ID :
194518
Tue, 07/12/2011 - 12:40
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/194518
The shortlink copeid
Google hopes to change its fate in S. Korea with mobile search
SEOUL, July 12 (Yonhap) -- Google Inc., which has been a perennial underdog in South Korea's Internet search market, hopes to capitalize on growing mobile search traffic to change its fate in the crucial Asian country, a company executive said Tuesday.
"Desktop search traffic has stabilized but mobile search traffic is growing because of the smartphone," Scott Huffman, Google's engineering director, told reporters in Seoul via teleconference.
South Korea's Internet search market has long been ruled by three local players. More than 90 percent of search queries conducted through fixed-line devices, such as desktop computers, took place on Naver, Daum or Nate, leaving Google with a less than 5 percent share since it began offering a Korean-language search service in 2000.
But the U.S. search giant has made a meaningful mark on South Korea's mobile search market following the rapid growth of smartphone users here.
Google was the second most frequently visited mobile search engine in January of this year, trailing only NHN Corp.'s Naver mobile application, according to Metrix Corp.
Google's share in the mobile search market stood at 16.1 percent in January, while its presence in fixed-line Internet search remained at 1 percent, Metrix said.
Naver, the dominant fixed-line search engine with a 73.1 percent share that month, according to the market research firm's data, saw its piece of the pie erode when it came to mobile search with 51.9 percent.
So far, Google's desktop search has failed to lure Korean Internet users, who opt for the domestic search engines embedded in Web portals that serve as one stop for e-mail, online shopping, games, news and a wealth of other content.
But in the race to lead the mobile search arena, the rules of the game will change, Google's engineer said.
"One thing we see is that mobile search and desktop search are really different, given the differences in devices and the differences in screen sizes," Huffman said.
These differences between desktop computers and mobile devices will likely fare better for the U.S. company to do what it thinks it does best: offer search services with simplicity, accuracy and speed.
"A lot of the design principles that went into Google's desktop search work extremely well on the mobile platform," he added.
Initial reactions to Google's mobile ambition in South Korea have been positive.
In the year since Google launched its Korean voice search service, Korean and Japanese have tied as the second most popular languages on Google's voice search service, following only English in the United States.
"(Koreans) use their phones much more than in other countries. (They are) very text-savvy," said Mike Schuster, Google's research scientist on voice search.
Voice is seen as one of the major input methods for mobile search service users, as handheld devices are often too small for accurate keyboard input. NHN and Daum Communications Corp. have been also pushing to develop their own Korean voice search services.
"Speech recognition helps drive search by making input easier," Schuster said.
Google's latest ascent in the Internet market put its local rivals on edge. NHN and Daum separately filed anti-trust complaints with South Korea's fair trade agency, claiming that Google stifled competition in mobile search by banning Android phone makers from preloading smartphones with rivals' search engines. Prior to purchase, Android smartphones default to Google's search engines.
"Desktop search traffic has stabilized but mobile search traffic is growing because of the smartphone," Scott Huffman, Google's engineering director, told reporters in Seoul via teleconference.
South Korea's Internet search market has long been ruled by three local players. More than 90 percent of search queries conducted through fixed-line devices, such as desktop computers, took place on Naver, Daum or Nate, leaving Google with a less than 5 percent share since it began offering a Korean-language search service in 2000.
But the U.S. search giant has made a meaningful mark on South Korea's mobile search market following the rapid growth of smartphone users here.
Google was the second most frequently visited mobile search engine in January of this year, trailing only NHN Corp.'s Naver mobile application, according to Metrix Corp.
Google's share in the mobile search market stood at 16.1 percent in January, while its presence in fixed-line Internet search remained at 1 percent, Metrix said.
Naver, the dominant fixed-line search engine with a 73.1 percent share that month, according to the market research firm's data, saw its piece of the pie erode when it came to mobile search with 51.9 percent.
So far, Google's desktop search has failed to lure Korean Internet users, who opt for the domestic search engines embedded in Web portals that serve as one stop for e-mail, online shopping, games, news and a wealth of other content.
But in the race to lead the mobile search arena, the rules of the game will change, Google's engineer said.
"One thing we see is that mobile search and desktop search are really different, given the differences in devices and the differences in screen sizes," Huffman said.
These differences between desktop computers and mobile devices will likely fare better for the U.S. company to do what it thinks it does best: offer search services with simplicity, accuracy and speed.
"A lot of the design principles that went into Google's desktop search work extremely well on the mobile platform," he added.
Initial reactions to Google's mobile ambition in South Korea have been positive.
In the year since Google launched its Korean voice search service, Korean and Japanese have tied as the second most popular languages on Google's voice search service, following only English in the United States.
"(Koreans) use their phones much more than in other countries. (They are) very text-savvy," said Mike Schuster, Google's research scientist on voice search.
Voice is seen as one of the major input methods for mobile search service users, as handheld devices are often too small for accurate keyboard input. NHN and Daum Communications Corp. have been also pushing to develop their own Korean voice search services.
"Speech recognition helps drive search by making input easier," Schuster said.
Google's latest ascent in the Internet market put its local rivals on edge. NHN and Daum separately filed anti-trust complaints with South Korea's fair trade agency, claiming that Google stifled competition in mobile search by banning Android phone makers from preloading smartphones with rivals' search engines. Prior to purchase, Android smartphones default to Google's search engines.
