Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




INTERNET SPACE
Google 2012 revenue hits $50 billion, profits up
by Staff Writers
San Francisco (AFP) Jan 22, 2013


Global Internet hit 2012 speed bump: study
Washington (AFP) Jan 23, 2013 - Global Internet connection speeds around the world slowed in late 2012, according to a survey released Wednesday that suggested a temporary stall in broadband gains.

Akamai Technologies' third quarter "State of the Internet" report also showed China remained the biggest source of computer attacks, and that Brazil and China appear to have the biggest surge in Web use.

The global average connection speed decreased by some seven percent between the second and third quarters of 2012 to 2.8 megabytes per second (Mbps).

But that appeared to be a temporary decline, since average connection speeds were up 11 percent year over year.

South Korea continued to have the highest average connection speed at 14.7 Mbps, followed by Japan (10.7 Mbps) and Hong Kong (8.9 Mbps).

Globally, adoption of "high" broadband (speeds above 10 Mbps) grew 8.8 percent in the third quarter and overall global broadband adoption grew 4.8 percent, the report said.

For the second quarter in a row, Brazil experienced the greatest year-over-year growth of 39 percent within the group of top 10 countries. China showed the largest quarter-over-quarter increase of 5.7 percent.

In analyzing Web attacks from 180 countries or regions, Akamai said China remained the single largest source, with 33 percent of all attacks originating within its borders. The United States accounted for 13 percent, followed by Russia at 4.7 percent.

For the mobile Internet, Akamai said Apple's Mobile Safari accounted for 60.1 percent of data requests on all networks, with Google's Android browsers responsible for 23.1 percent.

Google reported Tuesday that its profit climbed and its annual revenue hit an unprecedented high last year as it evolved to stay in tune with people using smartphones and tablets.

"We ended 2012 with a strong quarter," said Google co-founder and chief executive Larry Page. "We hit $50 billion in revenues for the first time last year; not a bad achievement in just a decade and a half."

The fourth quarter profit was up 6.7 percent from a year earlier at $2.89 billion, and for the full year Google's earnings grew 10 percent to $10.74 billion.

Revenue in the quarter that ended December 31 was up 36 percent from the same period a year earlier at $14.4 billion. For the year, revenues grew to $50.2 billion.

Google shares jumped more than five percent to $738.20 in after-market trading that followed release of the earnings figures, which topped most Wall Street estimates.

Google dominates the US online advertising market, which grew 14.9 percent to $10.58 billion in the final three months of last year, according to eMarketer.

The market tracker estimated that Google takes in more than 41 percent of digital ad revenue in the United States and "holds more share than any other company" when it comes to online, display and mobile advertising.

In a conference call with financial analysts, Google executives stressed how the company is connecting with people on smartphones and tablets, and cautioned that it would take time to get freshly acquired Motorola Mobility on course.

Page said he was excited about progress Google has made in handling search queries spoken to mobile devices and described the online Play shop for music, books, applications and other digital content as "on fire."

Google's mapping service program tailored for Apple gadgets running on the iOS platform have been a hit, Page said, adding that its search and email programs are also popular on Apple devices.

"We now live in a multi-screen world; in fact, we feel naked without our smartphones," Page said. "Devices have been one of our biggest bets in the last few years, along with the software that goes with these devices."

In an indirect shot at the Apple iPad Mini launched late last year, Page said Google's Nexus 7 "continues to define the seven-inch tablet category."

Google has been shedding unwanted Motorola Mobility assets since it completed its $12.5 billion takeover of the company last year.

Chief financial officer Patrick Pichette said during the earnings call that the Internet giant has "12 to 18 months of product pipeline it is still working through" at Motorola.

In December, Google announced it was selling the Motorola Mobility Home unit to global communications technology company ARRIS in a cash and stock deal valued at $2.35 billion.

The Internet giant's purchase of Motorola Mobility was seen as a grab for patents to protect Google's Android mobile operating system from legal attacks.

Modems and television set-top boxes made by Motorola Home evidently did not play into the California-based company's strategy despite its investments in Google TV technology for tapping into online entertainment in living rooms.

"I am excited about the innovative way they are approaching product development," Page said of the Motorola Mobility team.

"The opportunities are endless -- you shouldn't have to worry about charging your phone; when you drop your phone, it shouldn't go splat."

The majority of Google advertisers are opting to target mobile gadgets, and the company saw successes with experiments tying real-world shopping to smartphones, according to executives.

"Overall, the core search business is doing well, driven really by the growth in mobile," Pichette said.

Analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley said investors will be watching to see the bites taken from Google revenue by investments in self-driving cars, Internet-linked eyewear, smartphones and other projects.

"Most eyes will be on their build-out," Enderle said. "Clearly, like Microsoft, they will be expanding their hardware footprint."

.


Related Links
Satellite-based Internet technologies






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








INTERNET SPACE
America archives its billions of tweets
Washington (AFP) Jan 21, 2013
The Library of Congress, repository of the world's largest collection of books, has set for itself the enormous task of archiving something less weighty and far more ephemeral - Americans' billions of tweets. The venerable US institution is assembling all of the 400 million tweets sent by Americans each day, in the belief that each of the mini-messages reflect a small but important part of ... read more


INTERNET SPACE
US, Europe team up for moon fly-by

Russia to Launch Lunar Mission in 2015

US, Europe team up for moon fly-by

Mission would drag asteroid to the moon

INTERNET SPACE
Possible Clues to Ancient Subsurface Biosphere on Mars

NASA's Veteran Mars Rover Ready to Start 10th Year

Opportunity Investigating Light-toned Veins in Rock Outcrop

Reull Vallis: a river ran through it

INTERNET SPACE
TDRS-K Offers Upgrade to Vital Communications Net

An Astronaut's Guide

Mathematical breakthrough sets out rules for more effective teleportation

Orion Teamwork Pays Off

INTERNET SPACE
Reshuffle for Tiangong

China to launch 20 spacecrafts in 2013

Mr Xi in Space

China plans manned space launch in 2013: state media

INTERNET SPACE
NASA to Send Inflatable Pod to International Space Station

ISS to get inflatable module

ESA workhorse to power NASA's Orion spacecraft

Competition Hopes To Fine Tune ISS Solar Array Shadowing

INTERNET SPACE
NASA Selects Experimental Commercial Suborbital Flight Payloads

Payload elements come together in Starsem's wrap-up Soyuz mission from Baikonur Cosmodrome for Globalstar

Amazonas 3 in Kourou for Ariane 5 year-opening launch campaign

Suborbital Space Research and Education Conference Scheduled for June 2013

INTERNET SPACE
New Evidence Indicates Auroras Occur Outside Our Solar System

Glitch has space telescope shut down

Earth-size planets common in galaxy

NASA's Hubble Reveals Rogue Planetary Orbit For Fomalhaut B

INTERNET SPACE
Novel sensor provides bigger picture

Dutch architect to build house with 3D printer

Researchers move Barkhausen Effect forward

Computer breakthrough: Code of life becomes databank




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement