Goog'es developer conference, Google I/O, will begin in just a couple of days and there are some high hopes for this one. The dev conference has become just as much of a PR media announcement hub for Google as it is a tool for developers. Not only that, but it keeps getting bigger. This year, the conference will go on for three days instead of the two days of previous events. The stakes are high for Google's Android, especially in the tablet arena. Smartphones using the OS have risen to dominate the world market, but Android tablets have struggled agains Apple's iPad. Still, Google I/O is more than just Android, and there are a host of other interesting things we expect to see from Google. In fact, we thought it might be interesting to share a list of the many things that could conceivably show up at the conference this year. We've done our best to cull as much info from the web as possible to highlight everything that we might see. Some of it could simply be wishful thinking, but some of it has already been rumored for quite some time. Here's a taste of what might potentially be at Google I/O this year.
Nexus 7 Tablet:
This is the one we have heard the most rumors about. We've covered the gist of this new Android tablet competitor, so we won't go into too much detail here. Suffice it to say that this could be the first real birth of an iPad-killer, simply because it fights from a completely different angle than previous tabs. Interestingly, along with it comes one of the other things we just might see at the conference, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
Android 4.1/Jelly Bean:
Although it is possible that Jelly Bean could still conceivably be Android 5.0, most of the industry intel has suggested that it will likely be Android 4.1, which is more of an incremental evolution, rather than a full-blown new OS. It will be interesting to see what new tweaks and improvements the folks in the Google labs have cooked up. More often than not, it's smaller updates like these that make the best improvements and tweaks to really improve the user experience in new software.
Google Assistant:
Speaking of improving the user experience... We have heard many reports and rumors that Google is working on their own Siri-like voice assistant competitor, that is designed to really blow away the competition. It's called "Majel," named after the late wife of the late Gen Roddenberry, who also voiced the computers in the Star Trek the Next Generation TV series. Supposedly, Google is working hard to make their voice assistant truly work like the Star Trek computers or like "Jarvis" in the Iron Man movies. If they can even come close, then Siri will look like a joke in comparison.
Project Glass:
Of course, one of the big buzz-worthy news stories of the last few months has continuously been more stuff about Google's Project Glass (formerly nicknamed Google Goggles). This is where Google steps into new territory by stepping into the hardware biz. So far, most of Google's successes have really just been software. Project Glass aims to change that. One of the smaller pet-projects in their R&D has developed into something pretty big. Could Google actually be on the verge of creating a truly disruptive new piece of tech that changes the digital landscape of the future? Who knows, but it would be pretty cool to see anything related to these Google Goggles shown off at I/O.
Google Playbox:
We've heard very little about this little project , but that doesn't mean that we won't see anything about it at Google I/O this year. In fact, it is entirely possible we may see quite a bit about it. From what we know about this consumer-oriented piece of hardware, it is simply a "next-generation personal communications device." But that could mean a ton of things. Perhaps, this is some type of media hub designed to facilitate a convergence between Android phones, Google TV and other Google ideas. Maybe it is the digital command center for Google's Android@Home stuff (although that is pure speculation at this point). We don't know what to expect from this, and that only makes it more intriguing.
Google TV:
Speaking of Google TV, there is no way we would be able to make it through a Google I/O conference without seeing something about Google's flailing service. Google may have struggled with Google TV so far, and in fact, Logitech (one of Google's partners) even backed out of making new Google TV products, but that's mainly because the idea is simply a bit ahead of its time, and hasn't been implemented as well as it could have been. The product is slowly maturing, and turning into a future must-have for TV watchers. Perhaps this year we can see some ideas that really help push the concept further into the mainstream.
Pinterest for Android:
Pinterest is pretty much one of the next big things in social networking, and it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think we might see Google work toward integrating it into Android. In fact, there has been a bit of industry buzz that we will see a Pinterest App unveiled at the conference this year. If you aren't sure what Pinterest is, here's a quote with a brief description: "Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."
These are just a few of the things we might see, or would like to see show up at the Google I/O conference in just a couple of days. What do you guys think of these possibilites? Do any of them intrigue you? Also, we would love to hear what other things you think might show up, or that you would like to see at the conference, especially if you are a developer.
Finally, we will have an interesting announcement about Google's I/O Conference later today.
