Google checks the rear view mirror, sees the competition spinning wheels.


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Google checks the rear view mirror, sees the competition spinning wheels.

A lot can be said for the announcements at this past week’s Google I/O conference, but most of what we’ve heard around the Internet tends to come from one of two camps.  Either Google has just laid down the gauntlet, or the company has simply lost its mind and is reaching for viability.


As we look back over the events of the past week (and even the few months previous), one thing continues to ring in my head: Google is succeeding in the blind spot of others.  Now, I won’t lay out a claim like that without backing it up, so here’s what I see.


Google TV


When Google announced Google TV, it didn’t really surprise anyone.  We all knew it was coming.  However, I ‘m not sure that anyone took into full view the extent to which Google had planned this project.


Unlike its closest competitor, Apple TV, Google TV seems considerably less like a back burner project.  Where Apple TV has gone blind toward evolving, Google is coming out of the gates with a plethora of options.  Apple failed to launch with anything more than a set top box that, while beautiful and full of options, is becoming very quickly dated.


Google came out swinging, providing options across the board.  Want a TV with Google integrated?  Sony will handle that.  Only need a set top box?  Google’s got you covered.  Want all of that to mesh with your existing equipment?  Done.  Where Apple’s xenophobia lingered, Google came in and simply made a product that will do what we want it to do, without the need to be tethered to anything else.


Android 2.2 – FroYo


The beauty of open source really comes into play here.  Android phones are being activated at a break-neck speed, and features are rolling out quickly.  Of course, we can’t talk about features without mentioning the fragmentation across the Android customer base, but that matter is being settled via natural selection of the technology life.


Both Microsoft and Apple have seriously goofed in this past year.  MS had something very special with Widows Phone 7.  It honestly has a lot of potential.  But I will almost wager that it will be...

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