Baidu Releases Android Mobile Browser For Web Games, Plans $1.6-Billion Investment In Cloud Computing

By Valli Meenakshi Ramanathan | September 03 2012 8:54 AM

Baidu Inc (BIDU) has launched a new browser for mobile devices running on Android operating system that allows users to play games and watch videos without a media player, Bloomberg has reported.

Reuters

Robin Li, Founder and Chief Executive of Chinese search engine Baidu, speaks at the Baidu Technology Innovation Conference in Beijing.

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The Chinese search engine giant unveiled the internet browser at the annual developer conference in Beijing September 3.

Li Mingyuan, general manager, Mobile & Cloud Computing Division, Baidu, has stated that the browser is 20 percent faster than other mobile browsers.

Reuters noted that Baidu's mobile browser would compete with UCWeb Inc's UC browser, Google's Chrome and Android browser and Apple Inc's Safari.

As the number of users who access Internet on mobile phones has grown to 388 million in China, Baidu is seeking to monetize its mobile operation and thereby search traffic. At present, Baidu makes bulk of its revenue from users searching for laptops and desktops.

The browser along with mobile operating system and cost-effective smartphones form the core of Baidu's revenue source. Apparently, Baidu is targeting 80 percent of Android handsets to have the mobile browser by end 2012.

Jennifer Li, chief financial officer, Baidu, said the company would invest $1.6 billion (10 billion yuan) to establish its Cloud Computing Center, Reuters added.