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Report: Google to launch their own ride sharing service to compete with Uber

27

Google Black Uber

Amid reports that Uber could soon begin building their own fleet of driver-less cars, comes Bloomberg with a report that now Google is preparing to announce their own taxi-like service to go head-to-head with Uber. Although details aren’t entirely clear at this point, Google could employ the use of their new driver-less car tech you’ve likely seen covered all over the news in recent months. At least in some limited capacity.

Apparently word got out after David Drummond, Google’s senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer, revealed Google’s plans to Uber, with a few Uber employees already in possession of screenshots of the mobile app Google allegedly plans on using. The weird part is that Google has heavily invested in Uber — most recently around $258 million — and has even gone as far as integrating Uber functionality in their Maps application. Drummond, who is on Uber’s board of directors, could soon be asked to resign over an obvious conflict of interest.

Chris Chavez
I've been obsessed with consumer technology for about as long as I can remember, be it video games, photography, or mobile devices. If you can plug it in, I have to own it. Preparing for the day when Android finally becomes self-aware and I get to welcome our new robot overlords.

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27 Comments

  1. Uber integrated in Maps? Never noticed. Was gonna say this would be great for Google as they could show live location of their taxis on Maps.

    1. It’s popular where Uber is popular but yep.

      1. Is on KC maps.

  2. Driverless?

    Seems like this whole concept is going to die a bad legal death in the end. They are getting banned in countries, states, lawsuits, cab companies lobbying, rape and molestation lawsuits, neat idea….. but seems like a day does not go by where Uber – and others – are not negatively impacted in some way.

    1. Lmao. Sure. Let’s ignore the fact the fact the driverless cars are already legal in certain nations and two US states. But yea, I’m so sure it will die out. /s

    2. You can’t stop the future forever.

      1. Apparently you’ve never seen Clockstoppers.

  3. I’m sorry. While I loved Total Recall, great movie for what it was at the time and it’s definitely stood up over time, I have seen Total Recall…. I can’t actually see any potential Johnny Cab scenario panning out well -ever. For context: http://goo.gl/WsTVrj

  4. Sit on the board and invest in company XYZ. And once you get what that company does to success, you bite them in the back with your own product.

    Eric Schmidt pioneered this method by copying iOS. Well played Google, we’ll played.

    1. Copying iOS… wait.. what you talking bout?

      1. He’s talking about how Android copied iOS. Just because we like Android doesn’t mean we need to be truth deniers.

        1. And iOS has copied Android. And Android has copied Windows Phone. And Windows Phone has copied Android.

          Everyone copies everyone. Otherwise, where the hell would we be as a society?

        2. And iOS copied Windows CE and Symbian. Hell, they even copied the name.

          Your point?

    2. I saw where you were going….then u just went off the grid bruh.

  5. I don’t see this as taking on Uber, it’s just the first step to acquiring them. Doesn’t Google already invest heavily in Uber?

  6. sounds to me like uber will be putting together a fleet of google driverless cars…

  7. Google might be doing this to avoid the bad publicity uber has been getting lately

  8. But then who will clean up all the late night drunken passenger puke!? Roombas?

  9. Anyone who still thinks that Google controlling Android is a good idea need look no further. When you control the platform you can put your apps front and centre and push the others to the sidelines. This is MS all over again. MS were able to make sure they were always first to get their applications out as soon as there was a new release of Windows (because they developed both) and of course they had all the advantage of using the latest API’s and having their applications tested and out the door as soon as Windows was released while all the rest of the third party vendors had to wait for the release before they even started their development. Google are doing the exact same thing because they not only compete with the other vendors but take advantage of all new API’s, which they choose which ones will be released, and make sure their apps are mandatory through the OHA agreements and make sure their apps are on the home page.
    Anyone who thinks what Cyanogenmod is trying to do is bad will think differently in 5-10 years time as more and more service/software vendors find them competing with Google with one hand tide behind their back. Anyone who thinks Google Android is open should reconsider – rant over.

    1. Roger, lot of people hate google because google offer all services free. Google ofered to world a lot of apps like maps and gmail, products like smartphones and other things for a very good price or even free. I don’t know in USA, but here in Brazil, everything was paid before google. Now everything is free.
      I think we have a lot of things to thank Google. But, back to the present…
      I like Google, but it is very lazy nowadays. Very slow to detect problems, to catch feedback from users and more important, to go straight to what matters. Orkut, Buzz and Google Plus are the same side of this problem.

    2. Meh,

      As long as Cyanogen lets me load my ROM and choose my services, it’s good. The second they force Bing on me, I’m out. There are too many great ROMs out there for me to give two shits about CM if they don’t do what I want.

  10. Yay, I hope they buy-out Uber and call it Guber! That would be awesome!

    1. Lol why not goober…

  11. Sounds exactly like what Ron Amadeo was talking about. A/B testing.
    Uber on the one hand, this on the other. Whichever sticks gets to stay, the other will go in a few years in the spring cleaning.

    Same with Android/Chrome OS and gmail/inbox by gmail and Nexus/GPE/Silver and Hangouts/Messenger etc

  12. Correct me if im wrong but isn’t part of the reason self driving cars are even being allowed due to the fact that they will be required to have a manual mode in case something goes wrong? What happens if some non tech savvy old person or a drunk or disabled person gets in one and something goes wrong and he can’t stop it.

    Lawyers are gonna have fun with this tech..

    1. There will be a big red EJECT button.

  13. The two worst companies with the worst records of support battling it out to see who can eliminate who. Hopefully they both take each other out.

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