A few months back, during an interview on artificial intelligence, Elan Musk said that of all the companies working on self-aware computers only ‘one certain firm’ worried him.
It does not take much imagination to conclude that in all probability Elon Musk was referring to Google. (I still refuse to refer to the company as Alphabet). While world domination, in a Bond Movie kind of way, may be Google’s secret long term goal, without doubt Google is already dominating our lifestyle today.
The following are Google products that can easily be included in any best in class list.
Google Search
Web Search Engines have become a part of our daily life. And most people are now dependent on Google to answer most queries from recipes to health matters, from sports to science. As an example we Investment Managers often start company research with a Google search.
Google is the most-used search engine on the World Wide Web, handling more than three billion searches each day and has evolved in Google’s main source of revenue.
Google Maps
Most of the time users are reluctant to pay for navigation apps. Google Maps just makes this decision a lot easier. Google Maps is free, accurate, easy to follow and frequently updated.
Google Maps offers satellite imagery, street maps, 360 panoramic views of streets, real-time traffic conditions and route planning for traveling by foot, car, bicycle or public transportation.
You Tube
You Tube operates as one of Google’s subsidiaries. Most content on You Tube has been uploaded by individuals, but several media corporations including CBS, the BBC and VeVo offer some of their material via You Tube. You Tube is widely considered the prime video sharing site on the Internet.
Android
Android is the mobile operating system to power nearly all phones that are not iPhones. Android has the largest installed base of all operating systems, has been the best-selling OS on tablets since 2013 and on smartphones it is dominant by any metric.
As of July 2013, the Google Play store had over one million Android applications published, and over 50 billion downloaded.
Pixel
Until very recently Google co-developed flagship Android devices through the Nexus program, which were designed to be ‘reference devices’ for the Android platform for the other OEMs to use as a guide for their own.
With the Pixel Phone Google has shifted its focus towards developing an ecosystem of in-house products and platforms. As such the phone was designed and is being marketed as a Google product. The Pixel Phone is probably the first Google competitor to the iPhone; it houses the latest Qualcomm chip, 4 GB of RAM, a 1080p AMOLED screen, 32 or 128 GB of internal storage and a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera.
This article was issued by Antoine Briffa, Investment Manager at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice.