Disruptive technologies appear to be both an opportunity and a risk for Google. For example upcoming search engines may replace the Google search engine from its highly visited position. This would remove the core of its advertising network and increase Google's dependence on third party web-sites for exposure to its advertising. This is clearly a highly valued resource given the billions Google has spent acquiring sites such as youtube and partnering with sites such as MySpace.
From Google's annual report:
If we do not continue to innovate and provide products and services that are useful to users, we may not remain competitive, and our revenues and operating results could suffer.
The launch of the iPhone 3G is a recent example of how new technologies benefit Google.
Google clearly has a mobile technology road map, and is addressing mobiles directly through the creation of the Android platform. An unusual strategic approach given that it is open and they don't own a supporting hardware business.
There are a broad range of other Google explorations which to me sometimes make me ask why is Google doing this? The example of sharable applications cited in a previous post to this blog are another example.
Here is an overview of android.
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