1. Gmail
Gmail was launched on April Fool's Day in 2004 and was only available by invitation from current users. The product spent five years in beta back when Google had a different philosophy about use of the label. Gmail and several other Google products finally lost the "beta" designation in July of 2009.
2. YouTube
YouTube comes in second with 31% of the vote.
YouTube is a popular online video streaming service. Users can upload short videos for free and play them back from virtually any device with Internet access. Popular video creators can allow Google to place AdSense ads on their videos and share part of the revenue their videos generate.
Traditionally YouTube has been used for more family videos than it has commercial ventures, and it's been criticized for being too light on piracy. Google has struggled to make deals with commercial content producers. Google currently offers movie rentals through YouTube and has recently commissioned original content.
3. Google+
Third place goes to Google+ (pronounced Google Plus). Google has had rotten luck with social networking sites in the past. They had an early hit with Orkut but allowed it to stagnate, and then they had misses with Google Wave and Google Buzz. They might just be onto something with Google+. The service features easy picture uploading, editing, sharing and posting. Video and text posts are equally as easy, and game fans can play games like Angry Birds without spamming their contacts with unwanted invites.Although it seems to be more of a hit for the geeky crowd and not the average Facebook user, it's already an improvement on Google Buzz, and this evolving service is sure to see improvements in the next year.
4. Google Play Music
In the middle of voting, Google changed the name and integrated what is now known as Google Play Music with the rest of what's now known as Google Play.
Play Music is Google's online music service. You can store your music for free (within certain size limits) and play it back from your computer, phone, or tablet. Google keeps track of the songs you listen to most and stores copies of those locally, which means they play back faster. Google Music is also connected to an online music store for purchasing DRM-free digital music files.
5. Google Calendar
Aww, Google Calendar finishes last. Google Calendar is a free Internet calendar that lets you keep track of your own events and share your calendars with others. It's the ideal tool for managing personal and professional schedules, since it's both simple and powerful. You can create multiple public, private, and shared calendars for coordinating personal and group schedules. Google Calendar also integrates with a variety of third-party tools, such as TripIt and Remember The Milk for extended functionality.
