Google’s Ecosystem Dillemma

WIth last week’s announcement of the Nexus 7, Google’s getting praise for at least beating out the Kindle Fire as an e-reader and media consumption device. 

During Chris Yerga’s demo of the device, however, I noticed there was a glaring omission… earlier this year at the upfronts Google announced a major investment in creating video programming from professional filmakers and TV content creators like Rainn Wilson, The Onion, Jay-Z and more. During the demo, they streamed a couple YouTube videos, but there was no mention of this content play, and YouTube is arguably one of Google’s most important assets.

One of the reasons Apple is great is because it doesn’t just create hardware, it creates ecosystems. I’d argue that Google seems to have an ecosystem dilemma. Is there a global vision of how these new devices, content and technology all fit together? 

Introducing Google Play. According to Google, it’s “a digital entertainment destination where you can find, enjoy and share your favorite music, movies, books and apps on the web and on your Android phone or tablet. Google Play is entirely cloud-based so all your music, movies, books and apps are stored online, always available to you, and you never have to worry about losing them or moving them again.”