Google on Monday unveiled a new Google Labs experiment that turns public data sets into interactive charts that can be embedded in Web pages.
Google Public Data Explorer relies on the visualization technology that Google obtained when it acquired Trendalyzer in 2007.

The technology is also used to power Google Chart Tools, an umbrella name for the Google Chart API and the Google Visualization API, which can be used to add charts and graphs to Web sites.
“With the Data Explorer, you can mash up data using line graphs, bar graphs, maps and bubble charts,” explains Jurgen Schwarzler, a statistician on Google’s public data team, in a blog post. “The visualizations are dynamic, so you can watch them move over time, change topics, highlight different entries and change the scale. Once you have a chart ready, you can easily share it with friends or even embed it on your own Web site or blog.”

The release of Public Data Explorer builds upon Google’s effort to provide visual support to search queries.

In April last year, Google added charts derived from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and U.S. Census Bureau data to relevant searches.

In November, Google expanded its search visualization support to include 17 more world development indicators from the World Bank.

Monday’s announcement brought with it news that Google has integrated into its search visualization tools public data from five new sources: the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), the California Department of Education, Eurostat, the U.S. Center for Disease Control, and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Google, the world’s most popular search engine, said last week it may pull out of the world’s biggest Internet market by users after reporting it had been hit by a “sophisticated” cyber-attack on its network that resulted in theft of its intellectual property.

The sources, who are familiar with the situation, told Reuters that the attack, which targeted people who have access to specific parts of Google networks, may have been facilitated by people working in Google China’s office.

“We’re not commenting on rumor and speculation. This is an ongoing investigation, and we simply cannot comment on the details,” a Google spokeswoman said.

The investigation that one or more Google employees may have been involved in the Google breach would represent one facet of a broader attack that Google said targeted at least 20 other companies.

Adobe Systems Inc, Juniper Network Inc and Rackspace Hosting Inc have all acknowledged being targets and a person familiar with the situation said Yahoo Inc was also a target.

George Kurtz, the Chief Technology Officer of security software maker McAfee Inc, wrote in the McAfee corporate blog on Sunday that the targeted and coordinated nature of the attacks on various companies made them the most sophisticated cyberattack the company had seen in years

Security analysts told Reuters the malicious software (malware) used in the Google attack was a modification of a Trojan called Hydraq. A Trojan is malware that, once inside a computer, allows someone unauthorized access. The sophistication in the attack was in knowing whom to attack, not the malware itself, the analysts said.

Chinese media, citing unnamed sources, reported that some Google China employees were denied access to internal networks after January 13, while some staff were put on leave and others transferred to different offices in Google’s Asia Pacific operations. Google said it would not comment on its business operations.

TALKS SOON

Google, which has denied rumors that it has already decided to shut down its China offices, said on Monday it contacted the Chinese government last week after the announcement.

“We are going to have talks with them in the coming few days,” Google said.

Google is also still in the process of scanning its internal networks since the cyber-attack in mid-December.

China has tried to play down Google’s threat to leave, saying there are many ways to resolve the issue, but insisting all foreign companies, Google included, must abide by Chinese laws. [ID:nTOE60E00I]

Washington said it was issuing a diplomatic note to China formally requesting an explanation for the attacks.

The Google issue risks becoming another irritant in China’s relationship with the United States. Ties are already strained by arguments over the yuan currency’s exchange rate, which U.S. critics say is unfairly low, trade protectionism and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

Washington has long been worried about Beijing’s cyber-spying program. A congressional advisory panel said in November the Chinese government appeared increasingly to be penetrating U.S. computers to gather useful data for its military.

Back in 2006, Apple’s lack of experience with operators proved its advantage: Steve Jobs pushed far harder than anyone else would have dared and the operators proved far more flexible than expected. They showed themselves willing to hand over revenue, advertising dollars and (ultimately) customers in exchange for a little Cupertino cool.

Later even Apple had to accept handset subsidies, along with the operator control that came with them – thus we get an MMS client, and careful control of VoIP applications.

Google has experience working with operators – it’s been more than a year since T-Mobile launched the G1 – so the search giant has had plenty of time to work out what operators want from a handset, and thus what they’ll subsidise.

And Google’s business model isn’t a threat to the operators, unlike Apple’s, so in theory the Nexus One should be sure-fire winner with operators. That explains T-Mobile’s rumoured $350 subsidy on the $530 price of the Nexus One, which pushes headline price below the $199 Apple is asking for a (subsidised) iPhone 3GS.

Price is important, but marketing is even more so, and (quite remarkably) Apple managed to get the operators to pay for much of their advertising. The exclusive deals Apple signed with operators committed them to extensive advertising spends, and it’s hard to imagine that Google will have struck anything similar. But no-one knows more about advertising than Google, with Google also being ideally placed to ensure that there’s no confusion when someone is searching the internet for the latest Android handset.

Google’s phone, of course, won’t be exclusive. That wouldn’t be the Google way, just as applications can be bought through the Android Marketplace but can also be bought elsewhere. That’s very nice for geeks who care about such things, but for the majority it makes it more complicated, and today’s mobile-phone buyer cares more about simplicity than freedom.

So the Nexus One will be a moderate success, bringing in a little revenue for Google and serving as a reference platform for Android developers who will flock to get one spurred on by effective on-line advertising. But the general public will continue to buy the iPhone until Google comes up with some sort of killer feature to take away Apple’s crown.

With the end of 2009 drawing nigh, Google is reportedly brokering a deal to buy local search and review property Yelp for $500 million, a royal sum for a company that banked $31 million in funding and boasts a $30 million run rate.

Google is no stranger to such premiums and set a serious precedent by offering $750 million for AdMob, which IDC said earned $40 million in mobile display ad sales in 2009.

A Google spokesperson declined to confirm or deny a deal, first reported by TechCrunch, was forthcoming, coyly telling eWEEK: “While we’re always talking to various companies about various things, we don’t comment on rumor or speculation.”

Yelp provides reviews for local businesses, including restaurants, spas and pretty much any type of concern one might need to call on to aid them through the daily grind. The Web site had 26 million visitors in the last 30 days through November.

“Yelpers,” as the site’s members are known, have composed more than 8 million reviews, representing a massive volume of opinion and ratings. Yelpers can also share information with fellow Yelpers, making the property a niche social network.

Google wants this information to boost the data and services it already provides with its Local Business Center. Participating businesses list their phone numbers, hours of operation and other factoids with Google, which renders this info on Google Maps Place Pages, which include directions, reviews and other information pertinent to specific businesses. Yelp has been immensely successful providing similar info, but lacks Google’s massive Web presence.

Google also recently unveiled its “Favorite Places on Google” initiative, which lets more than 100,000 business owners in its LBC place a window sticker with a bar code on their storefronts. Users walking by on the street can scan the QR code from their Apple iPhone, Android-powered phones, surfacing the business’ Place Page right from their handhelds. Local mobile search and advertising are the keys to Google buying Yelp.

If Google can get Yelp, it will have a treasure trove of local information with which it can pair contextual mobile ads. A user walking around a city with his Apple iPhone or Android device could feel his phone vibrate. He would check the phone and see shopping alerts from Google/Yelp, which might also offer them coupons from retailers.

Imagine two-for-one offers from clothing stores, a free cup of coffee offer as one passes the local Starbucks, or a 10 percent off coupon from a nearby Indian restaurant. With Yelp data powering Google Maps Place Pages on Android phones, the ad possibilities are endless.

Adam Bunn, of U.K. search marketers Greenlight, said such a deal would give Google fresh local search results without the need to go through the usual crawling and indexing process and sending searchers to another site. This points to the huge potential for Google to sell targeted ads. Interestingly, Bunn said Google seems to be taking a page out of a competitor’s playbook, and it’s not local search power Yahoo.

“This is one of the strategies that Microsoft had chosen for Bing, and the main reason why it took so long for Bing to launch properly in the UK; identifying potential content or functionality partners relevant to that market, negotiating with them and then integrating their data takes time.”

Kelsey Group analyst Michael Boland noted that in Yelp Google would also be acquiring a fat sales force of advertisers:

“[Yelp] COO Geoff Donaker told us at last week’s Interactive Local Media show that 200 of the company’s 300 employees are advertiser facing in some way, including account rep or direct sales positions. Google has always maintained that it’s not in its strategic interests to buy or build a direct sales force to access the elusive SMB marketplace at the heart of its “long tail” paid search efforts. That’s kind of true but this deal changes it a bit.”

If Google does bid for Yelp, it would be Google’s seventh of 2009, preceded by On2 Technologies, ReCaptcha, AdMob, Gizmo5, Teracent and AppJet, all since August. Moreover, Google is also rumored to be eyeing real-estate search provider Trulia.

These deals underscore how Google is well positioned to maintain and extend its lengthy search, ad and Web services lead into 2010.

Google Inc. has been letting its employees test a new cellphone that could be rolled out to consumers as soon as next month, potentially marking its first foray into the business of selling mobile phones.

The Internet search giant already has its own Android operating system installed on phones sold by major wireless carriers including Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. But bloggers and recent news reports have raised the possibility that Google may sell its own “unlocked” phone — one that could be used with more than one service provider.

Without a contract binding them to a single carrier, consumers could theoretically shop around for lower prices for their mobile phone service, and more easily jump ship if a better deal came along.

Other popular devices are available through only one carrier, so consumers interested in buying an iPhone, for instance, have no choice but to sign a multiyear contract with AT&T.

“When the carriers don’t have this false loyalty of the contractual obligation, they’ll have to focus on things that really deliver benefits to their customers,” said Charles Golvin, an analyst at Forrester Research.

But short-circuiting the contract model would come with its own set of challenges for Google.

One perk of signing expensive contracts with carriers is the great deal consumers can get on a new smart phone. For example, the Motorola Droid, a popular new phone also powered by Google software, costs $200 when purchased through Verizon with a two-year contract. Without the contract, the phone retails for $500.

To offer similar discounts on a potential Google phone, the company would have to find ways to offset the costs of producing the units.

If Google’s past strategies are an indicator, Golvin said, it might well look to advertising to keep its phone cheap. The company, which makes nearly all of its $22 billion annual revenue from its online ad business, is known for offering consumers free services — Web search, online video, mapping — and paying for them by selling their customers’ attention and interests to advertisers.

Last month Google paid $750 million to acquire Admob Inc., a maker of technology that integrates ads into thousands of mobile phone applications. Google’s Android operating system already runs on at least a dozen phones from manufacturers such as Motorola Inc., Samsung and HTC Corp.

But bloggers on Monday claimed it was HTC that would build the rumored “Google phone” now being tested by the Mountain View, Calif., company’s employees. Documents HTC filed earlier this month with the Federal Communications Commission show a new device called the Nexus One.

Those documents do not mention Google, however, and the company would not comment on the specifics of the new device.

Whether or not Google’s new phone changes the wireless industry overnight, the company’s interest in smart phones fits into its long-term strategy: In the months and years to come, customers around the world will be more likely to access Google’s panoply of features through their mobile devices, rather than through personal computers.