baidu

Watch out, Google: Android is under scrutiny in China.

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology today released a white paper that takes aim at Google's Android operating system. The ministry said that Android's popularity has caused the country to become "too dependent" on the operating system. And although other companies have tried to build on top of Android, the ministry complained that the operating system's "core technology and technology road map is strictly controlled by Google."

Reuters was first to obtain the white paper and report on it.

Android's popularity … Read more

Yandex is probably the biggest search engine few people have ever heard of.

The Russian search engine has surpassed Microsoft's Bing in the world's top search engine rankings, according to Search Engine Watch, which got its data from ComScore.

Coming in first place is Google with 114.7 billion search queries and 65.2 percent of the market share. China's Baidu ranked second with 14.5 billion queries and 8.2 percent share. Third was Yahoo with 8.6 billion queries and 4.9 percent share. And, fourth was Yandex with 4.8 billion queries and 2.… Read more

Despite competition from Android, Apple is doing just fine, at least according to Fortune's list of the fastest-growing companies around the world.

Apple came in third on the list of the top 100 companies with a three-year average growth in profit of 70 percent and a gain in sales of 52 percent. Over the past year, Apple's stock price has soared 80 percent, helping it to become the biggest company in the U.S. based on market value.

The one disappointment cited by Fortune was Apple's fiscal 2012 third quarter when earnings and iPhone sales were lower than Wall Street expected. … Read more

For months now, rumors have surfaced, claiming Apple will integrate Chinese search engine Baidu into iOS. All of those rumors might finally come true next week, according to a new report.

According to Bloomberg, citing unidentified sources, Apple could add Baidu's search to iOS as early as next week. Although the sources didn't say exactly when the announcement could happen, it would make sense for it to come down at the Worldwide Developers Conference Apple kicks off on June 11.

Baidu is currently not available to iOS users in China. Instead, like in the U.S., Google's … Read more

When China-based users search the Web, they currently don't have the option to automatically choose Baidu. But that may eventually change, according to a report out of the country.

China's Sina Tech Web site has reported, citing sources, that Apple will be integrating Baidu search into its iOS platform. The publication didn't say exactly when the integration will be coming, but if it eventually happens, it could be a blow to Google, which is currently the default search engine on Chinese iPhones. [Editors' note: After posting this story, we discovered that the reports from today are linking … Read more

The Google of China, Baidu, today announced a new smartphone powered by its own cloud-based platform.

Dubbed the Changhong H5018, the smartphone runs on a forked version of Android that's powered by the Baidu Cloud Smart Terminal platform. The device was manufactured by Foxconn and will be released on China Unicom's network, according to the search company.

Baidu's Cloud Smart Terminal is the company's push for mobile market share. It allows users to access its many services, including search, applications, and cloud-based services from the device without needing to head onto the Web. According to Baidu, … Read more

Apple CEO Tim Cook has made it abundantly clear how important China is to his company's future. And he might soon prove that point yet again with Baidu integration in iOS.

Chinese news site Sina Tech is reporting today, citing sources, that Apple plans to integrate Baidu search into iOS in April. The move could be a blow to Google, which is currently the default search engine on Chinese iPhones, and trying desperately to catch up to Baidu.

Catching up might be a tall order. Baidu is dominant in the Chinese market and integrated into the vast majority of … Read more

Dell is partnering with Chinese search engine Baidu to create smartphones and tablets for Chinese consumers, according to a story today from Reuters.

The mobile devices will run Baidu software based on the company's Baidu Yi mobile platform, which supports Android-based apps, a Dell spokeswoman told Bloomberg.

The move is seen as an attempt by Dell to gain more traction in a market of 900 million mobile customers, and one that's already dominated by Apple and Lenovo.

But at least one analyst is dubious about the strategy on Dell's part.

"I suspect this is just Dell, … Read more

Baidu has offered up a beta version of its first-ever browser, and at first glance, it looks quite similar to Google's Chrome.

The browser, which was made available for download earlier this week on Baidu's site, includes a single bar at the top, allowing users to either input addresses or search the Web. In addition, the browser's home page offers access to an application marketplace, similar to the Chrome Web Store, featuring thousands of programs users can access. When users choose an application, including the Youku video service or Sina's Weibo microblog offering, it's added … Read more