Google made plenty of noise with its January announcement that the company was “no longer willing to continue censoring” its Web search results in China at the behest of that country’s policies. But nearly two months later, the company has not followed through on the threat and is less likely to shut its Chinese site, according to a recent study by analysts at Piper Jaffray.

Searches done on ten “sensitive” keywords in the Mandarin language on Google.cn, the company’s Chinese search site, yielded 52% fewer results than searches for the same keywords on the uncensored, English-language site, the analysts said in a research report on March 5. That confirms the censors are still in effect. And there may actually be a higher level of filtering on Google.cn now than there was in January, when Piper Jaffray found 40% fewer search results on the censored search engine for the same ten keywords.

The likelihood that Google will shutter Google.cn has diminished to 50% from 70%, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster writes in a research note.

The results of this study are line with reports that the company’s executives are in talks with Chinese officials, and are waiting to lift censorship in the country until the parties reach some resolution. Google employs hundreds of people in its Beijing offices, and some analysts take recent actions – such as looking to hire new workers there and introducing new mobile products – as signals that it intends to keep operating in the country to some capacity.

Still, it’s unclear how Google and China could reach a compromise, as the search giant remains resolute in its ultimatum. Google deputy general counsel Nicole Wong t Google vice president and deputy general counsel Nicole Wong told the US Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3 that the company is "firm in our decision that we will not censor our search results in China and we are working towards that end."

Google’s captioning initiative has now expanded to all uploaded English-speaking videos, with more languages to be added later this year.

By Guest Blogger Suzanne Robitaille

Ah, video and search. Frank Sinatra said it best: Try, try, try to separate them – it’s an illusion. Here’s proof of that: Speech Technology. This week, Google sealed the deal on video search capabilities for its YouTube portal, saying it would provide auto-captions for all of its uploaded videos using proprietary Google's Speech Technology.

Google’s initiative, piloted in November, began with a handful of partner channels including PBS, Stanford University and National Geographic. It has now expanded to all uploaded English-speaking videos, with more languages to be added later this year.

With this news, Google establishes itself as a frontrunner in the Internet programming space. As a company built on search, search, and more search, Google is now able to capitalize on its investment in speech-to-text technology to index videos, target advertising and create an actual profit margin for YouTube. In fact, video search is likely why Google acquired YouTube in the first place.

The bigger news is that auto-captions will have clear benefits for the deaf and hearing-impaired population, who now will be able to better understand dialogue on uploaded videos. Up to now, this group had to rely on the goodwill of YouTube users to manually add captions to their videos. A time-consuming process, most users didn’t bother to do so.

At a press conference on Thursday, YouTube says accessibility is a key goal for the years to come. Even as Google touts a serious business purpose for auto-captions – search -- it’s not hard to also believe in their commitment to making their products and services more usable for more of their customers.

Furthermore, Google is now removed from any ill will associated with Internet programming issues – such as the ones plaguing network and cable broadcasters. On March 17, the Federal Communications Commission will unveil a proposed broadband plan that is designed to ensure, or at least improve, equal access to Web TV and movie programming for people with disabilities, which could including requiring captions.

Meanwhile, a House congressional committee is mulling the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009 that would make captions for the deaf and audio descriptions for the blind into law for Internet broadcasters. The bill is backed by nearly 240 disability organizations known as the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology.

TV broadcasters – unlike Google – already have transcripts available to them – either on paper or in the form of regular TV closed captions, which have been required for almost all programming since 1990. And ABC has publicly committed to captioning all long-form content – so the heat is on everyone else.

While YouTube videos are technically outside of the FCC’s realm, consumers don’t see it that way – and they shouldn’t. That makes Google’s auto-captioning move financially savvy, and buys them consumer altruism at a time when broadcasters are facing down a potentially ugly battle over access issues.

This post was written by guest blogger Suzanne Robitaille. Robitaille is the founder and publisher of abledbody.com, a website covering assistive technology issues. She is the author of The Illustrated Guide to Assistive Technology.

Based in Chicago ever since it was founded in 1928, Motorola is contemplating a move to California, according to co-CEO Sanjay Jha.

When Motorola splits in two next year, Jha said he may transplant the handset and set-top box units to Silicon Valley. "We'll go where that talent is, and right now, that looks like California," Jha said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

This makes a lot of sense: Software acts as the biggest differentiator for cell phones and other gadgets nowadays. And much of that developer talent resides in California. Nokia has established a research presence in Silicon Valley in recent years. So has smartphone software maker Symbian. Apple, Google and Palm are based in California. Last, but not least, Qualcomm, where Jha used to work before joining Motorola, is headquartered in San Diego.

But uprooting Motorola's existing engineering and marketing talent won't be easy. Motorola lost a lot of great employees over the past several years, as it struggled to turn the business around. And it could lose more staffers if Jha decides to go ahead with the move.

VoxOx has baked a Universal Translator directly into is Web communications platform, providing foreign language messaging translation for text messages, instant messaging, e-mail and messaging communications via Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. The neat trick here is that only one person need be using VoxOx to have a conversation that is translated between two parties, making it a boon for efficiency. Such translation capabilities should help VoxOx pick up a number of users, which is important for a product competing with Skype, Google Voice (which will likely offer Web calling capabilities this year) and other VOIP solutions such as BT's Ribbit.
- VoxOx, which fancies itself as an alternative to Skype and Google Voice by letting users make phone calls via the Web, has integrated a language translation capability directly into its service. VoxOx gives users a dedicated number and lets them make calls from PC to PC, as well as from PCs to...

Android operating system for smartphones has more than doubled its market share in the U.S. between September and December, according to comScore's survey of more than 30,000 consumers aged 13 and up.

Android's market share rose from 2.5% in September to 5.2% in December, while BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, Microsoft and Palm lost ground in the U.S. smartphones market, according to comScore. Developed by a consortium of companies lead by Google, Android has gained traction thanks to the introduction of a slew of new handsets that run it, including Google Nexus One and the popular Motorola Droid.

But while Motorola's new smartphones enjoyed good traction this fall, that didn't prevent the company from losing more market share in the fourth quarter, as sales of its cheaper phones slowed down further. The world’s largest handset maker, Nokia, lost share as well. The company said recently that it has gained share worldwide, but it’s still having trouble cracking the U.S. market.

Research In Motion, on the other hand, actually gained cell phone market share, as more Americans switched to smartphones and picked up popular handsets like BlackBerry Pearl and Curve, according to comScore. LG gained share as well.

The biggest gainer in handsets, though? Samsung, whose market share expanded from 20.4% of the U.S. market in September to 21.2% in December, according to comScore’s Feb. 8 report. Samsung has continued to come out with highly capable yet inexpensive phones that have been a hit at AT&T, Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless. At Verizon, Samsung Omnia, a Windows Mobile-based smartphone, sells for only $10 after an online discount and with a two-year contract. The phone features a 5 Megapixel camera, a touch screen and full Web browser.

Google is taking steps to address customer support problems that cropped up soon after the release of its Nexus One, a phone that Google currently only sells online. On Feb. 8, Google began providing phone support in addition to existing efforts to solve problems through online forums.

Until recently, customers who had problems or questions -- and wanted to talk to a customer service representative -- had to call the phone’s maker, HTC, if their questions concerned the hardware. Or they had to call T-Mobile USA to inquire about service. Now, Google has begun also offering phone support for customers with questions on existing or pending orders, at 888-48-NEXUS (63987). It’s a small but important step toward making consumers comfortable with buying phones online vs. through carriers, as they normally do today.

On Feb. 4, the Symbian Foundation will release the first completely open-sourced version of its mobile phone operating system, a move it hopes will make it easier for developers to improve the software and create applications for use on Symbian-based phones. Starting tomorrow, programmers will be able to download, modify and use the software at no charge. The organization made pieces of its code available earlier.

The release marks the conclusion of the huge effort to turn Symbian, the most commonly used smartphone software, from a proprietary operating system only available to developers at companies like Nokia into an open-sourced one, accessible to programmers around the world. Symbian engineered the move as rival Google made a splash with Android, a rival open-source mobile operating system that's gaining steam. By 2012, Android will surpass Windows Phone and the iPhone to become the world's No. 2 most popular mobile operating system behind Symbian, according to Gartner. As rival software gained market share, support for Symbian began to flag. Symbian hopes the new, open-sourced software will help reverse the slide. "We'll see proliferation of converged devices based on Symbian happen this year," says Larry Berkin, general manager for Symbian in the U.S.

Google Jan. 26 rolled out a Web-based version of its popular Google Voice application for Apple's iPhone several months after Apple rejected Google's original submission to its App Store. The app will let Google Voice users do pretty much what they can do with the desktop version of the app, including listen to voice mail and read voice mail transcripts, send and receive text messages, and make inexpensive international calls. The Google Voice app represents a definite workaround to Google's standoff with Apple's App Store, which is incredibly strict if not inconsistent in its treatment of submissions.
- Google Jan. 26 rolled out an HTML5-based version of its popular Google Voice application for Apple's iPhone several months after Apple rejected Google's original submission to its App Store. Google Voice is a Web-based phone management application that lets users route calls to thei...

Auction site eBay is flooded with listings for Google Nexus One, which went on sale on Jan. 5. While Google sells the phone without a contract for $529, dozens of optimistic eBay sellers are trying to resell the gadget for as much as $1,000.

As of Jan. 14, a number of eBayers were peddling these smartphones for a much more realistic $300 or so, and I've even seen a price as low as $212. There were more than 300 Nexus One devices listed for sale. By comparison, the site offered 1,519 listings of iPhone 3GS devices that were also not tied to a carrier contract. Some of the more reasonably priced Nexus One offerings have garnered more than 10 bids; I'd counted a total of about 100 bids for the phones that were listed today.

The take-away: When the iPhone, for example, came out, it took expense and some effort for people to unlock it prior to selling it via eBay. So the iPhone typically sold for a premium to the retail price for weeks after coming out (with the exception of damaged iPhones). Nexus One discounts -- on new, undamaged phones -- seem to have arrived much more quickly. And it's unlikely resellers will be able to make an extra buck. I wouldn't expect to see an extensive resale market for the Google phone.

The relatively low number of bids may also indicate low interest in the device from shoppers from other countries. Google plans to make the phone available in other countries later in the year. Currently, the smartphone is only available in the U.S., and I suspect most of the people bidding for it on eBay live elsewhere.

Google sold 20,000 units of its new Nexus One smartphone in the first week since the phone was introduced on Jan. 5, estimates Flurry, which tracks applications loaded onto new mobile devices.

At first glance, that may not seem like much. Apple sold 1.6 million iPhone 3GS devices in the first week. Motorola sold 250,000 Droid handsets in the first week they became available last November. But here's a difference: iPhone carrier AT&T and Droid carrier Verizon Wireless have spent hundreds of millions of dollars promoting the devices in their TV ads, on the radio, and online. Google and its partners, T-Mobile USA and HTC, have spent virtually no money on advertising the Nexus. Google has promoted the phone on its search page. For a phone promoted and sold exclusively online, Nexus One has likely done quite well.

The unit volume may also have been affected by some stumbles, as Google and its partners figure out the best way to sell phones online. Some Nexus buyers have complained of confusing customer service and other issues. Some potential buyers may be waiting for Google and its partners to iron out the wrinkles before snapping up the device.

VoxOx upgraded the software's personal assistant feature with new remote management features, some of which Google Voice and BT's Ribbit don't have. From their mobile phones, users can now check their voicemail, dial any number, make outbound conference calls, change their greeting and their PIN numbers, transfer to free directory assistance, and change their SMS Callback settings. VoxOx parent company TelCentris Communications made the announcement Jan. 7 at the Consumer Electronics Show.
- VoxOx, the free Web phone platform that lets users make calls from PC to PC and from PCs to landlines and mobile phones, upgraded the software's personal assistant feature with new remote management features. Officials from VoxOx parent company TelCentris Communications made the an...

Google's Nexus One is being promoted on a piece of prime online search real estate that no advertiser normally has access to. U.S. users going to Google.com today can see a promotion for Nexus One right underneath the search box. Next to a tiny icon of the phone, are the words, "Experience Nexus One, the new Android phone from Google."

The placement is significant, as many analysts have had doubts about Google's ability to sell many units of the Nexus online. Today, most Americans buy their phones directly from carriers. The carriers spend millions to advertise the phones in TV, radio and newspaper ads. Google, meanwhile, announced it will promote Nexus One online only.

If, however, Nexus One gets promoted on the Google.com page, that could be more effective that even the TV ads in driving traffic to the new Google phone store. The page accounts for more than 71% of all U.S. online searches, according to consultant Hitwise. Several hundred million people access Google properties daily. If even a small percentage of them checks Nexus One out and buys the device, Google could beat all cell-phone sales records.

Traditional telcos are showing healthy appetite for Web calling start-ups. On Dec. 23, European carrier Telefonica acquired Jajah for $207 million. The acquisition comes on the heels of Google's November acquisition of Gizmo5 and British Telecom's 2008 purchase of Ribbit for $105 million. So, what does this mean for Skype?

The recent slew of deals may offer insight into where the largest Web-calling outfit in the world, Skype, is heading. Earlier this fall, Skype regained its independence from eBay, and is now the largest stand-alone Web-calling provider. While its private equity investors have told me in the past that they are in no hurry to offload Skype, they'll need to exit their investment at some point, either through an Initial Public Offering, or a sale. The Jajah deal indicates that the world's traditional telecom players want in on the Web-calling game. One of these telcos may want to acquire Skype in the future.

By purchasing Skype, a telco would gain the service's 521 million registered users as well as global presence: Anyone, anywhere with an Internet connection can make Skype calls. A U.S. telco may be able to compete with carriers in Europe and Asia. It may also be able to expand its portfolio of services, and to provide them for less. Telefonica, for instance, plans to market Jajah's services under its O2 brand in the countries where Telefonica's carrier O2 sells its services, Jajah CEO Trevor Healy told me this morning. The charges will be added to O2 subscribers' wireless bills.

The new owner may help Jajah expand quicker. The start-up will be able to market its services, under O2 and Jajah brands, to more than 268 million Telefonica customer access lines worldwide. With Jajah in its holster, Telefonica may, in fact, be hoping to build up a major competitor to Skype.

Jajah expects to remain based in Silicon Valley and Israel, and to expand its 100-person staff under the new ownership, says Healy, who will continue to head Jajah as it becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telefonica.

That said, Skype's value is in the billions, so not many telcos will be able to afford to take it on. BT and Telefonica are less likely to be in the running now that they have acquired their own Web-calling businesses. Still, there are lots of other service providers out there with deep pockets.

Consumer awareness of Android, an operating system for smartphones pushed by Google, is on a steep climb, which bodes well for vendors like Motorola and HTC. Of consumers expecting to shop for smartphones in the next three months, 17% are considering an Android-based device, according to comScore's new survey of 2,300 consumers. In fact, devices based on Android aren't far behind the iPhone. Some 20% of consumers are in the market for the Apple device.

The results represent a stark contrast to consumer sentiment of only a few months ago. In August, 7% of consumers were contemplating buying an Android device, while 21% of them were considering the iPhone.

The splash that Motorola's Droid phone, based on Android, has made recently is partly responsible for increased attention that Android is getting. "In August 2009, just 22 percent of mobile users had heard of the Android, while in November 2009 this figure had reached 37 percent, largely prompted by the Verizon Droid advertising campaign launched in the fall," according to the report. Android may get a further boost next year, when more Android devices should come onto the market. While the Android movement could still get derailed -- for instance, if Google decides to release Android phones under its own brand -- it certainly appears to be on the right track now, and rolling along with an ever-increasing speed.