Google’s Most Innovative Projects

In the last several years, Google has developed and launched a number of game-changing products and services. From analytics to augmented reality, here’s a look at nine of its most innovative products.

Google’s Top 10 Best (and Worst) Innovations of 2010

Google Earth originated as EarthViewer 3D from CIA-funded company Keyhole, which Google acquired in 2004. Google re-released the product as Google Earth in 2005.

Today, you can use Google Earth to explore the ends of the earth and everything in between and even beyond, from the depths of the ocean to 3D buildings, Mars, the Moon and more.

Google Docs originated from two product acquisitions: Writely, a Web-based word processor; and Spreadsheets, which Google acquired from 2Web Technologies. On June 6, 2006, Google launched Google Labs Spreadsheets, the first public component of what would eventually become Google Docs.

Today, the Google Docs suite of apps includes documents, presentations, spreadsheets, forms, drawings, tables and scripts—all of which support collaboration.

5 Google Calendar Tips and Tricks for Power Users

In 2005, Google acquired Android, Inc., a little-known company that operated secretly and disclosed only that it was working on software for mobile phones. Two years later, at the first Open Handset Alliance consortium, Android was unveiled as a mobile device platform built on the Linux kernel version 2.6.

Several years later, Android is one of the leading mobile platforms.

The 22 Best Android Apps

At its search event in December 2009, Google unveiled its foray into visual search with a product called Google Goggles. Goggles, which today is still in beta, is a downloadable image- recognition application for mobile devices.

If you use the app to take a picture of a famous landmark, for example, Goggles will search for more information about it. If you use it to scan a barcode, and it will search for information on the project.

Google Labs All-Stars: 8 Must-See Projects

Also at this year’s I/O developer conference, Google revealed more details about Project Glass, which it first announced in April. Project Glass, an augmented reality head-mounted display that will be available to U.S. developers only, for now, for $1,500. It is slated to become available to the public in 2014.

The glasses resemble a pair of normal eyeglasses, but the lense is replaced by a heads-up display, which presents data without requiring you to look away from visual viewpoints. Check out the skydiving demo video.