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Google is now a 'mobile first' company, execs say

Google will focus on mobile more than desktop, execs have said. And they have the stats to back up why.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
Joe Svetlik
2 min read

Google will focus more on mobile than on its desktop services next year, according to three executives who gave a talk at the recent 2012 Open Mobile Summit in San Francisco, Business Insider reports.

According to Google's global marketing director for mobile and social Rick Steiber, mobile will be the main way people access Google in the future. YouTube's global director of platform partnerships Francisco Varela added that more than half the people viewing YouTube will soon be doing so on their phones. Impressive -- but that's not all.

The execs said the number of Google searches made on mobile has increased by 200 per cent so far this year. 25 per cent of YouTube traffic, and 40 per cent of its video views, come from people on their phones. And the number of people using their mobiles to access YouTube and view its clips is up a ridiculous 300 per cent this year. That's a lot of cat videos on phones. In Korea, more people watch YouTube on their phones than on desktop computers.

The execs were speaking at the same conference where general partner at Google Ventures Rich Miner said he'd like to see more tweaks to the Android operating system, which he helped create.

Google is certainly launching an all out assault on mobiles, offering the ace Nexus 4 for not much money at all. Though only if you buy it direct from the big G. It's not all roses in Google land though. Recently we heard its share of the UK search market had dipped below 90 per cent, which is its lowest in five years. Microsoft's marketing efforts are said to have helped Bing to a five per cent share.

Is Google right to focus on mobiles? What would you like to see it do differently? Let me know in the comments, or on Facebook.