Why Google Bought Zagat

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Marissa Mayer, Google's VP of maps and local, was the final interview today at TechCrunch Disrupt. Mike Arrington asked her why Google bought Zagat.

Aside from the strong brand Tim and Lisa Zagat created over the past 32 years, Mayer says Zagat has a lot of great partnerships, content, and a great team behind it.

"We thought there was a lot of value for our users," she says. "Users want to know, what to expect when they're going somewhere."

Zagat will remain separate from Google Places.  Reviews from all over the web will still be pulled into every Places page, not just Zagat content.

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iPhone Quickly Becoming Powerful Sales Tool--Lowe's Just Bought 42,000 Of Them

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Lowe's decision to purchase 42,000 iPhones and to begin using a similar payment system as used in Apple Stores, is important as it is a another step in positioning the iPhone and iPad as powerful business tools that further blur the line between ecommerce and traditional retail.

Like in an Apple Store, checkout will no longer need to take place at a cash register, but rather anywhere on the Lowes sales floor via an iPhone that will process the sale and charge a credit/debit card.

Each Lowes store will receive 25 iPhones to process payments and answer customers’ questions. Lowe’s will also roll out a web app called MyLowe’s that will allow customers to look up wide range of information regarding products and warranties and also plan home improvement projects.

Using mobile devices in this way is not revolutionary and Lowes is simply following other retailers like Home Depot (which gave employees Motorola Inc. handheld devices last year) and Old Navy into the fray.

But it is an extremely important area of growth for Apple going forward and one that some money managers have already identified as a key driver of the stock in 2012 and beyond. 

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This Guy Bought A TouchPad And It Came With Android On It (HPQ)

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In the video below, you can clearly see a new TouchPad booting up with an Android logo displayed on the home screen. When browsing to the "About" screen, the TouchPad says it's running Android.

Some sort of hoax, or did an HP employee decide to have a little fun before shipping this particular tablet?

If it is legit, maybe he should apply for this $1,500 prize.

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