Google is losing its focus completely i think.. Android based droid phone was hyped to replace iphone and it didn't even come close.
Now people are hearing that Google is also building a new phone from scratch.
10 yrs after people still 80% of the time knows Google for Search and the remaining 20% for Gmail, Maps .. Corporates like Microsoft is known for OS, Sql Server, .NET Programming, etc all money generating softwares.
Apparently they are planning Chrome OS for only netbooks and then later release it for Laptop and PC.
Chrome is going to be a basic OS - good for browsing web but it is not going to solve world's problems. they should focus on other innovative ideas. Thing is after Chrome OS launch we would still be using Gmail, Yahoo mail etc so no one will pay much attention that they are doing it using on Chrome OS. Where is the life changing innovation that we expect from Google? Google Search was, Google Maps was, Gmail was but will Chrome Browser, Chrome OS, Android, Wave and all their recent concept affect our lives at all?
I still think it will easily take 5yrs+ for all these "new" Google products (experiments) to go anywhere and even then its not guaranteed success. But companies like Apple, MS once they release something (probably 1 or 2 product every few yrs) it is an almost instant HIT. Look at iphone - took less than 2 yrs to replace the world largest mobile phone company Nokia! Now they are going to release Tablet PC by mid year. There was less than 6 months time after its launch that people realised that Iphone will be a hit unlike Google's latest product where it may take years (I am still debating what is Google Wave's purpose? Will it generate money? Will it make more consumers to use Google? how many more? 50%? I don't think so! How about Android? As a Google Investor - I am not convinced there is a clear answer)
God seriously help Google. Their founder should jump back in and stop those geeks at Google doing anything they want. They should get everyone in the room and tell them you have 6 months to come up with new software which will surely generate money and and at the same time solve problems which no one has been able to. They are capable of doing it but if they don't have clear focus. We all know how the geeks. We have seen them in Uni. If you dont have clear specs for assignment 20 students will come up with 20 different ideas and result in chaos. There needs a clear and concrete vision.
In the end, Google is a corporate - if it was a government department like NASA then fair enough - no need to always generate money because you are representing country and its innovation. But if investors dont see return in Google's experiments and they go somewhere else - the US government is not going to save Google just because they were coming up with cool ideas but not able to generate money. One other option is - make the services paid e.g. Gmail, maps and see how faithful people are to cool Google vs xyz software which can just get things done.
