I love Apple. Ever since I was sold the bill of goods by a Macevangelist, Ive been a convert and I'm not ashamed. The quality, the apparent security, the minimalistic design, and the easy integration with my iPhone all combine into an awesome MacMatrix. [That should have been a promotional burger co-released with the movie, but I digress]. Their launch to Microsoft-level competition [perhaps not market share, but definitely brand-awareness] was catapulted with the huge success of the iPod, the Kleenex of portable media players. Carried on through the iPhone and its unquestionable developer support and growing revenue, Apple has become a new face in the smartphone scene. It has arrived.

I also love Google. Gmail is the undisputed leader in hosting personal emails. So robust, Google was able to use the platform to launch a host of management software that was and is bundled and sold to small businesses for dedicated use. This is known as Google Apps. And they haven't stopped, nor are they really slowing down. Google Maps wants to show you where you're going. Google Voice wants to handle your phone calls for you - all of them. Google Earth wants to show you a glimpse of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Google Calendars and Docs want your day-to-day productivity to run on the cloud. The list goes on through Gtalk, Chrome, Picasa, Reader, News, YouTube, etc.

So people have signed in and signed on. People have waited for the coveted "invites" which, at the time, was a never-before seen marketing strategy that effectively replicates the trust, exclusivity, and credibility associated with "word-of-mouth" product evangelism.

And I'm just another "mouth." Google is in my life. I've signed up for the upcoming invites for Google Wave. I'm such a tool... but I'm still excited.

GOOG and AAPL are now coming to a point where they're in conflict with each other. Before this post gets any longer, I hope it's apparent that Google's advances in software are slowly encroaching on territory once reserved for Apple. Areas where Apple was able to blow away noticeable faults in software with their cutting edge hardware are now slowly being conquered by Google's shining code and seamless integration. Gleaming reviews of the HTC Hero running Google's mobile OS Android are catching my eye and the desire for better integration, sleeker user interfaces, and a one-stop-shop for "life management" software are winning me over.

In the marathon of consumer software competition [which is arguably more important than the hardware race], Google is setting the pace. The cloud is home court advantage and Apple might get left behind if they don't kick it up a notch with their juvenile MobileMe. With iTunes and AppleTV, Apple might be conquering the living room [not really], but Google is Genghis Khan-ing the software world.

All this doesn't not matter if Apple doesn't want to play. If they are content on providing quality hardware, then I suppose the point is moot [in which case they should hop on the Google wagon, quick]. However, with Google developing open source mobile software [Android] that supports:

• phone calls [Gvoice]
• sharing media [Picasa, YouTube]
• browsing the web [Chrome]
• email [Gmail]
• instant messaging [Gtalk]
• news [Gnews]
• GPS [Gmaps]
• organization [Gcal]
• productivity [Gdocs]

and an expanding application library, all I need is a slick phone with touchscreen and the works and I'm good to go. An obsolete iPhone with unsupported applications [not anytime soon, but that's the point] won't win any wars for Apple and I, for one, am waiting for a sweet phone to hit the market so I can hop on Android and hopefully drop AT&T like a bad habit.