The alternative is Google, who doesn't release any top-tier paid apps on Android or Chrome Web Store. Or host anything important on Apps Engine.
Google pretty much do the other way around: they build tools they need for their own developments (Closure Library, v8, Go...) then release it Open Source for others to use.
The second is more interesting though. They actually do use it quite a bit. Its the kind of thing they use internally, and the employees use for personal projects or when they need something technical for an external presentation. Also, app engine is probably built to serve a different purpose to their other services.
Google's business model isn't to release paid apps on their stores. They have many free apps that are downloaded by the 50's of millions and have 4.5-5 stars almost across the board so, yes, they do release top tier apps.
This differs from every OS vendor I'm aware of in the past. Just noting.
> they do release top tier apps.
Could you point out to me some of these apps where the alternatives are sold for top-tier prices?
Mail and calendars are also better than anything I've found in the market...but that's maybe just my preference.
TomTom costs, at last check, $95NZD. I've not bothered trying it.
(I have iOS tomtom for western Europe) Also, it has voices in many languages. So it will still work when you're out of coverage/country.
Remember, 99% of the land surface has crap/non-existant 2G/3G/4G coverage.
This can make a world of difference when travelling abroad when you can't be bothered getting a local data plan.
I definitely use GPS navigation more often when travelling than when in my home country.
There are companies that sell software that competes with things like Google Docs, Navigation, and other services. And yes, you can always point to things they do differently, but that's guaranteed. No one is going to pay $50 for something that exactly duplicates a free service that has more name recognition, so you by definition have to do something to differentiate yourself.