An unhappy Yahoo, unsatisfied Microsoft, and a happy Google

Finally, after weeks and weeks of chaos and confusion, it’s been officially announced that Microsoft – Yahoo deal is not going to happen. Microsoft is fuming at a lost opportunity and Yahoo is having a hard time convincing its shareholders. In the midst of all this, one company is beaming. It goes by the name Google.

If you remember, a lot of bloggers, including yours truly, had predicted what could happen to Google’s dominance if the much hyped Microsoft-Yahoo deal were to materialize. It didn’t happen and now I have my foot firmly in my mouth.

Now, let’s take a look at the situation of all three entities involved – Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google.

Yahoo is perhaps the worst sufferer right now. While Jerry Yang was never interested in Microsoft’s offer, Yahoo’s stockholders thought otherwise. They wanted the deal to go through and salvage the stock price of Yahoo. It didn’t happen and you can already see the effect in its tumbling stock prices.

Microsoft is actually wondering what went wrong with their offer. They offered what was considered a very good price per stock and when Yahoo was not interested, they even raised their offer. But then, Yahoo was not convinced. Microsoft wanted this deal to go through more than anything else, as it would help them grab a significant share of the search engine market. Now, Microsoft has to settle for companies like AOL to form strategic alliances with.

Google is the real winner now, as it’s always been. First, it outbid Microsoft and acquired DoubleClick Inc. Then, it got the FCC to make it mandatory for the winner to open its network to all devices. And now, it has got its biggest competitors Yahoo and Microsoft exactly where it wants. Google is about to get into an ad-partnership with Yahoo wherein it can place its ads in Yahoo’s search engine while Microsoft is left in the lurch.

At the end of the day, Google’s number one position in online search market is safe and now it can continue to concentrate on its new venture of mobile advertising. Initially, Yahoo was going great guns in the mobile world with lots of partnerships and deals that even Google was slightly threatened about its place in the mobile world. Now, Yahoo has lots of business to take care of in its own backyard, Microsoft is not in a position to dominate either the online search or the mobile market, and Google can dutifully work on its Android platform and make it big in the mobile market too.

Given the current position of Yahoo and Microsoft, I don’t think they would be able to challenge Google either in the online search market or in the mobile search and advertising market. In other words, Google’s dominance will continue and there is not a thing Jerry Yang or Steve Ballmer can do about it.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Google, All things mobile phones, Yahoo, Microsoft.

0 comments.

Verizon brings live TV to mobile phones

If you are a San Diegan, you can watch live TV right on your mobile phone from now on. How does that sound?

Verizon Wireless has come up with this service which helps you watch TV shows in real time in your mobile phone. Verizon uses Qualcomm’s MediaFlo technology to bring this service to your mobile phone. Incidentally, San Diego happens to be the 58th market to get Verizon’s V Cast Mobile TV service.

Verizon thinks it can attract a lot of subscribers to its live TV service as it offers a variety of networks like NBC, CBS, MTV, FOX, ESPN, and Nickelodeon for users to choose from. The service will cost you anywhere from $13 to $25 and it gives you the choice to watch live TV shows from all the aforementioned networks.

In my opinion, Verizon’s mobile TV service is good enough to attract some subscribers. I think it is way better than watching downloaded video clips on your mobile phone. It’s live TV and people can watch their favorite news channels, sports channels, finance news channels, and other channels on the move which could be really convenient. However, only four of Verizon’s phone models support this live TV service, which I think is a definite downside. You can’t expect everyone to own an LG Voyager, can you? On a side note, I think this move could actually revive the stock price of Qualcomm which has remained stagnant for quite some time now!

Most importantly, if you happen to live in San Diego, check out this service and let me know your thoughts.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile TV.

0 comments.

A possible Yahoo - AOL merger?

While rumors are running wild that News Corp might join Microsoft in acquiring Yahoo, another news story has been making headlines for the past few days. It is believed that Yahoo is considering merging with AOL, the internet division of Time Warner.

It is said that Yahoo is not interested in Microsoft’s bid and wishes to stay independent. However, its investors are not amused at the sinking stock prices of Yahoo and they want the management to do something. The perfect solution for that, at least on paper, would be a merger with AOL. AOL, as we all know, has been suffering for god knows how long and a merger with Yahoo would do a lot of good for it.

It is said that Yahoo is ready to give a 20% stake in the Yahoo/AOL merger to Time Warner to bring in some much needed cash inflow. With the money that Time Warner offers for the 20% stake, Yahoo can buy back its stocks and this could lead to a rise in its stock price. So, on paper, this looks like a win-win situation for both Yahoo and AOL. However, neither Yahoo nor AOL has confirmed any of this news, so we’ll have to wait a little more to know more details on this issue.

This is getting interesting by the day. As far as I’m concerned, Yahoo’s decision could have a big impact on its mobile web presence. Stay tuned for more updates folks.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Yahoo.

0 comments.