As one might expect, Google is pretty confident when it comes to just about everything. You have to be to do what they have done in a short period of time relative to most business success stories. Of course, taking the lead position in the development of the Internet Age will do that, won’t it.

Google also is very interested in maintaining that position as the shift toward a more robust mobile computing and communication world is underway (it may even be for real this time!). So when Google’s Vic Gundotra spoke yesterday at the Google I/O developer conference he left little room for speculation as to Google’s intentions for the Android OS and who it is looking to ‘take out’. At about the 3 minute mark of the video below Gundotra takes aim directly at, you guessed it, Apple.

So we should be looking for a true battle of these titans because Google is making a dent in the valuable market of mobile communications. They are going about it in a very different way than Apple which comes as no surprise. What may be a surprise, however, is the speed with which Google and Android are impacting the space.

I know many iPhone app developers who shrug off the Android’s advances and feel that Apple will win the day in the long run. They may be right. What is not going to happen, however, is that Apple will have the runaway success many had predicted. Apple’s first position in the market is their strength right now but Google’s open approach and ability to leverage all of its other market leading capabilities are hard to compete with over time. Couple that with an aggressive stance on going after Apple and the way Steve Jobs views the world and we are in for quite a show.

Who will come out on top? Let’s hear your thoughts.