The Information

Former Google executive Joe Britt shows a prototype of Nexus Q in 2011. Photo by Associated Press.

Google & Hardware: A Complicated Love Story

By Amir Efrati · Sep 15, 2014 7:59am PDT

Last week, some software developers received a white box from Google containing a small TV console and video game controller. It wasn’t a Google product exactly—there was no branding on the machine—but rather represented the last remnants of a struggling project that had consumed part of Google’s Android team for more... Last week, some software developers received a white box from Google containing a small TV...

Cher Wang, chairwoman of HTC Corp. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why a Secret Amazon-HTC Phone Pact Fizzled

By Amir Efrati · Sep 9, 2014 7:46am PDT

When Amazon.com and HTC last fall struck a confidential agreement to launch smartphones together, the alliance seemed to make a lot of sense. Amazon lacked expertise in phone hardware and relationships with wireless carriers. HTC, which had both of those things, had fallen on hard times and needed a boost. Yet by this spring the deal was dead,... When Amazon.com and HTC last fall struck a confidential agreement to launch smartphones together,...

Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman. Courtesy Photo.

Enthusiasm for Low-Cost TV Gaming Puts Ouya in Play

By Amir Efrati · Sep 2, 2014 7:30am PDT

As the high-stakes race among technology companies for control of living-room entertainment continues to heat up, a new generation of low-cost hardware and software for viewing Web video and playing video games on TV sets has emerged as a major battleground. As the scrum takes shape, Ouya, a high-profile startup that makes an inexpensive TV... As the high-stakes race among technology companies for control of living-room entertainment...

Cyanogen co-founders Steve Kondik, left, and Kirt McMaster. Photo by Cyanogen

Obscure Android Software Firm Attracts Google Rivals

By Amir Efrati · Aug 28, 2014 2:18pm PDT · 3 comments

Cyanogen co-founders Steve Kondik, left, and Kirt McMaster. Photo by Cyanogen

Obscure Android Software Firm Attracts Google Rivals

By Amir Efrati · Aug 28, 2014 2:18pm PDT · 3 comments

A little-known software startup called Cyanogen is gaining attention from a long list of big-name companies that want to sell smartphones and applications based on Google’s Android operating system—but don’t want to be under the thumb of Google. Amazon.com, Microsoft, Samsung Electronics and Yahoo are among the companies... A little-known software startup called Cyanogen is gaining attention from a long list of big-name...

YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki. Photo by TechCrunch.

Why the Google-Twitch Deal Fell Apart

By Amir Efrati · Aug 25, 2014 4:04pm PDT

Top executives at Google’s YouTube video unit saw Twitch, the online video-game broadcaster, as the ESPN of the future. When longtime Google executive Susan Wojcicki became chief of YouTube in February, those executives convinced her to pursue an acquisition. By May of this year, Twitch had signed a term sheet agreeing to be acquired by... Top executives at Google’s YouTube video unit saw Twitch, the online video-game...

Twitch CEO Emmett Shear. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon to Acquire Twitch for $970 Million

By Eric Newcomer and Amir Efrati · Aug 25, 2014 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon.com announced Monday that it had agreed to acquire video site Twitch for $970 million in cash, the latest sign of the e-commerce giant's expansive ambitions in video entertainment. The deal came just months after numerous reports that Google had a deal to acquire Twitch. News of the Amazon deal was first reported Monday morning by The... Amazon.com announced Monday that it had agreed to acquire video site Twitch for $970 million in...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook Assault on Google’s DoubleClick Coming This Fall

By Tom Dotan and Amir Efrati · Aug 25, 2014 7:23am PDT

Few people thought much of Atlas when Facebook acquired the advertising technology company from Microsoft last year. Microsoft had bought Atlas in 2007 as part of its ill-fated $6 billion acquisition of aQuantive, and sold it to the social network for pennies on the dollar. But a revitalized Atlas with new capabilities and new leadership has... Few people thought much of Atlas when Facebook acquired the advertising technology company from...

Verizon Communications CEO Lowell McAdam. Photo by Bloomberg.

Verizon Preps Challenge to Google’s App Store

By Amir Efrati · Aug 20, 2014 7:03am PDT · 2 comments

Verizon Communications CEO Lowell McAdam. Photo by Bloomberg.

Verizon Preps Challenge to Google’s App Store

By Amir Efrati · Aug 20, 2014 7:03am PDT · 2 comments

After years of watching Google and Apple dominate the business of selling smartphone software to consumers, Verizon Communications is aiming to alter the playing field by building an industry coalition to launch a new, global online store for mobile applications. The company hopes to create a different kind of app store, one that would... After years of watching Google and Apple dominate the business of selling smartphone software to...

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick with DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Video Game Leader Plots Foray into Movies

By Tom Dotan · Aug 18, 2014 1:48pm PDT

Activision Blizzard has been famously averse to adapting its hit video games for the big screen, but that could soon change. The publisher of blockbuster games including “Call of Duty” and “Skylanders” is currently mulling a plan to launch an entertainment studio, where it would produce its own movies and TV shows rather... Activision Blizzard has been famously averse to adapting its hit video games for the big screen,...

Google CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Seeks New Customers: Kids

By Amir Efrati · Aug 18, 2014 7:40am PDT · 3 comments

Google has been working to overhaul its Web services so it can legally allow children to use them, as it becomes more willing to tolerate hairy legal requirements in exchange for growth. The contemplated features include a dashboard for parents to oversee their kids’ activities, a child-safe version of YouTube and requiring people who... Google has been working to overhaul its Web services so it can legally allow children to use...

Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google, H-P Discuss Android Assistant for the Workplace

By Amir Efrati and Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 13, 2014 6:57am PDT

As the smartphone battle between Google and Apple moves into the corporate world, Google’s Android unit has been talking to Hewlett-Packard and others about enabling the Google Now “virtual assistant” to be used as a new type of search tool for corporate data, according to three people who have been involved or briefed on... As the smartphone battle between Google and Apple moves into the corporate world, Google’s...

Margo Georgiadis, Google's Americas sales chief. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Sales Leaders Vie for Top Post

By Amir Efrati · Aug 8, 2014 7:01am PDT

Margo Georgiadis, Google's Americas sales chief. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Sales Leaders Vie for Top Post

By Amir Efrati · Aug 8, 2014 7:01am PDT

The race is on for one of the most important non-product jobs in tech: chief of sales and business development at Google. Nikesh Arora, who shocked much of Google’s 15,000-plus sales organization two weeks ago by announcing his departure from the position, leaves behind a critical job opening as the unit tackles new challenges like mobile... The race is on for one of the most important non-product jobs in tech: chief of sales and...

A user trying the Oculus Rift developer kit headset. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook in Talks with Hollywood on ‘Oculus Experiences’

By Tom Dotan · Aug 7, 2014 12:17pm PDT · 3 comments

The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset’s first target market might have been video games—an obvious area of interest for new parent company Facebook. But it may soon go Hollywood too. In recent weeks, Facebook representatives have been meeting with executives at all the major film studios as well as with individual directors about... The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset’s first target market might have been video...

Photo by Google.

Google’s Quick-Delivery Service Faces Cost Problem

By Amir Efrati · Aug 4, 2014 7:03am PDT · 2 comments

There’s no question Google’s foray into delivering goods to homes and offices, called Google Shopping Express, has been a hit with online shoppers who have tried it. But GSX, as it’s known inside of Google, remains in a precarious position even as it gets more funding and expands beyond the San Francisco Bay Area, New York and... There’s no question Google’s foray into delivering goods to homes and offices, called...

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Senior Vice President Eddy Cue. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple’s TV Push Stalls as Partners Hesitate

By Jessica E. Lessin and Amir Efrati · Jul 30, 2014 11:18am PDT · 1 comment

Those waiting for Apple to start selling its long-discussed, all-in-one box for accessing live and on-demand television are going to have to keep waiting, The Information has learned. Apple engineers who are working on aspects of the device have been told by their bosses not to expect a launch this year and are working off timelines that assume... Those waiting for Apple to start selling its long-discussed, all-in-one box for accessing live...

Rick Osterloh, chief operating office of Motorola. Photo by Bloomberg.

Surprise Turnaround for Motorola Ahead of Lenovo Merger

By Amir Efrati · Jul 28, 2014 12:35pm PDT

Rick Osterloh, chief operating office of Motorola. Photo by Bloomberg.

Surprise Turnaround for Motorola Ahead of Lenovo Merger

By Amir Efrati · Jul 28, 2014 12:35pm PDT

For nearly the whole time Google has owned Motorola Mobility, many mobile-industry executives considered the handset maker to be a lost cause. That sentiment has changed, both inside and outside of Google, which is selling Motorola to China-based Lenovo Group. Motorola could double phone sales this year, according to internal projections.... For nearly the whole time Google has owned Motorola Mobility, many mobile-industry executives...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple’s Mobile Wallet Talks Heat Up

By Amir Efrati · Jul 23, 2014 1:45pm PDT · 5 comments

Conversations between Apple and payments-industry companies have heated up in recent months, with several people briefed on the talks saying that Apple executives have discussed launching a mobile “wallet” as soon as this fall for people to use their iPhones to pay for goods in physical stores. Apple has long been expected to make... Conversations between Apple and payments-industry companies have heated up in recent months, with...

Samsung Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee at Sun Valley a year ago. Photo by Bloomberg.

Smartwatches Drive New Wedge Between Samsung, Google

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 17, 2014 10:11am PDT

Tensions between Google and Samsung are escalating again—this time over wearables. Last week, in a tense private meeting at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Google CEO Larry Page told Samsung Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee that he was frustrated Samsung was investing more in smartwatches running Samsung’s Tizen operating... Tensions between Google and Samsung are escalating again—this time over wearables. Last...

Google's Android chief, Sundar Pichai, introduces Android One in June. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Plans India Ad Blitz in Smartphone Bid

By Amir Efrati · Jul 16, 2014 7:21am PDT

Google is planning a major spending effort on marketing its new Android One phones in India, in an ambitious play into a challenging but potentially huge market for smartphones. The company, which announced the new Android One specifications for phones targeted at the developing market in June, has told potential partners that it would... Google is planning a major spending effort on marketing its new Android One phones in India,...

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg.

Yahoo Grabbed ‘Community’ from Hulu in Last-Minute Bid

By Tom Dotan · Jul 15, 2014 7:05am PDT

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg.

Yahoo Grabbed ‘Community’ from Hulu in Last-Minute Bid

By Tom Dotan · Jul 15, 2014 7:05am PDT

Yahoo made waves late last month when it paid tens of millions of dollars for a sixth season of the cancelled NBC sitcom “Community.” But previously-unreported backroom negotiations show how badly the company wanted the series, as it continues to pay top dollar for flashy video programming that, for now, generates little revenue. In... Yahoo made waves late last month when it paid tens of millions of dollars for a sixth season of...