PetroChina net profit drops 82% in Q1

PetroChina Co has blamed the plunge in global oil prices after reporting an 82 percent drop in net profit to 6.15 billion yuan ($1 billion) in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. 
The State-owned energy giant said on Monday the results were "better-than-expected" as it struggles against a background of falling crude prices across the world. 
As global demand dips, PetroChina's average oil price fell 51.2 percent year-on-year to $48.87 a barrel for the first three months. 
If prices continue to stay low, the country's biggest energy producer would suffer a significant drop in half-year profit compared to the same period last year. 
"In the first quarter of 2015, the world economy recovered slowly and geopolitics continued to be turbulent," PetroChina said late on Monday in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where it is listed. 
A slowdown in China's economic growth has also hit the company, which is now reducing costs and increasing efficiency to compete with the slump in global oil demand. 
Turnover at PetroChina dipped 22.4 percent year-on-year to 410.36 billion yuan in the first quarter, according to the statement. 
"International crude oil prices have significantly declined since the second half of 2014 and fluctuated at a low level in the first quarter of 2015," PetroChina chairman Zhou Jiping said in the statement. 
In the first quarter, the company produced 239.4 million barrels of crude, up 3.3 percent year-on-year, and 850.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas, an increase of 7.7 percent. 
Other key figures showed that the exploration and production division of the company suffered a 67.2 percent net profit decline to 17.30 billion yuan for the first quarter. 
The refining unit, which was seriously affected by the fall in domestic retail oil prices, posted a loss of 3.79 billion yuan during the first three months. 
But PetroChina is not the only major energy company to suffer from falling crude prices. CNOOC Ltd, China's biggest offshore oil and gas developer, reported a 39.9 percent fall in revenue during the first quarter. On Friday, the company said revenue dropped to 35.54 billion yuan in the first three months compared to the same period last year. 
Asia's largest refiner Sinopec Group last month issued a profit warning for the first quarter when the company announced a 29.7 percent profit decline in 2014 compared with the previous year.

Tencent launches OS for smartphones

Tencent Holdings Ltd launched an operating system for smartphones and smartwatches on Tuesday, a move to lure China's growing legions of mobile users.
TencentOS, as the system is called, will improve the experience on social networking apps and help users enjoy high-quality services from different smart devices, according to Ren Yuxin, Tencent's chief operating officer.
Ren declined to elaborate on the new system's core features at the 2015 Global Mobile Internet Conference, which opened in Beijing on Tuesday. He only said it will provide voice recognition and include payment systems.
"We will not get involved in manufacturing smart hardware. Rather, we only want to build an open platform by teaming up with different manufacturers on the basis of TencentOS," Ren said.
Ren later explained that the company will disclose the open interface and development standards of the new operating system so that more partners can benefit from its platform. It is already working alongside domestic technology company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.
Tencent also plans to increase its advantage in online gaming. The new system will be applied to virtual reality and could support playing games on televisions, it said.
Launching its own operating system is a key part of the Internet company's "going mobile" strategy as nearly 557 million Chinese have turned to mobile devices for information and entertainment.
The move also intensifies competition with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which has an operating system called Yun OS. In February, Alibaba bought a minority stake in domestic smartphone maker Meizu Technology Co.
Sandy Shen, an analyst at IT research company Gartner Inc, said this is an "aggressive step" by Tencent to attract mobile users. But Shen said that the company faces tough competition.
"As a growing number of Chinese access the Internet through mobile devices, Chinese tech firms have rushed to develop their own operating systems with the aim of better promoting their online products," Shen said.
"But if an operating system wants to survive stiff competition, it must have strong links with well-established manufacturers. Otherwise, it can't carve out a slice of market share from industry leaders."
In 2014, Google Inc's Android and Apple Inc's iOS combined to account for 96.3 percent of all operating systems in Chinese smartphones, according to IDC, the United States-based market research company.

"Though the brand of Tencent can attract some (partners), it remains to be seen how well its operating system is received," Shen said.

Android UPDATE

"Android 5.1: Unwrapping a new Lollipop update", http://officialandroid.blogspot.com/2015/03/android-51-unwrapping-new-lollipop.html

"Android 5.1 Lollipop SDK", http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2015/03/android-51-lollipop-sdk.html

“Android 5.1 APIs”, https://developer.android.com/about/versions/android-5.1.html

Google upbeat about reentering China: Forbes

Google has planned to make a renewed push in areas like payments, commerce and enterprise apps this year, and would welcome the opportunity to reenter the Chinese market.
That's from Sundar Pichai, who became the company's senior vice-president of products in October, in an exclusive interview with Forbes magazine recently, vowing to step up efforts to monetize the hundreds of millions of people who use Android phones around the globe.
Pichai said that Google will begin showing ads for apps alongside searches on the Google Play store amid growing investor concern that Google's core business is slowing down.
"Users are looking for information, we provide them with organic information, but at the same time we allow companies to use sponsored ads to reach users too. We think the same model works very well for Play," he was quoted as saying by the magazine.
The product csar said that they have seen a lot of interest from Chinese developers regarding Google Play, because of the extent to which Android is used.
While millions of people in China have bought Android phones, those phones are not equipped with Google's mobile services, like Gmail, Maps and the Play Store.Google exited China in 2010. Since then, Google services have been largely blocked in the country.
"If we can figure out a model by which we can serve those users, it would be a privilege to do so. So I don't think of China as a black hole. I see it as a huge opportunity in which we are playing as an enabling platform today and hopefully we have a chance to offer other services in the future," said Pichai.
According to the magazine, Pichai also said in the interview that Android, which has long been seen by developers as lagging far behind the iPhone in terms of monetization, is closing the gap with iOS.
Google paid $7 billion to developers whose apps were sold in the Play store in the past year, while Apple paid $10 billion to developers during 2014, the report said.
Pichai said he saw a lot of momentum in Google's trajectory, and felt upbeat that Google would be able to monetize effectively for developers. "It's not just applications; the content ecosystem is getting built up."

EU accuses Google of hurting consumers, competitors

BRUSSELS - The European Union accused Google Inc on Wednesday of cheating consumers and competitors by distorting Web search results to favor its own shopping service, after a five-year investigation that could change the rules for business online.
It also started another antitrust investigation into the Android mobile operating system, a key element in Google's strategy to maintain revenues from online advertizing as people switch from Web browser searches to smartphone apps.
EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the US company, which dominates Internet search engine markets worldwide, had been sent a Statement of Objections - effectively a charge sheet - to which it has 10 weeks to respond.
Investigations into Google's business practices in other areas would continue. The shopping case, on which the EU has had the most complaints dating back the longest time, could potentially set a precedent for concerns over Google's search products for hotels, flights and other services.
Vestager, a Dane who took over the politically charged case in November, announced the moves on the eve of a high-profile visit to the United States. Her findings follow nearly five years of investigation and abortive efforts by her Spanish predecessor, Joaquin Almunia, to strike deals with Google.
"I am concerned that the company has given an unfair advantage to its own comparison shopping service, in breach of EU antitrust rules," she said. Google could face fines, she warned, if the Commission proves its case that it has used its "near monopoly" in Europe to push Google Shopping ahead of rivals for the past seven years.
Google rejected the charges. Its shares closed up 0.40 percent on Wednesday after earlier losing 1 percent.
Meanwhile, Google's rivals are pushing US antitrust enforcers to investigate the use of Android, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Analysts said the EU charges were unlikely to hurt Google's evaluation because it reflected the regulatory risk.
If recent history of EU probes into tech companies is an indicator, however, Google shares may have trouble moving forward until the issue is resolved.
In its first reaction, the Mountain View, California-based company said in a blog post that it strongly disagreed with the EU's statement of objections and would make the case that its products have fostered competition and benefited consumers.
"Android has been a key player in spurring this competition and choice, lowering prices and increasing choice for everyone (there are over 18,000 different devices available today)," it said of its free operating system for mobile devices.

谷歌向尼泊尔地震捐款100万美元

    两天前尼泊尔发生了里氏8.1级强烈地震，已经造成超过2200多人死亡1万多人受伤，当地建筑也受到大面积破坏。作为全球搜索巨头，谷歌今天宣布捐款100万美元此外还有员工匹配捐款25万美元，用于尼泊尔当地的灾后重建工作。除了现金支持之外，谷歌还积极为当地提供各项技术支持。

　　作为危机应对计划的一部分，谷歌再次部署了人员搜索工具，帮助亲人和好友来确认生活在受地震影响范围内的人是否依然处于安全状态。这项工具曾在2011年发生的福岛地震中部署使用，允许在该区域存活的人通过这种开放性的平台来发送各种信息。根据谷歌消息，目前在尼泊尔数据库中只有5100条记录，不过该数据库的容量正疯狂增长。

GOOGLE SELF DRIVING CAR 2015: TEST-FLOTTE MIT 150 AUTOS GEPLANT

150 google Self Driving Cars machen demnächst Kalifornien unsicher. Auch die deutschen Zulieferer Contintental, Bosch und ZF sind an dem Projekt beteiligt

 

 

Google lässt für Tests seines ersten selbstfahrenden Autos aus eigener Entwicklung eine Flotte aus 150 Wagen bauen. Die abgerundeten Zweisitzer werden beim Fahrzeugentwickler Roush in der Nähe der amerikanischen Auto-Hauptstadt Detroit gefertigt. Unter den Partnern sind auch die deutschen Zulieferer Continental, Bosch und ZF Lenksysteme, wie aus einem Interview des Projektchefs Chris Urmson mit der Zeitung "Detroit Free Press" am Rande der Automesse in Detroit hervorgeht.

GOOGLE SELF DRIVING CAR - TESTFLOTTE UMFASST 150 AUTOS

Die Testfahrzeuge sollen im Frühjahr in Kalifornien auf die Straße kommen. Googlehatte einen ersten Prototypen seines Autos ohne Pedale und Lenkrad, das nur vom Computer gesteuert werden soll, im Mai vorgestellt. Inzwischen gibt es eine straßentaugliche Version. Es wird erwartet, dass Google angesichts aktueller Regeln temporäre Steuer-Möglichkeiten für die Test-Fahrer einbauen muss.

Google wolle die Fahrzeuge in fünf Jahren marktreif haben, sagte Urmson. Eine ähnliche Zielmarke verfolgen auch die etablierten Autohersteller mit ihren Plänen zum automatisierten Fahren. Google zeigt sich offen für Kooperationen mit den Autobauern, diese verfolgen jedoch eigene Projekte für selbstfahrende Autos.

dpa/az

谷歌汽车让传统汽车厂商害怕的3大原因

谷歌正式成为了一家汽车公司，他们造型可爱、同时颇具开创性的自动驾驶汽车开始走下生产线。虽然传统汽车厂商也已经开始推广自己的自动驾驶技术，但谷歌建立了一个新的平台来整合和提升自己的自动驾驶概念。对于传统汽车产业应该感到非常害怕，原因如下：

谷歌汽车是一个软件平台

从很多方面看，现在汽车就像是一台会动的计算机。但与此同时，它们依然装备着传统的发动机，以及保护乘客和实现100mph以上速度所需的工业设计部分，并需要和其他车辆以及现有交通设置进行交互。因此，汽车只有每隔4-5年才会进行一次重大升级。对比之下，消费类产品和软件，可以每年、每月、每周、甚至每天进行升级。谷歌就总是会在暗中升级自己的应用。因此，就其大脑核心而言，谷歌汽车永远不会过时。

谷歌汽车不需要多快的速度

谷歌汽车的速度并不快，最高25mph（约为40千米/时），这让它的设计可以变得非常简单。你可能会认为，随着技术的进步，汽车应该会跑得更快、变得更大才对，可实际上，谷歌的自动驾驶汽车模式所设想的是一个相对低速的汽车世界。Moon Shot是为了应对复杂城市环境所开发的自动驾驶智能软件，它的设计速度一般在25-50mph（约为40-80千米/时）。让汽车的速度突破限速标准是没有什么好理由的，如果自动驾驶汽车能够维持60mph的稳定高速公路车速，同时避免交通混乱，它们或许可以改善行程时间。

谷歌汽车并不复杂

和过去相比，我们今天所拥有的汽车都已经非常可靠了，但一个小小的问题可能依然需要好几天的维修。而谷歌汽车的维修却非常简单，如果有部件在路上出现问题，修理工很快就能轻松地将其修好。这显然是传统汽车厂商所力不能及的。

来源：Business Insider