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?

A couple of Googlers were spotted roaming around the floor at Moscone over the week, but from the photos at hand, it looks like Google only has one type of prescription frame that’s out and about, which looks to be the same frame seen in the image above. It’s not said if Google will make multiple frames available, but we wouldn’t be surprised if they offered several different generic options.

UPDATE: We’ve got a few photos of our own – have a peek at the bits and pieces, courtesy of the lead Industrial Designer for Glass, Isabelle Olsson.

As for how the prescription version works, it seems that the Google Glass hardware itself can’t be removed from the frames, which means they probably won’t be your main pair of glasses, unless you plan on wearing Google Glass all the time, but that will sooner or later be impossible, as there are already many places that you won’t be able to wear Glass.

Secondly, just like the regular frames of Google Glass, prescription frames won’t be able to fold up like a traditional pair of glasses, making it difficult to store them somewhere conveniently if you need to take them off in certain situations. However, this information is slightly different from what the company said back in March, where the Glass design would be “modular,” meaning that you could attach glass to any (or most) pair of glasses or sunglasses. The “modular” word was also thrown around during a Google I/O session this week.

Then again, you’ll obviously still be able to get custom lenses to fit into prescription Google Glass, so if you don’t happen to like any of the frames that Google will release, you’ll at least be able to get the right lenses fitted into them. Now, if only we could get better-looking detachable sunglasses for Google Glass, it’d be perfect.

This system was developed by Instrument to track user input and motion tracking with a custom C++ app built with openNI as well as an ASUS Xtion Pro 3D motion tracking sensor camera. As the motion tracker sees and understands the angle of the human playing the game’s torso and location of each arm, so too will their avatar on the display array move as they fall.

The 3D game content is rendered with WebGL using THREE.js, the WebGL layer being rendered with a totally transparent background. This setup allows the map layer underneath to show through, this map layer being generated by Google Maps.

What the user sees below – the earth they’re plummeting toward – is a completely live HTML Google Map instance. It’s accurate – meaning you could potentially be diving toward your house, a national landmark, or perhaps somewhere that’d be useful for real-world training.

In addition to this setup being live and ready to roll here at Google I/O 2013 as a playable demo, Instrument has created a Dive editor. With this Dive editor, an editor is able to build directly into the control node administrative console, each of these changes reflected instantly – live in the scene.

The editor user interface exists as a Google Map, the person editing it able to use draggable markers that act as game objects. With this interface, developers and savvy users will be able to utilize geocoding to center the map view on locations of their choice – anywhere Google Maps can see. Think of the possibilities!

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!

A lot of people were disappointed by the absence of hardware. Google’s largely a software and services company, of course, but we’re still trained to expect shiny new gadgets first and foremost. What I/O proved to be was a reminder that the industry has moved on, and that it’s high time we recognized that.

“Specs are dead” is an opinion growing in prevalence among those following the cutting-edge of phones and tablets. There’s a limit to the usable resolution of a smartphone display, for instance – once your eyes can’t make out individual pixels, do you really need to step up to Ultra HD? – and to the speed of a tablet processor. The areas that still need real advancement, like high-performance batteries, are evolving too slowly to make a difference with each new generation.

Hardware used to make a big difference to the usability of a device. Now, it’s just a question of badge-loyalty and aesthetics. What really makes the difference is the range of applications and services that are on offer; not solely the raw count of available apps that gets trotted out at every big press event, but whether the specific titles the user needs are on offer to them.

Software is at a tipping point, too, though. Android used to be clunky and ugly; now it looks great, and the gap between the instant usability of it, iOS, and Windows Phone is arguably nonexistent. The software race has moved on, away from silo’d applications and slick UIs to where our phones – and the companies that make them – are finally considering context alongside capability.

Context is a tricky thing to explain, certainly compared to the instant crowd-pleaser of a big OLED screen or a blisteringly-fast, multicore processor. Put simply, it’s a more intelligent way of your phone or tablet integrating itself into your life, whether that be more time-appropriate notifications, an awareness of the people around you, or of the other devices you might use. It’s about predicting rather than just reacting.

Google’s arguably doing the best at that of all the platform companies, and I/O was its opportunity to demonstrate that. Google Now is the most obvious expression of a system that offers up suggestions instead of waiting for you to go hunting for answers, but through the I/O keynote we saw signs of the disparate strands of Google’s products coming together in intelligent, time-saving ways.

Google Maps, for instance, won’t just autocomplete your recently-used addresses, but learn from your preferences in restaurants and other venues and make suggestions it thinks you’ll enjoy. Google Play Music All Access has a ridiculous name, but its ability to build dynamic playlists based on your favorite tracks will help cut down on one of the most common complaints about cloud-jukebox services: that they overwhelm with choice, and subscribers simply end up listing to the same playlists over and over again.

The new Highlights feature in Google+ is another example of the cloud being clever, not just capacious. As many have discovered, thousands of photos quickly become unwieldy when it comes to sifting through them for the best shots, no matter whether you’re storing them locally or from somewhere in the cloud.

Google’s ability to pick out the cream (and give them a little auto-enhancing along the way, just to make sure you’re looking tip-top) could mean you actually end up looking at them more, rather than feeling guilty because you’re not manually sorting them.

Google+ remains the big social network people love to slam, but it’s also the glue that looks set to hold all of these personalized services together. Just as Google hinted back in 2012, when it controversially changed its privacy policy to explicitly allow services to share information on the same registered user between themselves, the key here is the flow of data. That might not actually require people to actively embrace Google+ – indeed, they may well not even know they’re using it – but it will cement its relevance in a way that Facebook can’t compete with.

Make no mistake, context is the next big battleground in mobile. As our smartphones have become more capable, they’ve also become more voracious in their appetites for our time and attention. A prettier notifications drop-down is no longer a legitimate solution to information overload: pulling every possible alert into one place doesn’t make it any easier to cope with the scale of the data our phones and tablets can offer us.

The device which understands us better, and which handles our information in a way that’s bespoke, not one huge gush, will control the market. Google knows that; it also knows that hardware is basically just a way of getting a screen in front of users’ eyes, whether that be on a Chromebook like the Pixel, a phone or tablet from the Nexus series, or suspended in the corner of your eye like Glass.

In the same way, speech control – which also demonstrated marked improvements at I/O – is just another way to make sure people can engage with your products, on top of what touching, tapping, and clicking they’ve already been doing. More flexibility means more usage; more usage means more data to collate and customers that are further wedded to Google rather than any other company.

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.

The device formerly known as Project SHIELD will be coming from the same set of retail partners as it was when its first availability was announced before Google I/O. This change of heart affects each of the set: NVIDIA’s home page, Newegg, and Gamestop in the USA and Canada Computer in the Great White North. It’s just Micro Center that’s not got a pre-order page prepared at the moment – they’ll be going live inside the next few days.

SHIELD retains its specifications outlined in detail earlier this week, it being an NVIDIA Tegra 4 quad-core processor-powered gaming Android clamshell-style gaming handheld device made for both local and streaming game content. Utilizing the Tegra 4′s 72 GPU cores for graphics prowess, this machine is being marketed as both the highest-powered Android gaming device on the market while it brings streaming PC gaming at the same time.

It’s important to note, mind you, that the PC gaming streaming abilities SHIELD employs will not be launched in their full, finalized form when the device ships. Instead, NVIDIA suggests that this part of the equation will remain in Beta for an unspecified amount of time – but not so long that we imagine users will be freaking out.

Have a peek at the PC streaming abilities of this device as well as some Android gaming above in a couple of SlashGear’s several hands-on demos with this device as it inches closer to a final release. Expect shipping to take place sooner than later.

It’s not likely anyone would want to run Ubuntu on Glass as a full-time deal, but seeing it done and knowing it is possible is certainly intriguing. The process involves using Launcher, Notepad, and Settings via adb, along with some apps like Complete Linux Installer and Android Terminal Emulator. Likewise, a Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad will need to be paired to the device. Taking it a step further, the bootloader can be unlocked after this and the device flashed with a different image, providing root access.

If such a prospect is making you excited and you’re not a current Explorer edition owner, don’t get your hopes too high. The folks over at Geek report that, during the session, employees suggested the version set to hit shelves in the coming months won’t make the process this easy, and that the ease with which current owners can achieve such things is to foster as much development progress as possible.

Other Glass information that has surfaced at the event includes word from Sergey Brin that Glass will receive a software update in the future that brings stabilization to the wearable’s camera, helping combat the shakiness/unsteadiness issue that results from a head-mounted camera. No details about how that will be accomplished were provided, but we’re guessing it’ll involve the device’s various sensors and gyroscopes to offer digital stabilization.

Earlier today it was announced that Glass will be getting more apps, including ones for Facebook, Twitter, and Evernote. The design aspects of the device were also covered today via a talk by Glass’s lead industrial designer Isabelle Olsson, who showed off one of the original prototypes in all its bulky, heavy strangeness.

SOURCE: Engadget

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.

Alain Vongsouvanh is a Developer Programs Engineer on Google Glass and the Google Mirror API. Jenny Murphy is also a Developer Programs Engineer for Glass with Google and both of these folks help developers work with the code that brings Google Glass apps to life.

Timeline and Menu

“The Mirror API is one managed through requests made through connections. The main one is a Timeline text card.” This connection is separate from a Gmail connection and separate from a Map connection – it exists as its own element unique to Glass. The most basic setup here is with text and an image.

Customizing these cards are as simple as writing HTML code, but it’s not as all-inclusive as, say, a Chrome web browser-displayed webpage. Google provides a Playground where tests and development can be done, offering here basic templates for developers and allowing them to start from scratch.

This system offers a variety of basic menu items like back and send, and developers are able to create custom menu items like “Complete!” The theme here is simplicity – this development environment is as simple as writing a bit of Java – not something someone off the street will be able to pick up in no time without any knowledge of creating with code, but certainly something that’s simple for a web developer or creator of apps for smart devices.

Contacts

Contacts is a system that a user will share to – just like they are on an Android smartphone. Developers can create a Contact Resource where they’ll have to set an ID that corresponds to a user, users, or a third party app. By default, a shareable element will trigger a list of apps and elements that are compatible with sharing.

Subscriptions and Locations

With Subscriptions, developers will be bringing forward notifications about changes. Instead of you posting to the API, the API will post to the device – input rather than output, so to speak. The developer will specify elements like Collection, User Token, Token Verification, and a Callback URL where needed.

A developer working with Subscriptions in Glass will be working with Timeline as well as Locations – this means they’ve got to account for both how the element is posted and what’s being posted, where it came from and what it’s doing.

Cat Facts

With an extremely simple Glassware app by the name of Cat Facts, Vongsouvanh showed how each of the five different elements in the Mirror API. Below you’ll see his explanation of how it’s not always necessary to work with all five of these bits and pieces, but how even something so simple as this app will be working with more than one.

Each of these apps will have their own unique twist in order to seamlessly work for Google Glass. For instance, Twitter will allow users to tweet to their account, and every tweet you send through Glass will be automatically tagged with the #throughglass hashtag. You can also receive notifications for mentions, messages, and replies.

As for the Facebook app, it too will feature so Glass-centric abilities, including the ability to take and upload a photo using Glass straight to your Timeline, and even add a description to the photo using Glass’s voice dictation feature. Tumblr will also let you do the same thing, by posting a photo to your blog right through Glass.

Evernote’s Glass app focuses on two main actions that you can perform. You’ll be able to take a photo or video and send it to your Evernote account from Google Glass. You’ll also be able to choose specific notes from your Evernote account and send them directly to Glass, so that you can bring it up on the HUD when needed. A great example of this is a grocery shopping list — no having to fish your phone out of your pocket to see what the grab next off the shelves.

CNN’s app is a little self-explanatory, but it goes a little further than just being able to swipe through headlines. You’ll be able to pick the types of alerts you want, such as sports scores or breaking news at certain times. You can also have articles be read aloud to you, as well as the ability to watch video.

Of course, it’ll be a while before Google Glass will be in the hands of the mainstream public, but it’s nice to know that Google is already building up a repertoire of apps that people will be able to take advantage of right away.

VIA: The New York Times

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.

We’ve already been impressed by how Glass holds up as a wearable camera, particularly during situations – like when you’re playing with your kids or demonstrating a new gadget – when you need your hands to be free. However, we also found it more than a little getting used to, keeping your head still when you’re recording a conversation. All too easily you end up with nodding video, as you unconsciously move and react to the person you’re talking to.

We mentioned that to Brin, and he confirmed that it’s something Google is actually working on addressing. “Stay tuned, we’re gonna have some software that helps you out” he told us; it’s unclear how, exactly, that will be implemented, but digital image stabilization is already available on smartphones, and Google might be using a similar system. Glass also comes equipped with various sensors and gyroscopes – some of which are only partially utilized in this early iteration – and so Google could tap into those to do image-shifting and compensate for head-shake.

As you might expect for a device named the “Explorer Edition” and aimed squarely at developers, Glass is still a work-in-progress. Google aims to translate what it learns from this relatively small-scale deployment to the eventual consumer version – tipped to arrive in 2014 – including both design and functionality refinements.

We asked Brin about the style decisions Google made along the way, and at which point the aesthetics of Glass came into the process. “We did make some functional mockups,” he told us, “but mostly we made functional but uglier, heavier models – style came after that.”

Style is, when you’re dealing with device you wear, distinct in a very particular way from design. Even if the work on physical appearance followed on after function, how Glass sits on the face did not.

Glass-chat with Sergey Brin at Google I/O 2013:

“Very early on we realized that comfort was so important, and that [led to] the decision to make them monocular,” Brin explained. “We also made the decision not to have it occlude your vision, because we tried different configurations, because something you’re going to be comfortable – hopefully you’re comfortable wearing it all day? – is going to be hard to make. You have to make a lot of other trade-offs.”

We’ll have more coverage from Google I/O all week, so catch up with all the news from the epic 3.5hr keynote yesterday!

Glass Video: Controlling AR.Drone with NVIDIA Shield

Recon Jet is not in a place where it’s able to be sold at the moment – the version we’re having a peek at here at the Google developer event is a pre-production item – but once it’s ready, it’ll be largely the same as what we’re seeing on the inside. Inside this device works with a dual-core mobile processor (the name of which we’re not allowed to speak of quite yet) powering Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with a custom Recon-made user interface over the top.

You’ll control this machine with a miniature touch-sensitive optical pad that sits on the side of the device near the display. Touching this pad as well as swiping left and right, up and down will allow you access to the device’s abilities and settings.

Inside you’ll be working with GPS, wi-fi connectivity for web, Bluetooth 4.0, and ANT+. With ANT+ you’ll be able to connect to a variety of other sports sensors – this device is, after all, made for hardcore sporting enthusiasts, after all. All of this connects to an HD camera the megapixels of which are not yet available as well.

You’ll be working with “gaze detection” for instant access to the machine’s abilities, its display turning off and on when you want or do not want to work with it. Your eyes will decide.

Have a peek at our brief adventure with this device and note that the main aim of revealing this device this week is to find developers that want to work with the SDK for the device in advance of its final release. This machine will be released to the public before the end of the year – we’ve confirmed this specifically once again in-person with Recon – making its appearance fall well before Google Glass hits the streets in a consumer edition. Pricing and release dates will be coming soon.

With this new version of Google Maps on the web, users will be able to tap on lit-up locations across the map. This system allows you to search for a restaurant in your area, find that place, and where the experience would end with that in the past, you’ll just have started. Users have cards to the left, similar to Google Now with cards that bring information on the location’s address, hours, webpage, phone number, and reviews through Zagat.

This system also gives the one-button click ability to access directions from the location you’re sitting in (or wherever you’d like to start from) as well as save the location as a favorite. This system also works with five-star ratings for locations be they a place of business, a public park, or anything in-between.

Below the map you’ll find a collection of images that come from users who have contributed photos and photo spheres from their cameras or android smartphones and tablets. These results appear courtesy of Google+ where users have recently also been given the ability to post photo spheres and embed them in webpages across the web.

Multiple modes of transport will be available to users as they’d be available in Navigation, public transport, flights, automobiles, and biking included. This system also learns with the user the same way Google Now does, changing and adjusting based on past searches and your Google Now preferences.

We’ll be working with this new Google Maps system through the immediate future and answering any and all questions you, the reader, have between now and the final roll-out for the public. This system is one you can access with an invite request starting today, and users will be seeing upgrades with invites in the near future.

NOTE: We’ll be continuing our journey with Google Earth integration soon. It’s here that Google will be pushing the boundaries between the 3D and the 2D visions they’ve had separate until now: Google Maps and Google Earth will soon become one!

Overall, we’re dealing with many of the same features that we’ve already seen with services like Spotify, Rdio, and Pandora, but Google has put its own spin and look into All Access. The Explore page is probably where most users will spend their time if they’re interested in discovering new artists. This section includes personal recommendations, featured artists and albums, as well as new releases.

As what may appear to be obvious, All Access is simply added on to the current Google Music app, so all the previous features of the app still remain. You even still have the ability to upload all of your own music the app and have it combined with the streaming music that you have picked out, creating one large library of music that includes a mix between the two. This is something that only Spotify has, and it’s a mighty-awesome feature to have.

All Access also has a Pandora-like feature where you can create radio stations of sorts based on a single artist or song. From there, you can give a song a thumbs up or thumbs down to make the app continuously learn about the music that you enjoy most. You also have the ability to rearrange future songs in the automated playlist in the radio station, as well as the ability to swipe away the songs you don’t want to listen to.

As for the user interface, nothing hasn’t changed too much. You get the typical Google look with an orange and white color theme. Frankly, I’m not a huge fan of the squared-off boxes and shapes that many Android apps have, but it certainly doesn’t hinder the music listening experience at all, and it’s something that I can easily get accustomed to.

One huge problem with All Access is cross-platform support. It is available on the web in any web browser, turning your laptop and desktop into its own DJ of sorts, but as far as mobile apps outside of Android, Google has yet to make that expansion. The great thing about Spotify is that it’s available on pretty much any platform, including iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone. We’d be surprised if Google released their Music app for all of these platforms, so for users who yearn for cross-platform support, that seems to be where All Access’s weakness is.

As for price, All Access will cost $9.99 per month, but if you sign up before June 30, you’ll only play $7.99 per month. That price seems to be a permanent thing, so if you sign up before the end of June, you’ll only pay $7.99 for as long as you have an All Access subscription. Furthermore, All Access comes with a 30-day free trial, whether you sign up before June 30 or not.

Overall, Google Play Music All Access isn’t anything revolutionary, and we’re frankly a little disappointed that Google is simply getting their feet wet first before diving in. Of course, this is a smart move sometimes, but instead of boldly diving in and giving Spotify and Rdio a run for their money, Google is simply taking it easy to get a feel for the market, which could put them further behind in the music-streaming race.

Android OS Updates

As it was last year, so it was expected to be again here in 2013. Google didn’t make an update to Android itself in any grand way, instead issuing updates to services like Google Play for developers on its back end, and updates to Apps for Android, Chrome, and even iOS. While Android 4.3 may still be on the horizon, (coming up quick, you can bet), it’s not been mentioned here on the first day of I/O.

This speaks volumes about Google’s approach with the conference, letting the world know that they’re not about to be pigeon-holed as a company that relies on updates to its operating systems and devices as major announcement fodder while they’ve got perfectly good app releases and service updates to shout about. As Apple’s new operating system update is rumored to be right around the corner, it’s possible that Android is simply fulfilling the suggestions made by Larry Page at the end this one-off keynote:

“Every story I read about Google is about us vs some other company, or something else, and I really don’t find that interesting. We should be building great things that don’t exist. Being negative is not how we make progress.” – Larry Page

Smartphones and Tablets for Developers

In 2012, Google gave away a Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone, a Google Nexus 7 tablet, and a Chromebox. The year before, they gave away a mobile hotspot from Verizon as well as a Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet – and a voucher for one of the first model Chromebooks too. This year developers are being given a Chromebook Pixel, the highest-end device on the market running this operating system. Google was expected to give away an LG-made Nexus 4, a Nexus 10 tablet, and other goodies, but they’ve sent one, single, crystal clear message instead.

Google’s message is that the most important services they’ve got to offer are on Android devices so abundant in the market that they’re inevitably already in developers’ hands OR are on Chrome OS. With the finest delivery vehicle for this operating system in the world thus far, Google is encouraging developers – pushing them, basically – to get Chrome on their radar, and to keep it there.

Google Glass Development

There’ve been no shortages of appearances by Google Glass this week at the Moscone Center, each of these happening with devices made available to developers at Google I/O 2012, shipped in the weeks coming up to this 2013 edition of the event user by user. Though there is a massive showing for Glass on one of two levels of developer-aimed presentations here at I/O 2013, there was no mention of development for Glass in the keynote.

Glass was mentioned by Larry Page in his question and answer session at the end of the keynote, but it certainly wasn’t in any way that was planned beforehand. Glass is not, it seems, at a place where it makes sense for Google to make a big deal of it to developers the same way new services announcements are being pushed. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to continue to update the public on Glass at this moment either since final market-ready units are still a far way off.

Results

The re-adjustment of the aim of this developer conference is clear. It’s here that Google re-humanizes the way they approach public relations, at least through the developers that make this ecosystem so healthy. While in years past it may have seemed that Google was aiming over the heads of developers, exciting the public with massive consumer-based keynotes to encourage these creators of software and services by default, Google is returning to a more solid spot here in 2013.

What do you think? Did you expect to see anything that didn’t end up appearing in the first and only keynote session of the week? It’s without a doubt a turning point – however subtle – for the company, and it’s exciting – among other things – to see the company’s ability to keep their aims diverse.

He spoke on how technology should be used, specifically on how technology should be getting out of the way. Page’s mention of how “we’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible and what’s next” lead into his assurance that having to turn off multiple smartphones before he stepped onstage was absurd: it should be simpler than that.

“Technology should do the hard work, so you can get on and live your life. We’re only at one percent of what’s possible, and we’re moving slow relative to the opportunity we have.” – Larry Page

Reminding the audience that “software should run everywhere, and easily,” Page made it clear that he’s not a fan of the “trouble” they’ve had with Microsoft in the past – this referring to patent issues and licensing matters of all kinds.

“Every story I read about Google is about us vs some other company, or something else, and I really don’t find that interesting. We should be building great things that don’t exist. Being negative is not how we make progress.” – Larry Page

This chat showed more than what was spoken about by Page. It was a show of power, or a show of what might be seen as courage in Page’s willingness to stand in front of the developer and press and take questions. Questions, in this case, not in any way pre-screened or filtered.

Page mentioned not just Microsoft, but Oracle – how it wasn’t pleasant to be in court with them. He made it clear that “the right solution to education is not randomness” with regard to Google Search making informed decisions on what people should see in search results. Page’s session was an attempt to show Google as a friendly, real, human group here in 2013.

Search through Google Maps will show Sushi restaurants recommended by your friends. You’ll find photos through locations taken by users in Google+. Cards will be appearing similar to what’s seen in Google Now. In short, this system will bring the multi-system that is Google’s personalized experience for teach individual user in once more in the future of Google Maps.

Each user will be working with a unique map, each map based on the users interests as racked-up through their searches as well as their preferences. A map will be built using the same data as appears in Google Now.

A map will be built for “every place” as well, with unique details appearing when a location is clicked – or tapped. If a park is selected, for example, roads will be highlighted that lead the user to that location. Details added with Zagat and by the location owners, and of course by the public, will be available at a level that’s well above what’s offered today.

Google has made it clear that the future will turn the map itself into the user interface. Directions will be able to be accessed with taps on the map, not just through text searches. Multiple ways to access each location will be appearing at a tap.

This system will be rolled out to Google I/O attendees first and will be offered as a preview for the rest of the world later this week. The action will continue throughout the week through SlashGear’s Google I/O tag portal as well.

The new Google Maps includes a new search experience with the results labeled right on the map in real time, as well as Google+ integration. However, a big feature of the new Google Maps is personalization. Google wants to cater Maps towards every user, and give them the ability to create custom maps of sorts that highlight places of interest and other establishments that users frequent.

There’s a new five-star rating system in place now, so when you search for a place, it will now show you a review score out of five stars, based on reviews from friends and other users who have been there. There’s also an improved Zagat interface complete with full editorial reviews and Zagat scores.

Navigation is also getting some updates as well, with an improved view of real-time incidents, including re-routing. So when you approach a closed road or slow traffic, the app will serve a pop up and suggest that you change your route in order to get to your destination quicker.

Google also announced Google Maps for iPad, as well as an enhanced interface for Android tablets, which will be releasing at some point this summer, and will include some new features such as Explore, where it provides a self-explanatory experience for looking around a map, and even looking at indoor maps of malls and airports, just like on the smartphone and web versions.

Overall, Google announced that they’ve reached 200 countries covered thanks to their own data, as well as crowd-sourced data, with North Korea being the 200th country added on to Google Maps. Street View also reached 50 countries recently, with 5 million miles of road covered already. Furthermore, Google Maps is on over one million websites, which results in over a billion people visiting Google Maps every week.

To start, Google brought up the recently-announced change to the way the company is handling the cloud storage space that you get. Google is now giving users 15GB to split amongst Gmail, Google Drive, and Google+ Photos. If you use Google+ Photos the most, this will give you more space to store full-resolution images, and it seems Google is all about full-res, as they took the time to knock Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, for not uploading photos in full-res.

Google also introduced a new feature that lets Google+ Photos pick the best photos out of a large stack of photos that you took while on vacation or somewhere. Some people take hundreds of photos and they want to pick out the best ones to share. However, Google says they can do that for you now. Based on different factors, certain photos get prioritized or dropped.

Google can recognized what photos are blurry or have poor exposure. These photos get dropped and aren’t featured. However, photos of important places and smiling faces (yes, that cleverly rhymed) get prioritized. Google calls this feature Highlights, and it’s rolling out to Google+ Photos now.

Another Google+ Photos feature is called Auto Enhance, which is essentially Photoshop for dummies, or at least people who don’t want to mess with such a complicated piece of software. The Auto Enhance feature uses Snapseed technology (remember they bought Snapseed awhile back?), and the feature can recognize different facial features such as skin, hairlines, and eyes. The built-in software will then automatically adjust the exposure in certain areas to enhance the photo. This feature is also rolling out now.

Lastly, Google+ Photos is getting something called Auto Awesome, which consists of five of its own features, which include Collage, HDR, Smile, Motion, and Panorama. The Auto Awesome feature can do things like create animations out of different photos that you’ve uploaded. This feature will also begin rolling out today.

This chat system will be available for Android and iOS as well as on the web starting today. This cross-platform initiative works with group video as well as video chat, and all of it without charge. Though this may seem obvious for some, there have been systems similar to this in the past where chatting with your camera cost extra cash – can you name that system?

With Google+ Hangouts, a Google+ account will be needed to chat. This account is the same as a user’s Google account for Gmail and the like, but the social networking sign-up will need to be done.

This system will also be launching with photo storage with Google+ at 15GB at full size. This means that if you want to automatically upload photos to Google+ with your Android or iOS device, you can upload 15GB worth of full-sized photos. If you want to upload limited-size photos, you can upload as many as you like.

Google+ has also been updated with a system that can break down your collection of photos to find what’s best based on a variety of pre-selected criteria. This system as well as Google+ Hangouts will be launching today with Google+ photo enhancement abilities far beyond those available in the past. Stay tuned to SlashGear’s Google I/O tag portal all week long for more developer action as it occurs, piece by piece!

Facebook recently overhauled their news feed, and Google+ is about to do the same, only about 10 fold. Live on stage they’re sharing a few of many details, and we’re just getting started. Google+ is slowly but surely becoming the center of attention for all of Google’s services. Comments on the Android Play Store and YouTube can be tied to your social account, and Google Games invites all run through Google+.

So what’s about to change? Well, everything. Mainly the stream, design language, and the way we enjoy news. The stream will be new, and unified across all platforms. Phones, tablets, PCs and more. Instead of a never-ending newspaper they’re going to make the new stream all about “design and depth”. The design has a familiar Google card-style layout, and the depth will be important.

While we’re still waiting for all the details, many of which Google doesn’t have time to announce, they’ve confirmed a brand new photo experience and a new Google Hangout. Which for those who don’t know, are Google’s video calls feature. Instead, Hangouts will be Google’s new unified messaging service from what it looks like. You can have messages with one person, or many. You can do standard messages, or video calling and more. We’ll have more on Hangouts soon. Google Hangouts will be cross-platform too.

Photo’s will still auto-upload, but will now save full 8 megapixel images if you’d like. That means when you share a photo on Google+ it’s bigger and better than any other social network. Stay tuned for more details on the all-new and completely improved Google+, which we’ll be seeing online shortly. Google stated it will be rolling out today, and expect a full review of the new features coming up quick.

Google says that Google Play for Education includes apps that have been recommended by teachers themselves, so other teachers will know right off the bat that every app in the Education section has some sort of value in the classroom, and having teachers approve and recommend the apps also cuts down on inappropriate apps from making their way in.

Educators and students can browse apps based on different categories that have been set in place, including searching for apps by type, age, etc. The new platform also integrates Google+ groups, so when a teacher downloads an app for his/her students to try, they can push the app to all of the students in the classroom at once.

Individual schools or even school systems can also create a central Google billing account, so when teachers go to buy apps, they’ll be automatically charged to that central account, which cuts down the need to have teachers buy the apps themselves and be reimbursed for them, which can be confusing, and it saves a lot of hassle in the long run.

It’s not just limited to apps and games, though. Teachers can also purchases books and movies that are of educational use. Currently, six schools in New Jersey are trying out Google Play for Education, and it seems to be working out quite well, as over 500 apps were downloaded and used in a single day. Google plans to release the new platform in the fall in time for the start of the school year.

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.

Your information saved in Chrome in your desktop browser will be able to sync with your mobile web browser on Android. This means you’ll fill out a form, for example, with your name, address, payment information, all the good stuff, you’ll be able to save it (as you have been able for quite some time). The big deal here is that this information will be able to be accessed instantly from your mobile Chrome web browser at a tap.

The mobile web browser Chrome for Android allows you to sign-in with your Google account to sync with whichever iteration of Chrome you’ve already signed-in with. A change on one will be able to be brought up on another, history is the same, tabs can be accessed cross-device, and now forms will be able to be filled automatically.

This system will be rolling out for Android in the very near future – at the moment we’re waiting to see how close it is to iOS. Every other update to Chrome mentioned today has been instant and/or cross-device as well as cross-platform. Chrome is being pushed here at Google I/O 2013 as a single system more now than ever before.

The company demoed a web app running on a Chromebook Pixel, which is an interactive app for the upcoming movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The app shows an overhead view of the world, which is pinchable, so you can zoom in and out to explore the various areas on the map. Google eventually showed off the same web app on a Nexus 10 running the Chrome mobile browser.

The web app shows an all-3D environment, but unfortunately, it ran a little poorly during the on-stage demo, with really low framerates and a lot of stutters. We’re not sure if the Chromebook Pixel can’t keep up or if the internet isn’t doing its job. The web app is based on webGL, and since it’s a web app, you can access it through mobile and have the same experience on both desktop and mobile devices.

It’s certainly an interesting concept, and it seems Google is adamant about decreasing the separation between the desktop experience and the mobile experience, making both as equal as possible. Browsing the web on a tablet isn’t the same as browsing the web on a desktop or laptop, but Google is looking to change that with Chrome, and they’re planning to come out with some relevant features for Chrome later this year.

Furthermore, Google announced some improvements to the Chrome mobile web browser that will bring it up to par with the desktop version, including a new Checkout button that makes shopping easier on mobile devices. It’s essentially a one-click process that saves you time from having to enter in multiple fields by typing on the small keyboard. It’s essentially Google’s first step to creating a simpler web browser. Stay tuned for more Google I/O news coming up!

This device will be sold straight through Google Play, this implying an unlocked bit of greatness – and indeed that is what it is. The Google Edition of the Samsung GALAXY S 4 will cost users a cool $649 USD and will be coming up on the web starting on June 26th. It should be made clear that this device is not branded with the word Nexus, but is essentially that: unlocked, basic Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, and updated by Google.

This device works with the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor that the normal edition does, and it’ll be coming with essentially the same set of hardware from top to bottom that the normal edition has. This release marks the point at which Google begins selling 3rd-party hardware for Android on their website. Of course you’re able to purchase Chromebooks made by Samsung and Acer direct from Google Play, but this is the first Android to come without Nexus in its name.

Stay tuned as we see how well a relatively expensive device such as this does on the Google Play online store. While the Nexus 4 and the Nexus 7 – and the Nexus 10 to a lesser degree – have been successful in Google Play due to their relatively high value and low price, this GALAXY S 4 might see not quite so easy a time at a price that’s double the Nexus 4. We shall see!

The mobile app looks to have all of the same features that we’ve seen in music streaming subscription services in the past, including personalized recommendations, featured music, and the ability to create radio stations out of the music that you enjoy the most. This gets based on a certain artist or song, similar to how Pandora creates different stations.

While a song is playing, you also have the choices of giving it the thumbs up or thumbs down, as well as the ability to rearrange future songs in the automated playlist, as well as swiping away the songs you don’t want to listen to. Google says that All Access is a music player “without rules,” meaning that you can have be as interactive as you want, or just let it do it’s thing.

Basically, it’s nothing that we already haven’t seen before in Spotify, Pandora, or Rdio, but there are a few minor features that music enthusiasts may enjoy greatly. Plus, if you’re already deep into the Google ecosystem, this could be a great addition to your app collection. And like Spotify, you can upload your own music to the app and have it appear right along side all the other content. All Access will also be available as a web app for cross-platform enjoyment. As for price, you’re looking at $9.99/month for unlimited access.

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!

The new IDE in Android Studio is based on the community edition of IntelliJ, which should make many developers happy, and Google gave a live demo of the new developer suite by showing off live code updates and live renderings of apps in real time, which allows you to see what your app will look like on different screen sizes as you type code and make changes to it.

The suite also lets you choose from a huge library of devices that you can virtually use to try out your app to see what it looks like on certain devices and different screen sizes. This may not mean much to the non-developer, so if there’s anything to get out of this, it’s that this could solve fragmentation, and apps could look a whole lot better in the future.

As for developing apps for an international audience, Android Studio also includes different language tools. You can get a real-time view of how your app works with different languages, which is great because you’ll be able to see how the text changes and affects other elements in the app as the language is changed.

Google plans to continue to add on to Android Studio in the future, and what they have shown today is really just the tip of the iceberg. The company wants to integrate more and more services into Android Studio in the future, which should make developing apps even easier as time goes on.

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 first location API they discussed is what they’re called Fused Location Provider, which aims at providing faster and more accurate location data, as well as low-power mode where less than 1% of the battery is used per hour, according to the search giant. After all, if battery power is a huge concern for a lot of users, this should certainly smooth things over a bit.

The second API that Google announced is called Geofencing. This lets you define certain areas around different locations in order to trigger events, something that we’ve seen before in location-based reminder apps, such as Checkmark and Apple’s own Reminders app. Google says that many users have asked for this feature, and finally they’re delivering.

The third API is called Activity Recognition, which helps to track your physical activities such as running, walking, biking, etc. The API uses data from the phone’s accelerometer and can even work without the GPS if you don’t happen to get a signal. It will also learn learn different activities to figure out when you’re walking, running, biking, and driving.

No word yet on when we’ll see these new APIs become available, but they’ll most likely release the APIs this week for developers to get started on as soon as possible. Stay tuned for more coverage of Google I/O, as the keynote has begun!

Sundar Pichai has just confirmed that with nearly 400 million Android activations by the end of 2012, here mid-way through 2013 we’ve already more than doubled that massive number, and Android’s ecosystem has reached 900 million. Talk about a big number. Android developers and manufacturers are an important part of that, obviously, and their proud to announce they’ve paid out developers more in 4 months this year, than all of 2012 combined.

Along with the confirmation of nearly 900 million Android activations, there has also been over 48 billion (yes with a B) billion Android app installs. Not only that, but there has already been 2.5 billion in the past month. It’s safe to say Google’s Android OS is only speeding up, and showing absolutely zero signs of slowing down.

It’s also worth noting that just last month Google Android activations was sitting around 750 million. So in the past month or so that’s grown to over 900. We’re expecting this to only increase, and by the end of 2013 Android could be topping 1.5 billion. Next up we’re talking Android, Google Play, locations data and more. Stay tuned and follow our Google I/O Portal.

Inside, there’s an unspecified dualcore processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS, along with ANT+ fitness connectivity. Sensors include an accelerometer, gyroscope, altimeter, magnetometer, and a thermometer, while an HD camera pokes out the front.

There’s still some wiggle-room in the specs, though. For instance, Recon Instruments hasn’t said what resolution the display runs at, though our guess would be that the impressively-detailed renders in the demo video below aren’t quite what the Recon Jet itself can manage.

Obviously the glasses themselves are somewhat less discrete than Google’s Glass, though they’re intended to provide protection during sports like skiing and snowboarding. What the company is aiming to do at I/O is publicize its SDK, which will allow developers to hook their apps and services into the headset.

Recon Jet overview:

Potential uses include activity tracking and fitness monitoring, showing your health performance for instance, as well as streaming music and video. The Recon Jet could also be used as a remote display for apps running on your phone or tablet, and the company says it’s working with “some of the top fitness companies and communities” to cook up titles in time for the eventual launch.

Recon Jet will be available later in 2013, Recon Instruments says. Pricing and specific launch dates are not confirmed, though there’ll be a limited-availability initial production run which will seemingly be offered on an invitation basis to developers, similar to how Google has managed the Glass Explorer Edition roll-out.

There’s no shortage of rumor as to what Google might have to show us this morning. First up is a Spotify-rivaling subscription music service, which the rumor-mill claims will deliver unlimited streaming to Android devices, among other things.

Meanwhile, there’s chatter of a new version of Google maps. That was previewed earlier this week, in a hastily-pulled sign-up page, but not before tidbits were gleaned like maps that can learn from your search history and where you click, and thus show you tailored results.

Google I/O 2013: Running into the keynote (filmed on Google Glass):

The SlashGear and Android Community team arrived on-site yesterday, and spared no time in giving you a behind-the-scenes look of this year’s show. Of course, the halls are going to be a whole lot busier today, as I/O kicks off in earnest.

We’ll have full coverage of everything Google announces at the keynote on the SlashGear frontpage, kicking off the start of what will be three days of news as Google further courts developers. Glass, Chrome OS, and more are all likely to be on the menu, so don’t forget to let us know exactly what you’re most excited about!

Google I/O 2013 Keynote Livestream:

“The most comprehensive map, now built for you” Google describes the new system, with a “tailored map for every search and click you make.” There’s also a new search box, which now floats on top of the map rather than living at the top of the screen as per the current version, and which expands to accommodate other search results like ratings, reviews, and whether there is other mapping data available for a location, such as indoor floorplans.

Google has also apparently baked more of its location-based services into the core Maps view. That includes Google Earth – which, in WebGL-compliant browsers, is directly integrated so can be viewed without needing to install a plugin first – and Flight Search.

As for navigation directions, the new Google Maps will now show all different methods of transportation on the same map simultaneously. That means the driving route will be shown alongside any public transportation options, such as trains or subways, and presumably – for shorter journeys – the route to take on-foot if you’re up for the exercise.

So far so UI refresh, but it’s the ability of the maps to tailor themselves to individual users’ that could be the most interesting part of the reworked version. “As you search the map, star places you like and leave reviews,” Google explains, “the map starts to adapt and can suggest things like restaurants you might enjoy or the quickest way home.”

Whether Google intends to transfer those features over to the mobile version of Google Maps is unstated, though given Android has its own predictive assistant technology in the shape of Google Now, we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see this learning system start pinging out more proactive suggestion cards in the near future.

Google is almost certain to announce and fully detail the new Google Maps at I/O, which kicks off in San Francisco later today.

It was only last month that Google pushed out a redesigned Play Store, but that hasn’t stopped it from rolling out additional changes. The 6-button layout has been switched up with some small user interface changes that makes it look better, such as the colors being boosted and some other changes you’ll notice. This update takes the Play Store from version 4.0.27 to 4.1.6.

The menu text has been refined for consistency, and the uninstall/install buttons have been tweaked as well, with some extra space stuffed between them, fixing a common complaint heard in feedback due to users hitting uninstall when they meant to tap “Update.” In additional, there’s now a new option called “app data sync,” which users will find under Google account sync options. This feature syncs and saves app data to the cloud.

More information will be learned at the event tomorrow, but in all likelihood it points at game saves and app settings (between devices, as well, though we don’t know that for sure yet). The much rumored “Play Games” from Google will use this new feature for cloud saving of game data. Meanwhile, the Play Store has some other smallish user interface changes, such as an altered “redeem giftcard” popup and a switcheroo back to a white settings page.

There are a bunch of small changes, which you can check out for yourself after nabbing the app updates, which should be rolling your way tonight or in the morning. If you’re impatient, you can hit up the download link we have below. Stay tuned, and we’ll bring you more info tomorrow!

Download: Play Store 4.1.6

SOURCE: Android Community

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!

The information comes from sources who spoke to the folks over at The Verge, also reporting that Google has penned deals with both Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. Such deals will provide the rumored subscription service with access to vast quantities of artists. This is in addition to deal with Warner Music Group reported by Fortune back on March 5.

While the rumor that surfaced earlier this year said that Google will be offering a free music streaming service, The New York Times has stated that its sources say that won’t be the case, with only a for-pay subscription model being offered. That is disappointing, but the subscription service – although no numbers have been dropped yet – is likely to be priced similar to its competition, meaning $10 or less monthly.

We still haven’t heard whether the service will only be available to those located in the United States or elsewhere as well. And while information on what, precisely, the service will be like is unknown, word has it the subscription model will compete with Spotify and similar other companies, meaning it will probably share some of the same functionality.

The information hasn’t been confirmed, with all three record labels declining comment and Google obviously having nothing to say on the matter. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait long to see if the sources pan out, with the announcement slated for tomorrow. We’re currently at the event, and will let you know as soon as we hear anything.

SOURCE: The Verge