FTC Takes Closer Look At Google’s AdMob Deal

The "Facts about Google's acquisition of AdMob" page Google established in November of last year apparently hasn't satisfied the Federal Trade Commission's curiosity.  A fresh report indicates that the FTC has stepped up its investigation of the deal by seeking sworn declarations from third parties.

This isn't a good sign for Google.  Todd Shields and Dina Bass heard about the FTC's move from "people with direct knowledge of the matter," so the affair appears to have developed beyond rumor stage.

Also, after talking to Stephen Calkins, a professor of law who used to serve as General Counsel of the FTC, Shields and Bass reported that the FTC tends to seek declarations "'when they think there is some significant chance' the agency will ask a court to block a merger, or seek to modify a deal."

Google's been running into more and more antitrust trouble as of late.  From the problems with its book digitization project to a European Commission probe, the search giant's been held up on several fronts.  It wouldn't be surprising if something - such as this AdMob deal - becomes a breaking point.

Still, asking for sworn declarations isn't the same thing as strongly objecting.  It remains possible the FTC will give Google's acquisition of AdMob a green light.

Google Takes Popular Email App from iPhone For Itself

The competition between Google and Apple appears to be getting fiercer by the day. Google has now acquired popular iPhone app reMail, and has discontinued it in Apple's App Store, and most likely offer it in the Android Market (although this has not been confirmed).

reMail was created by a former Google employee, who used to work as a software engineer on Gmail. "Gmail is where my obsession with email started as an engineering intern back in 2004, and I'm thrilled to be coming back to a place with so many familiar faces," Remail creator Gabor Cselle says on his blog. "reMail's goal was reimagine mobile email, and I'm proud we have built a product that so many users find useful."

Although reMail has been removed from Apple's App store, those who have already downloaded will continue to be able to use it. Support will be continued through March.

"We've enabled all paid reMail features for you: You can activate these by clicking 'Restore Purchases' inside the app," explains Cselle. "reMail downloads email directly from your email provider to your phone, and your personal information, passwords, and email are never sent to or stored on our servers."

This week at Mobile World Congress, Google CEO Eric Schmidt stressed the importance of mobile to Google's strategy. This acquisition, which some have considered to be a slap to Apple's face, is only the latest piece in that puzzle. It will be interesting to see if Google goes after any more apps from Apple's store. The company has certainly been in the mood for acquisitions. Just last week, the company acquired social Q&A site Aardvark.

Aardvark Already Part of Google, Answers will Show Up in Search

Yesterday, news broke that Google was acquiring social Q&A site Aardvark for about $50 million. Aardvark sent its users an email today saying:

Dear friends,

Aardvark has just been acquired by Google!

Aardvark will remain fully operational and completely free, providing quick, helpful answers to all of your questions.  For more information about how the acquisition affects Aardvark users, check out the FAQ that we've put together....

"We want social search to reach hundreds of millions people around the world, and joining with Google lets us reach that scale — we’re also excited to work with the team at Google: our company has a culture that was inspired by Google in many ways, and we have a lot of respect for the folks who work there," the company says in a blog post.

Aardvark is already available in Google Labs. Users will keep the same Aardvark account. It will continue to work under Google.

The company says it will continue to keep introducing new features, fixing bugs, and improving speed and quality. They say the main thing that is going to change is that they will be able to move faster with the support of Google.

User questions and answers will show up in search results from Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search results if you choose to share them publicly.

Ask (formerly Ask Jeeves) thinks Google is coming after its business. Read the company's comments on that here.

Google Narrows Down Mobile Ad Targeting

Google announced that it is now making sure that ads linking to mobile app downloads automatically appear only on devices that actually offer those apps. In addition, the ads will display a "download" link rather than a URL.

"Simply include 'itunes.apple.com/' or 'market.android.com/' followed by the app name in the ad's visible URL, and it will automatically display as 'Download iPhone App' or 'Download Android App,'" says Katrina Kurnit of Google's Inside AdWords crew.

Advertisers also have the option to select specific devices or carriers for their ads in general.

"If you've chosen to show ads on iPhones and other mobile devices with full internet browsers, you can now target specific mobile devices or carriers," says Kurnit. "This feature makes it easier for you to reach the right users if you have a carrier- or device-specific message. This includes landing pages that have been optimized for a specific device, billing relationships with certain carriers, or mobile apps developed for a specific platform. For example, if you sell iPhone cases, you can use device targeting to ensure that users with Android phones won't see your ads."



Mobile Internet usage is expected to continue to increase rapidly. That means a lot of people using a lot of different mobile devices through multiple carriers. Google's new targeting options could become increasingly important in getting your ads seen by the right people, depending on what you are advertising.


Have You Read This?

> Apple Acquiring AdMob Competitor Quattro Wireless

> Google Provides an Update on the AdMob Acquisition

> Google Buys Mobile Ad Firm For $750 Million In Stock

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