Watch Google’s I/O keynote right here, right now

Posted on 18/05/2016 by Jessica Conditt

Google's big I/O keynote kicks off at 1PM ET live from the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. We expect big news about Android N (including its actual, probably delicious, name), a look at the future of Chrome OS, fresh Android Wear...

‘Android VR’ confirmed by Google developer site

Posted on 13/05/2016 by Steve Dent

It looks nearly certain that Google will launch an Android-powered VR headset that works without a phone or PC. Android Police spotted an "Android VR" placeholder in Google's Play Developer Console, and Engadget co-founder Peter Rojas (now an entrepr...

Google’s own interpretation of Amazon’s Echo is coming soon

Posted on 12/05/2016 by Mat Smith

All of a sudden, it's as if everyone is working on voice-controlled personal assistants, and reports suggest that Google's version of something similar to Amazon's Echo could land as soon as the Google I/O event next week -- which would make sense. A...

Pichai unveiled Cardboard before seeing the final design

Posted on 28/03/2016 by Nick Summers

Deep within a long, expansive profile piece about Google's CEO Sundar Pichai, BuzzFeed's Mat Honan has offered a fresh tidbit about the unveiling of Google Cardboard. Clay Bavor, VP for virtual reality at Google, says he was summoned to Pichai's offi...

Wearable-technology pioneer Thad Starner on how Google Glass could augment our realities and memories

Posted on 22/05/2013 by Tim Stevens

Countless wearers of Google Glass stalked the halls of this year's Google I/O developer conference, but only a lucky few were sporting the prescription model, which makes room for lenses in a more conventional glasses frame. Among those lucky early adopters with imperfect vision was Thad Starner, a Georgia Tech professor who, in 2010, was recruited to join a top-secret project at Google's fabled X Lab. That project, as it turned out, was Glass, and Starner's role on the team as a technical lead would be a vital one.

Starner invented the term "augmented reality" in 1990 and, after experimenting with wearable technologies for 20 years now, offered us a rare perspective on where the stuff has been and where it's headed. So, then, we were very glad to get a few moments to chat with the man at I/O and get his insight into how we got to be where we are and, indeed, get some suggestions from him on where we're going from here.

Filed under: Wearables, Google

Comments

Engadget Podcast 344: Google I/O edition – 05.17.13

Posted on 17/05/2013 by Joe Pollicino

~~Live~~ Pre-recorded from a coffee shop near Google I/O, it's episode 344 of the Engadget Podcast. Tim and Brian may not drink coffee, but rest assured the bustling surroundings (hint: loud cars) kept this show's energy high -- that and apple cider. Get excited for some commentary on everything from Glass to redesigned Maps and get to streaming below.

Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater

Producers: Joe Pollicino, Benjamin Harrison

Hear the podcast:

Filed under: Podcasts

Comments

Rumors mount for white Nexus 4, may launch with next version of Android

Posted on 16/05/2013 by Zachary Lutz

The white Nexus 4 is stuff that dreams are made of, and the lucky son of a gun at Android and Me, Taylor Wimberly, has one in hand. According to Wimberly's description, it'll be a "carbon copy" of the black Nexus 4, with the same specs and hardware wrapped into the sparkly, snow white casing. That's not the only juicy detail to emerge from Google I/O, however, as Wimberly reports that the smartphone will debut in the Google Play Store on June 10th with Android 4.3. We're currently unable to confirm the rumor, but a growing number of server logs add to the speculation that Android 4.3 could be around the bend. With less than a month to go, it won't be long to know whether this one pans out, but you can be sure that we'll be dreaming of unicorns in the meantime.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

Comments

Source: Android and Me

Google’s nearly four-hour I/O 2013 keynote is yours for the watching on YouTube

Posted on 16/05/2013 by Zach Honig

Looking for some entertainment on an upcoming cross-country flight? That might just be the only reasonable excuse for sitting through all 3 hours, 51 minutes and 25 seconds of Google's recorded keynote. The I/O presentation, now available for playback on YouTube, covers many of the company's announcements from yesterday, including All Access, Hangouts, a bounty of developer tools and that Galaxy S 4 running stock Jelly Bean that we weren't expecting to see. All that and more can be yours if you click past the break.

Filed under: Internet, Google

Comments

Google announces Glass Developer Kit, will enable offline apps and direct hardware access

Posted on 16/05/2013 by Tim Stevens

Google I/O 2013 is entering day two in San Francisco and a Google Glass developer session is happening right now. The focus is on the current Mirror API, which allows for online, web services-based apps that push simple content to the headset. This enables current apps like the New York Times. But, the Mirror API is quite limited, allowing only online apps and not providing any direct access to the Glass hardware. That's changing, though, with Google announcing the Glass Developer Kit, or GDK. This will allow for Android apps that run directly on the Glass hardware, providing much greater functionality and offline access. When is it coming? "Sometime in the future" is the best we're able to get.

Filed under: Wearables, Google

Comments

Source: Google "Developing for Glass" session

PrimeSense demonstrates Capri 3D sensor on Nexus 10 (hands-on)

Posted on 16/05/2013 by Brad Molen

Take the 3D sensor inside the Microsoft Kinect, shrink it down to a tenth of its original size and add a bunch of mobile capabilities, and you have yourself PrimeSense's latest conquest, better known as Capri. The company, which is the brains behind the Kinect, has been openly working on bringing a tiny-yet-advanced 3D experience to tablets, televisions and smartphones for quite some time now. And it's proud enough of its progress so far that it's willing to give some real-life demonstrations to developers attending Google I/O. You may not see Capri embedded on the PCB of your portable gadget anytime soon -- at least, not until PrimeSense winds up wooing the pants off a lucky OEM or two -- so in the meantime, the company has connected the sensor board to the Nexus 10 via micro-USB.

Unlike the Kinect, however, PrimeSense doesn't think gestures will play a significant role in how we use Capri to interact with our gadgets. Rather, it seems to be more focused on 3D-based use case scenarios, many of which haven't even been thought up yet. As you'll see in the video below, we were shown an AR game that takes the environment around you -- walls, furniture and other elements -- and uses them as restrictions, just as much as they would be in real life. In another app, Capri snapped a three-dimension shot of an object on the table in front of us, captured its measurements and let us export that image to another device or even a 3D printer. In many respects, PrimeSense appears to be taking the same strategy Google does with Glass: get developers excited about the tech in the hopes they'll come up with clever uses for it. And while the company isn't ready to put Capri in their hands yet, the SDK is up for grabs, and I/O is no doubt an ideal place to build excitement for it. If you're looking for more info, we have a gallery, video and press release below, and you'll find the SDK at the More Coverage link.

Gallery: PrimeSense Capri demo at Google IO