Hasta La Gadget!

This week at Google I/O we’ve gotten our first glimpse at Google+ for tablets, shown as a lovely streaming beast that’s looking rather different from any stream we’ve seen before. This application works in landscape mode primarily – or it was designed to do so, anyway, and is made specifically so that you can stream video with hangouts, first of all. This update brings hangouts to the tablet and makes the interface just as simple and workable as the basic version in the desktop-based app.

This update has a brand new bit of notification, a brand new profile selection series, and a wholly upgraded interface that basically looks like more fun to use than the web-based version. Check back at SlashGear soon to get a full review of both the iPad and the Android version – out now! This version has of course also been introduced for the betterment of the Nexus 7 tablet as well.

iTunes Link for iPad
Google Play App Store link for Android tablets

Stick with us all week for all things Google I/O 2012 through our I/O 2012 and Android portals alike!

Google+ pushed to Android tablets and iPad is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week at Google I/O, a brand new device has been revealed going by the name Nexus Q, a cloud-based system which connects to your sound system, video system, and more, complete with Android. This system is made to bring on the heat for Google Play in many ways more than one, and is connected to everyone in a room at a given time. A couple of folks sitting on the couch can add songs to a list, each of them connecting with their own Android device.

This system can also connect to your HDTV and transmit your data wirelessly from Google Play. The content comes from the cloud, your Android smartphone or tablet works like a controller. All of your systems are connected to Google Play, and it all works, again, completely wirelessly – save for the connection between the Nexus Q and your television.

Google has also released a video of the system in play here:

Check out the gallery below for more information on the Nexus Q and check out our Nexus Q portal as well – and stick around all week at our I/O 2012 portal and our Android portal too!

Nexus Q demonstrated with cloud music and movies is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Here’s an interesting little tidbit from the Nexus 7 reveal: the tablet will be the first device that will ship with the Google’s Chrome as the standard browser. It will replace the default Android browser, so it looks like Google is finally going to throw some weight behind the mobile browser on future devices. It does raise an interesting question though: does that mean Google is going to ignore Flash content completely?

Naturally, you’ll still be able to download other browsers that do support Flash, but currently Chrome has no Flash support. Instead, the browser relies on HTML5 support for video playback. The company didn’t confirm if Chrome would be the default browser on Jelly Bean for all devices or for other devices going forward, but it’s an interesting change nonetheless.

The Nexus 7 features a 1280×800 IPS display, a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8 or 16GB of storage, a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, Bluetooth, WiFi b/g/n, and NFC. Google say the tablet is good for up to 9 hours of HD video playback, with the 8GB version costing $199 and the 16GB version prced at $249. The tablet should ship for delivery in mid-July.

Google Nexus 7 runs Chrome as default browser, shuns Flash is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google has been detailing its next-gen Android 4.1 Jelly Bean platform at the I/O keynote today. But when can we expect this latest update to arrive? The company has announced that Jelly Bean will be arriving on the Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, and Motorola XOOM in mid-July with the SDK available to developers starting today.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is expected to bring a smoother, faster, and more delightful user experience through Project Butter, which involves implementing VSync, triple buffering, and touch responsiveness.

Jelly Bean will also bring new NFC and notifications features as well as an app called Google Now that helps plan your event and activities. Whether its setting an appointment, planning your flight, bus route, or checking sports scores, Google Now will automatically give you the information you need.

For more details on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, be sure to check out our posts for Google I/O 2012 and look out for our event wrap-up.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean available in July, SDK today is written by Rue Liu & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

App Encryption has been introduced for Google Play and Android – a device encryption key has been introduced here so that hacking will, if Google has their way, become a thing of the past. In addition to this, updates to apps will now only include the parts of the APK that have changed – that’s a much smaller download when it comes down to it. These features will be handled automatically with Google for Gingerbread and above.

Google has pushed C2DM to the next level with Cloud Messaging as well, with a completely free bit of usage for developers with no quota limitations. Developers are clearly at the center of attention here – as they should be – in Google Play and outside of the shop across Google I/O. Have a peek at the rest of the news from Google I/O through the following portals:

• I/O 2012
• Google I/O
• Android

And hit the timeline below to see all the most recent Jelly Bean action as well!

Google Play gets App Encryption is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.