Tag Archives: googl

Siri, Why Aren’t People Using Voice-Activated Personal Assistants?

Apple ’s ( AAPL ) Siri, Amazon.com ’s ( AMZN ) Alexa, Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google Now, Microsoft ’s ( MSFT ) Cortana and other voice-activated services are getting lots of attention — but they aren’t getting that much use, a new survey, as reported by eMarketer, says. Even as consumers increasingly turn to mobile phones for shopping, communicating and information, only 13% of U.S. mobile phone owners use a voice-controlled personal assistant on their device each day, says the survey from 451 Research, which was taken last June. Adding together the 13% of survey respondents who said they use such a service daily to the 14% who said they used it weekly and to the 10% who reported using it monthly, that still only comes to little more than 1 in 3 mobile phone owners who say they use a personal digital assistant at least once a month. But there are big caveats. For one, June is a long time ago for a fast-emerging technology. Moreover, at the time, fully one-third of respondents said they didn’t have a mobile phone that gives them an option to use a personal assistant, the survey said. EMarketer models the U.S. to have 177.8 million mobile phone users as of year-end, or just over half of the population. By 2018, it forecasts that there will be 207.1 million mobile phone users, or about 63% of the population. “And, as mobile devices become more sophisticated and offer options like voice-controlled personal assistants, more of those searchers may be inclined to try them out,” eMarketer said. Amazon’s Alexa is able to hail rides from Uber , play music, set timers and manipulate smart devices in homes, such as Google’s Nest smart thermostat service, among other functions. This month, Capital One Financial ( COF ) announced that it was adding a “skill” — Amazon-speak for a function — enabling customers to use Alexa to check their credit card balances or make payments. Shares of Apple and Alphabet were up about 1.5% in afternoon trading in the stock market today , while Microsoft stock was near 1.3% and Amazon.com was up a fraction.

Google And Alphabet Better Take EU Android Probe Seriously: Analyst

Alphabet ( GOOGL ) unit Google has lots to fear from the European Union’s investigation into its Android unit, said investment bank Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. in an industry note Wednesday. “The EU’s moves should not be taken lightly,” wrote Moness, Crespi analyst James Cakmak, adding, “The latest string of developments from the EU’s antitrust boss, Margrethe Vestager, suggests a formal complaint to Google may be underway.” The EU is investigating Google on charges related to Android, said Cakmak — in particular, about whether the company required smartphone makers and others to bundle or otherwise include Google apps and services in their products. He said that required bundling is a big threat, “especially when considering it is Android which allows Google services to proliferate on the mobile ecosystem. Unbundling hinders the ability (of Google) to collect data and targeting. The case will likely end up in court with appeals, but it shouldn’t be taken lightly.” The EU is investigating Google’s Android system following complaints, including those from a group representing Microsoft ( MSFT ), Expedia ( EXPE ) and Nokia ( NOK ), according to media reports. The European Commission said in a statement last year that it was investigating whether “by entering into anticompetitive agreements and/or by abusing a possible dominant position, Google has illegally hindered the development and market access of rival mobile operating systems, mobile communication applications and services in the European Economic Area.” The EU’s challenge to the Google Android operating system followed a formal complaint filed last year that focused on Google’s comparison-shopping service. The commission had charged that Google favors its own shopping-comparison service in its search results. Google faces fines that could exceed $6 billion or injunctions that restrict how the company operates in Europe. EU Has Tightened Privacy Laws EU officials reached an agreement in December to replace a patchwork of digital privacy legislation with one standard law covering the entire EU to govern how companies can use individuals’ personal information. After nearly four years, negotiators agreed in December on a final text of an EU-wide provision to replace 28 different national privacy laws and boost financial penalties for companies that violate the new provision. Europe has been more concerned about digital privacy than the U.S. Google stopped adding to its Street View footage in Germany years ago, amid government objections there. A European “right to be forgotten” has forced Google and others, upon citizens’ requests, to drop links to information about them that’s available publicly elsewhere online. Europe, which lacks major consumer Internet companies, has also gone after Internet companies — especially Google — for alleged market abuses. Alphabet stock was flat in midday trading in the stock market today , near 750, but it’s up roughly 30% in the past 12 months.

Apple Urges Court To ‘Zealously Guard Civil Liberties’

Apple ( AAPL ) late Tuesday urged a federal judge to side with civil liberties when it reconsiders an FBI demand to force Apple to hack its iPhone security software. Apple filed its last scheduled legal brief before next Tuesday’s federal court hearing over unlocking an iPhone that belonged to deceased San Bernardino, Calif., shooter Syed Farook. In its brief, Apple acknowledged that the case is “in a difficult context after a terrible tragedy.” “But it is in just such highly charged and emotional cases that the courts must zealously guard civil liberties and the rule of law and reject government overreaching,” Apple’s lawyers wrote. “This court should therefore deny the government’s request and vacate the order.” Apple said the Justice Department and the FBI are asking the court to force Apple to resolve a policy and political issue that is dividing Congress and agencies of the executive branch. “The Justice Department and FBI argue that this court must decide the issue in a vacuum, without regard to either the swirling national debate about mandating a back door or the dangers to the security and privacy of millions of citizens posed by the relief they seek on behalf of the United States,” Apple’s lawyers wrote. Apple maintains that the All Writs Act can’t be used as “an all-powerful magic wand” to authorize such orders. Forcing Apple to create new software that degrades its device security is “unprecedented” and would have dangerous consequences, Apple says. It would violate the company’s First Amendment rights against compelled speech. “The government’s position has sweeping implications,” Apple’s attorneys wrote. “Under the government’s view, the state could force an artist to paint a poster, a singer to perform a song or an author to write a book, so long as its purpose was to achieve some permissible end, whether increasing military enrollment or promoting public health.” Apple is asking U.S. Magistrate Sheri Pym to vacate her Feb. 16 order that Apple assist the FBI in unlocking Farook’s iPhone. The parties will meet in federal court in Riverside, Calif., next Tuesday to argue the case. The case has fueled a debate over smartphone encryption, which has pitted Silicon Valley and civil rights groups against the federal government and law enforcement agencies. Companies supporting Apple’s position include Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Alphabet ( GOOGL ), Facebook ( FB ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ). RELATED: Apple-FBI Feud Over iPhone Encryption Turns Ugly .