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Leading Engines Claim They’re Blocked NHN and Daum run the two largest web portals in the country; both operate search engines as well. NHN owns leading South Korean search site Naver. According to Bloomberg NHN’s complaint alleges “Google has banned South Korean phone manufacturers from including Web search applications made by other companies under its marketing contracts . . . [and] Daum learned about Google’s practices while trying to have its applications installed and has evidence to prove its claims.” These claims are similar to allegations leveled by Skyhook Wireless in a lawsuit filed last year against Google in the US. That suit alleges that Google blocked use of Skyhook’s location technology and required handset OEMs to use its own. 70 Percent of Smartphones in South Korea Run Android A recent article in BusinessWeek described how Google was asserting more control over Android to prevent fragmentation of the platform. Google’s head … [Read more...] about Antitrust Trouble For Android In South Korea

The facts are vague. Both the Argentina and South Korean investigations appear to be ongoing and not new. The South Korean case dates from last year and was initiated by complaints from Google internet rivals Daum and NHN Corp. Android is the focus of the South Korean investigation if it is in fact the same one. Google said it was cooperating with both investigations. According to a statement provided to Bloomberg, “Argentina’s antitrust agency started investigating Google in November 2010 to determine if it holds a dominant position in the online search and advertising markets that could have an adverse effect on competition.” In addition, “The agency was considering an investigation into whether Google accepts payments in return for letting certain websites appear at the top of Internet searches,” reports Bloomberg. Unless they’re mistakenly discussing AdWords, the latter issue reflects a misunderstanding of Google’s algorithm and should go … [Read more...] about Argentina, South Korea Add To Google Global Antitrust Woes

If you do a search on any Yahoo powered site via your desktop or mobile device, with the exception from within Korea, the search results will be powered by Bing. Why not Korea? Because there is a three-way migration for that between Yahoo, Microsoft and Daum. They expect this transition to be completed by the end of the year. The first Yahoo portal to be switched over was U.S. and Canada back in August 2010. Since then, many other countries were moved over in batches until now where everything is now moved over to Bing, with the exception of Korea. The ads in the U.S. and Canada and some other countries are powered by Microsoft adCenter but the ads in other countries are still powered by Yahoo’s search ad platform. The completed migration is only talking about the free, algorithmic, also known as organic, search results. Yahoo’s Kartik Ramakrishnan, VP of Search Engineering, summarized the complexities involved: We had to cutover web, image and video search experiences … [Read more...] about Yahoo Completes Global Organic Transition To Bing (Except Korea)

Accompanying a delegation led by former New Mexico Gov. and UN Ambassador Bill Richardson, Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt arrived earlier this morning  in Pyongyang, North Korea. They were there on what was described by Richardson as “a private humanitarian mission.” Richardson posted the following comment about the trip on his website: Governor Bill Richardson will travel to North Korea next week on a private humanitarian mission. The delegation will consist of former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, Dr. KA Namkung; Jared Cohen, Director of Google Ideas; as well as some staff members. The US State Department expressed disapproval of the trip. The trip was originally scheduled for December and was postponed once in deference to the State Department’s disapproval. Richardson said that the delegation isn’t representing the US government in any capacity but that he’s seeking … [Read more...] about Googles Schmidt Goes To North Korea But Why?

Back from his trip to North Korea, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has posted a few thoughts on his visit. But far more interesting and revealing was the travelogue from his daughter Sophie, who accompanied him on the trip. Schmidt posted about his visit on his Google+ page, saying North Korean technology is limited, the internet is supervised and that North Korea will find it increasingly difficult to stay isolated, concluding: As the world becomes increasingly connected, the North Korean decision to be virtually isolated is very much going to affect their physical world and their economic growth. It will make it harder for them to catch up economically. We made that alternative very, very clear. Once the internet starts in any country, citizens in that country can certainly build on top of it, but the government has to do one thing: open up the Internet first. They have to make it possible for people to use the Internet, which the government of North Korea … [Read more...] about After North Korea Trip, Eric Schmidts Daughter Outshines Father With Travelogue