Android-powered phones suffered a setback on Monday, as Google was forced to concede that handsets bundled with the new mobile operating system now won't arrive until the fourth quarter. According to The Wall Street Journal, Google is dedicating so much time developing T-Mobile USA's line of Android-powered phones, that Sprint Nextel and China Mobile, the world's largest wireless carrier with 400 million subscribers, may be forced to wait until next year. Meanwhile, the Android software is proving difficult for third-party developers, too, forcing Google to make changes to the Android API before the software has even been finalized. This, …

Web publishers have complained for years about the inaccurate representation of their audiences by comScore and Nielsen, the industry's dominant traffic measurement firms. A new startup will this week begin offering people-based traffic counts on several Web sites, presenting a hybrid of panel and cookie-based data. By contrast, comScore and Nielsen rely on panel data only to compile their traffic and demographic figures. ComScore and Nielsen have long argued that panel data provides far clearer demographic information, which is necessary for media planners and buyers. However, as the Web becomes more fragmented, critics argue that panels cannot be considered …

The Google-Yahoo search deal is receiving some unlikely support in the form of Google's advertisers, Bloomberg News reports. As Microsoft urges regulators not to allow Yahoo to run Google search ads, advertisers are stepping up and saying the move would actually lower their cost, making the deal a good thing for the overall search market. But Microsoft maintains that the deal would reduce competition in Internet advertising leading to higher prices. But regulators might be more inclined to listen to the advertisers, whose only vested interest lies in the best market situation --presumably the same line regulators would take in …

"Yahoo lives, but on the web's equivalent of life support," writes The Economist, following the Web giant's "vague" search deal with Google. It is shame, the magazine says, because the once-vibrant Yahoo is one of the last standing original Web giants, along with online retailers eBay and Amazon (AOL faded from prominence long ago). As hundreds of other dotcoms rose and fell, the three Web giants have persevered over the last 14 years, withstanding even the great Internet crisis of the early 2000s. "Their fates have reflected the evolution of the web as a whole," The Economist says, "and now …

Microsoft will not attempt to make up for its failed move for Yahoo through a slew of acquisitions, CEO Steve Ballmer reiterated Thursday. Following the breakdown in talks with Yahoo, social networking giant Facebook and Time Warner's troubled portal, AOL were identified as potential acquisition targets for the software giant. "People don't understand what they're talking about," Ballmer said in an interview with the Financial Times. "At the end of the day, this is about the ad platform," he added, and not some "plan B." Kevin Johnson, who heads Microsoft's Windows and internet businesses, said the move for Yahoo was …

Why are executives leaving Yahoo in droves? Because they got wind of the company's reorganization plans, says Kara Swisher. The Web giant is throwing just about everything into a new Global Products Group, which will be headed by Ash Patel, currently EVP of Yahoo Platforms and Infrastructure. This includes much of the Network division, which was headed by the now-departed Jeff Weiner, including search, email, messaging, the homepage, platforms and social networking. This also means the likes of communications and communities SVP Brad Garlinghouse, Search SVP Vish Makhijani and Front Door VP Tapan Bhat were expected to move into Global …