What's On Google's Plate For 2015?
By Dino Londis ( Invests.com) - The fourth annual Google I/O introduced new products, expected products and even repackaged products, but it did not deliver a lot of surprises mainly because - unlike Apple - the search giant has been sharing much of what it's developing as of late.
One of the surprises was the absence of Glass. Glass was the focus of Google I/O 2013, but was rarely mentioned anywhere in the 2014 conference. That's not to say Google is abandoning wearables. In fact it doubled down on them.
Android Wear
Not the first to the market but ahead of Apple, Google introduced Android Wear for the smart watch. Both the Pebble Smart Watch and the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 predate any Google Wear watch, but Samsung announced at the conference that its Galaxy Gear 2 will be powered by Android Wear. Until now Samsung used Tizen as the OS for its smart watches.
Increasingly larger phablets would make a smart watch an easy sell to Android customers because pulling out a phablet to check a message - or even the time - becomes a bit of a chore over the course of the day. Google estimates that people check their messages about 125 times a day. From what I see that's a conservative estimation.
Though there are rumors that Apple will introduce a larger phone, iPhones are considerably smaller than Android phones, so Apple's may have a harder sell to convince customers to buy a smart watch. Android Wear won't work with Apple.
It appears for now that an Apple smart watch won't directly compete with Android Wear. It is going after the health market with its own smart watch, which is slated to debut at the end of 2014.
But it won't be like that forever. Google's health-focused Fit platform made an appearance at the conference, which was directed toward developers. So we should see something more substantial in the next Google I/O.
Samsung's Gear Live smart watch does have a heart rate monitor that works with several fitness apps, but it won't be specifically meant to monitor health.
While you're checking you messages on your tweets on your wrist, your Android phone will be plugged in and delivering all its apps and features to your car's infotainment system. Rather than building an operation system into the car, Google has decided to build a console that acts as a conduit for your Android Phone.
So rather than your car being stuck with a static OS - or worse - having to update its OS, the car connects to any new phone you have. You will have customized buttons on the steering wheel and a Nvidia based console to deliver the dashboard. The Android Auto experience is meant to be 'glanceable' - a word Google loves.
Google is directly competing with Apple in the connected auto sector, which is estimated to be a $50 billion dollar business over the next decade. If it's hard enough now to switch ecosystems when switching smartphones, imagine how hard it would be to switch if your car has to be switched as well. Apple introduced CarPlay in March and so far 24 brands have pledged to partner with it.
Android TV
Google already has a semi-hit with Chromecast, a $35 dongle that allows you to stream the Internet and other services from your smartphone or tablet to your big screen TV.
Android TV - a separate device set-top device, or 'micro-console' that streams content - is making a play for a portion of the gaming market. It's not intended to replace a Sony PlayStation, but aimed at those who would opt for a cheaper console with much cheaper games.
It could even complement a larger gaming system. Android TV comes with a remote so you won't need a tablet to run it. Google has tried this before, but with less powerful hardware and a less mature OS. It says it has learned a lot from the simplicity of Chromecast and is applying that to Android TV.
And here is a must-see video of the final seconds to the events countdown to the keynote.
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