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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.
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.
Android still the dominant mobile OS with 1 billion active users
Free-falling product demos and Rube Goldberg multimedia installations aside, there's always a level of predictability to an opening day keynote. And Google I/O 2014 is no exception. Like clockwork, SVP Sundar Pichai took to the stage in San Francisco this morning to tick off the company's latest accomplishments. He started off by touting one of the company's biggest strengths: Android. According to Pichai, Google now has over 1 billion active users (that's as of the last 30 days) on the OS.
Live from Google I/O's 2014 opening keynote!
Get ready for two crazy hours of Google awesomeness: I/O's opening keynote is about to begin. This is typically the time for the company to unveil some of its biggest projects and set the tone for the following year. Just two years ago, for instance, co-founder Sergey Brin skydived onto the roof of the venue and biked into the keynote while wearing Google Glass. Whether we'll see anything as adventurous this year remains to be seen, but that's why we liveblog these things -- so you, dear reader, can experience every second of the madness right along with us. So join us right back here at noon (EDT), okay? June 25, 2014 12:00:00 PM EDT
Watch Google's opening keynote at I/O 2014 here!
Although we'll be liveblogging the opening keynote of Google's annual developer conference in just about an hour, we don't want to dismiss the fact that many of you like to follow along when a livestream is available. Google's got you covered: keep a tab open at this page for live video footage of the keynote. We expect a lot of news this morning at San Francisco's Moscone Center, and we'll keep you posted on all of the latest announcements and developments as it happens. [Image credit: Getty Images]
Google will show off the new 'L' version of Android tomorrow
You can move one more item into the confirmed list for tomorrow's Google I/O keynote: a new version of Android. Your guess is as good as ours as to which L-word treat (we assume, following KitKat and Jelly Bean) Google plans to name its next iteration of the mobile OS, but as part of a lengthy profile for Bloomberg, senior VP Sundar Pichai reveals he will offer a "preview" at the developer event. It's a new approach for Google, in publicly revealing the new version (which may have momentarily surfaced on its issue tracker yesterday) well ahead of its planned release later this year, but similar to the way Apple, for example, is rolling out iOS 8. Also confirmed is Android Wear, complete with manufacturing partners and new devices, while the plans for Android TV are still shrouded in rumor. [Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Tune in to our liveblog of the Google I/O keynote tomorrow!
Google's developer conference is but an annual affair, and it's kicking off in 24 hours with its traditional keynote. We'll be liveblogging it as it happens, and if it's anything like past years, expect it to be incredibly long (last year's went on for 3.5 hours, and we're hearing this one will be around 2 hours) and packed with plenty of news for developers and consumers alike. So if you're into anything Google-related, you'd best virtually skydive into the Moscone Center with us as we cover all of the company's crazy antics. Bookmark the link below and meet us there tomorrow! Google I/O 2014 keynote liveblog June 25, 2014 12:00:00 PM EDT [Image credit: Getty Images]
What's on tap for Google at I/O 2014
Don't let its DevCon facade fool you: Google I/O has plenty of interesting stuff for everyone. Most of the company's big announcements come during the day one keynote, which we'll be liveblogging tomorrow morning. This year's theme is "Design, Develop, Distribute," a slogan that doesn't reveal any major clues about what we can expect (aside from the fact that Google is focused on new design, which we'll cover in more detail later). But that's what we're here for -- to figure it out! We've compiled a handy guide that discusses what to expect -- and not expect -- to see at San Francisco's Moscone Center this week. Your first order of business should be to bookmark this link and join us on Wednesday at 12PM ET as we liveblog I/O's opening keynote.
CNET: Samsung, Motorola and LG will launch Android Wear watches next week
Next week is Google's big developer conference, and according to a rumor from CNET, Samsung will be at center stage with a smartwatch running Android Wear. The usual unnamed people in the know suggest Samsung's watch could even be a giveaway for attendees. Motorola and LG are also named as launching devices, although whether that includes the G Watch we've seen so much of is unknown. Google's video for developers gives a lot of hints at what the Android Wear experience will be like, but even with a number of smartwatches already on the market, we're ready to see what hardware innovation is still possible. The other factor is Samsung's internal decision between Android and its own OS, Tizen. It's launched Tizen-based watches and phones, switched the original Galaxy Gear device to Tizen from Android, and prepared for TVs based on it.
Google's two-day I/O ticket lottery starts on April 8th
In 2012, all of the tickets for Google's I/O developer conference sold out in under 30 minutes. Last year? It took about 49 minutes. Don't worry about waking up early to register this year, though: the folks in Mountain View are running a lottery instead. Google will take applications for I/O tickets from April 8 to 10, and will randomly reach out to lucky applicants not long after that. Honestly though, your odds of nabbing a ticket are still dicey - the event usually plays host to about 5,500 developers, and demand for admission is through the roof... thanks in part to all the hardware swag Google gives out. If you have neither the time nor the spare dough to schlep out to San Francisco this summer, expect Google to stream its announcements and developer sessions on YouTube too.
Google to hold its I/O 2014 conference on June 25th and 26th
Mark your calendars, everyone: Sundar Pichai has just announced that Google I/O 2014 will be held between June 25th and 26th at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Registration info and other details are coming next month. It's too soon for any big clues as to what will be unveiled this year, although Google used its 2013 I/O presentations to announce All Access music streaming, its first Google Play Edition phone and the Glass Developer Kit. We'd expect similarly grandiose things this time around, especially when the search giant wants to sell Glass to the general public before the year is out.
Wearable-technology pioneer Thad Starner on how Google Glass could augment our realities and memories
Countless wearers of Google Glass stalked the halls of this year's Google I/O developer conference, but only a lucky few were sporting the prescription model, which makes room for lenses in a more conventional glasses frame. Among those lucky early adopters with imperfect vision was Thad Starner, a Georgia Tech professor who, in 2010, was recruited to join a top-secret project at Google's fabled X Lab. That project, as it turned out, was Glass, and Starner's role on the team as a technical lead would be a vital one. Starner claims he invented the term "augmented reality" in 1990 and, after experimenting with wearable technologies for 20 years now, offered us a rare perspective on where the stuff has been and where it's headed. So, then, we were very glad to get a few moments to chat with the man at I/O and get his insight into how we got to be where we are and, indeed, get some suggestions from him on where we're going from here.
Engadget Podcast 344: Google I/O edition - 05.17.13
Live Pre-recorded at a coffee shop near Google I/O, it's episode 344 of the Engadget Podcast. Tim and Brian may not drink coffee, but rest assured the bustling surroundings (hint: loud cars) kept this show's energy high -- that and apple cider. Get excited for some commentary on everything from Glass to redesigned Maps and get to streaming below. Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater Producers: Joe Pollicino, Benjamin Harrison Hear the podcast:
Rumors mount for white Nexus 4, may launch with next version of Android
The white Nexus 4 is stuff that dreams are made of, and the lucky son of a gun at Android and Me, Taylor Wimberly, has one in hand. According to Wimberly's description, it'll be a "carbon copy" of the black Nexus 4, with the same specs and hardware wrapped into the sparkly, snow white casing. That's not the only juicy detail to emerge from Google I/O, however, as Wimberly reports that the smartphone will debut in the Google Play Store on June 10th with Android 4.3. We're currently unable to confirm the rumor, but a growing number of server logs add to the speculation that Android 4.3 could be around the bend. With less than a month to go, it won't be long to know whether this one pans out, but you can be sure that we'll be dreaming of unicorns in the meantime.
Google's nearly four-hour I/O 2013 keynote is yours for the watching on YouTube
Looking for some entertainment on an upcoming cross-country flight? That might just be the only reasonable excuse for sitting through all 3 hours, 51 minutes and 25 seconds of Google's recorded keynote. The I/O presentation, now available for playback on YouTube, covers many of the company's announcements from yesterday, including All Access, Hangouts, a bounty of developer tools and that Galaxy S 4 running stock Jelly Bean that we weren't expecting to see. All that and more can be yours if you click past the break.
Google announces Glass Developer Kit, will enable offline apps and direct hardware access
Google I/O 2013 is entering day two in San Francisco and a Google Glass developer session is happening right now. The focus is on the current Mirror API, which allows for online, web services-based apps that push simple content to the headset. This enables current apps like the New York Times. But, the Mirror API is quite limited, allowing only online apps and not providing any direct access to the Glass hardware. That's changing, though, with Google announcing the Glass Developer Kit, or GDK. This will allow for Android apps that run directly on the Glass hardware, providing much greater functionality and offline access. When is it coming? "Sometime in the future" is the best we're able to get.
PrimeSense demonstrates Capri 3D sensor on Nexus 10 (hands-on)
Take the 3D sensor inside the Microsoft Kinect, shrink it down to a tenth of its original size and add a bunch of mobile capabilities, and you have yourself PrimeSense's latest conquest, better known as Capri. The company, which is the brains behind the Kinect, has been openly working on bringing a tiny-yet-advanced 3D experience to tablets, televisions and smartphones for quite some time now. And it's proud enough of its progress so far that it's willing to give some real-life demonstrations to developers attending Google I/O. You may not see Capri embedded on the PCB of your portable gadget anytime soon -- at least, not until PrimeSense winds up wooing the pants off a lucky OEM or two -- so in the meantime, the company has connected the sensor board to the Nexus 10 via micro-USB. Unlike the Kinect, however, PrimeSense doesn't think gestures will play a significant role in how we use Capri to interact with our gadgets. Rather, it seems to be more focused on 3D-based use case scenarios, many of which haven't even been thought up yet. As you'll see in the video below, we were shown an AR game that takes the environment around you -- walls, furniture and other elements -- and uses them as restrictions, just as much as they would be in real life. In another app, Capri snapped a three-dimension shot of an object on the table in front of us, captured its measurements and let us export that image to another device or even a 3D printer. In many respects, PrimeSense appears to be taking the same strategy Google does with Glass: get developers excited about the tech in the hopes they'll come up with clever uses for it. And while the company isn't ready to put Capri in their hands yet, the SDK is up for grabs, and I/O is no doubt an ideal place to build excitement for it. If you're looking for more info, we have a gallery, video and press release below, and you'll find the SDK at the More Coverage link. %Gallery-188372%
Recon Instruments Jet heads-up display debuts at Google I/O, we go hands-on (video)
Google Glass is a lot of things, but it's hardly a superstar when it comes to the world of sports. Though we've seen proof it is at least water resistant, it doesn't feel particularly durable and isn't entirely well-suited to wearing while, say, sweating profusely during a lengthy climb on a road bike. Recon Instruments has what it thinks is a solution: the Jet. It's a pair of sporting sunglasses with an integrated, Android-powered display that could make things like running and cycling far more exciting -- or at least far more information-packed. Join us after the break for our impressions.%Gallery-188531%
Google's Map Dive takes us on a virtual skydive across seven instances of Chrome (video)
During Google's extended edition opening keynote this morning, there was a distinctive lack of skydiving. However, developers showed off lots of interesting things, including functionality highlighting the easy, real-time syncing of data across multiple instances of the Chrome browser -- whether on smartphone or tablet or desktop. The on-stage demo was a simple slot car racing game but, out on the I/O floor Google had a somewhat more advanced implementation: Map Dive. Running on seven separate instances of Chrome and relying on a 3D camera, Map Dive lets you experience the Maps API from a rather elevated perspective. Join us after the break for an arm-waving demo.%Gallery-188516%
Google I/O 2013 opening keynote roundup: All Access music streaming, a vanilla GS4 and more
Phew. Day one of Google I/O is far from over, but there's already been an onslaught of news. While our editors are running around the floor, why not catch up on any bits of the opening keynote you may have missed? There's now a Galaxy S 4 with vanilla Android Jelly Bean for $649, a $9.99 per-month music subscription service and a host of updates for Google+, Play, Maps and others. Join us past the break where we've got it all neatly categorized for your viewing pleasure.
