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Google announced today on its Google Glass Google+ page that it will soon be kicking off a road trip with the Google Glass team that will give people around the U.S. the opportunity to try out the wearable firsthand. Google didn’t share many details, but it has already announced the first stop on its tour with registration for a visit to Durham, NC in October now open.

We’ve heard lots of people are interested in experiencing Glass first hand, so we’re taking Glass to cities across the US to give you a chance to do just that… We’re excited to announce that we’ll be kicking off in the Tar Heel State. Come try Glass, chat with the team, and enjoy local snacks and beverages.

Google plans to announce additional dates for its U.S. Glass tour in the near future through its Glass Google+ page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvKd7N8ifhI

9to5Google gave you a demo yesterday of the Archos Android-powered GamePad coming to the United States market in the next couple of months. While at the Archos booth on the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center for CES this week, we also got the rundown on its new “TV Connect” Android 4.1.1-powered TV product. The set-top box packs a 1.5GHz “Smart Multi Core” CPU, 8GB of storage (microSD card slot up to 32GB), and 1GB of RAM, and it comes with a hybrid game controller/QWERTY keyboard that also includes Wiimote-like gesture support. The TV Connect will retail for $130 this February.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zAytOPnfkX8#!]

Rumor has it that LG’s Nexus device is on the way and based on the LG Optimus G that we recently got hands-on time with at a media event in New York City. We might not have official word from Google or LG, but recent retail inventory listings and leaked images indicate an unveiling will happen in the coming weeks. Several reports agree the LG Nexus will sport almost identical specs to the Optimus G, but today we get a look at what we can expect from the new device with a lengthy 4-minute product video posted to LG’s YouTube account.
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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

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_QAAP2AtPo]

We told you yesterday that Google was carrying on the tradition of placing a large monument on the lawn in front of Building 44 at the Googleplex. This time, the statue represented the upcoming new version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The image yesterday showed a transparent jar tipped over with jellybeans spilt out, but today we get a look at the finished sculpture in the video above. The jar is actually the Android mascot’s torso. TechCrunch went behind the scenes to find out how the Android jelly bean jar was made.

The Google’s I/O event is kicking off today, where we are all expecting to see much more of Jelly Bean. We will bring you live updates as they happen when the keynote address kicks off at 12:30 p.m. EST (9:30 a.m. PST). We are also expecting to see some major Google TV announcements.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9tAwHCDq-94]

It looks like the first quad-core Tegra 3 tablet is getting one step closer to a final release with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime officially going up for pre-order on Amazon today. We knew it would be landing for $499 sometime in December, but today it’s listed at a slight discount for $492.20 for the entry-level 32GB model ($584.22 for 64GB).

Asus also today officially listed the device on their website with full specs, however we don’t learn much more than we already found out last month. Some new pieces of information– ‘SonicMaster’ audio tech brings the “most precise processing protocols and codecs, superior speaker construction and large resonance chambers”, and a power saving mode which according to SlashGear lets you switch off three of the CPU’s four cores. Asus notes their battery life estimates are measured using the powering saving mode.

We also learn there will be a bunch of preloaded apps including the SuperNote note taking app, MyCloud for cloud storage and remote access, MyNet for streaming over home networks, and My Library which stores all downloaded publications in one convenient location. There will also be the Asus launcher, Asus sync app, and TegraZone, and a full list of accessories can be found here.

The page confirms an Ice Cream Sandwich update will be coming, while Nvidia (via TheVerge) gives us our first look at Android 4.0 ICS running on the Transformer Prime in the video above.

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