Although the official lifting of “beta” off of Google’s (GOOG) Gmail service means nothing to daily Gmail users, it gives the company the chance to get the paid version of Google Apps adopted inside big companies. Miguel Helft for The New York Times reports Google is trying to compete with rival offerings from other companies.

Corporate technology managers tend to shy away from beta products, and Google wants to remove any barriers to adoption that it can.

Meanwhile, Google has plans to tackle its biggest competitor, Microsoft (MSFT), with a system will be designed at first for low-cost laptops called netbooks, and the system will be based on its Chrome Web browser. Brian Womack for Bloomberg reports that this plan will up the competition on business applications such as word processing and spreadsheets. Windows, Microsoft’s flagship product, runs about 90% of the world’s personal computers.

Why are ETFs the way to go for investors who want to play this fight?

• Can you predict who will emerge victorious? We sure can’t. Holding an ETF with both companies allows you to play both, and several tech ETFs have heavy weightings in both companies.
• Tech ETFs are diversified enough that you not only get exposure to Google and Microsoft, but you get exposure to a host of other companies, too.
• Having wide exposure across a sector benefits investors and allows them to capitalize while spreading risk and minimizing volatility.

• iShares S&P North American Technology (IGM): up 19.9% year-to-date; Microsoft 9.4%; Google 5.8%

• Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK): up 13.6% year-to-date; Microsoft 9.3%; Google 5%

For more stories about technology, visit our technology category.

Cash is always a good thing to have, but when considering these companies, one must always keep in mind the amount of debt it holds, or how leveraged the company is, states Gary Gordon for ETF Expert.  Highly leveraged companies may be forced to feed their debtors with any excess cash.

Gordon cautions that “cash on hand” shouldn’t be viewed in a vacuum, though. Some cash-rich companies are saddled with doubt, while others spent their cash unwisely.

But taking into account those factors, Gordon says, one still can’t discount the strength of large-cap tech stocks. Some of these include Google (GOOG), Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT), Cisco (CSCO) and Apple (AAPL).

If you want to grab exposure to these companies, take a look at the PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ), which is one the easiest and most efficient ways to grab exposure to a range of companies. It’s down 5.5% year to date; AAPL is 10.6%; CSCO is 3%; GOOG is 4.7%; MSFT is 4.9%; INTC is 2.5%.

Another possibility is the iShares Goldman Tech Index Fund (IGM), which is down 4% year to date; INTC is 5.3%; MSFT is 6.6%; CSCO is 6.5%; GOOG is 6.1%; AAPL is 6.1%.

Finding cash-rich companies is a mere starting point, though. We suggest that you do your homework, watch the trend lines and have a strategy when entering a market.

Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading higher as U.S. automakers turn in their plans for Congress. The lawmakers will debate now whether the industry should get a $25 billion bailout, report Kevin Krolicki and John Crawley for Reuters.

But one company is backing out of its request for bailout money. Ford Motor Co.’s (F) financial health is not as weak as anticipated, and their CEO reported that the car company has enough cash to make it through 2009, explains Sara Lepro for the Associated Press. Although this news pacified investors from the dip on Monday, Chrysler and GM (GM) are still submitting plans to Congress on why they need a $25 billion government injection.

Oil is down below $49 per barrel as of Tuesday, after falling to a three and a half year low of $48 dollars, reports Christopher Johnson for Reuters. Gas prices continue to fall, now in their 77th straight day of declines. The national average is now $1.82, reports Sign on San Diego.

Goldman Sachs (GS) has come up with a list of technology-focused companies that are worth their weight from a survival perspective rather than a growth one. Companies such as Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), and Cisco (CSCO) are missing from the list, as they fall outside the “circle of trust” of companies that are thought to have enough cash on hand, reports Paul Kedrosky in an interview on the Tech Ticker.

The small- to mid-cap companies are what Goldman are focusing on and they are key to a short-term defensive strategy, as the tech world has not had a major credit upset-yet. Companies that made the circle include Zoran (ZRAN), Verigy (VRGY), and Broadcom Corp. (BRCM).

• iShares S&P North American Technology (IGM): down 48.6% year-to-date; MFST 10.3%; Cisco 6.8%; Google 5.4%

• Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK): down 46.6% year-to-date ;MSFT 10.9%; Cisco 6.5%; Google 4.7%

Aaron Ricadela for BusinessWeek reports that as the credit crisis got worse, the values of tech companies went up because of their stores of cash, low debt and hefty overseas sales that take advantage of the weak dollar. The latest rally of the dollar is erasing currency gains, with layoffs, credit tightening and low profits squeezing information technology’s budget.

The major indexes soared in Friday, while Nasdaq hit a wall. In the last month, the tech index has been hit harder than the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average and has fallen by 8.8%. The Dow is off by 0.3% in the time, while the S&P is down 1.5%.

Tech stocks are threatened by consolidation, competition and conservative spending. Dell (DELL) said a few days ago that it was seeing lower demand on conservative IT spending. And since the dollar began to strengthen against the euro, stocks of Apple (AAPL) and Oracle (ORCL) have gotten hammered.

While tech stocks haven’t been doing so well, financial websites have: Wall Street’s volatile week has led many to the internet to check their portfolios, move money around or just to get more information, reports Barbara Ortutay for the Associated Press.

• Technology Select SPDR (XLK): down 21.8% year-to-date; Apple is 6.7%; Oracle is 3.8%
• iShares Dow Jones US Technology (IYW): down 18.5% year-to-date; Apple is 7.3%; Dell is 2.3% and Oracle is 4.4%
• iShares S&P GSTI Technology (IGM): down 17% year-to-date; Apple is 6.4%; Oracle is 3.9%
• PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ): down 15.4% year-to-date; Apple is 13.2%; Oracle is 2.9%

Sales for the newest iPhone topped one million in just three days, reports the Associated Press. If you were within a one-mile radius of an AT&T store on Friday, you probably aren’t surprised.

The phone was simultaneously launched in 21 countries. The launch of the new App Store also saw more than 10 million applications downloaded. Of the 800 applications, a quarter of them are free while most of the rest cost $10.

Some technology ETFs that hold Apple were flat so far today, but perhaps the continued run on new Apple toys will help them down the line:

• iShares Dow Jones US Technology (IYW): down 15.4% year-to-date; Apple is 5.7%
• iShares S&P GSTI Technology (IGM): down 14.6% year-to-date; Apple is 5.2%
• PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ): down 12.9% year-to-date; Apple is 10.4%