Google's Odd New Events App Likely Released By Accident

Contextual awareness is attractive for users, but also useful for event organizers. We see context put to really good use with beacon technology, where Gimbal makes big strides in working their hardware into venues for use in-app. Knowing more about your immediate surroundings, especially with regard to things you can't possibly know by looking around, is handy. A new app from Google, Interactive Events, shows how similar feats may be accomplished via software. It's also an app you're not supposed to know about.

Though it's in the Play Store, Interactive Events says — on download — it's not to be discussed with "non-Googlers", and is labelled confidential. So much for that.

Inside, you'll see Google is aiming squarely for event organizers and users alike. Interactive Events is relatively useless as-is, but has promise. There's a feature for scanning QR codes, which could give you context on the appropriate room or be used as a entrance ID to an event in reverse. Scan the code, and your device ID might be recognized as either being invited or not.

One interesting feature allows for the addition of sessions to your Google calendar. If you add an event to calendar, the app notifies you about 30 minutes before the session starts.

Much like Phandroid, who originally spotted the app, I believe this makes sense for Google events. Actually, I think this was meant for Google I/O 2015, and was released early — either by accident, or just limped out lazily. The app takes much of what makes the Google I/O app useful for event-goers and makes it widely available. also, we've not seen an official Google I/O app for 2015 yet, and their 2014 app hasn't been updated.

In that sense, it's possibly Google just made their Google I/O app widely available, which really will be handy for those putting on (or attending) similar types of events.

Source: Google Play

Via: Phandroid