iGoogle’s a great product that millions enjoy everyday. Why would they do this?
Two words: Facebook, Apple. Note in their annoucement the emphasis on Android. Google simply can not have their eyeballs (us) using non-Google platforms anymore. Period. Full stop. iGoogle’s cross-platform so it’s gotta go. Going forward everything Google provides will be best experienced on a Google platform so they can track every movement and sell the data to advertisers.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with this, but it is disappointing that they’re moving from their original dream of ‘organizing the worlds data’ to a model of ‘Hey! We’ve got a walled garden just like Apple and Microsoft!’ Buy our stock!!! Google’s slowly jumping the shark.