When you think about the best home computing device think of the company (or companies) that come to mind. Best smartphone on the market year in year out what would you say. Smart devices, set top boxes, search engines, online shopping, media, in each of these categories you can name a certain company that you prefer. But there is a company out there that is good at many things. Google has built an empire that continues to do a lot of things just good enough though not always great.
Empire that continues to do a lot of things just good enough though not always great.
If you take computers, set top boxes, online shopping, smart home devices, and search engines Google has their hands in them all. The software on some of our favorite smartphones are built around android (Google). Chromebooks are quietly becoming one of the best secondary options for computers (and for some places first option because of price). The Pixel phones have gathered a following thanks to the software and camera. Chrome is the go to browser for a lot of smartphones and computers. As far as search engines Google is sought out over Yahoo and Bing. Google Home is becoming the assistant device of choice for many. For streaming devices Chromecast is one of the highest selling device that generations are adopting. Youtube, despite the controversy, is the number one place for content creators.
Google has done a great job in spreading their resources. And where they are shinning is in how well they are performing in a number of categories. Even for those that prefer Apple computers, iPhones, Amazon echo, or other choices outside of Google, you have to admit that Google is putting in some work. They are even working on automated vehicles as well as challenging the cable companies. Yeah Google have made many missteps along the way but that do not keep them from trying new things.
Destroy your competitor or get rich while striving with them
If you do not own a Google product that do not keep them from still trying to serve you. Many of their devices and services work well with other platforms. There are some Google apps that work better on the iPhone than (Google’s) android software. Whether you choose to only own the device or use the service Google still gets paid. This is what Google does better than their competitors. Where companies like Apple and Samsung do everything they can to make things exclusive (to keep you in the ecosystem), Google is willing to look outside the ecosystem. This is where looking at the long term has continued to help Google grow. Even if they have failed in areas (G+) they are diversified. Literally playing it smart by spreading their eggs into different baskets.
Far from perfection
Google + needs to be put down. Google Express still have work to do to compete with Amazon. There are apps that Google will work on only to abandon. Google have had their failures along the way. From the failures came change and adaptability to improve. Yeah they need to do something about how they respond to Youtube controversies. But they are playing all their cards leaving nothing in hand.
A search engine designed for ads have become so much more and yet still the same. They acquired the right pieces at the right time and built an empire. An empire that continues to do a lot of things just good enough though not always great.
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