Hasta La Gadget!

We had a pretty good idea that this little guy was going to be making an appearance at Google I/O this morning and, sure enough, it’s here. Not only is it here, it’s in our hands. Meet the Google Nexus 7, an ASUS-designed device with minimal branding and a clean version of the latest flavor of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Join us after the break for a rundown of what this $199 Fire-fighter feels like to use.

Continue reading Nexus 7 tablet hands-on (video)

Nexus 7 tablet hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 15:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did you keep up with everything Google announced at today’s I/O keynote? Believe us, we had a difficult time too. Covering everything from Jelly Bean to jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, there was plenty to keep the audience oohing and ahhing. It makes sense to have this plethora of news in one handy place, right? After the break you’ll find every piece of action that Sergey and Friends covered in Moscone West this morning — as well as the video of the keynote — so make sure to save a little extra time for yourself to enjoy every last bit of it.

Continue reading Google I/O keynote roundup: Project Glass, Nexus 7, Nexus Q and Jelly Bean

Google I/O keynote roundup: Project Glass, Nexus 7, Nexus Q and Jelly Bean originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 15:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As is the norm for developer summits, Google’s kicking off I/O with a keynote highlighting whatever the heck it wants to. Jelly Bean is, of course, one of the big topics of discussion at today’s session, and we’re hearing more news come down the pipeline straight from the horse’s mouth. Jelly Bean, also known as Android 4.1, should be making its way to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S and Motorola Xoom in mid-July as an OTA update, and the SDK will be available today as part of a developer preview.

Keep up with the latest Google news by checking out our I/O keynote liveblog!

Google: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean coming to Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S and Motorola Xoom mid-July originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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On stage at Google I/O, the company is showing off its newest features for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which include a new keyboard with SwiftKey-like word prediction, and voice typing that works even when you’re offline. From the demo on stage it worked quickly without the annoying lag of waiting for the server to process your words we’ve experienced from voice control so far. There are 18 new input languages including Persian and Hindi, although offline voice dictation is US English only for now. Also mentioned on stage are new audio cues for blind users, and support for Braille. Check out our Google I/O 2012 live blog for all the details.

Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012’s opening keynote at our event hub!

Android Jelly Bean input options include updated keyboard, offline voice dictation originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s seems like only yesterday we were all crowded around our laptops, watching a live stream and getting amped for Ice Cream Sandwich. Truth is, that was six months ago now and, while most of the Android running public still hasn’t been blessed with 4.0, it’s already time to make the leap to 4.1. Today Google officially took the wraps off Jelly Bean, the next evolution of its mobile platform and while it’s not quite the revolutionary shift that was Gingerbread to ICS, it still marks an important improvement for the ecosystem. One of the biggest features is Project Butter, a deep-diving effort to improve performance and response time. The whole system hums along at 60fps now, and while the difference of a few milliseconds might sound like small potatoes, it becomes glaringly apparent the moment you run Jelly Bean next to an ICS device. Animations are smoother and quicker. The CPU immediately ramps up the moment a touch is detected to ensure speedy response.

The home screen has also been tweaked, adding some nice features like dynamically resizing widgets, so you no longer have to place it, resize it then move it to where you want if there isn’t enough room. If there is room, but your app icons are merely in the way, the widget will automatically push them to the side. And, in a nice, slick touch, apps and widgets can be removed by flicking them off the screen. Another extremely welcome touch is the addition of offline voice input. Now you can tap the microphone and dictate a message even with the phone in airplane mode.

The camera app, which was already a highlight of ICS, has gotten even better in 4.1. Now, the gallery is slickly integrated, allowing you to quickly pull up the photo you just took with a swipe to the left. You can keep swiping through your images or even pinch to zoom out and view all your images in a filmstrip view. Deleting images is as simple as swiping a pic off the screen and, if you’ve manage to accidentally remove one, a quick tap of the undo button restores it. And, speaking of images, you can now share them and video using Google Beam, and Android now supports pairing with Bluetooth devices with the assistance of NFC.

Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012’s opening keynote at our event hub!

Continue reading Jelly Bean, Android 4.1 revealed by Google, rolling out in mid-July

Jelly Bean, Android 4.1 revealed by Google, rolling out in mid-July originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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