Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Jelly Bean: Google Now, Project Butter, enhanced notifications and more
Google has officially announced, and detailed Jelly Bean, Android 4.1. And it's better than we could have possibly imagined. There's a ton of technical changes and new features that will keep Android ahead of the curve. Let's take a look at what the update will include.
Jelly Bean will be smoother than any other Android version before it thanks to Project Butter. By using "triple buffered graphics," Jelly Bean will feature faster and more consistent frame rates, creating a visually pleasing experience. Google used a super high speed camera to film animations on a stock Ice Cream Sandwich and stock Jelly Bean device. The difference was night and day.
Android already has the best notification system in mobile today. With Jelly Bean, it's going to get even better. Notifications are going to be expandable and collapsable in Jelly Bean, and they'll feature developer customizable quick actions. For example, when you get a Four Square notification, you can expand it in the notification shade, and either like or comment on the notification without ever having to enter the app.
Voice input is about to get a whole lot better in Jelly Bean too. From here on out, Voice Typing will no longer require an Internet connection. It will only be available in US English at first, but it should expand before too long.
Google Now and the new Jelly Bean flavored enhanced Google search is hands down the most exciting feature to come out of I/O so far. When asking Google simple questions like what's the weather, a card will pop up and tell you the weather. You can use Voice Typing to ask questions, and have the answers on cards read back to you. This is essentially Google's answer to Siri. And it looks fantastic.
Google Now takes the new Google search, and adds a personal assistant feature. Accessible by clicking the Google search bar or by swiping up from the bottom of the screen, Google Now will auto-populate information in certain cards, like sports scores, and use previous searches, calendar events and your location to provide you with other smart information. The more you use it, the better it gets.
Jelly Bean will be hitting the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S and Motorola Xoom in mid-July.
We'll be bringing you much more on Jelly Bean and the news out of I/O as the day rolls on. Stay tuned!
Nexus 7 Tablet Unveiled – Starts at $199 for 8GB Model, Ships in July
The Nexus 7 tablet is finally official and available now in the Google Play store. It's $199 for the 8GB version, $249 for the 16GB version, and ships in mid-July. You can order now and be one of the first in the world to use Jelly Bean (Android 4.1).
It's as you probably expected it to be on the spec front. The device is powered by a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 7″ HD display, NFC, 1GB of RAM, and runs Jelly Bean. It looks like a solid option at that price.
Nexus 7 full details outed early Update: Now official and available for pre-order
Apparently Google forgot to lock up the Nexus 7 area in the Google Play Store this morning and Modaco went ahead and let themselves in.
We've had some images and rumored details leaked already, but this is pretty much every last nugget of information you could be looking for regarding the Nexus 7. Hit the image at the bottom of the post for the full page image, but here are the highlights.
The Nexus 7 will come in 8 and 16 GB versions, no pricing is shown here so the assumption stands that it will be $199 and $249 respectively.
The Nexus 7 will come with a $25 credit for the Play store for a limited time only along with some content including the movie Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon, the Bourne Dominion book and some magazines.
The full specs rundown is as follows:
- 7-inch 1280×800 IPS display with Corning glass
- 198.5x120x10.45mm
- 12 ounces
- 1.2 MP front-facing camera
- WiFi 802.11
Nexus Q is the world’s first social streaming media player
Alongside Jelly Bean and the Nexus 7, Google has unveiled an interesting piece of new hardware called the Nexus Q.
The Nexus Q is a cloud connected juke box. It works as a sort of receiver for Google Play connected devices, allowing anyone with access to Google Music or YouTube, as just two examples, to play music or videos on whatever the Nexus Q is hooked up to.
If you have your Nexus Q hooked up to a set a speakers (like the $399 pair being sold on Google Play), anyone who connects their device to that Nexus Q can play music through those speakers. No need to pass around phones or connect to different accounts.
As far as the tech specs, the Nexus Q features optical audio, an ethernet port, micro HDMI port, micro USB and banana jack speaker outputs, all wrapped in a solid black ball shaped casing, surrounded by a ring of 32 color changing LEd lights.
The Nexus Q will be available in mid-July for $299. For more information on the Nexus Q, check out the dedicated web page for the Q here.
Live – Google I/O 2012 Keynote Day 1
The day has arrived! It's Google I/O 2012 keynote day 1, which has in the past been saved for all of the Android goodness a normal person can handle. Tim and I are here, ready to soak it all in and provide as much meaningful insight as we can to you. The event will be live streamed at 9:30AM Pacific, but we thought that a live blog would be fun so that everyone has a place to to chat about the announcements that will surely be flying around the room. Ready to meet Jelly Bean and the Nexus 7 tablet? We are.
(Direct video link)
Is Google Also Going to Announce the Nexus Q, an Android Media Player?
A reader of ours was poking around the Google Play store this morning and stumbled onto an addendum that lists out some details for two yet-to-be-announced devices from Google, the Nexus 7 tablet and a new device that appears to be some sort of a media center called the Nexus Q. According to the info we have pasted below, the Nexus Q sounds like a media center or player that you can run your phone, tablet, TV or home entertainment system through. It has access to Play Music, Play Movies, and YouTube. It doesn't necessarily sound like a new Google TV product, but more of a sharing hub.
Nexus 7 Addendum
The following paragraphs only apply if you purchase a Nexus 7.
The Nexus 7 has built-in Wi-Fi. You are solely responsible for obtaining internet connectivity through an internet service provider as the Nexus 7 does not support mobile connectivity.
In order to use the Nexus 7, you understand that you will need your own 802.11a/b/g/n access point Wi-Fi router.
The Nexus 7 is manufactured by ASUSTeK Computer Inc., whose principal place of business is at ASUSTeK Computer Inc., Nr. 15 Li-Te Road, Peitou, Taipei 112, Taiwan ("ASUS").
ASUS provides a limited warranty for the Nexus 7. Please refer to the warranty card in the Nexus 7 package or ASUS for details on the ASUS limited warranty.
Nexus Q Addendum
The following paragraphs only apply if you purchase a Nexus Q.
You understand that the Nexus Q currently supports only Google Play Music; Google Play Movies and TV; and YouTube, and that your use of those services is subject to the Google Play Terms of Service.
The Nexus Q has built-in Wi-Fi and a built-in ethernet controller. You are solely responsible for obtaining internet connectivity through an internet service provider as the Nexus Q does not support mobile connectivity.
In order to use the Nexus Q, you understand that you will need your own: (i) phone or tablet running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) or higher with access to Google Play; (ii) compatible speakers, AV system or HD TV; and (iii) 802.11a/b/g/n access point Wi-Fi router.
Google provides a limited warranty for the Nexus Q. Please visit this link for more information.
Feel free to discuss this in comments and at our live blog.
Cheers
