We are also behind highly visible Google Gadgets, running on iGoogle and the Google Gadget Ads platforms.

FORBES: Apple Acquires Another Mapping Company

The letter poses eight questions for Google about the data the gadget will collect about users and non-users.

BBC: US politicians quiz Google on Glass privacy

Expecting to make money from ads, Google provides Android for free to gadget makers to install, tinker with and sell on phones.

CNN: Android invasion arrives at CES

Google's tight rein over the gadget came to light today when one of the first would-be owners of the device abruptly halted an eBay auction because he feared reprisals from Google.

CNN: SHARE THIS

The gadget has a seven-inch screen, runs on Google Inc.

WSJ: Phone Giants to Sell Tablet

But in the Galaxy S III, the fragmented field of phones running on Google's Android operating system found a champion: a single gadget to put forward for an apples to apples (if you will) comparison to the iconic iPhone.

CNN: Samsung Galaxy S IV coming March 14

That it was purchased by computer and gadget maker Apple, however, highlights the growing rivalry between Google and Apple.

FORBES: Apple Could Take On Google With Quattro Purchase

Last Jan. 20, I spotted a guy on the New York City subway wearing what looked like Google Glass, which at the time was a mysterious new augmented-reality gadget that looked like a pair of glasses and supposedly put hands-free smartphone tech literally in front of your eyes.

FORBES: Google Glass And Other Tech Stuff I Don't Need

First, a recap: Google has been building a mobile-phone team ever since the acquisition of mobile-gadget developer Android in 2005.

FORBES: Will Google Crush The iPhone?