Google Seeks a Spark

Google made its biggest splash this year last Friday by announcing that it plans to acquire ad technology firm DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. In a move that Google says will push its efforts in the online display market forward by years, the search giant reportedly outbid competitor MicrosoftMSFT to acquire the privately held company. Google also says combining search and display advertising will allow it to innovate new ways of buying ads that advertisers have been clamoring for.

But the acquisition has led to outcries of foul play by a consortium of major companies, led by Microsoft. These companies claim regulators should consider preventing the deal on the grounds that it would give Google too much power in the online ad market. Google, for its part, expressed confidence that it expects the deal to clear trade authorities.

Google also unveiled in February a premium version of Google Apps, its popular online application suite. A lighter, hosted version of the type of tools that rival Microsoft makes, Google Apps was singled out as potentially the next big money maker by Schmidt. On Tuesday, Google announced that it had added a presentation tool -- along the lines of Microsoft's PowerPoint -- to the suite.

And the company kept plugging away in the mobile sector. The search giant announced new partnerships, a voice-powered search and an upgrade to its popular maps service that could be particularly well-suited for mobile use. With the number of wireless devices exploding, Google has said that it finds the mobile arena to be particularly promising.