The Year in Review: Google

Late in 2011, Google's Eric Schmidt insisted that the company , but a quick look at the tech headlines this year might suggest otherwise. Android devices are flying off the shelves, the company seems to finally be making headway in social, and companies still rely heavily on Google placement for online success.

But those victories did not come without controversy. Talk of Android fragmentation did not die down, while stories about Android malware seemed to pop up every few weeks. The company's search policies also prompted regulatory inquiries about possible anti-competitive behavior.

Oversight of these issues fell to Larry Page this year, who took over as Google CEO in April, leaving Schmidt to be executive chairman, or the public face of the company. And he was certainly never at a loss for anything to discuss. Let's take a look back at the year in Google.

A New Era

"In this new role I know he will merge Google's technology and business vision brilliantly. Larry, in my clear opinion, is ready to lead," Schmidt wrote in a January blog post.

That new leadership included a focus on products, particularly those that were no longer bearing fruit. Throughout the year, and shut down everything from Google Labs to Google Buzz.

In April, that Page would tie a quarter of Google employees' annual bonuses to the company's performance in social efforts. A week earlier, Google had unveiled the Facebook Like-esque +1 button, and by June, its full-fledged social network, Google+.

Prior to Google+, the search giant had few successes in social. No one really understood Google Wave and Google Buzz ran into some privacy issues that eventually resulted in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. But after taking a page from Facebook, incorporating a few new innovations like Circles, and keeping initial access to a select few, users finally started to take notice, and a Google+ invite became the hottest ticket in town.

The social network opened to the public in September, and by October, Page said Google+ had 40 million users. That hardly compares to the more than 800 million Facebook users, but it wasn't bad given previous, lackluster outings; see the slideshow above for more.

Regulators Take Note

The Google Buzz FTC settlement, meanwhile, was not Google's only encounter with regulators this year. In June, the that the agency was conducting a "review of our business." The full extent of the inquiry has not been revealed, but the focus is Android and search.

In August, Google also with the Department of Justice over AdWords sales that allowed U.S. residents to access ads for online Canadian pharmacies.

Congress also wanted some answers. After some public wrangling, Schmidt finally agreed to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September, where he answered questions about whether or not Google favored its own products in its search results, among other things. Schmidt , insisting that the search market is highly competitive.

Earlier in the year, however, Google ruffled some feathers when it to de-emphasize results from so-called content farms. The effort, dubbed Panda, was intended to surface more relevant Web sites but some businesses worried about how a drop in Google search rankings might affect their businesses. Demand Media, for example, reportedly in traffic after Panda was put into effect.

In February, there was also a bit of a controversy over whether Microsoft's . To test its theory, Google took a phrase that the average Google user was unlikely to search—like "mbzrxpgjys"?and manually paired it with an unlikely search result, like the homepage for RIM. These dummy search results were added to Google and days later, about 9 of the 100 tests added to Google were showing up on Bing. Microsoft denied it and accused Google of engaging in a honeypot attack and going after Bing because it was worried about its growth.

That was not the only time Google tangled with Microsoft this year. In March, Redmond against Google, accusing the company of restricting access to YouTube, content from book publishers, advertiser data, and more.

Continue Reading: The Rise of Android>

The Rise of Android

Google also competes with Microsoft in mobile, but Google is again miles ahead with its Android operating system. December found that 46.3 percent of U.S. smartphone owners had Android-based devices. Worldwide, the OS to 52.5 percent, according to Gartner.

But "Android fragmentation" continued to make headlines this year. The year started off with Honeycomb, a tablet-specific version of Android, and ended with Ice Cream Sandwich, which combined the best of Honeycomb and its predecessor, Gingerbread. Stats released earlier this month found that most phones are now running Gingerbread, but attention has now turned to ICS. It's difficult to nail down exactly when specific phones will get the update, prompting PCMag's Jamie Lendino to suggest that the .

Android app stores were also hit by a variety of this year. The Android Market is more "open" than the App Store in that it doesn't have any sort of app approval process, but not surprisingly, that makes the app-downloading process risky insecure at times.

In an effort to secure the future of Android, meanwhile, Google aggressively sought to boost its patent holdings. After a failed bid to acquire wireless technology patents held by Nortel, —and its approximately 17,000 patents. The move was necessary, Google said at the time, because rivals like Apple and Microsoft were trying to "strangle" Android by banding together for group patent purchases.

Music, Chrome, and Doodles

Not to be outdone, Google's Chrome browser also made gains this year, as the number two browser, according to data from StatCounter. Google also went up against Amazon MP3 and iTunes and tackled near-field communication via . Google.com also saw this year, honoring everyone from musician Les Paul to Intel co-founder Robert Noyce; see the slideshow above for more.

What were some of your favorite Google moments from 2011? Let us know in the comments. Also check out .