We began our journey in a bit of a behind-the-scenes tour of the Moscone Center in San Francisco to see what Google had in store. It appeared that the setup was rather similar to what we’d seen the year before – save the massive models hovering above the third floor.

While on the third floor we literally saw the word ANDROID dominating the floor aside Chrome, the second floor retained a set of services for multiple platforms. The second floor also had Google Glass holding its own unique space on the level’s far side. Below you’ll see an on-site preview of the first of three floors through Glass – aka #throughglass – this method of collection acting as a teaser for what would become the dominant subject of the conference – whether Google intended it to or not.

It was announced by Google that they’d at this point counted 900 million Android activations across the planet. This number jumped from just 400 million activations in 2012 and 100 million activations in 2011 – that’s four times the number from one year to the next, then nearly double that number again between last year and here.

Just this past month, Android activations were marked at 1.35 million per day on average back on the 13th of March according to Google – at 750 million activations back then and 900 million now, the company could be seeing over 1.5 billion Android activations by the end of the year.

Devices

Google showed of a single new device – a new “Google Edition” or “Nexus Edition” of the Samsung GALAXY S 4. This device would be sold straight from Google the way a Nexus smartphone or tablet would, but would retain the Samsung GALAXY S 4 brand name. While device announcements such as this are normally joined by a giveaway for attendees of the conference, here it was joined by a price tag and availability date: June 25th for a healthy $649 unlocked and without contractual obligations.

We had our own up-close look at this GALAXY S 4 courtesy of Hugo Barra. Google’s Vice President of Android Product Management showed this device as exactly what you’d expect it would be – at least as swift as the Samsung-skinned original and ready to act as a non-Nexus alternative for those wishing to pick up Jelly Bean straight from the source.

NVIDIA came in to take a bit of the hype and excitement of the week with a double-down announcement of their SHIELD device becoming available for pre-sale. NVIDIA’s SHIELD was both announced for pre-sale for early adopters and had its normal retailer pre-sale bumped up due to an apparent rush of requests from normal consumers.

Google Glass was, of course, on a much larger percentage of the center’s population than anywhere else in the world at any time up until this point, with the one possible exception being inside Google and Google X itself. Google Glass runs on its own unique version of Android, the device itself able to be hacked at this point to run Ubuntu (this also proven at a I/O breakout session just this week). Though it wasn’t mentioned but in passing during I/O’s keynote session, Glass and development surrounding it ended up being the star of the week.

Sliding in on the wearable wave as well was a device announced this week by Recon – the Recon Je. This pair of glasses works with a miniature computer that runs Android as well. We had a quick peek at this device here in its near-complete state as well – it’ll be released by the end of the year, well ahead of Google’s own Glass consumer push.

Services

The system known as Google Play game services was launched to tie together gamers on not only Android, but iOS and in-browser as well for desktop machines. This system will allow game saves to the cloud so that users can sign in with their game profile from any device and pick up their game where they left off. It will also support easier connections for multi-player games between users playing on different platforms.

Groups such as Glu Mobile and Gameloft have already begun integrating Google Play game services connectivity and functionality into their games. Developers at Vector Unit announced and demonstrated the ability to connect over the web with speed with their upcoming title Riptide GP 2 – a game also demonstrated this week on NVIDIA SHIELD out on the main floor at Google I/O.

Development

As this is a developers convention, Google chose it for the announcement point of the system that the company says could end Android fragmentation woes forever. This system is called Android Studio and will act as Google’s first all-inclusive developer tool they’ve ever offered – an IDE (integrated developer environment) that offers features such as virtual multi-device display testing and real-time views of multiple language translations in-app.

Android Studio works on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux at the moment. In speaking with multiple developers throughout the week, we found the fact that these three platforms were chosen first to be a common notion. Why give developers a Chromebook Pixel with an operating system based on the web and announce an Android developer system that’s not entirely web-based?

On that note, Google also let it be known that the Chrome OS experience was coming to its Android web browser with several account-sync abilities. One of the more interesting of these was form autocomplete, this allowing users to store their credit card information and contact information as they normally would on the desktop version of the browser and pull it up automatically from the mobile web.

Apps

Announced as an upgrade to the buy-and-own system already in place, Google Play Music All Access was revealed as a real competitor to streaming music services like Spotify and Rdio. This system is able to stream music both in a web browser and in-app, costing the user $9.99 a month for access – if they don’t get in on the deal early, that is.

This system is based on a choose-your-own-playlist system that also offers up smart selections from Google’s robots – at the moment, it’s both in-web and on Android, but not ready for iOS. This system is ready to roll for both mobile and in-browser users of Google Music.

Perhaps the most important app announced this week was the cross-platform chat platform expanding what was originally reserved for Google+ in video chat. Here we saw Google+ Hangouts for Android, iOS, in-browser inside Google+, and as a OS X app. Users sign in with their Google+ account and use contacts through Circles to connect.

Google+ Hangouts are able to work with text, stickers and icons, video and photo sharing, and video chat. This system will be expanding to include new types of sharing in the future as Google+ as a social network leads the way. This system is now live in effect for all platforms announced, desktop, Android, and iOS included.

Wrap-up

Android has been presented this week as one of several central systems part of the greater ecosystem that is Google, a company that aims to get technology “out of your way”. Google’s CEO Larry Page stepped on stage at the start of this conference to express his wish for an ideal future: “technology should do the hard work, so you can get on and live your life.”

In the end, Android became a power here that was assumed while Google’s ecosystem grew around it. It’s here that Google makes it clear: Android itself doesn’t need to be updated every time the company has a big event. It’s the year of the Context Ecosystem, and Google’s presentation of Android at Google I/O 2013 has once again proven it.

Google’s developer conference is home to more than just developers, of course: press, analysts, students, and Google lovers from all angles are invited, but this year the company had a more focused approach in mind. While the conference retained its three-day allotment of breakout sessions and fireside chats with Google’s own for developers of all types, the company’s initial keynote was limited to one day instead of two.

This single keynote was also toned down – significantly – especially compared to last year’s explosion of content: new devices, a new version of Android, and a skydive drop live with what was then called Project Glass. Larry Page stepped on stage to make an address to the developers and the public, taking part in an extended question-and-answer session as well, showing some extreme boldness answering whatever random queries attendees might have.

Because of these elements in the keynote – the most public and direct bit of the convention from Google, to be sure, the entire set of events was given what we suggested to Hugo Barra had given it all a more “human” vibe to I/O. This, he said was “exactly what we were aiming for.”

Google’s top guns stepped into the fray as well, with Googlers like Barra and Sergey Brin appearing for drinks and a chat with the press late on Day 1. There it was abundantly clear that this event was not simply made for developer training, but for person-to-person connectivity: another pillar the event was originally built on.

Our own Chris Davies lent some insight on this subject, his column “Google I/O and the year of the Context Ecosystem” speaking volumes about Google’s aim here in 2013.

“All of Google’s services are gradually interweaving. Google I/O 2013 is an ecosystem play, and it’s one of the biggest – and arguably ambitious – we’ve ever seen. It’ll drag Google+ with it along the way, and it might even kickstart the “internet of things” when we start to see some legitimate advantages of having every device a web-connected node.

Google didn’t give us a new phone for our pocket or a new tablet for our coffee table; instead, it gave us so much more.” – Chris Davies

What did you think of Google I/O 2013 from a consumer perspective? If you don’t consider yourself a consumer in this case – how did you take it all from whatever position you’re in?

According to a tweet by CNBC, the event will be held in New York City and will be “product-related”, which hints to the possibility that the company simply isn’t planning a shindig at their headquarters, but rather are setting up a venue to announce something fairly big. The company also plans to live stream the event to those not able to be in attendance.

Details are still scarce at this point, and we’re not 100% sure as to what the company has up its sleeve, but we wouldn’t be too surprised if it involved Tumblr in some capacity. It’s rumored that Yahoo wants to acquire Tumblr for around $1 billion in order to cater towards the younger, hip crowd. It would certainly be Yahoo’s biggest buy yet, and the company has been all about acquiring younger startups as of late.

Just recently, the company acquired several smaller firms, including popular to-do list Astrid, but have ended up shutting most of them down and acquiring the employees, suggesting that Yahoo wants to expand and improve on its various services and offerings. Whatever the case may be come Monday, let’s hope that Yahoo has something worthwhile planned to unveil.

VIA: CNET

Jepsen was joined by serial entrepreneurs Julia Hartz, co-founder and president of Eventbrite, Slava Rubin, CEO and co-founder of Indegogo, and Caterina Fake, founder and CEO of Findery and co-founder of Flickr. It was on this panel that Jepsen made the case for not just a broken device hardware startup model, but for new entrants into this startup world to be aiming for the moon. It was from within Google X, after all, that Google Glass originated.

“Assuming that you start big and swing for the fences – don’t do something small, first off. But assuming you do, and you get to that point where you’re taking on one of the largest companies in the world – even though you didn’t mean to – I’ve never started to mean to – be prepared to give away most of your stocks so you can win that gain, because otherwise you’re crushed.

Plan that early on, for what you’re going to do – at One Laptop Per Child, there’s this 60-minute expose on some of the larger forces that we came up against – and there’s a lot of stories I’ve not yet told about Pixel Qi. When you get in that seat, you have to be able to figure out a way where it’s more attractive for companies not to crush you.

And that’s very difficult.” – Mary Lou Jepsen

She added assurance that joining a big company is not for everyone – startups are great, she said, especially if you don’t want to get involved in the politics of working with a big company. You’ll be in a lifeboat, she explained, but though you’ll be dealing with holes in your boat here and there, you’ll be working with people that want to help you and are ready and willing to go that extra mile for you.

Meanwhile she warned that hardware funding, again, isn’t in a place where it should be. Groups that push cash to software startups are far easier to find at this time in history than those looking to build up a group for a hardware device.

“VCs (Venture Capital companies) don’t have the core competence anymore. Silicon Valley, pretty much, too – and I’m sure there’s exceptions, but by-and-large, to fund or even to due diligence on hardware.

But there are places that do fund hardware, and you can find them depending upon your bend – you have to be creative. There are Angels, certainly, and Super Angels to fund it.

But there’s not this sort of – path – but there’s not much competition, so you have an advantage.” – Mary Lou Jepsen

Have a peek at the video below for additional insight from Jepsen and let us know how well you’re taking the news – or the advice, as it were. Are you encouraged by the idea that Jepsen, one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world and a ranking member of the top 50 female computer scientists of all time is suggesting that jumping in on a startup is a situation you should want to be a part of? Let us know!

Olsson showed a rather bulky and – according to her – rather heavy piece of hardware that was a mix of geeky massive and hipster odd. Speaking about the experience, walking into the room at Google on the first day that prototypes had been mocked up, Olsson described it as a rather exciting – if not scary – experience. One of the first changes the team had to make, she said, was in the unit’s ability to adjust.

“When I joined the project, we thought we needed 50 different adjustment mechanisms, but that wouldn’t make a good user experience. So we scaled it down to this one adjustment mechanism.” – Isabelle Olsson, Google Glass Lead Industrial Designer

Olsson also showed off Glass’ ability to be taken apart and moved. There’s one piece that acts as the most basic frame and the other – the computer – that can be attached to many different bits and pieces being built today.

“We make Glass modular. In this stage, this means you’re able to remove the board from the main frame. This is pretty cool. This opens up a lot of possibilities. It opens up possibilities for not only functionality but also scalability.” – Isabelle Olsson, Google Glass Lead Industrial Designer

Glass is still at a place where this team cannot tell the public when they will be ready to sell to consumers – the same goes for the future of Glass. Noting that they wouldn’t be able to comment on the future of Glass very much at this point. This was called into question by a boisterous audience member who yelled:

Why not?!

To which the host of this chat, Senior Developer Advocate at Google for Project Glass, Timothy Jordan, replied: “because it’s Google’s policy not to comment on future unannounced products. And because I follow rules.” To which the same audience member replied, pathetically hilariously:

Ok.

This attitude reflected the thoughts and wishes of the entire audience – or at least those without the device on their temples. With more than 30 members of the audience wearing the developer “Explorer Edition” in full effect, we were in rare company without a doubt.

This device is, more or less, the equivalent of a hacked Samsung GALAXY S 4 for AT&T/T-Mobile. Inside you’ll find an unlocked system displaying Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean without any additions from any carrier or Samsung itself, coming only with the basics issued by Google.

In this device we’re seeing a unique new chapter in Google history. Where previous to this week, any release of a device with as stripped-down and pure as this one pushed by Google was labeled with a Nexus brand name. Here with the Samsung GALAXY S 4, the company has made clear their acceptance of the dominance of Samsung in the Android device-sphere, keeping the GALAXY branding (as they did with the Galaxy Nexus), this time kicking out the Nexus name altogether.

Barra had presented this device on-stage earlier in the day with the following words:

“We continue to be blown away by the hardware that’s coming out of our partners — the HTC One, and the Samsung Galaxy S4. Like this Galaxy S4. There’s something unique about this S4, that’s not available elsewhere. Take a look at my homescreen.

This version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available directly through Google Play, unlocked for both ATT and T-Mobile with LTE support, 16GB internal storage, bootloader unlocked, and it’ll receive prompt system updates with every new release.” – Hugo Barra

What we’ve seen up close is a pure Google experience that’s as swift or swifter than the original GALAXY S 4 with Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface. Barra’s device is likely an early build, but we’re expecting the final product to be essentially the same: home button, 1080p display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor and all.

And for those of you wondering: no, he doesn’t use any magical super-secret Google-only apps that only the bosses get. Unless, of course, he was using super-secret Android powers to hide them.

You never know!

The device will be available on June 26th for $649 USD without a contract, compatible with T-Mobile USA and AT&T micro SIM cards, 4G LTE and all. Sound like a value proposition to you? This is one of those situations where we’re guessing developers will find the build to be best – it’s going to be difficult for this device, no matter how neat – to compete with the Nexus 4 already up for $299, also without a contract. That’s hard to argue with.

The initial Google I/O 2013 keynote was split essentially down the middle for Chrome and Android news, with an announcement of a Samsung GALAXY S 4 coming with a Nexus-style build of Android coming aside this Chromebook’s re-introduction. The Pixel has not had a hardware update since its inception – this system will be the same as it was when it was first introduced.

This system was introduced alongside a program called Google Play for Education. This system allows classrooms to gain access to a series of apps that are curated by Google for use by an education-centric group. This system is child friendly and works for both Android and inside web browsers, and will be rolling out soon.

It was made clear that the Chromebook Pixel will be a major part of Google’s initiatives with Chrome, especially here now with the web browser and the operating system crossing-over more than ever. Google made it clear that the web browser would be getting the same abilities regardless of its mobile or desktop iteration, and the Chromebook Pixel will bring that to developers this week at Google I/O 2013.

With App Translation Services, developers will be able to purchase translation services straight through Google Play. A translation company will translate text through the developer’s own set of APK strings, paying through Google as with all other systems inside the Google Play store.

Referral Tracking was also added go Google Play’s back-end for developers. Google Play will be showing the user how and from where users are coming from, much like Google Analytics shows how, from where, and why visitors come to webpages. This system allows many of the systems – lots, if not all the metrics available in Analytics will be available in one single place – the developer console.

A system called Fortune Teller will also be part of this Referral Tracking environment, allowing the developer to gain a better understanding of where their cash comes from. Staged Roll-outs are also coming this week for developers – Beta Testing included.

This whole system will be rolling out to developers starting this week – stay tuned while we’re here all week at Google I/O 2013 through our own Google I/O tag portal!

Pichai spoke about The Journey of Personal Computing, noting that Android and Chrome remain two separate systems. Android began, he said, as an open system that is now the most popular operating system in the world. Chrome as a web browser, he reminded the audience, is now the world’s most popular web browser. It’s through this web browser and with this system that Google Play game systems will come to life.

Pichai showed the current level of Android activations in the world – 900 million strong. Comparing this number to 2012′s activations at 400 million, it was plain how the operating system was making waves. 48 billion app installs were announced for Google Play by Google’s Hugo Barra. Google’s Vice President of Android Product Management announced further that the company had already paid out more this year to developers through Google Play than they had the entirety of 2012.

Barra continued with updates for the developer community on Google Services updates with APIs for Google Maps. Activity Recognition, power saving, and ease in integration bring this system into the future. Also on tap was Google+ sign-in. This system allows users to log in with Google+ on-the-fly through a series of websites – and all, in the near future, if Google has their way.

Google+ Cross-device Single Sign-on was made clear – Google+ will now be as easy to sign in with as Facebook is in both apps and on your desktop. Signing in on your desktop computer will also have you signed in on your tablet or smartphone if the app is compatible with this system.

But it was Google Play game services that knocked out the most important update to Android without a doubt. Here you’ll find users able to save their game on one device and pick it up from another place without a problem.

This system is both cross-device and cross-platform. It works for both Android and iOS – Apple devices as well as those made by LG, HTC, and all the rest. Connecting through Google+ and the users’ Google account, multi-player games will also be made a snap over the web – more-so than before, that is.

Google Play game services will be rolling out starting this week and we’ll be having more of a close-up look at it each day. Stick around our Google I/O tag portal to see it all, start to finish.

The Moscone Center once again plays host to Google I/O with an experience on the first of three floors that’s quite similar to 2012. This year attendees are given their official badges and T-shirts in a center console where Google employees are charged with scanning QR-codes and making sure everyone is who they say they are.

A massive Google I/O sign rests against the main wall of the center with a color-changing I and O, cycling through blues and pinks in a comforting haze. We’re wondering where these massive 3D letters go once the week is over – perhaps a special giveaway on a letter-by-letter basis?

The ground level also holds a pop-up Google Store where attendees can purchase various Google-branded oddities. Bags, clothing, cases, and toys are in effect. This store encourages – as it did in 2012 – users to utilize their Google Wallet to purchase the goods.

On the second floor (or first floor, if you’re German), you’ll find a massive Google+ presence where users are encouraged to sign-in with the social network. A deck with Office Hours is set up for developers to learn how they might integrate Google+ into their own software. This area has a series of live hang-out portals which we’re sure will be popping up this week.

This level is dedicated to several Google services and Google partners, each of them set up to present to any developer – or press member, or anyone else in attendance – that wishes to learn more.

BONUS FIND: here you’ll see an unopened box of special-edition Android collectable figures from Dead Zebra. We promise we didn’t peek!

Google Glass has its own section on level 2, users able to have a peek at the current iteration of the device as well as participate in talks on the future of the device. We’re expecting more information on the future of the headset in the main keynote address in the morning as well as in more than one chat later in the week.

You’ll find Glass being set aside in a massive section all its own on this level, mind you, while items like Google Maps are part of a series of towers up the center of the room. The amount of space Glass gets here says a lot about how important the device is to the company.

Up on the top level of the center, Google has made a massive show of both Android and Chrome. To one side, attendees are greeted by flying Androids and their floor-bound kin in a display not unlike what we saw at Mobile World Congress 2012 and 2011. It seems that this location has become the heart of the Android press event presentation – and perhaps rightfully so.

Turn around 360 degrees and you’ll find a fabulous display – not yet turned on, as it were – of Chrome. One setup shows the highest-end Chrome OS hardware to date in an array that’ll certainly be a sight to behold once it’s turned on.

Three large semi-transparent displays show Chrome in an impressive display that’ll certainly play host to some shows of power for both the web browser and the operating system.

Androids large and small – but mostly large – litter the top level in both complete and nearly complete states. A massive pair of black-framed glasses remain wet with paint less than a day before the main event is set to begin. An eye-bursting array of pink and blue squares blasts in a checkerboard grid above the fray. It’s here that the fun will begin soon – and very soon.

Have a peek at SlashGear’s Google I/O tag portal for more information on this array of Google action taking place Wednesday the 15th of May, 2013, till Friday. If you’re pumped up about any specific session or event, send us a note – we’d be glad to have a peek at it and report back to you, our valued readers!

Pay close attention starting tomorrow morning at 8AM PST in-particular – the big keynote event will be covered piece-by-piece right here on SlashGear!

BONUS: We’re on-site with and through Glass as well. Have a peek at a couple videos filmed by Vincent Nguyen with Google’s headset here and let us know what you think of the method and the quality.

Above you’ll find a general layout look at the first level of Google I/O 2013 and below you’ll hear a bit of information from the BBC’s own Rory Cellan-Jones. He’ll let you know exactly what he thinks about the gadget world and how important Glass is to it – stay tuned – #throughglass!

As far as what we’ll see, Huawei has always been the company to release the first of things, and they’re never afraid of publicly experimenting with different sizes and shapes. That said, we could see Huawei reveal a device with an 8-core processor that could also be the next world’s thinnest phone, dubbed the P6-U06.

Back during CES 2013, the company revealed two new phones that came with some new features that we haven’t seen before. The Ascend D2 came with the densest display at the time, and the Ascend Mate was revealed as the world’s largest smartphone with a gigantic 6.1-inch display (yet it only came with a 720p resolution).

Either way, we’ll be reporting during the event to see what Huawei has up their sleeves. The company has been pretty busy lately, and just announced that their first Windows Phone 8 device, the W1, is heading to the US later this month exclusively at Walmart, where it will release amongst a large crowd of other WP8 devices.

This sale is a record, one way or another. Back in 2012 tickets sold out in right around two hours after they went on sale, that time working with an on-sale time that wasn’t announced in advance. The same situation occurred in 2011 where ticket sales took around 12 hours.

Here in 2013, the release of tickets was pre-announced and pinpointed for Apple developers, this allowing the masses to be on-point with clicks and credit cards. This event should prove to be an important one in Apple’s history as it will reveal not only a new iteration of their desktop operating system, but their mobile operating system as well, both of them with new leadership behind the scenes.

Have a peek at our still short history with WWDC 2013 in the timeline below and prepare for the big set of events starting on June 10th and lasting until the 14th of June, 2013. We’ll be live in-effect from start to finish, especially in regards to the major keynotes which have in the past proven themselves to be significant moments in the Apple road of events.

Tickets for WWDC are set for official Apple developers and will cost a cool $1,599 apiece. This event’s tickets are a sure sell-out, it’s only a matter of how long they’ll take to reach that moment of unavailability. Tickets have gone on sale at 10AM PST, just a moment ago, and we’ll be watching closely to see how long they take to actually reach their final state.

This event has been promised by Tim Cook to contain new versions of both Apple’s desktop OS and the iPhone/iPad operating systme iOS as well. With the company’s Design Awards, top apps in iPhone, iPad, and Mac are showcased from third-party developers that then go on to sell millions of copies – if they’re lucky. WWDC 2013 will be home to more than 1,000 developers while Apple runs the show from several stages and meeting rooms.

Have a peek at our recent coverage of WWDC and stay tuned as we cover the event straight from San Francisco through our own WWDC 2013 portal!

The invite reads, “The Nokia Lumia story continues,” and to the left it reads, “See what’s next” in big bold letters that are slightly hidden, almost like a stereogram. We’re not sure what that specifically is all about, but we do know from the invite that Nokia will be showing off a new Lumia device at the event.

We’ve heard that the new smartphone will sport an aluminum outer shell complete with a waterproof nano coating from P2i, similar to that of the technology that we saw at CES back in January from the startup company. The phone is said to be codenamed “Catwalk,” although an official moniker for the phones is not yet known, nor are details imminent.

Apparently, the secret phone was at Mobile World Congress back in February, and only a handful of analysts were able to feast their eyes on the new toy, but solid details are yet to be revealed. There’s also the chance that they’ll release the Lumia 928 on Verizon, which we’ve been hearing about for some time now.

[via TechnoBuffalo]

This generation’s console will be going to battle directly with the already announced PlayStation 4 and will be bringing with it Microsoft’s next generation of gaming software. It’s highly likely that the event will contain more than just details about the console itself, bringing with it a collection of developers and game producers from top-name brands and legacy affiliates.

“On that day, we’ll share our vision for Xbox, and give you a real taste of the future. Then, 19-days later at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, we’ll continue the conversation and showcase our full lineup of blockbuster games.

We are thrilled to pull back the curtain and reveal what we’ve been working on.” – Major Nelson

This event will be happening on the 21st of May, less than a month away. This is well ahead of the gaming convention E3, this allowing game developers to ready their wares for the convention while the Microsoft-made machine has its own day in the sun.

have a peek at the brief timeline below of recent tips and suggestions from the SlashGear archive of Xbox 720 articles. As this event takes place at the real-deal Xbox campus, we can expect nothing less than a significant showing by the creators of this machine prepared for the future.

[via Major Nelson]

This concert will feature the band known as Atlas Genius. This is the latest in a line of similar events hosted by LG, Samsung, and most recently HTC. Just this past week an HTC mini-concert was held with musician Pharrell Williams in promotion of the HTC One smartphone release. Several months ago, Samsung brought the Samsung Galaxy Note II to the United States with a mini-concert put on by Kanye West.

Even Apple has joined in the fun with an appearance by the Foo Fighters at the iPhone 5 release event this past year. Now with the LG Optimus G Pro, LG will be the bringing an engagement to New York City. It’s not known at the moment if the smartphone will be available at the event for demonstrations or if the company will be revealing any release information before or after the music event.

With the release of the LG Optimus G Pro, LG will have effectively updated their large smartphone nearly-tablet-sized segment while the Verizon Intuition by LG remains out there for consumers looking for a pen-toting experience. Here with the LG Optimus G Pro, Qualcomm has also jumped onboard with the Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, this being the same processor coming with the HTC One and the Samsung GALAXY S 4.

What we’ve seen of the LG Optimus G Pro thus far is a release on one side of the ocean, a push on the other, and signs of a USA release in recent weeks. With the LG Optimus G Pro and the Google Nexus 4 by LG continuing to make waves on AT&T, T-Mobile, and off-contract here in the USA, the LG Optimus G Pro (and its recent FCC appearance) has us guessing we’ll be getting at least an AT&T 4G LTE iteration before summer time.

The “Share the Genius” line in the invite suggests either that the device they’re about to show will be riddled with share-friendly features or that the name, Optimus G, is ready to share the spotlight with the bigger version of greatness. The LG Optimus G Pro takes the finer points of the LG Optimus G and amplifies them – not only do you get a larger display, you get a much more powerful processor from Qualcomm and photography features that had us giving the thumbs up back at MWC 2013.

Have a peek at the timeline below of recent LG mobile tips, suggestions, and otherwise excellent hands-on experiences to see if you can piece together this puzzle for yourself. LG will one way or another need to bring some heat now that the Samsung GALAXY S 4 and the HTC One are about to hit the market – make it count!

Facebook describes it as designing a phone around people, not apps, and the focus is the very first places you see when you turn on your device. “The homescreen is really the soul of your phone” Mark Zuckerberg said during the presentation, and Home works as that replacement launcher, with Cover Feed to make those friends your core menu, and Chat Heads to streamline talking to them.

Loading Home is like any other Android app, though it does have one extra hook into the OS. Since it’s designed as a replacement launcher, to be used instead of the regular Android one rather than alongside it, you can choose to have it open by default whenever you hit the home button on your device. At that point, consider your phone Facebookafied.

Alternatively, you can grab the HTC First, which has Home preloaded by default. Either way, the lockscreen and homescreen are swapped for Coverfeed: full-screen, chromeless pictures pulled from your friends’ updates, with discrete icons at the bottom showing “Likes” and comments. Double-tapping the image automatically likes it. Meanwhile, pulling up the bubble near the bottom of the screen – which shows your own Facebook profile picture – gives you a choice of three options: Facebook, the app launcher, and jumping back into your last-used app.

The app launcher is basically a pared-down tray of apps, where Facebook expects you to keep your most-commonly used titles. At the top, meanwhile, there are shortcuts to add Facebook status updates or photos. A side-swipe pulls over the full app drawer from the left, from which you can drag over icons to the quick launcher tray. No widgets beyond Facebook’s own Coverfeed, however.

The other big introduction with Facebook Home is Chat Heads, a new integrated messaging system that’s designed to discretely pervade the whole device. Get a new message – whether it’s a Facebook Chat or an SMS – and a small circular bubble pops up in the upper right hand corner. You can drag it around (useful, since it’ll show up on top of any app you’re currently using it, including full-screen games) and tap it to open it, at which point a conversation view opens up floating on top of whatever you were doing.

Whether it’s a Facebook conversation or a text message one is shown by the color of the voice bubble boxes themselves, and you can have multiple conversations open at once, switching between them with the row of circles along the top. Facebook group messages are also supported, with a thumbnail of the group icons clustered in the circle. Similarly swipeable notifications include missed calls and calendar alerts.

It’s certainly slick, as long as you live your social – and, by extension, mobile – life in Facebook. The complexity of a regular phone is hidden away under full-screen images, and the familiar iconography should prove welcoming for Facebook-addicts. Those who divide their time between multiple networks – such as Google+, or Twitter – might find those edged out, however, as Facebook Home’s notifications system is designed to cater for its own alerts, not those of others.

It certainly seems to make the most sense on a device that has been designed with Home in mind, the first of which – though Samsung, Huawei and others have committed to join in – is the HTC First. The phone itself is a slim, simple slice of soft-touch plastic, fronted with a glass 4.3-inch touchscreen above three touch-sensitive buttons for back, home, and menu. It’s also worth noting that the First does indeed support displaying all Android notifications, not just Facebook ones, and will come preloaded with Instagram.

The slightly out-of-date OS is also likely to be less of a big deal: the First hides Android 4.1 Jelly Bean under Home, running on a dualcore Snapdragon 400 processor and paired with multimode 3G/4G for roaming LTE use. AT&T will have the first taste of the First, at $99.99 with a new, two-year agreement from April 12, though it’ll also be coming to the UK and Europe on EE and Orange later in the year.

Facebook’s strategy – focusing on its software for many devices, not software and hardware for just one – does make some sense. Dedicating yourself to a single device doesn’t make sense when you want to appeal to every Facebook user who has an Android phone, after all. What remains to be seen is whether even those who are totally devoted to Facebook will be willing to immerse themselves so entirely in the experience.

Zuckerberg’s stats suggest Facebook mobile use is by far the most common thing smartphone owners are doing with their handsets. We’re not quite so convinced, and while the garden isn’t entirely walled – you can obviously get to other Android apps, they’re just not placed front and center like Facebook is – we’ve seen things like HTC’s own BlinkFeed on the HTC One giving immersive Facebook updates without also ousting every other news feed, Twitter, and other notifications. Meanwhile, the Facebook Home Program seems unlikely to take off until prepaid devices arrive; $99.99 with agreement gets you a decent smartphone these days, after all, and one which isn’t dominated by a single service, however sociable that might be.

The HTC First is unappealing, however at the right price point, it may be able to snag some sales. It comes with a dual-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 5MP rear-facing camera, 1.3MP front-facing camera, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, AT&T 4G LTE, and will be the first phone designed around Facebook Home. The specs aren’t jaw-dropping, however if the phone was priced at $49.99, or even for free, it may do well.

Facebook Home is a series of apps that make Facebook the center of your phone. Facebook’s theme for today is that phones should center around people, and not around apps. Facebook Home will bring you Cover Feed, which brings you updates from your friends all in real-time. It’ll be the first thing you see when you open your app. You will also get notifications from apps and friends straight on your home screen. Chat Heads lets you message you friends while you do other things like surf the web or watch videos.

Facebook Home is set to launch on April 12th, and you get to decide whether or not its something jaw-dropping. From the looks of it, it does look pretty interesting, and I’m glad Facebook decided to release it as just an app, rather than an entire OS. That way if you don’t like it, you can revert back to your original Android experience. Be sure to check out our timeline below, and our Facebook Tag Portal for the latest Facebook news. Also check out our Android Hub for the latest, important info on Android.

Facebook is concentrating on making your phone more about people rather than just apps, something that Zuckerberg has been echoing throughout the entire event. With Cover Feed and Facebook Home, you will always be connected with your closest friends and family members. Everything is available to you at a moment’s notice. Like Zuckerberg said, everything is just “one swipe away”.

Facebook Home will be available on the upcoming HTC First, that is set to be announced. It does feature lackluster specs, including a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of RAM, 5MP rear-facing camera, and a 1.6MP front-facing camera. The only things carrying the device are 4G LTE and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. However, luckily for us Facebook lovers, there are plans for more phones coming in the future.

Alongside Facebook’s Cover Feed, Facebook has announced another new feature called Chat Heads, that gives you an “immediate personal connection” to those you’re close with. Even if you’re using another app, if someone messages you, you will be notified via a bubble on the top corner of your phone. Be sure to check through the latest Facebook news today through our Facebook Tag Portal. Also check out our Android Hub for the latest, important info on Android.

With the HTC first you’ll be rolling out with a 4.3-inch LCD display with no less than 720p resolution for your everyday sharp Facebook interactions. This device will be rolling out with a lovely Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 dual-core processor, this being the same SoC that you’ll find on the Samsung Galaxy S III and the DROID RAZR HD. On the back of the HTC first you’ll find a 5-megapixel camera while the front works with a 1.6-megapixel camera for Facebook video chat and messages.

UPDATE: This device is NOT using the Snapdragon S4 as previously noted – instead it is one of the first devices on the market to be using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400. This smartphone will also be coming with 3G/4G “multimode” LTE and will be available on the 12th of April for $99 USD attached to a 2-year contract.

You’ll be knocking out the apps with 1GB of RAM and a brand new user interface that’s based loosely on HTC’s own Sense 4.5. You’ll of course have wi-fi, 4G LTE from AT&T (at first, additional carriers on the way we must expect), and Android 4.1.2 right out of the box. We’ll be presenting some fabulous hands-on action with this device soon – there we’ll have additional insight in to how this device functions and if it’ll be the smartphone you’ve just got to have in 2013.

Have a peek at our Android Hub as well for more information on the Android universe at large! We’ll be bringing you more Android and Facebook Phone (and regular old Facebook) action all day – stick around and check the timeline below for updates, too!

If Facebook were to build a phone, it would only bring a new experience to only 10-20 million people. But Zuckerberg states that that wouldn’t be fair for the billions of people that use the social network. He says that thanks to Android and its openness, Facebook is able to bring a brand new experience easily to a majority of its users.

So Facebook isn’t looking to build an operating system, but instead be an Android launcher. He focuses on “the home screen”, which is why the new app will be called “Home”. The new Facebook Home will allow users to easily access their Facebook app, but instead of just being an app, it will bring so much more to the user. You will be able to see your phone through people and not apps.

Facebook is bringing a brand new experience to all Android users in the form of “Facebook Home”. It will be include a bunch of new features not seen on the Facebook app, including “Cover Feed”. Check out all of the new features that will be coming with “Facebook Home” through our Facebook Tag Portal. Also, check out our Android Hub to find the latest, important news in the Android world.

With Cover Feed you’ll be seeing a selection of updates from your Friends. You’ve also got notifications as you’d have gotten before (if you’d had Facebook’s app working with notifications to Android), but here it’ll be appearing right from your Android lockscreen. This system is at it’s base a real Facebook-centric world for your Android smartphone.

With Home you’ll also have access to your normal Android apps. Your lockscreen shows you and your Facebook updates – one swipe up from your Facebook profile image and you’ve got your normal Android apps. Each of these apps load normally, using your smartphone as they normally would. One swipe back downward and you’re back to the lockscreen.

Chat Heads is a messaging system that takes on the full messaging world inside Facebook and applies the Home aesthetic. This system will be your one-stop-shop for talking to your friends on Facebook.

This is part of an ever-expanding world for Facebook on your smartphone that’ll be shown all day long here on SlashGear and through our own Android Hub – grab all the info you need there!

Zuckerberg is talking about turning Android phones into a more social platform, and he brings up the fact that with Android’s openness, along with Facebook’s connected platform, people are built around this kind of ecosystem, so it makes sense that Facebook is wanting to do something about this.

Since people spend their lives sharing information with one another, via Facebook in this case, Zuckerberg and company want to make it easier for users to do just that on Android devices. However, before you can do that though, you must make the phone about the user first, and not the apps themselves.

Since Facebook has over 1 billion users, the company not only wants to make a phone, but an entire ecosystem around that phone, and it seems like they can sell a lot of them, touting that average smartphone sales are anywhere from 10-20 million, but Facebook’s 1 billion users could easily surpass that.

Facebook is set to debut its new Facebook on Home software, which at first we thought would be Facebook’s custom Android operating system, but it may in fact be more of a launcher. We’ll find out which is which soon, but our bets are lying with the latter option. Of course, the launcher or OS is going to be highly integrated with Facebook, and Facebook will be replacing several default apps with its own. For example, it will most likely be replacing Android’s default messaging app with its own messaging app, which will handle both Facebook Messages as well as SMS messages.

The HTC/Facebook phone set to debut today isn’t much at all. It is codenamed the HTC Myst, however it may be released as the HTC First. The specs are extremely lackluster. It has a 4.3-inch 720p display, dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB RAM, 5MP rear-facing camera, 1.6MP front-facing camera, Sense UI 4.5 (with Facebook modifications), Bluetooth 4.0, and Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Jelly Bean and 4G LTE are the only features that make this phone worthwhile.

The event is starting in just a few minutes, so stick around to see the latest features Facebook will have to offer to the Android operating system. Be sure to keep track of our Facebook Tag Portal for the latest news from both this event, as well as future and past events pertaining to everyone’s “favorite” social network. Also be sure to check out our Android Hub for the most important news in the Android world.

What we’ve heard thus far – unofficially, of course – is that there will be a Facebook-centric smartphone coming carried by AT&T with full 4G LTE data onboard. With the appearance of de la Vega, we’ve got another piece to the puzzle that is the official reveal!

UPDATE: Ralph de la Vega is the President and CEO of AT&T Mobility, not just AT&T as a whole. Also note – Qualcomm has been spotted at this event as well!

The official event begins at 10:00 AM PST – that’s less than an hour away! This event promises to be the home of not only a smartphone, but a full Facebook software experience as well. We’ll be front and center as Facebook reveals their next-generation in mobile excellence, and perhaps once and for all gives the Android world a taste of the full-function Facebook app experience iOS has had for so long!

Check the timeline below for more information on the Facebook event we’re about to jump into, and don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled in the Facebook tag portal as well! The Android Hub you’ve loved for so long is bumping wildly today too – make with the clicks!

It’s also become apparent via this same source that Facebook for Android – the application you’re using right this minute if you’re working with the main Android-based Facebook app – will need to be updated later this week in order to work with the new system. The new system has been once again confirmed to be called “Facebook Home” as well.

For those of you wondering what this device will be like, hardware-wise, we’ve got a bit of a look at that too! Have a peek at the following list, then head back to the post Facebook Home leaked – the HTC Facebook Phone spills its guts. This device will be bringing on some relatively mid-tier specifications and will be aiming at the everyman, if you pardon the expression.

• HTC Myst (code-name)
• 4.3-inch display, 720p
• AT&T 4G LTE
• 1GB RAM
• Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor (MSM8960) (same as Galaxy S III)
• 5 megapixel camera on back
• 1.6 megapixel camera on front
• Sense UI 4.5 (Facebook Home modifications onboard)
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean

Don’t forget to check and see if the HTC Facebook Phone belongs in your pocket! We’ll be live in effect at the Facebook event this Thursday – catch SlashGear through our most excellent Facebook tag portal – we’ll have everything you need to be in the know from start to finish!

[via Evleaks]

This conference is one made by Microsoft for developers to gain knowledge and make connections – more connections than they’ve ever made before! Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and everything in-between are about to be up for chats, keynotes, and discussion all week long in the San Francisco corner of this grand tour. Today’s registration is also for that particular stop, with the SoCal event taking place at The Moscone Center from June 26th through June 28th – you’ll want to be there the whole time, without a doubt!

If you are amongst the first 500 ticket buyers, you’ll be tossing down $1,595 USD, while the rest of the developer world will be paying $2,095 USD. Either way it’s an investment – and if you’ve been to this event before, you know it’s well worth the cash.

This year’s BUILD events will also be visiting Oregon and Washington in Portland and Redmond – if you’re not at one, sign up for the other! If you’re all about Windows, Windows Phone, Windows Azure, Internet Explorer, Office, Office 365, Xbox, or Visual Studio, you’ll find yourself well at home!

Have a peek at our timeline of BUILD-specific titles from the past few years and make sure you hit up our Microsoft tag portal for more – we’ll be bringing you the heat even if you’re not in attendance. Prepare yourself!

We had a quick look at what Android Police discovered today, HTC Facebook phone should have you covered for all the gruesome details. If you’re all about the hardware, however, all you need to know is this:

1. 4.3-inch 720p Display
2. AT&T 4G LTE
3. 5-megapixel back-facing camera
4. Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor (same as Galaxy S III)
5. Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean

This device’s pricing structure will be very, very interesting. If Facebook has enough clout to create a smartphone without a need for voice and text messaging service, they may very well be creating a whole new segment in the mobile smart device industry. If they release this device for something more like $50 USD with a 2-year contract with AT&T, they’ll be better off not releasing the device at all.

Or perhaps an inexpensive not-the-best-but-decent smartphone is exactly what Facebook needs to start their smartphone party off right? This release will certainly center around the software experience first and foremost – maybe the marketing for this release will be successful with just talk of how this will be the one true Facebook Phone?

Based on what we know – or what we think we know – about the software experience being presented by Facebook this week, this device will need to be all about the hype.

Would you buy the smartphone outlined above if it were packing the Facebook Home user interface over Android? Let us know! Then join us later this week as SlashGear covers the Facebook event live and in-person! That’s Thursday, April 4th at 10AM PST, don’t miss it – stick close to the Facebook tag portal right up and through that time!

But here it is, courtesy of a couple of tipsters speaking with the New York Times about a Facebook phone to be revealed at next weeks’ Facebook event. Here the suggestion is that both a Facebook employee and “another person” who shall remain nameless were briefed on a project coming up – a so-called “special version of Google’s Android software system”. With the wording the NYT uses, it would appear that this software could appear on a new phone OR a phone that’s already coming on quick to the market – perhaps the HTC One?

“The software will debut on a handset made by HTC, according to a Facebook employee and another person who were briefed on the announcement.” – New York Times

Facebook has repeatedly denied that they’d be making a smartphone – but there’s never really been a denial of the possibility of a smartphone with major Facebook integration. Now that Facebook’s level of involvement with the iPhone is so base, might it be time that the social network gets big on Android?

With the launch of the HTC One here in the United States so very close (we hope), we can’t help but wonder if these two events might coincide. Keep your eyes tuned to two tag portals, both Facebook and HTC will be running hot next week – and we’ll more than likely see some manner of leak happening before then. More than we already have, that is.

And don’t miss the big event – 10AM PST on April 4th right here on SlashGear!

We’ve seen the Facebook phone already. It’s been released by HTC more than once, and rumors of a phone such as this have been swirling for years. The reason people are pumped up about discussing such a device isn’t because they want one, it’s because the idea is so absurd. Why in god’s name would someone create a smartphone dedicated to one single service?

Instead you’ve got a Facebook event coming up that will address the fact that there’s been no acceptably solid release of a Facebook app for Android thus far in the social network’s history. What we’ll see is a presentation about 1 hour long with several top Facebook developers talking about how this version of Facebook for Android will be a real, dedicated, just as good as iOS release. And we’ll all go home wondering why Facebook didn’t just send out a press release instead.

Have a peek at the iOS version of Facebook today, then have a look at the Android version of Facebook, then you’ll know what’s being released at the upcoming event. Let us know if you think otherwise!

If the last prospect gets you excited, take heart: some sources have come forward to say a Facebook Phone is on the horizon. The invite is a simple tease – vague title, location, date and time – giving us just enough information to spend the next week guessing. Some sources have surfaced, however, saying that we should expect an operating system.

According to the folks over at TechCrunch, a source who previously advised them to be on the lookout for an April Facebook event has said that Facebook is going to announce an operating system. Specifically, this will be a modified Android operating system that has Facebook functionality woven throughout it, making it a one-stop-shop sort of deal for Facebook loyalists.

And, of course, what is an operating system without some hardware? The sources said that Facebook will likely be pairing its modified Android operating system with an HTC handset, model unknown. Both of those things are rumors at this point, the by-product of unnamed sources, and so don’t take it without a grain of salt. Stay tuned, and we’ll update you next week!

We attended Microsoft’s BUILD 2012 conference and the company announced a lot of great stuff, including the official launch of Windows Phone 8. Microsoft also took that time to announce a handful of big new apps that came to Windows 8. Of course, tons of new apps have released since then, but this was back when Windows 8 came right off the assembly line.

Registration for BUILD 2013 will open on April 2, so be sure to mark your calendars for that day as well, since tickets will go quickly. Specifically, last year’s conference sold out in about an hour, so be sure to get your clicking reflexes up to shape before signing up — Microsoft’s expecting a large crowd for this one.

As for what we’ll see from Microsoft during the conference, they say that they’ll be showing off some new things that they’ve been working on for Windows, as well as Azure, Visual Studio, and lots more. We may even hear more about Windows Blue that we’ve been hearing so much about as of late.

T-Mobile announced a new “Simple Choice” plan, which was revealed a couple days ago. The plan starts at $50 per month for 500MB of data, and customers can add a second line for $30 per month, with each additional line only costing $10 per month. You can bump up the data to 2GB for an extra $10 per month per line, and unlimited LTE is only $20 more per month per line. Plus, there are no contracts, making T-Mobile the first major carrier in the US to get rid of such a thing.

The carrier also announce that their new LTE service is launching today in seven major metropolitan areas. These markets include Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose, and Washington DC. T-Mobile expects its 4G LTE network to reach 100 million Americans by mid-2013, and 200 million people by the end of 2013, which is certainly a bold step for the company.

As for the LTE devices that you’ll be able to grab from T-Mobile, they announced that the Samsung GALAXY S 4, Galaxy Note II, BlackBerry Z10, HTC One, and the iPhone 5. The company also outed the Sonic 2.0 Mobile HotSpot LTE, giving laptops and other non-LTE device the ability to access the carrier’s LTE network quickly and easily.

Wave Works: Real-time Ocean Simulation action with TITAN

Beginning this show with TITAN – the GeForce GTX GPU we’re about to have hands-on time with in the very near future here on SlashGear – some interactive ocean experimentation was shown. Straight away we saw a ship shown on a large screen, real-time water being pushed up against the craft as heavy waves came up and crashed against it. With 20,000 sensors in-place (virtually), this demonstration showed how with NVIDIA GPU power, we’ll be able to test the ability of ships in the future to withstand a beat-down.

If we didn’t know better, we’d have to guess that this demonstration of the ship was real – this demonstration was called Wave Works, and was a Beaufort-Scale Real-Time Ocean rendering. Absolutely gorgeous.

UPDATE: (above video) fast forward till about 8 minutes in to see the action begin – real-time ocean simulation action!

Face Works

Also included was a show of what the company calls Kepler Dawn. This lovely fairy was the work of many, many years of work on the creation of a very real human form. Attempting to escape the so-called “Uncanny Valley”, Huang let us know that they were close, but weren’t quite there yet with this first show. The “Uncanny Valley” is a place where realistic animations get creepy – incase you didn’t know – this happening between an obviously animated creature and a real human being.

A new technology called Face Works was introduced, letting a system that before NVIDIA got to it was 32GB to be pushed into 400 MB. Here we’ve seen NVIDIA’s Titan GPU turning an animated face look real. For those of you that aren’t able to see this face move in real-time yet, hear this: it’s impossibly realistic. If Star Wars is going to feature Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hammil, they’ll use Face Works to make it work.

UPDATE – here we go, have your mind blown right this minute!

Stick out the full conference with us here on SlashGear as we cover the entirety of the show, front to back. Have a look at our GTC 2013 tag portal for more information and stay tuned for more amazing rendering beastliness!

From start to finish, this presentation by Samsung is at once a now-classic “Unpacked” presentation of company wares and an utterly fanciful mishmash of dance moves and singing. WIth the Samsung GALAXY S 4 the company has presented a set of four everyday life enhancing pillars that we’ve also outlined for you in four distinct articles. Peruse those beasts in the timeline below while you hear the New York-style wildness here and now.

The Samsung GALAXY S 4 has taken the company to a place where they’ve decided to rely on a winning hardware design while moving forward with software features galore. If you’re familiar with the Samsung Galaxy S III, you know that the nature-inspired hardware has been appearing in Galaxy devices across the board ever since the smartphone launched last year. In the success of that device and subsequent Note devices, Samsung has stayed strong with brand-specific software connections such as Group Share and S-Beam, not to mention ChatON and note-taking apps galore.

That little weird kid was there too – don’t forget him! After you’ve seen the video, have a peek at the timeline below for all the information and hands-on action you could possibly handle from the Samsung GALAXY S 4 – and get pumped up for the full review coming on sooner than later!

This device has a total of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels across its 5-inch display, this showing a lovely 441 PPI, one of the highest pixel densities in a smartphone on the market today. Depending on the market this device is released in, it’ll be working with one of two processors. One of these processor possibilities is the Samsung Exynos “Octa” SoC clocked at 1.6GHz per core – there’ll also be a Samsung GALAXY S 4 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor clocked at 1.9GHz.

The front-facing camera on this device is 2 megapixels strong while the back-facing camera clocks in at 13 megapixels. Both of these cameras work with a collection of features that are outlined in a set of four user experience pillars that Samsung has set up for this device. In the Enjoyment pillar you’ll find the camera outlined in full.

The Samsung GALAXY S 4 works with a body that’s 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm small and just 130g in weight – again, smaller than the GALAXY S III in thinness and lightness. Samsung says it’s stronger than the Galaxy S III as well. Inside you’ll find a 2,600 mAh battery and one of three different internal storage sizes: 16, 32, or 64GB of space. This device also has a microSD card slot that’s able to work with a 64GB card.

Have a peek at the timeline below to see everything – this timeline will expand as our details posts and hands-on experiences are revealed. Stick around all night long to see more!

What you’ll see below is a collection of tips and suggestions for what could be the device we’re going to see in the next couple of hours. If predictions are right, this device will take on a look that’s not all that different from the Samsung Galaxy S III, complete with the nature-themed aesthetics and Android-packing software finesse. This smartphone is set to become the new leader for the manufacturer as well.

The Samsung Galaxy S III lead the pack for Samsung last year with the introduction of the hardware theme that’s run strong through the Samsung Galaxy Note device ecosystem ever since. This collection of moves includes a lovely set of smooth angles and colors from white to blue, black, and sometimes red or brown. While the future may hold non-Android software for Samsung – the distant future- we can be sure that we’ll be sticking with Google’s own mobile OS this week as well.

Have a peek at the timeline below to see recent chatter from the technology and gadget universe surrounding the Galaxy S4 and what it could contain. Meanwhile have a peek at the main news feed here on SlashGear for more information as it appears throughout the night – we’re ready to rock and roll!

What you’re going to see at this year’s Google I/O is a rather interesting mix of items that – believe it or not – might be a surprise for the most part. Google has over the past year established its ownership of Motorola and may be bringing a Motorola-made Nexus smartphone to the arena. They’ve released two Nexus tablets over the past year, and may by the time of the conference be ready to release upgrades to those tablets – hardware-wise.

Of course by the time the conference pops up (May 15-17th, mind you), we’ll be seeing a new collection of features for Android, likely just a boost to what’s still code-named Jelly Bean. There is a chance, on the other hand, that the next letter in the Android dessert alphabet will be revealed: Key Lime Pie.

Then there’s Google’s Project Glass. Have a peek at our ever-growing Project Glass tag portal for more Glass information than you can handle, and stick around for more as the developer edition of the hardware (aka the Explorer Edition) appears weeks ahead of Google I/O 2013. As the conference has for several years played host to “free” devices for all attendees, we can’t help but cross our fingers for a Glass of our own (even if wishing is hoping against hope.)

Have a peek at our Google I/O tag portal as well and stick to SlashGear like glue until and through then – we’ll be there with bells on!

This series of events will be host to many different developer-themed keynote speeches and interactive engagements for mobile developers of many kinds. Companies such as GetGlue, EyeEm, Zeebox, and Fab.com will all be in attendance with opportunities to chat and talks of their own with you, the up-and-coming Facebook app developer, about their experiences on the way up the mountain. Also included will be a list of fabulous hot-points as promised by Facebook:

You’ll hear about:

• how to implement our iOS, Android and JS SDKs to drive installs and engagement
• how to best implement Facebook Login to bring trusted, cross-platform identity to your apps
• best practices for using Open Graph to share rich and engaging stories back to Facebook
• how to use Facebook to power engaging social, mobile games
• design tips and product best practices to increase user satisfaction
• the tools, libraries and techniques we at Facebook use to build our own iOS, Android and Mobile Web apps

Each of the three events is a one-day-only engagement in each of the major cities on the map. Each of these events will be “capped-off” with a fabulous and friendly dinner as well as time to speak with Facebook engineers, product managers, and more to speak on your app – or possible future app for Facebook. These engineers and product managers are being promised to, as Facebook says, “review your app and debug any integration issues” you may have – fun stuff!

Facebook also notes the following:

This is a highly technical event – we’ll be deep in product and code – but if you’re at the sharp end of mobile development, we’d love to meet you there.

Sound like your cup of tea? Have a peek at the Mobile DevCon sign-up page and pick your favorite location. Let us know if you’re going, and if you’re feeling cheeky, feel free to let us know what app you’re bringing along to work on!