This all but confirms what we already knew: Google's excuse for not making a YouTube app for Windows Phone--that it doesn't have enough market share--is lie. I've really come to despise Google in the past few years. They are the biggest hypocrites in the tech world, egregiously violating their own 'do not evil' mantra. And the thing is, now that I've essentially quit their services, I really don't understand why their services are so popular. Here's my breakdown:
Search: Google Search is pretty good, but I actually find Bing to be more accurate and more feature packed (I love page zero, social integration, and Bing Rewards). Still this is a service that they're good at, if not overrated.
Maps: Google Maps is, in my opinion, their best service. Their maps are good, very accurate, and have a lot of unique features (like Street View--putting aside the fact that they used Street View cars to illegally collect wifi information from people, but that's another story). However, I find Bing maps on PC and HERE maps on mobile to be good replacements. I certainly don't miss Google Maps.
Gmail: I give Google credit for making emails conversation threads. That was wise. But since then, Outlook.com has surpassed Gmail in just about every way. The interface is much nicer, and I hate what Gmail turned into, particularly the new compose UI and how invasive they are in scanning my inbox
Android / Chrome : Google's operating systems are absolute rubbish.
Docs : Google Docs is also pretty bad. Office wipes the floor with it.
Drive : In addition to a terrible name (seriously, the first time I heard Google Drive I just assumed it referred to their self-driving car program), the interface for SkyDrive as well as its seamless integration into Windows Phone and Windows 8/RT blows Drive out of the water.
YouTube : This was Google's wisest acquisition but the only reason it's a success is because of the user-provided content. It is the one Google service that is almost impossible to avoid completely because seemingly every video link I encounter on the Web is a YouTube link. So, it is not surprising that Google is trying to use it as a weapon to prevent Windows Phone from growing. Personally, I'd love Microsoft to play hard ball back. I would love to see Microsoft re-initiate a competitor (I say buy Vimeo--the name is cool, it's got a decent following, etc.--and fix it up a bit).