It already does.

I wonder how Google, with its competing Android platform must feel about this. That is to say, are chrome and android for that matter more like the Nexus 1: designed to push other companies forward, or more like standalone products of their own? Or maybe Google is being even more forward thinking about it and realizing that they can derive competitive advantage from both scenarios.

This is Chromium's stated goal: "Join us in an open-source browser project to help move the web forward" http://code.google.com/chromium/

Yes but Android is a competitor to WebOS, so I was thinking more about how Google "feels" about its technologies being used in competitor's products.

What search engine does WebOS ship with as default?

Also, as a followup, what mapping program does WebOS ship with?

the google ones

How does Apple feel about WebKit being used in their competitors' phones?

Did since 1.0