Google once again made headlines last week
when they opened their developer conference – Google I/O. The conference became
the venue where Google announced their latest updates and releases them to the tech
hungry public. The news that the conference ushered in was so overwhelming that
tech blogs and sites were still talking about the highlights of the event days
after it ended. In fact, I decided to split this week’s Tech Tuesdays episode
to accommodate all things related to the event.
In the first part of this week’s edition of
Tech Tuesdays, we’ll be having a recap on what transpired in San Francisco. So
if you’re ready, then let’s begin.
Google
Nexus Q
Google is expanding its Nexus line to not
only include smartphones and tablets. They will now be offering a cloud based
media player known as the Nexus Q.
The Nexus Q is a cloud-connect jukebox that
allows users to stream multimedia content such as music and videos using Google
play’s music app. The device allows for multiple users to create playlists from
different Android devices by queuing them up in Google’s cloud service.
Priced at $299, the Nexus Q features a
micro HDMI port, NFC, micro USB, Bluetooth and of course Wi-Fi connectivity. It
weighs around two pounds and will be
shipped in mid-July.
Android
Jelly Bean
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean went official in
Google I/O. Unlike previous Android releases, Jelly Bean will only come as an
update to ICS powered smartphones as it is supposed to be just a more polished
version of Ice cream sandwich.
Some of the improvements that Jelly bean
brings in to Android devices include a smoother and faster UI courtesy of
Project Butter, improved notification center with expandable and actionable
notifications, improved keyboard behaviour, offline voice recognition and
typing, an improved Google Voice search functionality and an updated Google
search user interface.
It also brings about new features like USB
audio output and HDMI multichannel audio output and the very useful Google Now
which automatically adds information feeds to your device like weather
information, traffic news, sports features and the like by remembering pages
that you visit and apps that you use.
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be the first
and only smartphone as of the moment that will pack the latest release of
Android while the only other device that will get JB as standard would be the Nexus
7 tablet. OTAs on the other hand will be made available to Motorola Xoom and Galaxy S owners come
mid-July.
Google
Glasses (Project Glass)
Another announcement that was made in
Google I/O was that for Google glasses. Announced by one of the company’s
co-founder – Sergey Brin, Google Glasses was first introduced back in April through a YouTube video. By using the reality-enhanced glasses, users will be
able to record video, get weather updates and view messages from your friends to name a few.
Google was quite mum on the release date
for project glasses, but Brin announced last Wednesday that the company plans
to bring the technology to consumers by 2014. Developers will get to experience
the glasses in advance as the Explorer edition of Google Glasses will be made
available to them in 2013 at a whopping $1,500 each.
Google
Nexus 7
The biggest newsmaker in Google’s arsenal
for I/O would probably be the Nexus 7 tablet.
The company’s Nexus branded tablet will be
made by Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Asus. It will come in either an 8GB
or 16GB version, will feature a 7-inch back-lit IPS display with a resolution
of 1280x800 pixels protected by a scratch-resistant Gorilla glass display, a
quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, a 1.2MP front-facing camera,
NFC technology and a 4325mAh battery.
The best thing about the Nexus 7 is
probably the price. Pricing starts at $199 for the 8GB version while the 16GB
version is priced at $249. Google is already taking pre-orders of the Nexus 7
and will soon ship the tablet in the coming weeks.
And that’s Google I/O in a nutshell. For tech news not (totally) related to Google and its developer conference, stay tuned for part 2 of this week’s Tech Tuesdays
