Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) after inviting more than 6,000 people to buy and try its controversial wearable computing device Google Glass in its Explorer program has reportedly allowed some of the owners to invite their friends to become part of the program. According to ABC News, the Google Glass explorers who bought the glasses received emails from the search engine giant to invite a friend to the program. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) said that it is always experimenting with new ways to expand its Explorer program but did not comment upon the number of users it will be adding to the program.
Google Play Store downloads surpass Apple App Store for the first time (AndroidAuthority)
According to research conducted by App Annie Index, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play exceeded the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store for quarterly app downloads for the first time. But we’re not talking tiny margins here, the Google Play store managed to surpass the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store’s downloads by 10 percent in the second quarter of 2013. It looks like the Play Store picked up the pace a little quicker than other analysts expected, but it was seemingly inevitable that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play would overtake Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in regard to app downloads, simply because of Android’s larger install base. However, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) still managed to make a lot more money from its smaller portion of downloads, the company generated 2.3 times as much revenue as Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s storefront over the same quarter.
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt’s Falkor, A Dream Ship For Ocean Researchers, Makes San Francisco Debut (Forbes)
One passion that philanthropist Wendy Schmidt and her billionaire husband, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Chairman Eric Schmidt, share is a deep interest in the oceans – often called Earth’s last frontier. The manifestation of that passion is a state-of-the-art ocean research vessel called the Falkor, which the nonprofit Schmidt Ocean Institute bought and spent three years rebuilding, at a cost of about $94 million. The Falkor just made its first visit to San Francisco, docking at the new home of the Exploratorium, the hands-on science museum, at Pier 15.
When Google Unveils Its First Phone At 3 PM We’ll See If That $12.5 Billion Bet On Motorola Has Paid Off (BusinessInsider)
Today, we learn what $12.5 billion buys you. At 3 p.m. Eastern, Motorola will formally unveil the Moto X, its newest flagship smartphone and the first product developed under Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s guidance. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) bought bought Motorola for $12.5 billion in 2011 and has been running the company as a separate hardware unit since the deal was finalized in 2012. That’s when Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) installed Dennis Woodside as the new CEO of Motorola, replacing Sanjay Jha. Woodside helped oversee the Motorola acquisition for Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) in 2011 and 2012 and has been a Googler since 2003.
