Category Archives: Google

In the coming weeks, Google is rolling out end-to-end encrypted phone calls on its Google Fi MVNO, the search giant announced today. When enabled, the feature means that no one, not even Google, can listen in on the contents of a call. Although its possible to have end-to-end encrypted audio calls through services like FaceTime and WhatsApp, Google Fis new feature makes it the default for regular phone calls.

The feature is a little limited in its current form. Googles end-to-end encryption will only kick in for calls between two Android phones, where both users are Google Fi subscribers. So, for now, at least, iPhone Google Fi subscribers wont benefit. Google says youll know when a call is end-to-end encrypted because itll play a unique dial tone before it connects. Therell also be a lock icon shown on screen if youre making a call using Googles Phone app.

A couple of other things to note: calls made via the Messages by Google app wont be end-to-end encrypted, and it only works on one-on-one calls (so no conference calls). Leaving a voicemail is also not covered. The feature works over both Wi-Fi and cellular connections of LTE or greater, although somewhat confusingly, you turn it off by disabling the Wi-Fi calling option in the Google Fi app.

Over the years, Google has made privacy and security a core part of its pitch for Google Fi. In addition to the encrypted phone calls being announced today, the company also offers a built-in VPN for Fi users and attempts to block spam calls.

See the rest here:

Google Fi is getting end-to-end encrypted phone calls - The Verge

Android 12 has launched along with Googles new Pixel 6 lineup and brings with it a new look that Android VP of product management Sameer Samat called the biggest design change in Androids history. Thats in reference to Material You, which applies a new set of principles for creating interfaces, in addition to changes that will help Android adjust to bigger screens. Weve already gotten a hint of how the look affects usability across the updated OS and Googles own apps, but now the focus is expanding to reach more of the apps made by others.

Today at Googles Android Developer Summit, the company announced that Material You is available in Jetpack Compose, so app designers can more easily adopt the look in their own products.

New elements include dynamic guidelines that will help apps respond and adjust algorithmically to a users wallpaper choice, as well as tips on how to maintain a third-party apps individual brand expression while adapting. Another element developers will need to learn about are the design tokens that represent design system styles as data so they can change as the system changes.

Developers can see how their apps will look in different circumstances using the Material Theme Builder, which is available as a Figma plugin and on the web starting today. Beyond just how apps look, Google says that new features for its Jetpack libraries will help developers manage Android 12s background restrictions, measure performance, and handle backward compatibility.

For future updates, Google says its planning on accessibility updates that tie into the dynamic color and adaptive layouts. Other guidance and system adjustments will help apps work with new form factors like foldables, even though Google doesnt make a foldable phone... yet.

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Google makes it easier for Android developers to build apps with its Material You design - The Verge

Google News Showcase was created to help struggling news outfits. Instead, it's mired in ... [+] controversy. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images)

by Joe Golder

When Google earmarked $1 billion through its News Showcase to help struggling news outfits, it was expecting thunderous applause. When that didnt come, they thought the payments would make publishers smile. Instead, many have grumbled and complained that others received more.

Now the London-based Press Gazette, a bedrock of the British journalism trade, has unveiled a new investigation, which hurls fresh complaints at Google. The Press Gazette story is surprising because few details about Googles News Showcase have been disclosed so far. This media silence may be due to the confidentiality agreements that Google had asked publishers to sign or an internal quiet period while negotiations proceeded.

What happened to Googles image among journalists? The Mountain View, California-based tech giant once had a simple unofficial slogan Dont be evil and was lionized for its smart tools and corporate giving. Then, the companydropped the sloganfrom its code of conduct in 2018 while its image has been repeatedly battered since Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 presidential election, which some journalists blamed on Big Tech.

Meanwhile, for many years, publishers and union leaders have faulted the Internet for the decline of the news business across the industrialized world. These crosswinds united into an anti-Google hurricane.

Into this storm, Google sought to calm the waters. The company announced News Showcase, an effort to give money and drive traffic to struggling news outlets. Google hailed it as its single biggest investment in news partnerships to date, in October 2020.

Since media outlets had long demanded larger payouts from Google for its longform news stories (which are costly to make), the company decided to give its critics what they said they wanted. A Google statement described Showcase as a licensing program for news publishers that provides a customizable, curated space for news content in Google News and Discover. These are not payments for links, snippets, short extracts, or headlines.

According to media industry leaders, publishers in Australia where political and regulatory ... [+] pressure is highest for Google are receiving larger payments than their peers in Britain, Canada or elsewhere. (Photo by James D. Morgan/Getty Images)

Yet the media fury never abated.

Indeed, some have switched sides. During the October 2020 launch Googles News Showcase, Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford hailed it as an admission that free media platforms like Google are now willing to pay for quality content. Now, its reporting faults News Showcase as unfair and ungenerous.

The Press Gazette interviewed more than a dozen unnamed media industry leaders from five countries and surfaced a range of complaints, including the headline allegation that publishers in Australia where political and regulatory pressure is highest for Google are receiving larger payments than their peers in Britain, Canada or elsewhere.

Meanwhile, American publishers complained to Press Gazette that Google has yet to launch News Showcase in the U.S. Two senior U.S. news industry sources, reportedly told Press Gazette that the American launch of News Showcase is suffering a delay, possibly because large publishers are holding out for higher payments.David Chavern, chief executive of the News Media Alliance, told Press Gazette: We dont know much about Googles initial offers, but we did hear that they were insufficient to cause anyone to immediately jump to yes.

Others faulted News Showcase as a product, claimed it only produces dribbles of traffic for some news websites. The historic decline in public trust in traditional medias offerings, which has been reported by countless studies across the developed world, is not cited by Press Gazette as a countervailing factor.

Googles response? Like all new products, News Showcases success for publishers will ultimately be judged over a longer horizon, which is normal in product development, a Google statement said. The value of News Showcase is about driving high-value traffic directly to the publisher, increasing engagement with users, and helping develop a deeper relationship with readers. The feedback and uptake we have had from publishers has shown us that this is an approach that they like and that has a long-term future.

The main revelation of Press Gazettes investigation is how effectively political pressure on Google works it claims that Australian publishers are being offered disproportionately generous deals.The same sources believe that Googles payouts are driven by new Australian laws, adopted this year, that force Google and Facebook to pay for news content. Google is thought to have struck a series of eight-figure Showcase deals with Australia's biggest and most powerful publishers News Corp, Seven West, Nine and ABC. The Press Gazette provided no on-the-record sources or internal documents to support its claims.

Seven West and Nine are both reported to have signed annual deals with the search engine behemoth worth AUD 30 million (S22 million), while publicly-owned ABC is said to have agreed a deal valued at AUD 25 million ($18 million) per year. Two of Press Gazettes sources also cite a rumor that News Corp, led by executive chairman Rupert Murdoch, has signed a deal worth around AUD 69 million ($50 million) a year.

London-based Press Gazette, a bedrock of the British journalism trade, has unveiled a new ... [+] investigation which hurls fresh complaints at Google. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Finally, Press Gazette claims that Googles budget for Australian deals is three times greater than its equivalent budget for the British news industry while the U.K. economy is twice as large. The Press Gazettes sources suggested Google may be willing to pay more money to Australian publishers because of pressure from its parliament and regulators.

Asked about the claim that Australian publishers are receiving higher offers than their U.K. peers, the Google statement said: "Just as the news market differs from country to country, the size and scope of our efforts will reflect those differences. The deals are commensurate with the market, as well as the individual situation of each publisher.

News Showcase payments, its spokesman said, are made according to a strict formula that is based on audience size, volume of content, and other variables. This formula is likely to be scrutinized by regulators across the world as publishers pressure Google for more money.

Google has hurt itself by failing to fully explain its formula or announce its payments to particular parties, Press Gazette said. Rumors and guesses fill the vacuum. The paper cites the head of a British local news publishing company who claimed that Google makes it up as they go along. Another news company source told the Press Gazette that the Google formula was "relatively opaque".

In a prepared statement,Googleresponded with a march of words unlikely to satisfy publishers: News Showcase payments cover the publishers editorial curation of stories for News Showcase panels and, in some cases, beyond-the-paywall access to a set number of articles for Google users, as well as a license for text and other assets needed to run the News Showcase product. We take into account objective metrics including publisher traffic, the amount of content being provided, and the cost of providing limited free access to content behind paywalls for users.

However, Press Gazettes investigation found that News Showcase deals often come with add-on arrangements, such as Google inking Showcase deals with publishers while also pledging funds for their use of YouTube, which is also owned by Google.

When News Corp announced its Showcase arrangement, the publisher said the deal also included "the development of a subscription platform, the sharing of ad revenue via Googles ad technology services, the cultivation of audio journalism and meaningful investments in innovative video journalism by YouTube.

Google Showcase has reached global deals with Reuters and News Corp, which publishes the Wall Street ... [+] Journal. No deals have yet been announced with other U.S. publishing giants, such as the New York Times. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Publishing sources toldPressGazette that Google also sometimes ties Showcase agreements to advertising commitments with publishers, while Google denies all claims of tying: News Showcase deals are offered independently of other commercial considerations. Tying one product to another may, in some instances, violate U.S. anti-trust laws.

The prepared statement continued to saythat Google "uses a consistent formula from market to market for News Showcase but news markets are not the same globally, nor is publisher participation the same in every country. Like any commercial deal, News Showcase agreements cover the things that we and the partner publishers agree upon.

Despite reservations from the publishing industry, Google has been able to launch Showcase in Australia, the U.K., Germany, Italy, India, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Czechia, Colombia and Austria.

However, Google has yet to launch the product in its home market, the United States. Sources told Press Gazette that Google was aiming to go live with the product in America in the fourth quarter of this year. They now believe Google is set to delay the launch until early 2022.

The tech giant has reached global deals with Reuters and News Corp, which publishes the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. No deals have yet been announced with other U.S. publishing giants, such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, or the Los Angeles Times.

"The biggest publishers in the U.S. are the most attractive to Google, a senior source at a U.S. publisher told Press Gazette, but also the biggest pain in the ass.

Produced in association with Press Gazette.Press Gazettes original story is here, with a transcript of the Google conversation.

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Googles News Showcase Teaches Executives What Not To Do - Forbes

Google is ramping up its focus on mental health and has brought former Headspace executive Megan Jones Bell on board to lead its consumer-facing efforts.

Bell, former chief strategy and science officer of Headspace, a meditation app that just merged with behavioral health company Ginger, will join Google as its clinical director of consumer and mental health, the tech giant announced Tuesday.

She will be overseeing Google'sapproach to mental and behavioral healthand leading a team of clinicians and health experts who support a number of the tech giant'sconsumer products, according to a Google spokesperson. Bell will start her new position this week.

Bell previously worked with Google as a mental health adviser, and her hiring signals that the tech giant isdeepening its investment in the behavioral health area.

A Google spokesperson pointed to the company's multiple initiatives and product features in mental health across the company, including connecting people to authoritative, actionable information and resources on YouTube as well as its maps and search features.

RELATED:HLTH21: DeSalvo says baking health into all Google's efforts opens the door to 'billions' of healthy consumers

Google also has developed clinically validatedscreeners for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and postpartum depression. Last May during the beginning of the pandemic, Google partnered with the National Alliance of Mental Illness to launch the latest, an anxiety screener, which included medically validated information about anxiety, including symptoms and common treatments.

Google has also launched a number of features, resources and partnerships in recent years around substance abuse (Recover Together) and supporting people in their recovery.

Fitbit, the wearables company now owned by Google,has expanded available tools that help people manage their everyday mental health and well-being, such as mindfulness tools, according to the spokesperson.

Bell's hiring comes following a shake-up of the Google Health division, which underwent two reorgs this summer, the latter of which resulted in department chief David Feinberg, M.D., jumping ship to lead health IT company Cerner. The tech giant is pivotingaway from a unified health strategy, and the company's health-focused projectswill now be splitacross Google's myriad teams and divisions.

RELATED:Google says health projects will continue even as it unwinds dedicated health division

Despite the organizational shuffle, Chief Health Officer Karen DeSalvo, M.D., said during the HLTH 2021 conference last week that the company has done anything but scale back its health efforts.

DeSalvo said her team now guides Google on the health components of its authoritative information services, its regulated medical products and its employee health and safety.

Our overall goal is to help billions around the world be healthyand that is a big, audacious goal, DeSalvo said.

During HLTH, DeSalvo outlined three key areas of focus for Google's health initiatives: authoritative information and tools to help people manage their health and well-being, tech solutions to transform care delivery, including advancing the use of artificial intelligence for the screening and diagnosis of disease andcommunity health with a focus on usingdata and insights to providecontext of how peoples health is impacted by where they work, live and play.

Bell will be joining DeSalvo's team,which supports Google Health, its company-wide health-focused efforts spanningGoogle Search, Maps, YouTube, Fitbit, Cloud and itshealth AI research. Acompany spokesperson clarified that Google Healthisn't one team or product, but spans across the company and encompasses its products and services for consumers, clinicians andpublic health.

Bell trained as a clinical psychologist and researcher, focusing on rigorous assessment of mental health interventions, including randomized controlled trials of digital therapeutics. She was the chief science officer and scientific founder at Lantern, an evidence-based digital mental health company whose core intellectual propertywent on to become part of Omada Health, Gingerand others, according to her LinkedIn profile.

At Headspace, she also ledHeadspaces enterprise business, including product development through go-to-market and its healthcare business development and partnership efforts.

Excerpt from:

Google taps Headspace executive to lead tech-driven mental health efforts - FierceHealthcare

Google's advertising business brought in $53.1 billion during the third quarter, up from $37.1 ... [+] billion during the same period last year.

While some advertising-funded internet giants like Facebook and Snap Inc. are feeling the brunt of Apples recent data privacy changes, Google seems less worried.

Today, Google parent Alphabet Inc. reported a record $65.1 billion in revenue during the third quarter of 2021, with the companys advertising business increasing 43.2% to $53.1 billion. Quarterly search advertising made up the bulk of revenue with $37.9 billion in the third quarter, rising from $26.3 billion during the same period in 2020. YouTube ads accounted for another $7.2 billionup from $5 billion in Q3 2020and Googles ad network revenue brought in $7.9 billion.

According to Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler, retail advertisers were once again the key revenue driver over the past three months followed by advertisers in media and entertainment, finance and travel industries. E-commerce and connected TVs are also fueling Googles growth. Schindler said YouTubes reach is becoming increasingly incremental to TV with connected TV being the fastest growing screen. Meanwhile, brands including Sephora, Target and Walmart have been experimenting with the companys shoppable live-streams.

The strong results come in the middle of an earnings season clouded by Apples recent changes to its data privacy settings. The iOS updateswhich allow users to opt out of letting companies collect their personal data and serve up hyper-targeted ads have prompted many on Wall Street and Madison Avenue to speculate about how adoption might damage the broader digital advertising industry.

When asked by an analyst whether Apples data privacy changes impacted Googles own advertising business, Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said they had a modest impact on YouTube revenues, primarily in direct response. Schindler then added that Apples efforts are just one aspect of the many broader ecosystem changes that are underway.

Our focus is on supporting developers, small and large advertisers, creators, publishers, so that they are able to mitigate impacts to their businesses, Schindler said. We really see the future of digital advertising being built on advances in privacy-preserving on-device technologies which support the free and open internet and obviously a robust ads ecosystem.

Although Google was able to avoid any major impact, its rivals are facing setbacks. Last week, Snap Inc.s stock price plummeted 25% after missing quarterly revenue estimates by $130 million. On a quarterly earnings call with investors, Snap Founder and CEO Evan Spiegel said it underestimated the changes and that Apples new measurement solution did not scale as we had expected. However, he said the companys first-party data was still leading to conversions at similar ratessuggesting that the company would still find a way around the problems.

This has definitely been a frustrating setback for us, Spiegel said. But I think over the long term, these privacy changes and protecting privacy for users of iOS and, of course, the Snapchat community is really important for the long term health of the ecosystem. Its something that we fully support.

Facebook also blamed Apple for its slower-than-usual growth. On Monday, the social network reported third-quarter ad revenue of $21.2 billionan increase of 33% more than the same period last year. However, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told investors that if it wasnt for Apples iOS14 changes, we would have seen positive quarter-over-quarter revenue growth. The impactwhich Facebook began noticing in the second quarter before hitting critical mass over the past three monthsled to weaker ad-targeting that has driven up advertising costs along with making it harder to measure campaign effectiveness.

I think were certainly going to be watching how advertisers react to the challenges with the Apple platform and how that intersects with pricing as we get into the stronger demand season for Q4, Facebook CFO David Wehner told investors during a follow-up call. Because it's going to affect pricing and ROI, and when you have higher prices we'll just have to see what is the advertiser reaction in that environment, as it relates to the targeting on the iOS platform.

Other companies had fewer complaints. Earlier today, Twitter, which reported revenue and user growth that met analysts expectations, said the impact its seen from iOS changes has remained modest. However, the company said its still too early to know what the long-term impact might be.

Despite avoiding any major dents from Apples privacy, Google also faces a number of challenges on the regulatory front. On Friday, a U.S. District judge unsealed an antitrust lawsuit filed by more than a dozen state attorneys general alleging Google gave itself an unfair advantage through its digital advertising auctions that let the company win more auctions and charge far higher ad rates than its rivals. The lawsuit also alleges that Google colluded with competitors to rig parts of the digital advertising market and slow down various data privacy efforts from Apple and regulators.

As one senior Google employee admitted, [t]he analogy would be if Goldman or Citibank owned the NYSE, according to the lawsuit led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Or more accurately, the analogy would be if Goldman or Citibank were a monopoly financial broker and owned the NYSE, which was a monopoly stock exchange.

Google has disputed the lawsuit since it was originally filed in December. In a statement emailed to Forbes, a Google spokesman described the allegations as misleading and riddled with inaccuracies while claiming the company lets publishers keep more revenue than the lawsuit outlines.

In reality, our advertising technologies help websites and apps fund their content, and enable small businesses to reach customers around the world, the spokesman said. There is vigorous competition in online advertising, which has reduced ad tech fees, and expanded options for publishers and advertisers.

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Google Reports Strong Third-Quarter Advertising Revenue, Shrugging Off Apple Privacy Changes - Forbes

A developer and design student has managed to get the Google Play Store working on Windows 11. Googles Android app store is fully functional within Windows 11 using this method, allowing you to install a game or app and run it alongside traditional Windows apps.

Microsoft started testing Windows 11 Android app support last week, but the official implementation is limited to the Amazon Appstore and less than 50 apps during the preview phase. Getting the Google Play Store installed opens Windows 11 up to every Android app or game youd want to use.

ADeltaX, an Italian UX design student, has successfully installed the Google Play Store on Windows 11, and detailed all the steps required to get it working. If youre not familiar with Linux commands or command prompts, then the install process wont be the most straightforward, but ADeltaX has created a video guide for those who really want to get this running.

I managed to get the Google Play Store up and running on Windows 11 in about 30 minutes, after downloading all the necessary tools, enabling the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), and installing Ubuntu. The result is a fully functional Play Store that you can use to install any Android app on Windows 11.

The full instructions for the install process are available on GitHub, or through the YouTube walkthrough video. Were expecting Microsoft to make the Windows Subsystem for Android available to all Windows 11 users in the coming months, alongside Amazon Appstore support.

If youre not feeling up to Linux commands, a developer has also created a tool available in the Microsoft Store that will let you sideload Android apps. This wont work on apps that rely on Google Play Services APIs, but it does greatly simplify the process of sideloading Android apps on Windows 11.

Update, October 27th 10:30AM ET: Article updated with details on new WSATools app.

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Heres how to get the Google Play Store running on Windows 11 - The Verge

9to5Google spotted an interesting reference within the Pixel 6 family's source code. It mentions what appears to be a second-gen Google Tensor SoC with the codename "Cloudripper".

The research team believes that Cloudripper isn't actually the name of the chipset nor it's the name of the next year's Pixel 7. This is likely the codename of the platform used to test the chip, which carries a model number "GS201". That's compared to the current Tensor SoC's model name "GS101".

When you think about it, it's not too far-fetched for Google to already be working on a Tensor successor. After all, the research and development efforts rarely end with just one chip. And with the first generation Tensor seemingly doing a solid job it may be start of an entire long line.

Source

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Google is working on a second generation Tensor SoC - GSMArena.com news - GSMArena.com

Student email and digital collaboration at the University of Virginia will shift from the Google platform to Microsoft Office 365 in a transition that is expected to be completed by the start of the fall 2022 academic semester.

The shift is part of a larger, multi-year project to consolidate all UVA audiences and groups to Office 365 from the Google platform for the administration of email, calendars and files. Students are the final group for this conversion; faculty and staff members have been using Office 365 since 2017.

Not surprisingly, the pending shift has evoked some curiosity and anxiety as details about the transition begin to be shared with those who will experience the change in the months ahead.

UVA Today caught up with Virginia Evans, the Universitys chief information officer, to address some of the basics of the transition as well as common questions already being asked by students.

Q. First things first: Does this mean student email addresses will change?

A. Every student will continue to have an email address built on the @virginia.edu email address suffix. This isnt changing. An email account established for faculty, staff or a student appears as a normal UVA email (mst3k@virginia.edu, for example) on Office 365. The platform under those emails is whats changing and that has no effect on the actual address.

Q. Will students now using the Google platform lose the emails now in their accounts?

A. No. The University plans to migrate all old emails and other documents to the Office 365 platform, so those will still be there on the new platform.

Q. Where will students see different looks and have to get used to something different?

A. First, we realize that many students (and others generally) have a comfort level with the services theyre accustomed to using. Google and its Gmail interface is a good example of that. Google Docs, a platform for sharing files and working on files with others, is another example.

After this transition, students will need to use the O365 applications to access their University email account and to share files. Although the look and feel will initially be different, the basic functionality is the same.

By making this transition over a period of months, and not just flipping a switch overnight, we hope to make it as easy as possible. Students already have access to many of the Office 365 applications (including Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint) today. Office 365 tools (except for email/calendaring) were activated for students during summer of 2020 and a number of faculty are already utilizing Microsoft Teams for class interactions and collaboration with students.

Q. Will the change make it more difficult to collaborate with faculty on things like shared documents or planning and coordinating through digital calendars?

A. An important goal of the transition is to make this kind of collaboration easier, actually, since all faculty already are on the O365 platform and moving students there will place everyone on the same, shared platform.

Q. Is this a way for the University to cut costs?

A. Costs are one consideration in this transition. Google is shifting from a no-cost, unlimited storage model for its educational licensees to a model that establishes quotas and includes charges. But the motivation is more than costs.

Having all faculty, staff and students on a common platform gives us an opportunity for a more-secure environment overall, better efficiency, and a way to introduce new tools and enhancements to the services that will benefit the entire organization.

Q. How will this transition be managed over the upcoming months?

A. A good place to keep up with the overall project status and steps is at the Office 365 for Students Project section of UVAs Information Technology Services site. But here are a few key moments in this timeline:

Q. Are there any student groups who will not be making this change to Office 365?

A. Students who expect to finish degree requirements and graduate in the spring or summer of 2022 will not be transitioned. They will continue to use the Google platform through their time at UVA.

Q. What happens when a current (or future) student graduates, or leaves the University before graduating or having a degree conferred?

A. First, remember this does not apply to the students graduating in spring or summer of 2022. They are not part of the transition.

For other current students and those in future years, they will retain full Office 365 access for nine months after graduating. Theyll get another 15 months after that during which any emails sent to their UVA computing ID address will be routed to a personal alternate email that the student provides.

Students who dont graduate will retain full Office 365 access for six months after leaving the University.

Q. Does this transition affect alumni in any way?

A. Current UVA alumni who have been using the Google platform for email will not be affected by the transition to Office 365. However, the changes that Google will be implementing will require us to review and analyze our Google storage utilization and to consider potential changes to the current UVA Google offering to former students and alumni.

Q. How is the University responding to student concerns about this transition?

A. We are actively listening and hearing the students concerns. We are reviewing all the comments and email responses that weve received and were considering all possible options for making the transition as smooth and seamless as possible.

While many of the posts have been about Google tool preferences/familiarity (and we appreciate the concerns associated with learning new tools), some specific, and potentially challenging, use cases have been identified and our project team is actively looking into those to determine what we can do to mitigate those concerns.

Q. How can I get other questions addressed?

A. Email the UVA Office 365 Project team at office365project@virginia.edu.

Continued here:

Q&A: UVA Making Move From Google to Office 365 for Student Email and Collaboration - UVA Today

The Honor 50 is releasing globally with prices starting at 529, the former Huawei sub-brand announced today. The smartphone was originally announced for the Chinese market in June, but today sees the company confirm its global pricing and its early November release date. For 529 (about $615), you get 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and theres also a 599 (about $695) model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Honor says the phone will be available in over 40 countries, but there are no immediate plans to release the phone in the US.

The big news with the Honor 50 is that its the companys first device to ship with Googles apps and services since splitting from former parent company Huawei. Google pulled Huaweis Android license in 2019 due to US sanctions, meaning its phones have lacked essential Android apps and services like the Google Play Store, severely limiting its appeal outside of China. The return of Google means that the Honor 50 could once again be competitive with other Android handsets in the West.

The Honor 50 is otherwise pretty much the same device announced for China in June. Its powered by a Snapdragon 778G processor and has a 4,300mAh battery that can be fast charged at 66W. Its got a 6.57-inch curved 120Hz 1080p OLED display, and around back there are four cameras: a 108-megapixel main sensor, an 8-megapixel ultrawide, a 2-megapixel macro, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

As well as the Honor 50, Honor is also announcing a global launch for the more affordable Honor 50 Lite today, which starts at 299 (about $350) for the 6GB RAM model. Honor says the Honor 50 and Honor 50 Lite will be available in European markets such as the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, in addition to other markets like Egypt, the UAE, and South Africa.

Read the rest here:

Honor 50 launches globally for 529, complete with Google apps and services - The Verge

Theres a lot of upside for a small business that wants to advertise with Google. For starters, it can be less expensive than other forms of advertising, such as television and radio. And the ads can be more specifically targeted to local markets of active buyers, where clicks can be measured and tracked using the companys analytical tools. Research also shows that 90% of people who use the internet see Google ads, and 63% of people searching on Google are likely to click on them.

If youre looking for local customers, or if youre targeting a specific local market, then Google Ads is the place to be, said Adam Roseland, the founder of digital marketing firm 814 Interactive in Berwyn. People looking for things are doing a specific keyword search like a local plumber near Devon, or, finding pizza near Berwyn as opposed to stumbling on to a business by hearing a radio ad or seeing a TV commercial.

Matt Davidson, who runs Social Fire Media, a digital marketing firm based in Blue Bell, agreed. You can be super relevant to people locally because youre a local provider, he said. And the great thing is that youre only spending money when someone clicks on your ad.

It sounds fantastic. But, like anything else, succeeding on Google is not easy. Its a competitive environment where big brands are spending big money on the keywords that drive visitors. Its an endlessly shifting landscape of search terms and keywords that needs monitoring. And its a money pit for the uninformed. But both Roseland and Davidson are confident small businesses can compete and win, just as long as theyre ready to answer three critical questions.

Are you trying to sell products online? Do you want prospective customers to call you? Is it important to drive visitors to your store or restaurant or to register for an event or request more information from your website? Knowing what you want and then closely tracking clicks will help you determine whether your campaign is getting the right results. This doesnt happen overnight. It requires testing and more testing. Which is why both Roseland and Davidson said they need anywhere from 60 to 90 days to figure out the right message that meets their clients objectives.

You need to determine who is your customer and what are their pain points, Roseland said. That way you can create an ad that says how you can solve their problems.

Google is, at its core, a search engine. For someone to see your ad, they have to be searching based on a word or phrase. The more popular the phrase, the more buyers there are for the keyword and the higher the cost. Finding the right (and affordable) keyword or phrase is both science and art and will be critical to success. Besides getting help from Google Analytics, there are great and inexpensive tools like those provided by SEMrush, Moz, and SpyFu that can help. But in the end, it will be about trial and error and extensive testing.

There are also tricks that only experienced marketers can bring to the table. For example, Davidson has his clients create campaigns that include both keywords and negative keywords, which are words that are excluded from a search such as a competitor name that could lead to irrelevant matches.

Were frequently having our clients change keywords, test out new words, pause tests, and try out new combinations, he said. In the end youre really just trying to find a buyer, not someone whos just looking around or at the beginning of the buying process.

To answer this question, you need to determine what the lifetime profitability value is of a customer. Then its all about the math. Davidson and Roseland said that most campaigns they manage begin at $500 to $1,000 per month and can easily be more. They can usually generate a certain amount of leads based on that budget. But how many of those leads will convert into an actual sale, and how much will that actual sale be?

According to Davidson, you may not see the profits right away, but if youre a pest control company or a plumber, a customer can stay for years and spend thousands of dollars.

So paying $500 for that lead generate a great return on investment over the long term.

It may seem hard to believe, but both Roseland and Davidson admit that their biggest challenge after a client spends money with Google is getting them to actually respond to prospects. And the problem only becomes worse the more successful the campaign. So, have a good follow-up process in place and make sure youre ready for success.

Be prepared to scale when this thing works, Roseland said. If you can show profit for a small number of leads generated then youll be ready to really take advantage.

Gene Marks is a certified public accountant and the owner of the Marks Group, a technology and financial management consulting firm in Bala Cynwyd.

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Small businesses need to answer these 3 questions before advertising on Google - The Philadelphia Inquirer