Aside from birthing the most popular search engine, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is dead set on wresting a large chunk of the market away from its competitors via the Android operating system for mobile phones and other handheld devices. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) now hopes to bring this distribution to use in smart appliances. This will give the said corporation an even stronger foothold in the industry and a more significant edge over its most notorious rivals – fellow bigwigs Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) .
Google Does on Hyperdrive
Stock from the software giant closed at $733.30 on January 8, -0.20% or -$1.45 less than it opened. Over a fifty-two week period, though it is apparent that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) isn’t only stable, but a stellar option for current and potential traders. Stock went from a low of $556.52 to an impressive high of $774.38 within that 52 week period. Interested parties could do a lot worse with other investments, especially considering the corporation’s growth.
Android Harnesses the Force
The free operating system some few years ago is nothing compared to its juggernaut status today. Android-powered televisions and even appliances as seemingly ordinary and low-tech as rice cookers, will have the capability to be controlled over the internet, as part of a fully-integrated system of these similar consumer electronics. A home with this system may very well function without the need for too much attention from its owners. Timers for washing machines can be set to automatic and televisions can broadcast messages, notifications, and reminders all over the home. What does this imply for the developers of this relative upstart of an operating system, then? A bigger chunk of the market.
A Tech Battle Royale
The OS’s expansion for use in these devices, as promoted in the last Consumer Electronics Show, promises to make the search engine giant even more of a major player, especially when compared to competitors Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL). Almost a third of all smartphones sold until the third quarter of the year use Android, and a relatively paltry 14% used the Apple operating system iOS. As a matter of fact, more products using Android are in the works for electronic companies Philips and Samsung, among many others, including cameras and TVs, which improve the potential market considerably. The reach Google can have with these devices could also empower the corporation further with increased data collection.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares fell by twenty-seven cents per down to $523.68 in the same trading day, despite the news that the App Store has reached over 40 billion downloads. Microsoft (MSFT) stock, on the other hand, fell to $26.55, down by -0.52% or -0.14 cents lower from the opening of January 8. Does this mean that the said data render of these companies mean they are undesirable to trade? Probably not. Apple and Windows still have fanboys both rabid and simply loyal, although not as many as in the early days of Android smartphones.
Google’s New Hope
The past has been kind to Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), and the future of the corporation, along with its investors, is similarly looking bright, thanks to the recent news of the application of the Android OS to home appliances and other gadgets. The ubiquitous operating system will surely take the lion’s share of the market in the said consumer electronics industry. Triumph is expected to be achieved by Google, especially with the upward gain of $1 trillion in profits in 2011 in that particular sector of the technology market.
The article The Google Empire Strikes Back originally appeared on Fool.com.
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