Google is on a roll with top level purchases of late. When Facebook acquired Instagram, the purchase became one of the hottest topics on the internet, and in many respects, it still is. Not to be outdone by its rival, Google purchased Nik Software, the developer of an Instagram-like application called SnapSpeed, which leaves observers wondering what Google plans to do with it.

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SnapSpeed was first released in June of 2011 on the iPhone and iPad as an application for editing and sharing photos. Six months after its release, SnapSpeed became the iPad application of the year, and managed to gain over 9 million users in its first year. It is evident why Google chose to gobble up SnapSpeed before some other big spender came along to take the opportunity.

Nik Software does not only provide SnapSpeed for iOS devices; the company also sells its application for Windows and Mac. The company was in the process of creating a version of the app for Google's mobile operating system, Android, before it was acquired. It remains uncertain whether Google will allow SnapSpeed to be available on the iPhone and iPad, since it killed Sparrow for iDevices after acquiring the developers.

Everyone from Nik Software who is responsible for SnapSpeed will relocate to Google's Mountain View headquarters in California. It is likely the team will work from there to make SnapSpeed available on Android, along with making the app a feature in Google +, Google's own social network aimed at dethroning Facebook.

It is also possible that the the application could potentially become free and ad-supported, now that it is owned by Google.

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