I think he's arguing that Google has less of an established character because they've put less effort into establishing one than Apple -- they're more a bunch of teams working for the same company than one company.
I agree with this point, but I think Google is moving away from this, which I think will be healthy in the short term and unhealthy in the longterm. Focused companies need focused leaders. I think Larry Page is filling the Steve Jobs role nicely right now, but if he falters the whole company will falter with him.
Maybe it's just me but I think that Google has a pretty established culture - tech led, try lots of stuff, beta early, don't be afraid to kill projects that aren't working.
Page has certainly done a good job focusing the company more but I think it's premature to suggest he's in the Steve Jobs mould. He's been in position for 12 months, Google simply isn't as built in his image as Apple was in Jobs. I'm not talking about quality of thinking, leadership, intelligence or anything like that, just the sheer extent to which Jobs had asserted his will over Apple and it's culture.
I agree with this point, but I think Google is moving away from this, which I think will be healthy in the short term and unhealthy in the longterm. Focused companies need focused leaders. I think Larry Page is filling the Steve Jobs role nicely right now, but if he falters the whole company will falter with him.