# Google is hawking their tablet now on their main search page? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 28, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-hawking-their-tablet-now-on-their-main-search-page/632978 "2012-08-28T23:54:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-hawking-their-tablet-now-on-their-main-search-page/632978/1 "2012-08-28T23:54:05Z")
Is it just me and my browser(s) or something… or is google actually advertising their Nexus 7 tablet on their main search page, [www.google.com](http://www.google.com)? I’m not one to complain, but it’s a major eyesore. Thank Og for adblock! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-hawking-their-tablet-now-on-their-main-search-page/632978/2 "2012-08-28T23:55:45Z")
Can you blame them? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-hawking-their-tablet-now-on-their-main-search-page/632978/3 "2012-08-29T00:14:47Z")
Yeah seriously…use their free service to hock their money-making tablet? Smart business. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-hawking-their-tablet-now-on-their-main-search-page/632978/4 "2012-08-29T00:24:22Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Yeah seriously…use their free service to hock their money-making tablet? Smart business. The main issue of course is that google was largely successful because they kept their main page simple and clear of anything like ads. I am sad to see them getting away from that key thing. Also it’s hawk, not hock. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-hawking-their-tablet-now-on-their-main-search-page/632978/5 "2012-08-29T00:32:50Z")
They’ve had ads for their other services on their front page before. They usually only last a week or so and then go back to the “clean” look. They have a long way to go yet before they start looking like “Yahoo - circa 1999” ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-hawking-their-tablet-now-on-their-main-search-page/632978/6 "2012-08-29T00:59:32Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > The main issue of course is that google was largely successful because they kept their main page simple and clear of anything like ads. I am sad to see them getting away from that key thing. I’m thinking Google was largely successful because their search engine is really good at searching the Internet. And their online advertising network is innovative and profitable. I highly doubt they are hanging their hat on their near-empty homepage. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-hawking-their-tablet-now-on-their-main-search-page/632978/7 "2012-08-29T01:04:00Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I’m not one to complain, but it’s a major eyesore. um… :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-hawking-their-tablet-now-on-their-main-search-page/632978/8 "2012-08-29T01:28:04Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’m thinking Google was largely successful because their search engine is really good at searching the Internet. And their online advertising network is innovative and profitable. I highly doubt they are hanging their hat on their near-empty homepage. Eh, their uncluttered homepage was a big “edge” over Yahoo during their first few years. [Yahoo in 2003](http://www.computerweekly.com/photostory/2240107136/Yahoo-The-Highs-and-Lows/6/Yahoo-homepage-2003#contentCompress) This was before everyone had search bars in their browsers, so going to the actual search homepage was often necessary. And lots of people were still on dial-up or other school connections, so loading a bunch of extra crap was annoying for reasons beyond aesthetics. It also helped give Google a reputation for not sacrificing usability for extra profit (since they’d rather have a clean frontpage then make the extra money from selling ads there), which gave people extra confidence in their results. So at least for their initial success, I think their homepage design was an important contribution.