Google I/O Wrap Up!

Hey people! This post is COMPLETELY dedicated to the awesomeness that was Google's annual Input Output Convention... First off, What's new in Android!

So what is new?
To begin the awesomeness, Google announced their best OS to date which is Android 4.1, Jelly Bean. Yes, it is an incremental update but wow...my mind was blown.

To start off, Jelly Bean keeps the traditional ICS look, so the HOLO theme is still around. We do have a new Lockscreen as well as a redesigned Google Voice/Search bar and a new set of wallpapers. Now, we have a new "button" on the Lockscreen where the Upper portion contains Google NOW, which is an extremely quick and easy method to ask Google a question and get a dictated answer.

While watching this Live, it was spectacular and got results at amazing speeds. If you don't trust my words...then enjoy the videos down below showing how great this is. To me, it's a 100% Siri killer! Moving on, we have the same Speech to Text service in an Online mode that has Artificial intelligence. While dictating, it can make sense of the whole passage of text and correct itself if it made a blunder. There's another video for this, enjoy!

Google Now VS Siri
Google Now: Stress Test (47 Questions in a go!)

Tons left to go haha! Ok, so next up we have Automatic Re sizable Widgets. So if you go to the Widget drawer and drag the clock for example to a Home screen that is filled, the apps/widgets will move around creating the space needed for the Clock to be placed!

After that the AMAZING Notification system that we have has been upgraded to provide slightly more detail and it is more dynamic as well which helps you get an easy overall of what is going on in your Inbox, or if someone sent you a picture, you can actually view it in the Notification area.

Then the best part is...the CONSTANT 60FPS while using the UI. On the lockscreen to home screen to app drawer the UI is fluid...just like water. While browsing the web, the browser doesn't glitch and performs smoothly. This was simply referred to by Critiques, that Android got rid of the LAG. Yes, it is here! Now, Jelly Bean's SDK is already available while the Official OTA is coming soon in July however, if you seriously can't wait to meet epicness, XDA Developers have already ported it over to the GSM Galaxy Nexi.

The list is still long to go, so please take a look at the Developer page to read through all changes made :)
http://developer.android.com/about/versions/jelly-bean.html

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After that great news we had the Nexus 7 unboxing and we will definitely make a video unboxing and review once we get ours, which should be shipping in about 2-3 weeks.

Like the leaked specs indicated, everything is the same with the confirmation of no Micro SD as well as no mini HDMI out. Thinking about it, that's how they could cut the costs! $199 for the 8GB and $249 for the 16GB. Rumors have already begun for the Nexus 10 stating that it's in production already so hope that's true :D

You can go to the Play store and preorder the 7 right now! It is available in North America, UK, Australia and a few additional countries.

https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_8gb

On the page, it will highlight all the perks of getting the Nexus 7 and I have to say, that it is quite tempting! By default it is running a hybrid like UI. With the navbar and dock but on XDA Developers there is an easy method of making it into a Full Tablet mode!

That's all for the IO that I found was interesting. There was also the Nexus Q but I seriously find no need to discuss it as it will serve no purpose for me. To summarize, it is an Android based device for $299 that can play content from the Google Cloud services such as Play Music, Movies etc. Anyway, that's a wrap ;)

~Imraan