By Alexei Oreskovic
April 5 (Reuters) – Google Inc’s chief executive
said the company’s fledgling social network, Google+, has
scored more than 100 million active users, and he reiterated the
Internet search giant’s commitment to making long-term bets.
Larry Page, also co-founder who took over the top job from
Eric Schmidt in April 2011, said in a 2012 strategy update that
the search giant had made progress revamping Google around key
business opportunities.
Page said that Google’s smartphone operating system,
Android, was being activated on 850,000 mobile devices everyday.
He signaled Google’s intentions to make hardware devices
when its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings
closes later this year, even as some observers have speculated
that Google was only interested in the company for its extensive
patent portfolio.
“We are excited about the opportunities to build great
devices capitalizing on the tremendous success and growth of
Android and Motorola’s long history of technological
innovation,” Page wrote.
Founded by Page and Sergey Brin in 1998, Google has grown
into a corporate behemoth, with roughly $38 billion in revenue
last year and nearly $45 billion in cash and securities on its
balance sheet as of the end of September of 2011.
While Google has dominated Internet searching for a decade,
the company has struggled to find its footing in social
networking, with Facebook, Twitter and other start-ups stealing
Web traffic and engineering talent.
Since Page took back the reins in April 2011, Google has
moved aggressively to make the company a force in the
fast-growing social networking market, with the launch of its
Google+ social networking service.
“Our goal is long-term growth in revenue and absolute
profit-so we invest aggressively in future innovation while
tightly managing our short-term costs,” Page wrote.
Page did not provide any new financial details in his
letter. Google is due to report its first quarter financial
results next week.
Google has also faced criticism about some of its privacy
practices during Page’s tenure. And it has drawn fire over its
search rankings system, with some accusing the search company of
favoring its own products over rival services.
