Google is in the middle of a pretty big play - look at "Open Social" and the Android mobile OS play together, and you see the same thing: Google wants you to have access to Google apps everywhere. Unlike Apple, they don't really care what device you use, so long as your searches, calendar needs, and mail are all coming from Google.

The ground they are fighting on with "Open Social" is tougher - while developers might like the idea of a common API, the users of Facebook will have to be enticed off by something better and/or cooler - meaning, Google's influence there is reduced. On the mobile side, Mathew Ingram is completely correct though - the market in the US is very, very ready for more openness.