Despite support for just a small handful of Android smartphones, Facebook Home has already surpassed half a million downloads in just nine days. The new launcher first became available to download through Google Play on April 12, and it appears those with supported devices are keen to try it out.

We learned a lot about Google Glass this week. In doing so, we also learned a lot about Google.

It’s tempting to look at Google’s vast range of products and research projects and conclude that the company has more ideas than vision. (The difference is that ideas tend to be disconnected, whereas vision involves a coherent strategic direction.)

Where is Google going? Does Google even know?

A closer look suggests that Google is, in fact, an increasingly visionary company. And the fate of many Google projects is predictable.

Some are predestined to die eventually in the hellfire of “spring cleaning” (Orkut), many will live on forever as useful, profitable but not centrally strategic products (Gmail) and others form the strategic centerpiece of Google’s longterm future (Google+).

If we’ve learned anything from the truckload of Google Glass details this week, and from prior revelations that I’ll tell you about, Google Now is absolutely strategic and central to the future of Google.

More interestingly, Google Now’s cards metaphor looks likely to become one of the main interfaces for interacting with Google’s many cloud services.

Google has launched a new Android app called One Today that allows users to donate money to nonprofit organizations. The service displays information about a different nonprofit every day, and you can choose whether or not you’d like to support the project by donating a dollar.

Verizon Wireless has announced on Twitter that it will begin selling the new Samsung Galaxy S4 on its 4G LTE network in May. The carrier hasn’t provided us with a specific date, but it has promised that more details will be available soon.

Google has announced its financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2013. The Mountain View company reported $13.97 billion in consolidated revenues and a net income of $3.35 billion, up from $2.89 billion in the first quarter of 2012.

“We had a very strong start to 2013, with $14.0 billion in revenue, up 31% year-on-year,” said Google CEO Larry Page. “We are working hard and investing in our products that aim to improve billions of people’s lives all around the world.”