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Feedback Loop: It's Google all the way down!
This week's edition of Feedback Loop is nearly all Google. We dish on Android "L," debate whether smartwatches are even useful, wonder if Android TV will save smart televisions, fondly remember our friend Aereo and talk about the games we've picked up during Steam's Summer Sale. Head past the break to talk about all this and more with Engadget readers like you.
Swim with the fishes using Project Tango and a head-mounted display
For a few minutes, I saw the Moscone Center -- and everyone inside it -- under water. Sharks and small fish even swam past me as if I wasn't there. And then, all of a sudden, I stood up straight and discovered that I'd poked my head above the waves. This experience, which is a virtual fish tank developed by 360World, was made possible by Google's Project Tango tablet and the Durovis Dive 7, an Oculus Rift-like contraption. It utilizes Tango's cameras, motion detectors and sensors to give you a sense that you are floating around with the fishes -- no snorkel or SCUBA gear required, of course.
Google strikes back at the big screen with Android TV
Google announced its plan to take on the billions of TV viewers in the world with a groundbreaking product that would blur the lines between internet and broadcast -- four years ago. Executives from Dish Network, Best Buy, Sony, Logitech, Sony and Intel joined the stage with Google's then-CEO Eric Schmidt to herald the coming of a new era -- which never came. Several generations of Google TV devices failed to catch on and it was eventually squeezed out by set-top boxes, game consoles and other "smart TV" platforms. The idea seemed to come right on time; according to market research firm Strategy Analytics as many as 76 million smart TVs shipped last year, and companies like Apple and Roku have sold millions of connected boxes. So why didn't Google TV get a major piece of that action? And what makes Google's latest initiative, Android TV, any different?
Chromecast's ultrasonic device pairing is much simpler than it sounds
It turns out that there's more than one way for guests to join in on your Chromecast party. In addition to accessing Google's streaming stick via an onscreen PIN code, friends can pair their devices to your living room entertainment setup via inaudible ultrasonic frequencies. Apparently, all one needs to do to enable this is allow the Chromecast to support nearby devices, and it'll push the necessary tones through your flat-screen's speakers, which said gizmos will receive and sync with. If it sounds simple, that's the whole point. As Gigaom tells it, Chromecast engineering manager John Affaki says that this is an effort to make using the HDMI dongle in a social setting much easier. Whether you can trust friends enough for them to not stealth-add Slayer's "Angel of Death" to the next party playlist is up to you, though.
These early Google Glass prototypes looked (even more) awkward
Whether you believe Google Glass looks hideous or fashionable -- and hey, we're not here to judge -- the current model looks a heckuva lot better than its first few prototypes. The first models arrived on the scene in 2010, and they looked more like the mess Jason Jones slapped together for the Daily Show than an actual consumer product. Three of the earliest prototypes, spanning two years, were on display at I/O this week.
You can buy an 'unofficial' Google Cardboard VR kit for 20 bucks
At the end of Google's keynote yesterday, Sundar Pichai announced that all I/O attendees would receive either an LG or Samsung Android Wear device, along with Moto 360 when it becomes available later this summer. But he also offered up an unexpected gift... the slide read #cardboard (yes, with the hashtag) and Pichai held up a small brown square, barely large enough to accommodate a thin book for shipping purposes -- but Google had something else in mind. Once assembled, #cardboard serves as a head-mounted 3D viewer, using your own smartphone and a pair of integrated lenses to create the effect.
LG's G Watch: Designing a blank canvas for Android Wear
The G Watch is minimal. The shape aims to bring Android Wear front and center. "The content floats." The lack of toggles, buttons and periphery is all intentional. "A lack of ornamentation," is how Chul Bae Lee, VP of mobile design put it to us when explaining the company's wearable. But it didn't start out that way. Lee gestures at a soft sheet where there are roughly 10 prototypes of varying shapes and profiles. It's the "What If..." of LG wearable design, but because these designs are still in LG's collective brain for possible future use, we're not allowed to take photos.
Watch this walkthrough of Samsung's Android Wear device
Android Wear, Google's new platform for wearables, is fascinating stuff. We got to see a lot of it yesterday, but we didn't get to spend a lot of time with the user interface itself because the watches were on retail mode -- a limited version of the firmware. This is no longer a problem, as Samsung demoed its brand new Wear-laden smartwatch, known as the Gear Live, for Engadget. Once you're done checking out our walkthrough of the UI below, we recommend you also take a closer look at our other coverage of Android Wear devices from yesterday. In the meantime, however, head below for a photo gallery and five-minute tour of Google's new platform.
Meet Adidas' new smartband: the miCoach Fit Smart
It looks like Adidas is ready to launch a new fitness tracker called the miCoach Fit Smart, judging by leaks at the FCC, LegalForce and retailer Keller Sports. Product shots from the latter show a hybrid of Nike's FuelBand and Adidas' own miCoach Smart Run, with an LED dot display like the FuelBand rather than the Smart Run's color LCD display. However, the Fit Smart does retain a more watch-like profile with a new, quick-locking band of some kind. It'll clearly monitor your heart rate as well, perhaps via infrared with the green sensor pictured on the back of the device. The FCC page shows that it'll pack Bluetooth 4.0 LE, aka Bluetooth Smart, to communicate with your mobile device.
We just played with Android's L Developer Preview
By releasing a Developer Preview of the next version of Android (only known as "L" for now), Google is walking new ground -- and it's blazing a glorious path that will greatly benefit the platform going forward. Developers and manufacturers will no longer be in the dark for upcoming firmware updates; by making a preview available, Google is giving its valued partners and third-party devs the opportunity to prepare their apps and services for the forthcoming refresh, which is due out sometime this fall. This may not eliminate fragmentation (in which a vast majority of users are on old -- and different -- versions of Android) entirely, but it should reduce it significantly. Imagine, if you will, the day when Google officially releases the L update; how nice would it be if your six-month-old phone got it that very same day, rather than months later (if at all)? It seems like such a simple concept, yet this is exactly what Android users have put up with for years.
Android TV is Google's latest shot at entertainment glory (hands-on)
For Android, smartphones and tablets are only the beginning. Google believes that there are so many other categories of hardware that could benefit from its mobile OS, so it announced that it's building extensions of Android onto the TV, car and smartwatch. Each genre will require special hardware to be truly beneficial, but the former may have the greatest potential in terms of reach -- after all, more people are looking for a solid television-watching experience than putting a "computer" on their wrist, and it's going to be a long time before Android Auto goes mainstream. Sadly, TV is also an area that Google has struggled with in the past (see Google TV), so it's hoping that lightning will strike with its latest effort, called Android TV. We had a chance to check out the company's first official piece of hardware, simply called the ADT-1. Since it's a developer kit, you won't be able to buy it -- but that won't be an issue once manufacturers begin selling their consumer-facing devices later this fall. Naturally, the version we checked out is considered pre-production, so a lot of things will likely change between now and its final release, but at least we have a good idea of what to expect from the experience.
Google gives us a simulated ride with Android Auto
Meet Google's answer to Apple's CarPlay: Android Auto. It's a new platform announced today at the annual orgy of software and hardware development known as Google I/O, and it puts the (almost) full power of Android in your car. Why almost? Well, despite the fact that the system leverages your smartphone to power your car's infotainment system, you don't get access to all your apps. It has a limited selection of options that are suitable for use on the road and optimized for an in-dash interface, and I got to see several of them in action in an Audi S3.
Google I/O wrapup: Razer microconsole, Android TV
Google's I/O 2014 conference unveiled plenty of goodies for tech-heads and gadget lovers, including a few nuggets for all of the video game enthusiasts out there. Engadget helps us break it down:
Moto 360 smartwatch makes an appearance at Google I/O
Samsung's Gear Live and LG's G Watch have already been manhandled today at Google I/O 2014, and now it's time to do the same to the third inaugural Android Wear device, the Moto 360. We've already heard much about the watch's unique circular design and have gotten some sneak peeks at the various watch faces that are coming to take advantage of it. Today, however, I finally got my mitts on one, and I can assure you it's as well put together in person as the press shots have shown previously.
Meet the G Watch, LG's first Android Wear smartwatch
LG believes it's hip to be square, and it created a smartwatch to prove it. The G Watch was announced alongside Android Wear, Google's new wearables platform, and the circular Moto 360 this March. After three months, LG and Google are finally ready to let me slip one on my wrist. The watch is going to be available for pre-order for $229 (update: preorders are live here) on the Play Store alongside the Samsung Gear Live (and Moto 360, once it comes out later this summer), and will ship out in both black and white to eager users on July 7th.
You can now relive the Google I/O 2014 opening keynote
Did you nod off a few times during the last half-hour of Google's opening keynote of I/O 2014 earlier today? No worries! The full video has been archived for your post-event viewing pleasure on YouTube. Hop down past the break to take a good, long look at the nearly three-hour event spanning Android "L," Auto, Wear and more.
We just got to see (and touch) Samsung's new Gear Live smartwatch
Here at Google's yearly developer conference, we just learned a whole lot more about Android Wear, the company's OS tailored to wearables. With that info came word that Samsung's rolling out the newest member of the Gear family, the Live, and I just laid my hands and eyes on one firsthand. Problem is, the smartwatch was only running Android Wear in "retail mode." That means that I couldn't actually explore the ins and outs of Android Wear, but I did get to strap the newest member of Samsung's wrist-worn family on my arm.
'Cardboard' is Google's attempt at an inexpensive VR headset
Even Google is getting in on the virtual reality game. At the end of the search giant's I/O 2014 keynote, Sundar Pichai announced that everyone in attendance would get a nondescript cardboard package, but was coy about its contents. Turns out, it's the firm's attempt at a do-it-yourself VR headset. You can use household materials to build one, and a rubber band to hold your smartphone in place on the front of the device. Assembly instructions, plans and links for where to source the needed parts (like lenses) -- as well as an SDK -- are available on the project's website. Have a few pizza boxes lying around? So long as they're from an extra-large pie, Google says they'll work, too. Mountain View hopes that by making the tech inexpensive (unlike offerings from, say, Oculus), developers will be able to make VR apps that hit a wider audience. For now, the list of fully supported phones includes the Google Nexus 4 and 5, the Moto X, Samsung Galaxy S4 and S5 and, oddly enough, the original Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
LG's G Watch has a smartphone processor inside and goes on pre-order today
Google thinks it's finally time for smartwatches. Its Android Wear collaboration with LG goes on pre-order today in 12 countries, including the US, Canada, UK, Germany, South Korea and Japan. The G Watch might only be a wearable, but inside beats the heart of a smartphone... processor. Behind the 1.65-inch (280 x 280) IPS display, there's a substantial Snapdragon 400 chip -- the same Qualcomm processor found inside the Galaxy S4 Mini. Below, we've got the whole spec rundown, and we're told the G Watch will be available for $229.
Google Fit is Android's answer to exercise and health tracking
Google Fit is Google's new health initiative. It's a service that'll track all your health metrics -- sleep, steps, etc. -- and it's built into the next version of Android. But what does that mean? Well, it means that Google's Android platform is getting the same kind of life-metric tracking that Apple's iOS users are getting in iOS 8 with HealthKit. More importantly, it means that the health devices you're already using will play nice with the myriad Android devices out there. It also means that all your health data ends up in one place, in one app, rather than spread across a variety of software applications. Which app you use, however, is up to you.
