Middle East

Five 'Middle East' stories May 2012 - October 2014

LG G3 helped company’s Q3 sales climb 39%, with profits more than doubled

Ben Lovejoy Oct 29 2014 - 4:50 am PT

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LG’s twin-track smartphone strategy – offering both premium G-series models and cheaper L-series devices – appears to be working, with the company announcing Q3 smartphone sales up by 39% to 16.8M and operating profits more than doubled to 461B won ($440M). The results beat analyst expectations, and LG said that it was bullish about future prospects.

Building on its momentum and two consecutive profitable quarters, LG expects to strengthen its positioning in the smartphone market with its G Series and L Series models despite the landscape becoming more competitive

The G3 handset in particular has helped the company gain ground against its much larger Korean rival Samsung. Samsung is due to announce its own Q3 results tomorrow, but has already issued a profit warning on the basis of low average selling prices of its phones …
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LG G3 Stylus officially confirmed as mid-range device, probably not coming to U.S.

Ben Lovejoy Aug 26 2014 - 4:09 am PT

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LG’s G3 Stylus, either leaked or teased earlier this month as a budget-friendly phablet, has now been officially confirmed – but it looks like it probably won’t go on sale in the USA.

The LG G3 Stylus is a pen-enabled smartphone that offers a large display and many of the premium user experience (UX) features of the G3 all in a fairly-priced package […]

LG will roll out the G3 Stylus in 3G markets starting in Brazil in September followed by countries in Asia, Middle East and Africa and CIS …

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Google preparing to open ‘Android Nation’ retail stores in India

Jordan Kahn Jun 20 2013 - 5:39 am PT

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Back in February, we reported that Google was preparing to open its own retail stores by the end of the year in order to allow consumers to try Nexus, Chrome and even potentially more experimental products like Google Glass. According to a report today from The Economic Times, Google is in the process of opening new “Android Nation” retail stores in attempt to increase its exposure in India:

The US company will partner BK Modi’s Spice Global to set up the stores in various Indian cities, starting with New Delhi later this year. Like other such stores in Indonesia, each Android Nation store will promote and sell Android smartphones and tablets across multiple brands like Samsung, HTC, Sony, LG and Asus, to name a few. The first Indian store will open in New Delhi’s Select Citywalk, a person with direct knowledge of the situation informed ET. Google has been scouting for a 1,200-1,500 sq ft location for this store.

It actually won’t be the first time Google has opened up an Android Nation retail store. As noted in the report, Google also operates two locations in Jakarta, Indonesia through a partnership with Indonesian electronics retailer Erafone.

Google’s new efforts won’t just hit India, there are also apparently plans to expand into the Middle East, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Africa with the help of partner Spice Global. The company will also turn 50 of its 900 Spice Hotspots into Android Nation locations to expedite the expansion.
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YouTube Creator Space opens in London to spur premium content [Video]

Élyse Betters Jul 25 2012 - 8:25 am PT

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEMqxcfIqp4&feature=player_embedded]

Google just unveiled its “YouTube Creator Space” in London.

The high-tech studio will essentially allow YouTubers to create premium content for Google’s video-sharing platform. They will have access to technical equipment, and other YouTube content producers, which will undoubtedly encourage quality videos based on fresh, collaborative ideas.

“We’re delighted to announce that in the next few weeks we’ll be opening the doors to our new creator space, housed in the offices of Google London’s Soho office,” announced the company on its YouTube Creator Hub channel.

According to the above video’s description:

Our partners from all over Europe, Middle East and Africa will be able to book time in the space to create and collaborate with other creators, learn new techniques, as well as gaining access to state-of-the-art audio visual equipment, to help them generate great new content for their channels. The creator space is complete with the latest equipment such as DSLRs and cinema cameras, two studios including a green screen and fully staffed editing suites.

The YouTube Next Lab, which is a team “focused on accelerating the growth and development of channels and creators on YouTube,” will oversee the London studio.

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Google goes hardware: ‘We’ve acquired Motorola Mobility’

Élyse Betters May 22 2012 - 6:45 am PT

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Google’s CEO Larry Page made headlines again this morning: He just officially announced Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility, while confirming the joined companies will soon create the next generation of mobile devices.

The chief executive took to the official Google Blog to reveal the news:

It’s why I’m excited to announce today that our Motorola Mobility deal has closed. Motorola is a great American tech company that has driven the mobile revolution, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation, including the creation of the first cell phone. We all remember Motorola’s StarTAC, which at the time seemed tiny and showed the real potential of these devices. And as a company who made a big, early bet on Android, Motorola has become an incredibly valuable partner to Google.

Page appointed Googler Dennis Woodside as CEO of the newly acquired business, and claimed he has known the exec for over a decade, while adding, “He’s been phenomenal at building teams and delivering on some of Google’s biggest bets.”

The post is quick and to-the-point. The most important aspect to it, however, is the last line: “[…] I’m confident Dennis and the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come.”

That’s right. Google is now a hardware company.

Google made headway on the $12.5 billion Motorola Mobility acquisition late last week when China finally gave the merger a go-ahead. Motorola promptly filed an 8-K form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday that specified the deal’s transaction would likely close today.

Check out the full announcement below—or jump over to Google’s blog.

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