Google (GOOG) announced Tuesday that it has launched its Chromecast streaming device in Canada, the U.K. and nine other new countries, expanding beyond the U.S. for the first time. It follows reports that Amazon.com (AMZN) plans to release a similar streaming “dongle”. The 11 countries are: Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the U.K.,
Google (GOOG) and Motorola on Tuesday announced an Android-powered smartwatch and launched a new version of Android mobile software for wearable devices, beating rival Apple (AAPL) to the wrist. The Motorola Moto 360 smartwatch is a sleek, “truly modern timepiece,” Google said in a blog post . It’s expected to go on sale this summer, says the company. The watch runs on a new version of Google’s mobile Android software, which the company has dubbed
Forget breaking up eBay (EBAY) and PayPal. Google (GOOG) should acquire them both in a merger to create an Internet colossus, Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian suggested Monday. E-commerce website eBay (EBAY) is under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to spin off its electronic payment service PayPal. EBay executives have resisted Icahn’s calls for a breakup designed to unlock shareholder value. In a report Monday, Sebastian said a merger of Google (GOOG) and eBay would be a “best of both worlds” opportunity. A Google-eBay combination is a “potentially more attractive option (that) is missing from the discussion.” A merger would unlock value for eBay shareholders and help solve two of Google’s competitive shortcomings: payments and e-commerce, Sebastian said. Google Wallet and Google Checkout are payments and e-com operations, respectively, for Google.