Google has hit the big 1-5. Today, September 27th, is when Google traditionally celebrates its birthday, and we’re celebrating it right along with them, with a look back on year 14. These 15 things all happened within the last year.
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Google Unveiled its helpout program: A marketplace for consulting of all kinds, from cooking to karate, via video chats/ hangouts.
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Google Unveiled Android’s latest iteration, Kit Kat, and partnered with Nestle to mock Apple in the process.
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Google Unveiled the unbelievably successful Chrome Cast streaming device, which drew rave reviews, and sold millions within hours, far beyond Google’s own expectations.
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Google ruined, or optimized Youtube with an all-new design, and drastic changes to user profiles and interactions, good or bad depending upon who you ask. (We asked regular Youtubers, and people with millions of followers)
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Google released the Moto X smartphone, meant to bring omnipresent voice assistants into the mainstream. It was moderately successful.
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Google revolutionized email, by segmenting every Gmail inbox by category, drastically changing the e-commerce and email marketing industry.
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Google released an all-new interface for the aging maps section
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Google Released Android Studio, a free IDE, bringing Android development to the masses
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Google released Google Now for iOS, bringing the popular life-management tool cross-platform
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Google Released its highly-successful Nexus 4 Smartphone (our own Previn Edwards reviewed it in the linked article)
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Google Released the $1300 Chromebook Pixel, sporting a beautiful touchscreen display, and not much else
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A video on Youtube crossed the 1 Billion view mark (Gangnam style)
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Google Killed the God-awful $300 useless paperweight known as the Nexus Q
That’s About It
This list is a great reminder as to how fundamentally different Apple and Google are. Apple is careful, calculating, and simple. They release a few products a year, and most do very well. Google is always tinkering, experimenting, and testing a million different things. Both strategies work very well, but Google definitely seems more like the 15 year old.