Google capabilities beyond "search"
"Has google blown anyone away yet with anything other than search and ads?"
Perhaps it's an issue of lack of familiarity? I've heard plenty of people ask "besides 'good graphics' I don't see anything a Mac can do that my PC doesn't?"
I doubt seriously that Google could make a Rev A product that has the sort of polish that Apple does. That's part of Apple's unique advantage. But whether Google can do something reasonably comparable, of course they can.
Google Sketch-Up? Extremely cool.
Google Earth? Extremely cool.
Google Picasa? Extremely solid. Debateably the equal to iPhoto+.Mac
Google's street level tool? Extremely cool.
Google's web-based office productivity app suite? Serviceable.
Google Maps? Good enough to bury MapQuest and Microsoft's efforts
Gmail? I'll bet there are more Mac users with Gmail accounts than .Mac accounts
Google Checkout? Exponential growth rates suggest somebody likes it.
Google's ability to integrate GIS? Superior to Apple (which is, for an allegedly "visionary" company, asleep at the switch on that subject)
In a nutshell, asking whether Google has yet to "blow anyone away" sounds more like a question designed not at assessing what market risks Apple faces in a real search for the answer, but a mostly rhetorical attempt to reinforce a previously adopted belief.
In fact, I'd challenge the implicit premise in the question - namely that Google would have to deliver a product that would "blow people away", or somehow prove "superior" to the iPhone, in order to leapfrog Apple in the race for game-changing domination (of the sort that made the iPod the monster it is). If we learned nothing from the OS wars of the 80s and 90s, "blown away" and "superior" are hardly the most important factors in determining who walks away with the prize. Google merely needs superiority in pricing and a product that will be "substantially the same" in the minds of the consumer.
You know, back when RIMM's market cap was, oh, about 1/10 of what it is now, I suggested it would make a great strategic acquisition for Apple. Not b/c Apple needed anyone to help design a phone or phone OS, but because RIMM's customer base in the corporate world, and dominant access to e-mail alone were worth more than the price of the company (at that time). Perhaps it's unlikely, but imagine if Google introduced an ad-supported phone that cost a fraction of the iPhone but delivered more or less the same functionality (plus GIS and a few other goodies Apple doesn't have). Then imagine they decided to buy RIMM.
This market is wide-open. And Apple is anything but a cinch.
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