Airtel takes on Google, FB in India’s online ad market

Bharti Airtel has announced its entry into the lucrative, Rs 30,000 cr digital advertising market in India, making it the most serious competitor yet to Google and Facebook, which together control about 90% of the market at present. While Google leverages its access to search data and Facebook taps its access to behavioral data on […]

Google to block ads on ‘unapproved languages’ from Nov

Google has announced that starting from November, it will stop serving ads under its various networks and platforms for all web pages and apps that are not in the list of 49 approved languages. The list of 49 approved languages includes eight Indian languages — Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Gujarati and Marathi. The […]

Infosys certified as Managed Service Provider by Google Cloud

Infosys said it has qualified as a ‘managed service provider’ for Google’s cloud computing products. Google gives the title of managed service provider or MSP to those companies who “have shown deep cloud expertise”. “From deep daily engagement across Google Cloud business and technical teams to quarterly business reviews, these partners will have the tools […]

Airtel takes aim at Youtube with ‘Wynk Tube’

Bharti Airtel has introduced a competitor to Youtube, which accounts for more than half of India’s mobile internet consumption, with the launch of Wynk Tube — a Youtube like app that will focus more on music and music videos. Unlike Youtube, which does not let its free users switch to an audio only mode, Wynk […]

UIDAI Helpline: Google says was hardcoded into Android setup

The mysterious addition of the former hotline of UID Authority of India, which spooked out Android users by mysteriously appearing on their phones, was hardcoded into the Android set-up program, Google has said. Responding to concerns of users’ phones being hacked by some secret agency, which then ‘loaded’ UIDAI’s helpline number, a Google spokesperson apologized […]

After iPhone, Airtel offers Google Pixel 2 at Rs 2,799 per month

Bharti Airtel has started offering Google’s flagship smartphone, Pixel, on its online store at an EMI of Rs 2,799. Both the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are available, but have different down-payments. The Pixel 2 requires a down-payment of Rs 10,599 for the 64 GB version and Rs 12,599 for the 128 GB version. […]

India’s T-Series becomes most-viewed Youtube channel

Thanks to the explosion of data connectivity unleashed by Reliance Jio and other operators, an Indian company has emerged as by far the most popular channel on Youtube by number of views. According to Youtube tracking service Social Blade, Indian record label T-Series today has hit monthly views of close to 2 bln (200 cr) […]

From Thursday, Google Chrome to turn off all ads on ‘intrusive’ websites

Google, the maker of the most popular web browser in the world, has decided to crack the whip on intrusive advertisements. Starting Thursday, said the company, all advertisements on websites that repeatedly bombard users with intrusive ads will be blocked by default. Before the blocking goes into effect, the intrusive ads will be ‘flagged’, presumably […]

Google launches AndroidGo for 512 MB phones, Assistant for Jiophone

Google India today launched a lighter version of Android operating system that it said will work on devices with as little as 512 MB of RAM, and also unveiled a Google Assistant version that runs on Reliance Jio semi-smartphones. LOW END PHONES Google announced a new version of its Android operating system called AndroidGo, tailored […]

Google Assistant launches support for third-party apps in India

Google has activated support for third-party apps in its Google Assistant product in India. Before this, it was not possible for third-party apps to be launched or accessed via Google Assistant in India. Google Assistant is the company’s artificial intelligence-based mobile phone search and assistance app similar to Siri from Apple. To enable the new […]

Just Dial says no acquisition proposal from Google ‘yet’

Just Dial, the local classifieds company, said it “does meet relevant corporates for exploring any business or strategic opportunities and tie-ups”, but there is no proposal to be acquired by Google “as of now”. The statement came in response to a report in the Business Standard daily that said Google has started talks with Just […]

Google’s AWS rival cloud services come to India

Google has opened its first data center for third-party cloud services in India at Mumbai. This will enable developers to host their applications, websites and other IT projects within India, enabling faster response times for their customers in the country. Before this, the closest location was Singapore. Google offers various services, such as virtual servers, […]

Don’t ignore cards in the era of mobile payments – SBI

The ongoing rollout of Bharat QR and other mobile payment systems could result in some pain for banks as it could make it harder for their card or PoS business to become profitable. According to an estimate by the State Bank of India, card swipe transactions cost significantly more than Bharat QR and mobile transactions, […]

Google will create an iPhone rival with Pixel – expert

Google was forced to enter the smartphone hardware business as makers of Android smartphones have largely failed to develop a product that can compete against the iPhone, an industry expert said, adding that the result of union could rival what Apple has to offer. “With tighter control on Pixel, Google will now focus on making […]

Indians frantically search for peacock mating data after judge’s remark

Comments by a High Court judge on the odd mating habits of peacocks has given rise to a frenzy of searches on Google from citizens curious to know more about the subject. From practically nothing, the number of searches on the topic ‘peacock mating’ has exploded since Wednesday evening, reaching a crescendo at 7:30 AM […]

Google to train six more Indian start-ups in San Francisco

Google has selected six Indian Startups for the fourth class of its ‘Launchpad Accelerator’ program, including RailYatri, RecipeBook and FastFilmz. In the six months program, they will undergo intensive mentoring from 20+ teams across Google and mentors from top technology companies and VCs in Silicon Valley. Additionally they will receive equity-free support and credits for […]

Indian Railways releases list of 71 stations with free Wifi, to expand to 709

The Indian Railways has released a list of 71 railways stations in India with free Wifi provided by Google and Railwire, and said the facility will be extended to 709 stations in about three years from now. In addition, several suburban stations in Mumbai — such as Kulra, Byculla, Belapur and Panvel — also enjoy […]

Google Maps will now be more vocal about upcoming traffic jams

If you’re a regular user of Google Maps for navigation, you might want to update the app quickly before you head out. The latest version of Google News includes spoken warnings about traffic conditions, Google said. Till now, Google used to color code traffic conditions, with red indicating severe congestion and slow moving traffic. “Now […]