gibbergibber - 12:30 pm on Sep 7, 2008 (gmt 0)

Can I do a reality check like jimbeetle did:

- This is not a "Google Satellite", Google is just one of many partners helping to fund it. Pizza Hut sponsored a Russian rocket many years ago and had its logo painted down the side, but that didn't mean it was a "Pizza Hut Rocket".

- There is no "Google Phone", Google is just providing existing manufacturers with the Android operating system (which is itself based on Linux which Google does not control).

- Google hasn't really made much profit outside its Search business, certainly nowhere near the same scale.

When it comes down to it, all that Google really dominates and gains strength from is Search. If Search vanished the company would collapse.

Google Maps is quite amazing to look at, but it's nothing unique. Many other mapping companies can provide photos of your backyard nowadays, it's simply the result of increasingly sophisticated satellite imagery being sold commercially.