This September Google turns 20. Started in 1998, the company has been at the helm of innovations and technology. An idea for a simple web page aggregator evolved into an internet search engine and now, is involved in multiple products, subproducts, services, and applications.
So, this Septemeber, we compile 20 disruptive innovations that Google as a company has introduced to the world. While some are popular worldwide, others are the more subtle Google sources and services.
Google Chromebook
A product introduced in 2011, the Chromebook is a series of laptops and desktop OS’s launched by Google. The OS is a Linux-based Google operating system that supports all Google apps and is said to be an extension of your Android phone.
Google Maps
Maps was a mapping service based on the manual mapping, satellite imagery, and government data. Soon, from just being a map viewing, it evolved into a navigation, business hosting, and location optimization service too.
Google Self Driving Cars
The Google self-driving car company is now called Waymo. The product is still in its testing phase but works on obstacle detection, mapping, and navigation in order to create a completely driverless experience. The cars function on some Google campuses in the United States and other specialized testing regions.
Google Assistant
This artificial intelligence-based service originally debuted on Google’s messaging app called Allo. The service can undertake 2-way conversations, perform tasks, make notes, and even interact with other phones. In a video undertaken by WIred, Google assistant is the best developed AI assistant in the market when compared to Siri, Bixby, and Alexa.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is Google’s academic journal directory which is used by thousands of students and teachers worldwide. The service puts up academic books for free or limited free versions. The service works as an extension to Google search when academic articles, journals, or books are searched.
Google Pixel 2
Pixel, Pixel 2, and Pixel 2 XL is a series of Google’s flagship phones released in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The phone is cited to be the “smartest smartphone in the market” and the camera has been rated very highly too with a DXO mark rating of 98 – the highest for any smartphone yet.
Google Street View
Google street view is a midway between Google Maps and Google Earth, where live cars roam roads and take live 3D pictures of streets. This includes 3D views inside iconic buildings and most streets around the world. It is a subdued version of a map-based virtual reality system.
Google Fibre
Google Fibre is a part of Google’s parent company – Alphabet’s Acess system. It is essentially an internet connection service offering ultra-fast connections that range from 100 Mbit/s to 1 GBit/s. This service, for now, is only available in certain areas in the United States but is in the process of expansion.
Password Alternatives
Google wants to move beyond the age-old technology and the system of putting in passwords. It wants to reform account security systems and make it more fertile. Its current 2-step authentication systems have an uncertain future, as the company is planning on bringing in devices such as personalized USB sticks.
Android
Probably, the most widely circulated Google invention of all time, Android has become a smartphone staple. Establishing a partial monopoly with Apple devices, Androids heavily adapted and the customizable interface has made it climb market share ranks.
Google Glass
An invention that did not take off but was considered revolutionary in its time, the Google Glass was a premature augmented reality system. The glass was supposed to be worn by a user where it can record what the user was seeing, show stats, notifications, and utility arrangements.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is Google’s free digital marketing tool used by amateur marketers worldwide. It gives real-time data, metrics, and dimensions to optimize ad campaigns, content strategies, and product performances.
Google Translate
Google’s free neural machine translation app, ‘Translate’ was rolled out in 2006. It takes a language in typed form and translates it into any of the 13 languages available with it. Translate is now slowly rolling out a picture- and voice-based translation medium.
Google Knowledge Graph
Knowledge Graph is essentially the information you see in various formats while doing a Google Search. You see the results and then on the side you can see images, website links, Wikipedia pages, books, the works. This cumulation of data in various formats is Knowledge Graph.
Google Actions
‘Actions’ is exactly what the name says – a set of “actions” that run via the Google Assistant to devices such as Google Home, Chromebook, and phone. It is basically you asking the assistant to do something and the assistant executing the action like turning a light on and off or making a call.
Google Photos
Google Photos is the cloud-based exclusive photo storage app from Google. The app syncs your photos across all devices and makes them accessible as soon as you log in using your primary email.
Google Lens
‘Lens’ is Google’s phone-based image recognition app. It is still in its early stages but it can scan and measure things, identify images for you, and even co-work with translate to translate signs or boards in other languages.
Project Loon
Loon is a part of Alphhabet’s Project X projects. The company uses high-altitude balloons placed in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 18 km to create an aerial wireless network. These can give a connection as fast as up to 4G-LTE speeds in unconnected areas.
Project Wing
‘Wing’ is Google’s drone-based project. It is an autonomous delivery drone service aiming to increase access to goods, reduce traffic congestion in cities, and help ease the CO2 emissions attributable to the transportation of goods.
Google Doodle
A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google’s homepages to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and people. These doodles can change country wise, event-wise, and Google also hosts competitions for artists to get their doodle featured.
Source: Techstory
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