Two months after launch, Google’s zeitgeist shows there are as much queries coming from Windows XP systems as from Macs. And for a console many people said was doomed to fail, the Xbox at the very least generated a lot of interest. We’ll have to wait for sales-out data to know how it’s really doing with consumers.
With its new (but already popular) catalog search engine, Google shows it’s willing to make inroads into ecommerce, while staying true to its core strengths. They offer paying services for catalog vendors. Ain’t it funny to browse an Amazon.com paper catalog on the web? If there’s a company that can create useful online interfaces to the physical world, it’s Google. I thought Infospace would do that, but who even remembers them today?
12/18/01 update: Google targets catalog business.
05/28/02 update: Amazon tests mail-order catalog listings.
