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Google: jabs at Apple 'in a spirit of good fun' in fight for developers (video)
In case you missed it, you really should go back and check out Google's Vic Gundotra roasting of Apple during the Google I/O day 2 keynote last week. Hearing a VP from a major company in the consumer electronics industry so ruthlessly lampoon Apple was refreshing to say the least. TechCrunch sat down with the man post I/O and asked Vic about Google's relationship with Apple, particularly after the flurry of jabs Google made in the direction of Cupertino. Vic responded as follows: "It wasn't necessarily jabs at Apple, we have a deep respect for the innovation they brought. And places where Android has gone further we're very excited to show those off, we're very proud of Android. And I think in the end consumers really benefit from healthy intense competition that leads all companies to elevate their game. And it was done in a spirit of good fun." When pressed on the jabs and particularly calling Apple "closed" and Google "open," Vic responded: "We do like to draw sharp distinctions between our various approaches. But let's be clear we're two competitors competing for the hearts and minds of developers and we're trying to have some fun while doing that." We'll see how much fun Google thinks this is when Steve Jobs unleashes his RDF onto the world on June 7th. Until then, watch the TC interview after the break -- the good stuff kicks in at about 5:35. Oh, and we've also tossed in Vic's notorious "draconian future" dig for reference.
Android 2.2 coming to Nexus One, open source community 'in the coming weeks'
Why, thanks Google! Just a day after wrapping up a rather monumental Google I/O event in Northern California, the company's official show Twitter account has belted out a tidbit that just about every attendee was wondering about. According to the outfit, Android 2.2 (yeah, that's Froyo for the inexperienced) will be "made available to OEMs and the open source community in the coming weeks," and it'll be hitting up the HTC-built Nexus One in the "next few weeks." That's music to our ears, and if you're unsure what kind of impact this will have on your own life, feel free to take a deep dive into this right here. [Thanks, Alex]
Android 2.2 Froyo: everything you ever wanted to know
Since its initial launch on the T-Mobile G1 in October of 2008, Google's Android operating system has evolved rapidly -- perhaps more rapidly than any other operating system in recent memory -- to become one of the most important and prolific smartphone platforms in the market today. Its latest incarnation, announced at Google's I/O conference in San Francisco this week, began life as codename "Froyo" (continuing its tradition of naming new versions as desserts in alphabetical order, starting with Cupcake) to officially become Android 2.2. Don't be fooled by the mere 0.1 boost in the version number over 2.1 Eclair, though -- this is a huge upgrade that represents the most user-friendly, compelling, and feature-complete version of the little green guy to date. Read on for our full look!%Gallery-93349% %Gallery-93350%
Google I/O recap: more web than you can shake a frozen dessert at
Whew, Google really knows how to pack it in. Two days of Google I/O and we've got enough info on the future of the web, phone, and television to write a couple sci-fi novels and retire. Of course, we aren't just bystanders here: we've also gotten our hands on the latest version of Android (2.2, codenamed Froyo) and put its through its speedy paces. You can catch up on all the action below. Liveblog Live from the Google I/O 2010 day 2 keynote! Google TV Clicker.tv brings streaming internet video to your TV's browser; it has a web browser right? Google TV turns on at I/O: runs Android and Flash, partnered with Sony, Logitech, and Intel Sony Internet TV, DISH first with Google TV this fall; Adobe, Logitech and others along for the ride CE-Oh no he didn't!: Sony's Sir Howard says 'when you beat Apple, you're dominating' Logitech's Google TV companion box includes smartphone apps, we go eyes-on (updated: video!) Android Froyo Foxconn's Tegra 2-powered Android tablet hands-on (video) Google's Larry Page says there's 'something wrong' if your Android phone's battery doesn't last all day Android Gingerbread is 'planned for Q4 2010' Android 2.2 Froyo officially announced Google claims Froyo has the world's fastest mobile browser Android 2.2 'Froyo' beta hands-on: Flash 10.1, WiFi hotspots, and some killer benchmark scores Flash 10.1 for Android beta unveiled: Hulu a no-show, Froyo now a minimum requirement Google adding over-the-air app installation and iTunes streaming to Android Android 2.2 SDK goes live, developers likely unable to crash Google's download server Web tech Google Wave opens doors to public, asks old friends for new chance Google launches open WebM web video format based on VP8 (update: hardware partners and Microsoft statement) Google partnership has GM OnStar exploring Maps, open APIs and more Google unveils Chrome web store, Sports Illustrated app impresses OnStar reveals mystery partner: Google mSpot stores your music* in the cloud, makes it available anywhere**
Wikitude Drive AR nav app beta announced, available in Android Market (video)
With all the action going down at Google I/0 you can be excused for missing this latest tidbit: the folks behind Wikitude have made the beta version of Drive (their augmented reality personal navigation app) available for free for 2,000 users. And we just got our hands on it, so we know that there are at least a few downloads left at the Android Market. The full-featured demo sports NAVTEQ map data, both AR street view and 3D map view, worldwide coverage, voice commands, and both driving and walking directions. There's no word yet on when the final version will be released, so this might be your last chance for a while to play with what's stacking up to look like a pretty decent application. See the thing in action and check out the PR yourself after the break.
Logitech's Google TV companion box includes smartphone apps, we go eyes-on (updated: video!)
Dashing away from the Google I/O keynote as fast as our feet would carry us, we scored the very first look at Logitech's Google TV companion box. While we'll share full details when we catch a breath, here's the scoop: the box extends the full functionality of a Logitech Harmony remote and a WiFi access point to your TV, providing not only Google TV but also allowing you to control your entire entertainment system (including DVR) with a still-in-development keyboard / touchpad remote or an iPhone or Android smartphone app over WiFi. Hit the gallery below for a taste of what the little set-top box can do, and rest assured we've got more info on the way. Update: Now with video, after the break. Update 2: Details and specs after the break, too. %Gallery-93420%
Sony Internet TV, DISH first with Google TV this fall; Adobe, Logitech and others along for the ride
Sony will be first out of the gate with a Google TV powered device, with its "Sony Internet TV" devices -- in the form of either an HDTV or a set-top box with Blu-ray player -- arriving on shelves this fall. The rest of the partners were just as the rumors indicated, with Logitech adding a QWERTY Harmony remote, "companion box" to bridge the gap to existing home theater equipment and eventually video chat capabilities, Intel providing the CE4100 Atom processor at the heart of the devices and an Android 2.1 OS with Chrome browser brings it all together. DISH Network and Google have admitted to their ongoing trials but there's no word on any release date,(Update: We didn't catch it onstage, but DISH just announced it will enable "advanced integration" via HDMI on all of its HD DVR receivers this fall, details after the break) while Best Buy is already on board to sell all of this and inevitably offer to hook up those IR blasters for a fee, while Adobe is just happy to see another device that runs Flash 10.1. The rest of the details are in press release and video form after the break, but you can sign up for updates at Google.com/tv (developers check in here) or check out our ongoing liveblog right from Google I/O. Update: Vic Gundotra just confirmed in a post-keynote press conference that TV will go international next year.
Google TV turns on at I/O: runs Android and Flash, partnered with Sony, Logitech, and Intel
As expected, Google just announced Google TV at I/O. There's four billion TV viewers worldwide, making it the biggest market in the world, and Google's after it in a big way -- it's a $70 billion ad market in the US alone, after all. According to Google, "video should be consumed on the biggest, best, and brightest screen in your house, and that's the TV." The idea is to merge the web and TV without compromising on either the web experience or the video experience, with a focus on discovery and personalization. Of course, since it's Google, the interface is search-driven, so you can just type in things like "30 Rock" or MSNBC" to find channels and content -- including upcoming content to record and content from the internet. Yeah, it's kind of like the TiVo Premiere's swivel search, but prettier -- and there's a Hulu logo on the screen, which is extremely intriguing. Google's not sharing hardware specs, but we're told Google TV devices will have WiFi, HDMI, the Intel CE4100 processor, and... some will have an IR blaster to tune your cable or satellite box, which is just sad. (Like, 1997 sad.) The input devices will all have keyboards, and you'll also be able to use Android devices as a remote, including using voice search to find content and sending content from the phone to the TV. The software is based on Android with Chrome as the browser and full Flash 10.1 support. Since it's Android, there's a version of Android Market -- any app that doesn't require phone hardware can run on Google TV. There will also be a Google TV-specific Android SDK launching in "early" 2011, along with the Android Market for Google TV. As for partners, it's just as we heard: Sony will launch Sony Internet TVs and Blu-ray players with Google TV in the fall, and Logitech will introduce a set-top box with a Harmony remote and an HD camera for video chat at some point in the future. Dish Network will also launch a Google TV box at some point, while Best Buy will promote the platform as a whole in-store. Make sure to keep up with the latest from I/O in our liveblog! %Gallery-93396%
Google adding over-the-air app installation and iTunes streaming to Android
Sure sure, Froyo is great and all, but Google just blew our minds with two previews of upcoming Android features at I/O: OTA application installation and remote music streaming. OTA installation is just as simple as you'd expect -- after browsing to an app on your desktop, you can push it to your phone and install it with just a single click, all done over the air. Interestingly, Google also showed music being purchased and transferred from Android Marketplace in the same way, which could indicate a deeper push towards music integration, or just be a nice demo. Either way, it's pretty slick stuff -- the fewer wires we have to carry, the better. The remote music streaming is a little crazier: Google bought a company called Simplify Media, which makes a bit of desktop software that can stream all your music directly from iTunes to your phone. The demo was quite slick -- you just open the app and push "all," and all your music is instantly available. Whether or not this'll work over 3G or be limited to the local network is still up in the air, but we're dying to try it out.
Flash 10.1 for Android beta unveiled: Hulu a no-show, Froyo now a minimum requirement
What was once just one echelon above a myth is now finally coming to fruition. Adobe is pushing out a beta of its Flash 10.1 player alongside Google's own beta for Android 2.2 "Froyo." The general release for Flash is still on track for June, according to Anup Murarka of the Mobile and Devices team. The announcement doesn't come without caveats, however, and the bad news is that Froyo is now a minimum requirement -- according to Murarka, the APIs needed for its software only now exist in 2.2. Also not on the docket? Hulu -- it's being blocked due to content licensing issues, and our inquiries with that company turned up nil. Flash 10.1 will be available as a Marketplace download, but Adobe intends to work with as many OEMs as possible to preload it on devices so it's there at purchase. Speaking of OEMs, Murarka teased that we should expect announcements later this month and the next regarding Flash integration in TVs. Be sure to head on after the break as we talk a little more in-depth with Murarka about 10.1. As for all there is to see, hear, and do with Froyo, Google's big keynote is going on now -- stay tuned, and in the meantime, why not check out our hands-on impressions of Android 2.2! Oh, and did we mention Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch is gonna be on this week's Engadget Show? %Gallery-93358%
Android 2.2 'Froyo' beta hands-on: Flash 10.1, WiFi hotspots, and some killer benchmark scores
Much to our surprise at the time, when Adobe sent us a Flash 10.1-enabled Nexus One for testing, the phone came preloaded with a preview build of Android 2.2 -- a.k.a. "Froyo" -- the apparent turning point for curbing Android fragmentation due for a very public unveiling today at Google I/O. We've had a day or two to dig into it, and while we're surely missing some improvements here or there (Google was unable to provide us a changelog as of this writing), we've spent pretty much all our waking moments combing through every virtual nook and cranny. So what can Eclair alumni expect from the revised platform? Read on for more! %Gallery-93349% %Gallery-93350%
Google claims Froyo has the world's fastest mobile browser
You heard it here first, folks. Google has just come out with the strident claim that the web browser in Android 2.2, aka Froyo, is the world's fastest for mobile devices. Having implemented the V8 JavaScript Engine that's already made an appearance in its desktop Chrome browser, Google's reporting JavaScript performance that's somewhere in the vicinity of two to three times better than what you can get from previous Android versions. We'll give this geek cabal some style points for the double equals sign up top, but will certainly be putting its bold assertion to the test in the very near future.
Android 2.2 Froyo officially announced
No huge surprises here, but Google just announced Android 2.2 "Froyo" at I/O, and the big addition is a just-in-time compiler, which brings a 2-5x speed boost to the system. There are also 20 new enterprise features, including better Exchange integration and device administration APIs, as well as a new device backup app that'll let you transfer personal data to a new device. Android 2.2 also features a new cloud-to-device messaging API that Google called "much more than a push notification service designed to make up for a lack of basic features like multitasking," and of course, WiFi tethering -- which was used to get a WiFi iPad online during the demo to great cheers. Google also demoed a new JavaScript engine in the Android browser, which is billed as "the world's fastest web browser," and a Chrome browser plugin that allows you to send directions from Maps on your desktop directly to your phone. It's all going on live right now, so make sure to go hit our I/O liveblog!
Live from the Google I/O 2010 day 2 keynote!
Yesterday's Google I/O keynote brought about a number of big newsbits -- a Chrome web app store, the open WebM video format, and so forth -- but even more tantalizing were Vic Gundotra's not-so-subtle hints at some major announcements coming at today's keynote. Will we finally get some details on Android's latest updates on the food roadmap?
Clicker.tv brings streaming internet video to your TV's browser; it has a web browser right?
When Clicker launched last fall it seemed like just another me-too streaming video aggregator, but we'll have to give it another look after it's followed up its Boxee integration by showing off the HTML5-built Clicker.tv site at Google I/O today. Designed as a "ten-foot" experience for TV screens it can be perused via mouse and keyboard or just a remote, bringing Clicker's index of video including network TV, webisodes and web-only content, plus premium sources like Amazon VOD and iTunes. It's currently in beta, but if leaning back and browsing from the couch is your thing -- or on the off chance someone launches a Google TV with Intel processor, support for all those streaming codecs we love and a QWERTY remote from Logitech tomorrow -- it could be worth bookmarking.
Foxconn's Tegra 2-powered Android tablet hands-on (video)
Well we just got to lay hands on the above Foxconn-manufactured, Tegra 2-powered Android prototype, and we'll be honest -- it was awfully sweet. There wasn't much going on beyond some gaming action -- we didn't see it boot into standard Android -- though it was running the 3D football title you see above at a pretty healthy clip (check out the video after the break). NVIDIA reps weren't very keen on sharing info about the device, though we can tell you that it's apparently got 1GB of RAM inside cuddled up to that 1GHz ARM Cortex 9 CPU, a front-facing camera, and the WSVGA screen measures 8.9-inches (it's also a much wider aspect ratio than something like the iPad). We're going to hold any judgment till we see this thing cooking with a full UI, but we're not knocking it -- get this in at the right price, and we'll likely be first in line. Update: Correction, the screen size is 8.9-inches, not 9.7. %Gallery-93328%
Google's Larry Page says there's 'something wrong' if your Android phone's battery doesn't last all day
Cellphones and batteries. It's an eternal struggle, but one that Google's Larry Page says should at least be manageable. That topic arose at the recent Google Zeitgeist forum, where Page responded to a question about battery life on Android phones by saying that he actually found it to be "pretty good," and that "if you are not getting a day, there is something wrong." That prompted Google CEO Eric Schmidt to chime in and explain that the main culprit for excessive battery use on the phones is the transmit / receive circuit, which he says some apps are "not particularly smart about" using.
Google unveils Chrome web store, Sports Illustrated app impresses
Interested to know how you were gonna fill up that Chrome OS app page? Google just announced its new online web app store at I/O. So far they've shown off Dark Room for image editing, a pretty slick version of TweetDeck, and yes, like every other platform known to man, there's Plants. vs. Zombies and Lego Star Wars. Paid-for software will be offered -- Dark Room is $4.99, if you want to go ahead and put that money aside. No word on a launch date, but we'll keep pushing for more. We were just shown a demo of Sports Illustrated's interactive magazine, and we gotta say, it's mighty impressive -- embedded video, fully searchable, and some pretty clever tricks with geolocation that frankly exceed most anything we've seen on the iPad thus far. The web store -- for Chrome and Chrome OS -- will hit the dev channel "soon." %Gallery-93302%
Google partnership has GM OnStar exploring Maps, open APIs and more
In a move that could shape the mobile landscape -- or simply suck down cash, of course -- General Motors just revealed that Google was its mysterious infotainment partner. In the final hours before Google I/O, we sat down with GM VP Nick Pudar to tell us what the future thus holds for OnStar. As we saw in January, GM's already developing smartphone apps for the Chevy Volt on iPhone, Blackberry and Android that will let you remotely lock doors, honk the horn, check tire pressure and more.... But sometime after the Volt launches, Google Maps Navigation will be integrated into the smartphone app, and we got a hands-on tour. Check out the new interface and hear about GM's strategy after the break.
Google launches open WebM web video format based on VP8 (update: hardware partners and Microsoft statement)
Google's plan to open-source the VP8 video codec it acquired when it purchased a company called On2 hasn't exactly been a secret, and the company's finally made it official today as part of a new format called WebM. The WebM container is based on Matroska, with VP8 video and Ogg Vorbis audio streams packed inside -- Google says the format is efficient enough to support playback on lower-power devices like netbooks, tablets, and handhelds, while the encoding profiles are simple enough to limit complexity when you're trying to create WebM files. WebM is open-sourced and licensed royalty-free under a BSD-style license, so all those H.264 patent licensing concerns shouldn't be an issue -- and as you'd expect, Mozilla is supporting WebM right off the bat, with support in Firefox nightly builds as of today. Chromium nightlies will also support WebM as of today, with Chrome early access builds getting support on May 24 -- and Opera is listed as "coming soon." Google's also going to be supporting the format as an option for YouTube playback, so that should drive adoption in a big way -- if you're running these latest Firefox or Chromium nightlies you can actually try it out now. The big question, of course, is whether Apple and Microsoft will roll WebM support into Safari and IE and onto their mobile platforms. We'll see -- Google definitely has the ability to push a format into the mainstream. Update: Industry support announced at I/O -- including Adobe, who'll be rolling VP8 support into Flash Player. Take note of the hardware partners, though: AMD, ARM, Broadcom, Freescale, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and TI, among others. Missing in action? Intel. Update 2: The always-reliable Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet says she's heard Microsoft will be supporting WebM in IE9. That's a big deal if it's true, but we'll have to wait for confirmation -- IE9 isn't due out for a year, so a lot can change in the meantime. Fingers crossed. Update 3: Microsoft's made an official statement on its blog -- while the company is "all in" with HTML5, IE9 will only come with H.264 installed be default due to technical and IP concerns. HTML5 / VP8 playback will be supported, but users will have to download and install the codec separately, which doesn't bode well for widespread adoption. Here's the money quote: In its HTML5 support, IE9 will support playback of H.264 video as well as VP8 video when the user has installed a VP8 codec on Windows. [Thanks, Sean]