Google Offers Android 4.1, “Nexus 7″ Tablet “Nexus Q” Before

Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean” was officially announced

Much over the past weeks and months been speculating about what Google as part of its annual I / O conference would this time everything out of the hat, the company this event uses but generally a veritable plethora of new features for its various services available to . present

Google’s Hugo Barra with the Nexus 7

Start

Now, all these mind games come to an end: With the first of two planned opening keynote of the software manufacturer on Wednesday morning (California time), the Google I / O 2012 at Moscone Center West in San Francisco. The initiation took once more before Google’s senior vice-president Vic Gundotra, who greeted the 6,000 who traveled developers.

Google’s own first tablet – the seventh Nexus

Pay

Skip to start fresh again, there were also figures to the success of Android: By now every day a million new Android devices activated. In total, 400 million were thus already in use Android device. But then they wanted to lose no time (the keynote in a row should be at all distinguished by an impressive pace), and announced that in recent days much speculated Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean”.

Q Using the Nexus Google enters into new product areas.

Performance

One focus of the development this is called “Project butter,” a concentrated effort to make Android faster in every respect. Through various measures, such as triple buffering in the graphics pipeline and improvements to the touch response time is so significant Jelly Bean “liquid” running. This is demonstrated in a row on the basis of slow-motion shots of two Galaxy Nexus smartphones, one with “Ice Cream Sandwich,” with a “Jelly Bean”, the difference was actually identify very clearly.

The inner workings of the Nexus Q.

Features

But of course there are also new features in “Jelly Bean”. So you demonstrated on stage, such as widgets and icons “dodge” automatically when it is moving in the other parts on the home screen required. Also new is the “Predictive Keyboard”, trying to guess what word the users to type next, and this suggests. Hugo Barra earned special applause for “Offline Typing Voice”, ie the ability to make voice input without a network connection.

The new tablet version of the Google App + has also been launched.

Camera

Also for the camera application, there is something new to report, fresh photos taken can be quickly checked immediately after recording, using swipe gestures can delete unwanted recordings in no time again. One of the hidden highlights of “Ice Cream Sandwich” was “Android Beam” to rapidly exchange data between two devices. This worked in the past, only small amounts of data can be customized with “Jelly Bean” now also transfer pictures and videos.

Sergey Brin took over the presentation of the future projects of the company – Google Glasses

Notifications

In the category of “consistent” further improvements are made at the Notification System: There is now support for actions in the notification area – such as new people to invite to an event in the calendar. Another example: Google + photos or comments can be provided directly at this point with a +1. Also, let each message type Enlarge to view more information, to use it with a new two-finger gesture.

Majel

What followed was what had actually come before, the results of the once internally called “Project Majel” quasi Google’s answer to Apple’s Siri. The Android voice search now uses the knowledge graph to allow Google’s search engine is a “natural” search language, at least in the demo on stage, this worked perfectly. The significantly improved quality of speech output fell immediately.

Now Google

A further innovation in search queries is called “Google Now”, which seeks to identify information from previous searches, but also to provide other sources such as personal calendar more relevant results. Now Google can be accessed easily through a “swipe up” gesture on the home screen. As an application example shows you about a calendar event, in which Google automatically creates a route Now to the associated location when you leave the house. If you take before a flight search will be informed about updates to this result – but only if you wish.

Time frame

Those who had been hoping all this out right after the keynote on his phone, was disappointed, however: Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean” will be available in mid-July as an update for the Galaxy Nexus, the Nexus S and the Motorola Xoom, is parallel to the publication of source code planned. The accompanying software development kit (SDK) on the other hand, there are now.

PDK

Almost on the verge mentioned, a further innovation that could, however, have significant effects on the Android ecosystem: with the “Platform Developer Kit” gives you your own hardware partners to hold two to three months before the release of a new platform version, the possibility that for bring their own hardware. This could result in future so clearly flotteren updates to new versions of Android.

Play Store

It was followed by a look at the status of the Google Channel Stores: 600,000 apps and games are available now in this, which totaled 20 billion apps downloaded already, currently there are 1.5 billion apps downloads per month. A new feature for backing store is called “Smart App Updates,” in a future update application requires that only the truly modified parts (ie delta) download, which should reduce the bandwidth consumption significantly. Developers are enjoying the opportunity to present their app to encrypt packets in the future.

Content

In advance has been much speculation about an expansion of content offerings in the Play Store. And in fact be sold in future TV shows and magazines through the online shop of Google. It is also possible in the future, not only to stream movies, but really to acquire on sale. For local availability told anything, so all this will probably once again be limited to the United States.

Nexus 7

And then came the speculation for months, so do not do so secret center of the keynote: Produced jointly with ASUS, Google’s own Tablet “Nexus 7″. But not only the existence of such a device proved true, the last peddling hardware key data agreed exactly.

Specifications

So there is a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels, processor acts as a Tegra3 from Nvidia, which is clocked at 1.3 GHz and has four cores, for the associated graphics unit is to be equal to 12 cores. The memory capacity is 1 GB, an NFC chip is also installed, including Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g s /. The battery will hold a charge up to 9 hours of continuous HD video playback. Is particularly proud of the low weight of 340 grams, so let the tablet kept very comfortable.

Camera and Co.

A 3G version of the tablet is on the other hand, at least not initially planned, including an SD card slot looks for in vain – which, however, in view of the fact that Google has dispensed with in his last two smartphone Nexus models, it can not constitute a big surprise . For video chats or Google + Hangouts are available at the front of a 1.2 megapixel camera, however, the reverse is not installed.

Contents

Not surprisingly it is due to the consumption of all types of content to the forefront, like it’s also Amazon with its Kindle Fire. Thus showing you about a new magazine application that visually reminds them in the overview of the existing music application on Android. Also, there was to admire in the demo versions of the new Youtube and Google Maps app, the latter now with “Street View” in selected buildings.

Construction

It was noticeable that the user interface of Google Tablets is somewhat different ways than in previous Android tablets, so reminiscent of the home screen more like a smartphone, but it is enriched with widgets that provide information about new content.

Chrome as a default

Was leaked in advance that the Nexus will be 7, the first device, in which Google Chrome the default browser, and in fact confirmed this in one of the keynote. Face of the fact that Google recently developed a certain undeniable affinity for Flip board had, it surprised almost something that you own the vorführte Google Currents on the stage. This can now automatically translate articles into other languages.

Availability

And then the question of questions: When will the Nexus 7 is not available, the answer is: From mid-July, with from 199 U.S. dollars, while it is sold directly through the Google Channel Store, where it can be pre ordered now – if you’re from the right country. Because the start is very limited availability once more, one of the chosen countries include USA, Canada, Great Britain and Australia – for continental Europe have been announced yet, however nothing concrete. The price refers to the variant with 8 GB of memory, a version with 16 GB, there are around 249 U.S. dollars. The purchase price is a “credit” of $ 25, you can spend in the store to play all types of content.

Nexus Q

Subsequently followed by a real surprise, therefore, an announcement that had previously occurred in any of the speculation: The “Nexus Q” is a kind are central Entertainment hub for the living room, the songs and videos collected directly from the Web, and distributed in the local network . For this purpose, the device offers two wireless access and an Ethernet port, the chipset used in the smartphone Galaxy Nexus equivalent. Particularly striking here is the design in the form of a sphere, there was applause for the statement that the “nexus Q” to “chop” should be simple. Who has more of these devices can distribute music throughout your house – all naturally synchronized.

Moreover, is the nexus Q is the first “social media streaming device, which own friends can also quickly – and of course wireless -. Add their own equipment music at a party, the same also works with movies and series – no configuration all content. . it streamed directly from the cloud The Nexus Q will also be available from mid-July, this is from $ 299 and play through the Google Store – at the moment but once again only in the United States.

Google +

This was followed by an abrupt change of topic, back to Google +, that these days is a year old – in fact on the second day of the I / O. And of course, also could not miss an update of the numbers: There are now 250 million activated accounts + Google, 150 million of them at least once a month, active, of which again half of them daily. The time spent by users on the platform to climb significantly, from 9 to 12 minutes daily in the stream (on average), there are now, Gundotra answered indirectly, the ever-recurring charges Google + is a “ghost town”. Also very interesting: Google will now page and get more mobile devices as used on the web, so Gundotra.

Tablet App

Appropriately and to present the Nexus 7 – - to this realization one could also announce a new version of the same Android app: So there is finally a specially optimized version of the program on tablets, that are still standing on Wednesday to play in the store for download . On the stage demonstrated to be a specially optimized interface for Tablets “hangouts”. Matching was also on the smartphone version of Google + further refined. For the iPad will follow an update “very soon”

Events

As was probably ahead of the launch of Google + rated events, at least it was in the last few weeks some very strong evidence – and indeed it was as part of the keynote so far. Here we demonstrated the integration with Google Calendar, which was expanded to fit the same and can graphically represent a “rich” Preview of such events.

Party Mode

Who may want to enable this and so for the duration of the event sharen automatically new pictures and videos with other participants: A specialty of Google + events called “party mode”. Under Android notifications are also shown live on a current event, such newly added content. The allerererste Google + event should be the way on Wednesday evening (local time) taking place “After Hours Party”.

Google Glasses

Towards the end of the keynote, there was still a surprise appearance by Google founders Sergey Brin, Google demonstrated Glasses, more in a separate article. And all at the end came, as observed by probably much hoped the audience, the popular “Oprah” moment of it this year was once again in itself, that is a very special “Android Developer package”: All I / O participants get both a Nexus S, a Nexus 7 and Nexus a Galaxy, which is equipped with a pre release version of “Jelly Bean”.