Google’s annual developer conference was held last week, from the 19th to 20th of May. Google used the event to brief developers about upcoming product and feature launches, and as expected, the event featured some exciting new services.
Google TV
The biggest single announcement at Google I/O was probably the launch of Google TV, which is an open platform built on Android and meant to run on the Google Chrome browser.
Google TV will enable users to access the shows they want to, when they want to, on their television screens. Google TV features integrated search to allow users to find relevant content across channel listings, DVR, and the Internet, as well as a picture-in-picture layout to access multiple windows simultaneously. With this service, Google undoubtedly has its eyes set on the $70 billion U.S. TV advertising market. Google TV enabled devices will go on sale in autumn 2010.
Clicker TV
Google also introduced Clicker TV, which is basically a TV guide that allows users to find programmes by scrolling through the options with a remote control or arrow keys on a keyboard. The Clicker TV website can work on any browser and will be a free service in the U.S.
Android 2.2 (Froyo)
Android 2.2, which has been nicknamed Froyo (from Frozen Yoghurt), was also announced at the event. The new version of the platform will be much faster, will have new enterprise features such as Exchange calendar synchronisation and will include portable hotspot functionality, the ability for apps to participate in device messaging and data backup and will support Adobe Flash.
Google Wave
Google Wave has been brought out of beta and is now available to everyone. It is supposed to now be much faster and easier to use than before.
Chrome Web Store
The Chrome Web Store is scheduled for launch later this year and will be an open marketplace for Web apps. Google Chrome and the Chrome Web Store will support installable web apps. Applications from the Chrome Web Store will allow users to install their favorite web apps. An installed web app could be separated visually from other tabs, could integrate better with the operating system and could be granted increased permissions.
Storage for Developers
Google Storage for Developers, a new service also announced at the I/O event, is a RESTful cloud service built on Google’s storage and networking infrastructure. With the API, developers can connect their applications to reliable cloud-based storage that is replicated across several U.S. data centres. This service is being previewed with only a few developers initially.
