Larry Page hints at future smartwatches, YouTube mobile use mounts

Google
Google CEO drops a watch wink

In what will be CEO Larry Page's last regular earnings call, Google laid out just how it performed in Q3 2013 and dropped a few hints about what we can look forward to from Mountain View.

Without reading too much into it, Page referenced a type of wearable tech many expect his company to jump into with the still-unconfirmed Google watch.

"People increasingly have more than one device," he said in a spiel about our multi-screen world. "Screens are proliferating in the home as well as wearable screens like watches and Google Glass."

That was that on the watch front, but this is the first time we've heard Page reference smartwatches during a recent earnings call, if any call. With rumors pointing to the debut of the Google watch, codenamed Google Gem, happening on October 31, Page's words may be weightier than an up-on-the-times reference.

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Page, who will likely sit out most future earnings calls to focus on the demands of running Google, also referenced Google's work towards building a unified user experience:

"We are closing in on our goal of a simple, beautiful and intuitive experience regardless of devices," he said.

He's also very excited about Chromecast and Chromebooks, by the way.

As for the figures, Google raked in a higher than expected $14.9 billion (about £9.22b, $15.4b) in revenue but was still knocked by the financial hemorrhage that is Motorola.

Revenue for the division went from $1.78 billion (about £1.1b, AU1.8b) in Q3 2012 to $1.18 billion (about £730m, AU$1.2b) this quarter. Motorola snagged an operating loss of $248 million (about £153m, AU$257m), more than the $192 million (about £118m, AU$199m) losses recorded in the same quarter last year.

Finally, for all you YouTubers, mobile now accounts for 40% of the video service's traffic. Last year, mobile accounted for 25%.

Michelle Fitzsimmons

Michelle was previously a news editor at TechRadar, leading consumer tech news and reviews. Michelle is now a Content Strategist at Facebook.  A versatile, highly effective content writer and skilled editor with a keen eye for detail, Michelle is a collaborative problem solver and covered everything from smartwatches and microprocessors to VR and self-driving cars.