Google (GOOG) changed the game of many global GPS appliance makers this month by announcing a completely free and quite capable GPS product as part of the Motorola Droid handset announced and now being sold by Verizon Wireless.

In what seems to be the norm for Google, it is once again disrupting an entire market by giving something away for free that's both competitive and capable. TomTom and Garmin saw their share prices plummet upon Google's announcement, and rightfully so.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) just keeps on rolling out products that are keen on competing with established industries. The internet search giant now wants you to replace your cellphone number with only your Google Voice number. That's right -- replace your cellphone number and voicemail service with the Google Voice service and have all those voicemails transcribed to you and emailed or texted to yourself.

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was born eleven years ago as more of an experiment, and exceeding anything founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin could have ever imagined. That company -- just over a decade old -- is now poised to challenge the world's largest software company -- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) -- as the leading supplier of digital information flow for countless individuals and companies.

The infighting between AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) just continues to get nastier as the line that constitutes a telecommunications provider continues to break down. Back when Google'e "Google Voice" application was not approved for use on the Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone this summer, the game began.

Now that Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has announced a new computer operating system, which computer makers will inevitably start looking at in 2010, the first volleys have already been fired. Taiwanese PC maker Acer, Inc. has already committed to Chrome (that was fast), and the world's largest PC maker -- Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) -- is "looking" at Chrome as well. Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is also expressing similar sentiment.

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is the largest search provider on the entire internet. It handles more advertising than any other company in the world and is extending its reach into multiple areas still to this day, including several disruptive online areas. Yet, the behemoth still thinks it's not that big in the grand scheme of things. Do you agree?

When anti-traditional media company Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) indicated it would go on television to promote its Chrome web browser, I was befuddled. Why on Earth would the king of new media (and associated revenue) want to go to an age-old format to promote one of its most important products? Chrome, which was just released during the second half of 2008 and thus has barely any market share, seemed oddly-placed when it was released anyway. Does the world really need another web browser?

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is looking at using the Android operating system owned by Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and currently used on mobile smartphones (but with the potential for much more). HP could add Google's wares to future netbook PCs in addition to offering nearly decade-old software known as Windows XP like what's currently offered on HP netbooks.

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) continues to try owning as many communication channels as possible to its customers. After buying unified messaging company GrandCentral a few years ago, the largest internet search company is has morphed that service into "Google Voice." Google Voice lets you can place free phone calls to anywhere (from anywhere) in the U.S. where you have internet access.

When advertising-centric companies like Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) start assessing business models in this recession, one thing remains clear: innovate or shrink. Standard advertising channels are all suffering as consumers close their wallets and purses amid massive layoffs and plummeting savings, and Google is not immune to this.

Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android operating system was publicly marketed as a mobile operating system when it was released. The first wireless handset it was available on was the G1 smartphone offered by the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier, T-Mobile USA. But, you can't keep an open-source operating system developed by the Google behemoth down to just one platform.

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), by most accounts, brings enormous value to each customer it touches. From rapid-fire internet search results to free email to online document creation and storage, the company helps hundreds of millions find and organize their digital lives every day. So, with that being said, why don't some folks seem to understand Google's value more than be afraid of it?

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) just can't seem to do any better. It dominates the main market where it competes (internet search) and figured out long ago how to maximize revenue from that market share. It has billions in cash and low debt as a result. This doesn't mean Yahoo, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) still are not gunning for the leader, though.

Yahoo!'s attempt to foil a Microsoft takeover that started almost a year ago caused damage to both companies. While everyone involved was bitterly fighting with each other, Google just kept on building market share and pumping revenue into its coffers. However, Google's plan to become one of Yahoo!'s largest partners ended in failure late last year due to anti-competitive concerns. Was Yahoo! really wanting to get Google powering some of its vast global searches, or was Yahoo! looking for some kind of Achilles heel within Google?

Some in the U.S. Government may be eying Google as the AT&T of 1982 (Baby Bell breakup) or the Microsoft of 1998 (operating system browser monopoly). Is Google -- even without a Yahoo! partnership and even with keeping Microsoft at bay in search -- a monopolist? It's the capitalist's best question: does a company that serves customer needs so well that it takes so much business really a monopolist?

Circumventing the law to build a monopolist position is one thing. Building some of the best products and recruiting the majority of customers without any legal circumvention is another. Is absolute success a recipe for being labeled as a monopolist? In many circles, yes. Every competitor wants a piece of Google's pie, and they're watching every move it makes. But, if Google continues to build the products people want and use -- and the competition does not or cannot -- Google will become even more powerful that it already is. That's not a monopolistic behavior.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) will be reporting its Q4 numbers tomorrow afternoon once the market closes. With its stock well off its $700+ peak, PC sales slowing, and Google ditching low-performing products, all eyes will be on the search leader. Just how much are customers not clicking on Google-supplied advertising? We're about to find out.

Will Google be able to meet expectations of $4.23 per share? The company has had very few financial missteps since going public in August 2004, but even the mighty global search leader is not immune to an ongoing global recession and financial meltdown. It's true that Google has a ton of cash and very little debt, and its positioned to ride out the current malaise pretty easily. That still doesn't mean it will make the killing some pundits think it will tomorrow. Expect Google to miss estimates by at least a few pennies.

The problem with Google's share price is that it's still too high. The company has solid fundamentals and continues taking market share away from the competition. In other words, it is not going anywhere. But, that does not mean market sentiment will allow its share price to pop over the $300 mark anytime soon, unless is really brings a surprise EPS figure a little over 24 hours from now.

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) employees who were counting on those luxurious $20,000 bonuses may have expectations that won't be fulfilled this year. Instead of handing out large bonuses as in the past, the world's largest search company is handing out Google-powered cellphones instead.

Even Google needs to watch its nickel in this kind of economy. The company is used to giving away free meals and massages to its employees along with all other kinds of unheard-of perks. But, it isn't immune to the slowdown in consumer and business spending currently causing a recession for the U.S. (and, in fact, globally). There's nothing wrong with a $400 Google smartphone. In fact, employees of many companies would be glad to get a $400 gift from their employer.

The Google Android smartphone has been configured to work on any GSM carrier in the world, so at least those Google employees receiving one won't be tied to using it with T-Mobile here in the U.S. or a single carrier somewhere else in the world. While layoffs in the tech sector are still happening (and will continue), Google employees who have to forgo a hefty bonus this year and instead receive a new smartphone should still count their blessings. One day, Google's storied perks will cease to exist when the next Google being incubated in a garage somewhere steals the power.