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When looking at the state of the many marketplaces in which Google competes, it’s hard to find much trouble with what the company is doing. Google is leading in search, its Android platform is second to none, its advertising services are dominant, and it’s now delivering Nexus-branded devices with its vendor partners that are truly putting Apple on notice. In so many ways, Google is tops.
At the Google I/O Developers Conference keynote May 15, Google proved that once again. From announcing a new music service to showing off a Nexus-branded Galaxy S 4, the company has shown that it truly understands what consumers want, and knows how to deliver it to them. And through its own convincingly sly way, the company has built itself a path to more revenue, profits and power. Google is simply looking more and more like a dominant beast that cannot be held back.
But what made the event so important? Read on to find out why the developer conference is such a resounding success.
1. It was all about Google
Google did a good job of focusing all its time during the conference keynote on its products’ success. Gone are the days when Google feels that it needs to compare its services to those of others. Google now knows who it is and what it has achieved, and it wants the world to know about it.
2. Galaxy S 4, anyone?
The Galaxy S 4 announcement was another interesting development from the conference. Google collaborated with Samsung to create a special Samsung Galaxy S 4 for Google Play. Google said a Nexus-branded S 4 will be available to customers on T-Mobile and AT&T networks. That smartphone will strip away Samsung’s software and give the straight Android experience. It’s an interesting move that has caught the attention of industry observers.
3. Bring on the music service
As expected, Google showed off what is effectively its first major step into the world of streaming music with Google Play Music: All Access. The service, which will be offered for $10 per month, is designed to take on both Spotify and Pandora. And if Google has its way, it’ll become a huge presence in that market.
4. Apple who?
One of the key takeaways from the event was that most people forgot about Apple. Google did such a good job at showing off its wares that people didn’t care about what the next iPhone would offer or whether Apple would respond with something similar. Apple was the lost shadow at Google I/O. And that’s a first for that conference.
Google I/O Was a Resounding Success: 10 Reasons Why
5. Developers became excited
Although much of the talk centered on what Google was doing from a development perspective, the company’s new initiatives and products provide ample opportunity for Web and mobile developers to take advantage. That’s great news for developers who are looking increasingly to leverage their reliance on Google’s services.
6. Consumers see value in becoming Google fans
Undoubtedly many people are diehard Google fans. But historically, they’ve been small in number. With Google I/O showing off so many interesting and “cool” takes on services and hardware, Google effectively made it worthwhile to be a fanboy or fangirl of the company. That’s important. After all, that’s a key reason Apple has proved so successful.
7. It handled the messaging problem
Google had one major issue walking into the conference: how it was going to handle the many different messaging applications it has running on its slew of services. It handled that with help from Hangouts, which will now work across different platforms and essentially establish itself as the go-to way that Google service users communicate.
8. Google Now becomes a bit better
Google Now received some attention at the I/O conference with the search giant saying the personal assistant will now have voice reminders, better information on appointments and some other key improvements that should make using the application a bit easier. Even better for Google, it makes Apple wonder what the future looks like as Siri takes on Now.
9. Google proved software is the new hardware
Historically, people really only get excited when new hardware is introduced. That’s why so much attention has always been placed on Apple and its services. But with the I/O conference, Google has proved that software and services really can be the new hardware. And that should only improve the company’s ability to capture consumer attention in the coming years.
10. Google gets gaming
The fact is, the company that invests the most in digital gaming will be the firm that generates billions in new revenue. And Google obviously understands that. That’s precisely why Google announced that its Play Games platform will provide a host of important services, including cloud saves, synced multiplayer and achievement tracking. All that makes Play Games a true competitor to Apple’s Game Center and a key player in digital gaming.
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