At day two of I/O, Google repeated pretty much the same keynote, but it also finally announced Chrome for iOS. After a tortuous wait, it’s landed in the App Store this afternoon, and I spent some time using it. And it’s not quite what you’d hope. More »
Google has introduced the Google Drive app for iOS, which lets iPhone and iPad users access and manage (adding collaborators) their Google Drive and Google Docs documents and files. Reading documents is not really news, but being able to manage them and setup some permission can be handy on the go.
Unfortunately, Google Drive for iOS is only a viewer and a very basic document manager. It will display the documents without any problems and would even let you download them if you expect to not have a network connection. However, it won’t be possible to edit them for now. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google TV gets more (paid) content, Google Glass will reach consumer in 2014 says Google Co-Founder,
Google Glass may be grabbing the headlines at IO this week, but with Explorer Edition developer devices not shipping until 2013, it might be worth looking elsewhere for your head-up display fix. Recon Instruments has just the thing, with a new Android SDK for the MOD Live eyepiece that will allow developers to create their own applications that float in the user’s eyeline.
The MOD Live is a complex little piece of kit, with various sensors integrated: an altimeter, barometer, 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyro, 3-axis magnetometer, and a temperature sensor. There’s also Bluetooth Smart Ready (aka 4.0) and GPS, a d-pad for navigation, and of course the eyepiece itself.
Power is from an 800MHz TI OMAP3 Cortex-A8 processor paired with 256MB RAM and 512MB of flash space, of which 180MB shows up as mass storage. ”Because our SDK is pretty much completely the Android SDK, creating an HUD app takes about the same effort as a regular Android app” Recon claims.
The facility for the MOD Live to take advantage of basic http pull and push is due to be added in the next week or so, and Recon plans to give away ten free eyepieces (and subsidize a further 100 by 50-percent) to encourage developers to jump onboard. Normally, the MOD Live is priced at $399.99.
You can sign up to be considered as a developer here, and see an example of an app – detailed here – intended for skiers in the video below.
Can’t wait for Google Glass? Recon’s MOD Live has you covered today is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
We already knew that developers would get their hands on the Explorer Edition of Google Glass device in 6 months or so (for $1500), but Sergei Brin has confirmed to Bloomberg at Google IO that consumers would have to wait until 2014 until they can buy the new hip augmented reality device. Introduced as Google Project Glass, the glasses are an augmented reality module that display information on top of what the user sees (terminator-style). The goal is to have a near hands-free (there’s a trackpad) experience by using voice commands. Google glass can also record what the user sees. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google TV gets more (paid) content, Google Drive for iOS and PC offline editing introduced,
Chrome for iOS, announced at Google IO just a few hours ago, has already begun to hit the App Store, though there’s a sting if you’re expecting the full Google browser experience. The new browser is the latest iteration of Chrome, bringing features like tab sync to iPhone and iPad; however, it’s not built on the speedy underlying engine of Chrome on other platforms, such as Android.
In fact, it’s more like a reskin of what Apple is already offering in iOS, dressing up the existing WebKit engine with a shiny new Chrome UI. One of Apple’s limits for iOS apps is that they’re unable to change those underlying components:
“It’s not the Chrome rendering or JavaScript engines — the App Store rules forbid that. It’s the iOS system version of WebKit wrapped in Google’s own browser UI. The pressure for Apple to allow users to specify a third-party app as their default browser is going to increase significantly after this. (As I type this, it’s not yet in the App Store.)” John Gruber
There’s also no support for setting anything other than Mobile Safari on the iPhone or iPad as the default browser. That means every time you click a link in an email or app, Safari will leap up to load it rather than Chrome for iOS.
It’s unclear whether the inevitable increase of pressure on Apple to change its policies will have any impact in the long run. The company has proved reluctant to allow other browsers to occupy the space that Safari currently does, rightly assuming that controlling the web experience is an important aspect of the “walled garden” ecosystem.
You can download Chrome for iOS here [iTunes link].
Chrome for iOS hits US App Store is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
While it didn’t merit a spot in either keynote, the Google TV platform is also getting an updated version of the Google Play store. Along with a new UI that looks a lot like the one on other Android devices it will have support for purchasing movies, music and TV shows as mentioned yesterday, and also subscription billing. The “Bring Your App to the Big Screen” presentation is still going on, we’ll let you know if any other new elements are revealed. There’s a new post on the Google TV blog mentioning apps like the one announced by Sirius XM, and the new hardware from partners LG, Sony and Vizio. Finally, the team is also focusing on its updated APIs for developers building not only apps for the TV (like the Google I/O app itself, which has been working smoothly this week streaming video), but also second screen applications just as we pointed out earlier. The last update and potentially most curious? Mentioned during the presentation, later this year Google TV will no longer require hardware manufacturers to provide a physical keyboard on their input device.
Google TV will get subscription billing, support for movie and TV purchases in Google Play originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Finishing up the Keynote here Google’s own Sergey Brin is showing us a bit more on Project Glass. In case you missed it, yesterday they jumped out of a blimp and landed right on top of the Moscone West Center here in San Francisco for Google IO, and managed to show it all live as a Google+ Hangout thanks to Google Glass.
We are still slowly learning more and more about Project Glass, and have even pre-ordered a few of our own so that’s exciting. What is about to unfold is a live Google+ Hangout and skydive all captured again with Project Glass. This time showing us how it’s all done right on the live feed. Sergey is on the roof, trying not to get hit by skydivers, and explaining the entire process. Since Google’s Project Glass doesn’t have 3G/4G capability, they are streaming via a connected WiFi device.
In case you didn’t hear yesterday. Google will be allowing IO attendees a chance at an early look and developer kit sometime next year for the tune of around $1,500. We were quick to order a few but will have to wait a little longer before getting our hands on these impressive augmented reality glasses. This same event took place yesterday and you can catch that video from the links below.
Sergey Brin talks Project Glass at IO 2012 is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Google’s Sergey Brin has shown off the sunglasses-version of Google Glass, taking to the roof of the Moscone Center to demonstrate how the incredible skydiving stunt yesterday was done. So far, Google Glass has only really been shown with open eyepieces, though some of the Google testers have worn the wearable computer over the top of their own prescription eyeglasses.
Sergey’s version, however, has clip-in tinted lenses, which can seemingly be slotted into place to suit the conditions at the time. Google has also confirmed that there will be support for prescription lenses, though it’s not clear whether they too will be removable or if they are fixed.
Google has generally been coy on Glass details, but a few tidbits have emerged this week at IO. The headset will support WiFi and Bluetooth, though not 3G or 4G as originally rumored, and be able to tether to a nearby phone so as to share its cellular connection.
As for battery life, again, there are no official figures but a careless aside from Brin suggested up to six hours from a single charge. That will undoubtedly depend on what Glass is being used for, however.
Google began taking preorders for the developer version of Glass, the so-called Explorer Edition, at IO yesterday, priced at $1,500. The first units will be shipped in early 2013, with consumer versions due within a year of that.
Sergey Brin shows off Google Glass Sunglasses is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Remember Google’s Chromebox? The company is giving attendees at I/O one of the machines absolutely free. That’s not a bad present on top of the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus Q, and Nexus 7s that were given away yesterday. If you recall, the Chromebox is running Google’s Chrome OS and is designed to be a lightweight PC for basic multimedia and productivity tasks.
Specs for the Chromebox include an Intel Celeron dual-core processor clocked at 1.9Ghz, 4GB of RAM, and 16GB of local storage, plus a whole host of connectivity options including six USB ports, two DisplayPorts, DVI, Ethernet, and WiFi. Naturally, the box is designed to take advantage of Google’s various cloud services, hence the limited amount of storage.
Still, we doubt many will be complaining about receiving a $329 machine for nothing. If you’re at I/O then you’ll be able to pick up your free Chromebox at the Gear booth. If you’re not there, you’ll just have to buy one or convince someone who went to give it to you for free. Just remember to say “pretty please”.
Google I/O attendees score free Chromebox is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
First there was skydiving Google Glass; now Google IO has brought us Cirque du Soleil in the browser. The famous acrobatics company took the IO stage to show how they’d used web technologies to put motion-tracking dance and interaction into Chrome. The webcam of a Chromebook was used to follow the movements of the user, all rendered in smooth 3D; even more impressive, it all worked in the browser on a tablet, too.
In the case of the tablet – which used an iPad for the IO demo – the accelerometer was used to navigate through the 3D environment, with a virtual acrobat filling the screen.
Cirque du Soleil’s sytem uses a combination of HTML, web video and markup to create “virtual set pieces” using CSS. The end result is hugely scalable and easily edited, the group said, and will be featured on the troupe’s site.
Of course, not everyone is interested in being a virtual acrobat, but Google is pushing the interactive web technologies as ideal for any developer looking to make more of their site. Earlier today, the company confirmed that Chrome has 310m active users.
Cirque du Soleil demos motion-tracking virtual acrobats in your browser is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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