Google's I/O developers conference has commenced over at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and during the opening keynote, the company introduced quite a few exciting new products. Among them, Android Auto - Google's own answer to Apple's CarPlay - and Android TV, which even in these early stages, looks a marked improvement on the failure that was Google TV. Below, we go hands-on with both, so if you want a first-hand look at what Google has been slaving over of late, be sure to join us after the break.
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We like great apps here, and when they happen to go absolutely free, we like them even more. Today, a feature-rich PDF management app, which lets you view and annotate PDF files on your iPhone and iPad, has just hit that zero-dollar price tag, and as ever, we've got all of the details and download link coming up after the fold.
When Chromecast first hit the scene last year, its insanely low price turned the set-top streaming market on its head. Sure, it wasn't a set-top in the truest sense, but it provided many of the same functions, and thanks to an update announced today amid the I/O keynote event, it will soon offer a few more. Notably, a new Android Mirroring feature is upon us, giving owners of the minute device a way of projecting their device's display directly over to their TV sets.
If you've ever used a Chromebook or indeed, a Chrome tower, you'll know that the software feels just a little bit too light. Sure, it's fast, and if you're heavily invested on Google products on the Web, then it's awesome for your day-to-day needs, but in some instances - i.e. where the use of an app is required - it's always good to have a Mac or PC handy. In a concerted effort try and resolve the issue of Chrome OS feeling like something of a ghost town, Google has announced its intention to get Android apps running natively on its desktop software, and although the process is still in the early stages, this could be a significant step in getting consumers onside with Chrome OS.
Samsung's release of the Gear Fit smartwatch back in February has really set the tone for this year. Apple's WWDC a couple of weeks back was heavily focused around the company's new HealthKit initiative, and Google has just countered by announcing Google Fit at I/O. Like HealthKit, its not so much an app as a platform, integrating with a myriad of Google services to track and log health-related data, and with Google having already named several partners including Adidas, Nike and RunKeeper, it will go toe-to-toe with HealthKit as the consumer electronics industry continues to spread its wings.
Google has been a struggling entity in the TV space with its previous initiatives, and not afraid to shy away from our living rooms, the Big G has announced its new Android TV initiative. All details can be found right here.
As expected, Google has taken the wraps off the Samsung Gear Live smartwatch running Android Wear smartwatch OS, and will be available to buy later today via the Google Play Store.
Google has just announced a new version of Android dubbed as ‘Android L’, which is available to developers today as a developer preview, and features a bold new look and design. More details can be found right here.
Given that iOS 8 is already in its second beta, some of the features announced at WWDC are starting to take shape, and naturally, jailbreak developers have sought to emulate some of iOS 8's treasures by recreating them for those on the current iOS 7. The Notification Center will be subject to a relative overhaul with iOS 8, with a new look allied to widget support, and if you're in favor of this smartly-modified aesthetic, then a new tweak will help you to achieve the new look without jumping into the potentially unstable realm of betadom.
Microsoft BUILD and Apple WWDC are over and done with, and as ever, it's Google’s turn to wow us with some exciting new announcements and developments. With a new version of Android in the works along with news pertaining to Android Wear, Glass and the many other weird and wonderful side-projects that Google has going, the I/O 2014 keynote promises to be one of the more eventful show-pieces we've seen from the search giant in recent years. Below, we talk through what's next.
