >>
I use Vista x64 all the time and it's excellent, fwiw. Windows 7 is, I'm told, really, really good.
Microsoft doesn't care about the search engine, they care about the advertising ON the search engine. That's where the money is.
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