On Gear Live: Samsung S95C: The OLED TV You Can’t Afford (to Ignore!)

Latest Gear Live Videos

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich set for Q4 2011 launch

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds, Software,

Android Ice Cream Sandwich

It was just announced during the Google I/O 2011 keynote that the next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, will be the melding of Honeycomb and Gingerbread. In other words, as Google puts it, you'll have one OS that runs everywhere instead of one for phones and another for tablets--hence, the name "sandwich." Makes sense. The universal Android 4.0 will run on both small screen and larger screen devices, and will automatically adapt based on the size of the display. It's expected to be released in Q4 of this year, which means that most devices won't be updated with Ice Cream Sandwich until 2012.


Advertisement

What to expect at Google I/O

Google i/O

The Google faithful have converged at San Francisco's Moscone Center this morning to dive deep into the guts of the search giant's myriad services at Google I/O 2011. Sprinkled throughout the two-day blockbuster event will surely be some very important announcements (watch those keynotes closely) plus product and technology introductions. Here is some of what I expect.

Google TV
No discussion of what Google has up its sleeves is complete without a lengthy discussion about the fate of Google's converged TV and Web technology. Logitech, Sony and others have bought into it—big time. But consumers aren't buying and it's clear that Google has yet to arrive at a winning formula. I have an Apple TV device at home and I can guarantee you that at least one key ingredient is simplicity. No external keyboard, no large, hoary box, nothing above $150 dollars. That, for the most part, does not describe the current Google TV. Apple TV also has a super-easy—if you're an iTunes/AppStore member—way of purchasing new content. Google's focus on Web-based content and letting everyone handle commerce in their own way is not helping Google TV or any of its partners.

I expect Google to introduce a significant update to the Google TV platform. One that will shrink the hardware, swap out components, and introduce a wholly new commerce strategy.

Click to continue reading What to expect at Google I/O


Google Music Beta: Request an invite

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Google, Internet, Music,

google music beta invite

This morning, as part of Google I/O, Google announced their new music streaming service. They're calling it Google Music Beta, and it's currently an invitation-only affair. It's only available in the US for the time being. If you wanna get in on this one, you can request an invite through the portal that Google set up. No word on how long it will take to receive the invite once you put in your request, but hey, it's better than nothing.

Read More | Google Music Beta invites

Watch Google I/O live

Google I/O 2011 just kicked off, and you can watch how everything unfolds live using the video embed above. We expect news on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Google Music beta, maybe some updates to Google TV, and some news on Chrome OS devices shipping. Hit play for the details!


Video: Google Wave preview

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet, Videos,

Yesterday, Wave was introduce at the Day 2 keynote of Google I/O. It’s pretty hard to give Google Wave a decent explanation, because it does so many things in new, amazing ways. Think of it as a hyper-communication tool that allows you to communicate with people, services, sites, etc. in brand new ways. The build of Google Wave demoed in the video is still very early, and just shows a fraction of what the final product will be able to do. You really do have to see it to believe it though. Oh, and I think that this is also evidence that HTML5 will officially, undoubtedly, rock.

Read More | Google Wave

Advertisement