Self driving cars. Glass. Google Now. Maps. Plus all the internal innovation such as new database technologies, custom routers, computer science research, and other technology.
There are few places that compare to Google.
There are few places that compare to Google.
Vaporware (Self driving cars. Glass.) is not what I'm considering innovative because these things are not in production. And IBM and MSFT are very very good at vaporware.
Maps are not innovative (they might be the best for some people but, on my iPhone, Nokia maps are actually better).
There are few places that compare to Google.
2) Maps may no longer be the most innovative product in the space, but Google defined the tiled, online map, and they forced Apple to provide free turn-by-turn by doing so on Android.
Moreover, Google has made two press announcements (we made our own maps via StreetView, and then we made it free on Android) that destroyed the market cap of the major nav companies to the tune of double digit market cap percentage losses, which amounted to billions of dollars, in a day... twice.
3) As for Google Glass, I don't expect much from this project actually, but vaporware is not the right term for something that is already being worn and used.
And don't forget that vaporware does not imply non-innovation! Plenty of vaporware is innovative but fails for other reasons.
Don't forget the sheer amount of integrated information such as transit and traffic routes. Google maps has continually set the bar for mapping. They are so successful that people no longer even recognize that all these features were not commonplace prior to Google maps.
Edit: and if you define innovation to things in production, I straight up disagree. Innovation happens prior to production.
A similar feature to Streetview has existed in Bing Maps since 2009 [1]. Google was first, but others are chasing hard.
Plus, they are moving into mapping shopping malls, parks, stores, and even tourist spots
Bing Maps started adding malls and building maps in 2010. They also had birdeye view and 3D "photosynth" views predating Google's implementations [2] by 2 years.
[1] http://www.bing.com/community/site_blogs/b/maps/archive/2009...
[2] http://www.bing.com/community/site_blogs/b/maps/archive/2010...
Nokia maps are accessible on iPhone without trouble.
"Vaporware is a term in the computer industry that describes a product, typically computer hardware or software, that is announced to the general public but is never actually released"
Self-driving google cars and google glasses nominally qualify.
There are also people outside of Google that already have Glass units.