Am I the only one that thinks Google[x] is just the arm of google that looks for far future intellectual property to patent and never really produces usable tech?
You are wrong. They spin off the tech that they do want to commercialize. E.g., Brain use to be part of X, but now it's its own group. Same with Glass.
You have a point. But I think Google's vision and mission and intention is to move forward the technology in every area. Financially possible, not necessarily intelligently possible. The acquisition of Nest shows they may not have the gene for building hardware systems, devices are ok, but it's not a long-terms solution without a system in place.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.