Google Finance Upgrade on the Money

The integration of up to 40 years of historic data into its charts, for example, is an impressive accomplishment. But it's tough to see how having the stock price of General Motors(GM) in 1972, for example, translates into a big advantage for investors.

Even more so than vision, the biggest challenge for Google Finance will be its alarming lack of resources, especially considering the company's hordes of engineers.

All Cylinders Not Firing

Google Finance has fewer than 10 engineers working on the product, with four of those devoting a scant 20% of their time to the effort under Google's famed system of allowing engineers to devote one-fifth of their time on test projects that are not their main staple, says Katie Stanton, product manager of Google Finance.

But when it comes to its Finance site, Google should be putting a lot more muscle behind the rollout. Unlike many of Google's heavily anticipated product launches, including Gmail -- the company's widely adopted and acclaimed email system -- or Google's News Site, Google Finance has yet to make a big splash in the marketplace.

Google Finance counted only 579,000 unique users in October, compared with 13.7 million for market leader Yahoo! Finance, according to researcher Nielsen Net Ratings. Microsoft's Finance site saw 11.7 million unique users in the same period, while AOL Finance logged 10.3 million.

It's still too early in the game to pass a verdict on Google Finance, says Stanton, and 2007 will likely be the make-or-break year for the site.