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Android Wear could make or break the smartwatch
Google is about to determine the future of smartwatches. When it announced Android Wear -- its new platform for wearable technology (watches in particular) -- I was in London for an industry trade show, along with a number of wearables manufacturers. I'm not sure the timing was deliberate, but there's no doubt the mood in the room changed once the news broke. If you're in the business of smartwatches (or wearables in general), with products already in development, and one of the biggest names in technology enters the fray, you're going to face some big decisions. Get on board with the new platform, or go it alone? Given Google's success in the smartphone world, Android Wear could make or break smartwatches.
Shazam, Duolingo and several other apps head to Google Glass
Just ahead of Google I/O, a slew of new Google Glass apps are hitting the MyGlass store. The new downloads include the popular music-recognizing service Shazam and Duolingo, which offers free foreign-language courses. Two fitness-focused apps, Runtastic and 94Fifty Basketball, are also new additions to the Glassware family. Rounding out the list are the GuidiGO personal tour guide, an app for The Guardian, Livestream, MusicXmatch, Goal.com and the game Zombies, Run! Finally, the Allthecooks app has been updated with voice commands, so you can use Glass hands-free while following recipes.
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 set to launch a health-tracking platform called Google Fit
Not to be left behind by Apple, Google could soon launch its own health-tracking platform for mobile devices. Forbes reports that the search giant is working on a new service, tentatively called Google Fit, which will pull in data from third-party fitness wearables and health apps and combine them into one central app. It's not known if Fit will be delivered as a standalone app or come embedded inside future versions of Android, but it would likely operate as Google-made version of Apple's HealthKit, a service that lets companies like Nike feed in fitness data, and Samsung's own fitness framework, SAMI. An open platform would also lend itself to running on top of Google's upcoming Android Wear platform, allowing smartwatches and fitness bands to feed data into Fit's open APIs. Mirroring Apple, Google is set to unveil its new health-centric service at its own developer conference, Google I/O, which kicks off on June 25th. It has a lot of wearable talks planned for the event, so we won't have long to wait to learn more about what Google has planned.
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.
