Google changes logo to better suit mobile devices

A journalist looks at the new Google logo at his work station in Washington, DC on Tuesday.

AFP/San Francisco

Google on Tuesday refreshed its logo to better suit mobile devices that are supplanting desktop computers when it comes to modern Internet lifestyles.

Google's logo keeps its four-color scheme but shifts to a soft sans-serif font.

The company is also replacing the well-known blue lower case "g" icon with an upper-case "G" combining blue, green, red and yellow.

The 17-year-old Internet company is keen to follow users of its online products onto new generations of Internet-linked devices such as smartphones, tablets and watches.

"We're introducing a new logo and identity family that reflects this reality and shows you when the Google magic is working for you, even on the tiniest screens," the California-based Internet firm said in a blog post.

"We've taken the Google logo and branding, which were originally built for a single desktop browser page, and updated them for a world of seamless computing across an endless number of devices and different kinds of inputs - such as tap, type and talk."

The unveiling of the new logo came just weeks after a surprise reorganisation of Google under a newly formed parent company called Alphabet.

The plan calls for Alphabet to be the corporate parent, with an operating unit for Google and its related search operations, and a handful of other operating firms created for projects in health, Internet delivery, investment and research.

While Google is known as the dominant player in Internet search, it has launched a variety of projects in recent years that are marginally related at best to its core operation.

The projects include self-driving cars, Google Glass, Internet balloons, drones, health care, Google TV, mobile payments, home automation and its Google+ social network, among others.

The Google unit, to be headed by current company vice president Sundar Pichai, will include search, ads, maps, YouTube, Android and related technology infrastructure.