Google Gets Smarter With New Watches, TVs, Cars and Analytics

Google Gets Smarter With New Watches, TVs, Cars and Analytics

by Chris Preimesberger

G Watch

The LG G Watch: Users can cycle through notifications on an Android Wear watch like this one with an upward swipe. A horizontal swipe brings more details about the notification. When a device like this one is on your wrist, users don’t need to enter a passcode to activate a handset.

Sneak Preview

Google previewed all three of its early smartwatch models (not available until fall, however): the LG G Watch, the Moto 360 and the Samsung Gear Live. Crowds gathered around the devices for hours on June 25 to try them on and check out the functionality.

Google TV in the Works

Google’s upcoming set-top TV box, which can be used in concert with the popular Google Chromecast dongle (the $35 plug-in that is now the biggest-selling IT item on Amazon.com), is expected to become generally available this fall. The company demonstrated how it will look on big screens June 25 at Google I/O.

New Looks for Android Smartphone Interfaces

Google is getting much more specific about the user experience in Android 4.4 (which uses the revamped Android L code). For example, various tasks lined up on a phone now overlap slightly and are 3D in appearance on the screen, adding a richer look overall. The action is faster, Google claims; colors and themes continue from device to device, and a touch of the screen elicits a “water drop in the pond”-type effect.

Big Data Analytics Delivers via Mobile Devices

Google introduced a group of new cloud services, including Dataflow, which is meant to replace standard MapReduce. Google said Dataflow is a much simpler way to build parallel data pipelines to handle both batch processing and streaming data.

Topical Big Data Queries on World Cup Action

On-demand research to solve business problems and/or predict important trends is a huge topic in enterprise IT, and Google is right in the middle of it, with its own apps for this purpose. A good use-case example of how this works is here at this World Cup booth, where queries such as “What are the chances U.S. goalie Tim Howard will let a shot go by him?” were entered. One answer: 20 to 1.

Google ‘Car’ Exposed to the World

If you haven’t yet seen a Google automated automobile driving down the street or highway, well, they don’t look like this. This mockup was onstage at Google I/O for photo opportunity purposes. There were several real Android-equipped cars in the conference center to check out, but no real driverless cars were in evidence; those are still kept under wraps.

Introducing Android One

This will become Google’s entry-level smartphone in a few months, designed mostly for third-World cultures in Asia and Africa. It will be a fully functional Android smartphone with an FM radio, a removable SD card and a 4.5-inch screen. The cost? Less than $100, Google said.

Watch Out, iPad

Google released some interesting market-share numbers at the show. Android tablet sales have absorbed 62 percent of the world’s overall market—up from 39 percent only two years ago. Apple’s iPad still is No. 1 in the United States, but these numbers appear to be a serious threat to that dominance.

Connected Cars

Microsoft, with its Lync connectivity, has a head start on connected automobiles, but Android appears to be a game competitor. Google now has partnerships with about three-dozen car and truck makers globally to install Android PCs in their vehicles.