Google unveils orb-like, USA-made Nexus Q streaming device

E. Betters

Google executives are now on-stage at Google I/O to unveil the Nexus Q—an orb-like, social streaming-media device with a $299 price tag.

It is notably made in the United States and acts as a bridge for Android devices by streaming Google Play Music, Google Play Movies and TV, and YouTube to “the biggest speakers and screen in the house.” Anyone nearby can use an Android device to control what is playing through the Nexus Q.

It touts a 4.6-inch diameter and weighs only 2 pounds. It also features a rotating top dome volume control with a capacitive touch sensor. The Nexus Q comes equipped with a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, SGX540 graphics core, 1GB LPDDR RAM, and 16GB NAND flash memory. It even runs a version of Android 4.0, while boasting slots for Micro HDMI, TOSLink Optical audio, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, Micro AB USB, and Banana jack speaker outputs. The Nexus Q supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, and NFC capabilities.

Google’s streaming device is available for pre-order at Google Play today, but it will not ship for another two to three weeks.

The 2012 Google I/O Developers Conference starts today at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco, Calif., with events continuing until June 29 at 4:30 p.m. PST.

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Google officially announces the Nexus 7 tablet, ships in mid-July for $199

Jordan Kahn

Although the official introduction video for Google’s new Nexus 7 tablet leaked before the announcement, the company just unveiled the 7-inch device on-stage at its Google I/O keynote. While announcing the device’s specs (listed below), the company gave a number of demos for the Nexus 7′s UI, including a content recommendation page, Gmail, YouTube, Chrome (first device to ship with Chrome as default, stock browser), and a full-featured Google Maps with offline mode. Google also gave a demo of the 12-core GPU in action with some impressive 3D games, as pictured above.

Pre-orders start on Google Play today for $199 (8GB) or $249 (16GB), with the device shipping to the United States and Canada in mid-July alongside Jelly Bean.

  • -1,080-by-800HD display
  • -Tegra 3, Quad-core CPU
  • -12-core GPU
  • -4325 mAh battery- 9 hours video playback, 300 hours standby
  • -Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer
  • -1.2 megapixel front-facing camera
  • -340 grams
The 2012 Google I/O Developers Conference starts today at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco, Calif., with events continuing until June 29 at 4:30 p.m. PST.

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Google Play eyes 1.5B app installs every month, introduces magazines and TV content

E. Betters

Google’s Chris Yerga is on-stage now to announce Google Play numbers: The marketplace boasts over 600,000 apps and games, roughly 1.5 billion installs every month, and 20 billion total app installs to date.

The executive also said magazine subscriptions and television rental options are coming to Google Play. The magazine-reading experience is premium, Yerga touted, while explaining new interactive aspects to magazine thumbing on the newly unveiled Nexus 7. Television viewing is also exceptional due to download options for offline access. A few of the big television partnerships, Yerga said, include Disney, ABC, Sony, and Paramount.

The 2012 Google I/O Developers Conference starts today at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco, Calif., with events continuing until June 29 at 4:30 p.m. PST.

A picture gallery is below. 

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Google officially unveils Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, rolling out OTA mid-July

Jordan Kahn

Google execs are live on-stage at Google I/O to kick things off with the official unveiling of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The first aspect of the latest version of Android discussed at the event is “Project Butter,” which is a number of enhancements that improves touch responsiveness and overall smoothness of animations and the UI. It also brings the system frame rate up to a consistent 60 frames per second.

Google moved to demos of the redesigned widgets, which scale intelligently around other UI elements, and a new Predictive Keyboard that supports voice input. There was also a demo of redesigned notifications that Google explained are now fully customizable, expandable, and collapsible.

Execs gave a demo of new notifications that expand to offer more information as they reach the top of the list (such as sharing options or artwork related to notification), and they can be expanded and collapsed at any time via gestures. Google next showed improved voice search in Jelly Bean that appears to be its much-rumored Siri-like assistant feature.

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Google’s Nexus 7 tablet introduction video leaks out [Video]

E. Betters

A leaked image of the widely rumored Nexus 7 appeared on Google’s Play Store servers this morning, but an official video of the tablet just surfaced on YouTube moments ahead of Google I/O.

The video’s description even details a few specs:

With a stunning 7″ display, powerful quad-core processor and all day battery life, Nexus 7 was built to bring you the best of Google in a slim, portable package that fits perfectly in your hand.

The 2012 Google I/O Developers Conference starts today at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco, Calif., with events continuing until June 29 at 4:30 p.m. PST.

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