News
Marin Perez
16:35, May 15 2013
We recap the Google I/O 2013 keynote and catch you up on all the new features and services
The three-and-a-half hour Google I/O 2013 keynote is finally over and while we didn't get many of the rumored hardware and software, Google did give us a plethora of new apps, services and even a quasi-new phone. In this post, we'll recap everything the search giant showed off and what we missed out on.
New developer tools
Google I/O is a developer conferene, so it's no surprise that Google rolled out tools which should make it easier for developers. While you may not care that much about this, you should know that this could eventually lead to better Android apps for you and me.
Google Play Games service now available
The Google Play Game service lets the search giant do all the heavy lifting on the back end to create multiplayer gaming. With this, Android games could do things like automatic matchmaking, save games to the cloud and create leaderboards. If you've ever used Xbox Live or Game Center, you'll know what to expect and this should be very cool for the new crop of Android games.
Another developer-focused feature is the introduction of new locations APIs. These are aimed at letting Android app makers get more precise location and the new APIs use much power than previous versions.
Finally, the Google Play Store is getting a redesign which will help apps be easier to discover. In particular, Google is creating a specific section on how making it easier to find tablet-specific apps.
New apps, services
The Google I/O 2013 keynote was also the showcase of a plethora of new apps and services. Many of these will work on all platforms but some are only for Android right now.
Google+ Hangouts app launches on Android, iPhone
Google Play Music All Access takes on Pandora, Spotify
Google Now gets boost at I/O
New Google Maps previewed
The oft-rumored Google Babel unified messaging service showed up as a new Google+ Hangout app. The Android and iPhone app allows you to chat with various users through text, pictures, SMS and videos. The Hangout app is available now.
The Google Play Music All Access service has a very long name but it could become your favorite new app if you dig music. Think of it as part Spotify and part Pandora because it can stream you songs from a catalog full of millions of tracks or it can create a customized radio station. The service launches today with a free 30-day trial but it will cost $9.99 a month afterwards - it will be $7.99 a month if you sign up by the end of June.
Google Now also received a welcomed boost, as the service now includes the ability to set reminders and added new cards for personalized recommendations for TV shows, books, movies and more. Look for it to continue to improve down the road.
We also got a glimpse at the new Google Maps for Android, iPhone and the new version which will be coming to tablets like the iPad. Look for the new Google Maps app to have integrated Google Offers, Zagat ratings, on-the-fly directions re-routing and more. The new Google Maps app is expected to land this summer.
Samsung Galaxy S4, Google style
Many were expecting a Nexus 5, the Motorola X Phone or perhaps a Nexus 4 with 4G LTE to be introduced at Google I/O 2013 but none of these showed up. Instead, we got a Samsung Galaxy S4 with stock Android introduced instead.
The Nexus-style Galaxy S4 will have the same 5-inch 1080p HD screen, a powerful multi-core processor, 13-megapixel camera that can be found in the retail version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 but it will have stock Android Jelly Bean. This also means that it will get the Google updates as quickly as possible. The Nexus-style Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available soon from the Google Play Store and it will cost $649.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Review
For the first time in a while, Google didn't give attendees a free phone. Don't feel too bad though, as everyone who went to Google I/O will walk away with a Chromebook Pixel, which retails for about $1,300.
No Nexus 4 LTE, Nexus 7 2nd gen
The rumor mill was fairly certain that Google would show off the next Nexus 7 or an updated Nexus 4 but those rumors turned out to be false. There was no new Nexus 4 with 4G LTE and no Nexus 7 2 at the show. That doesn't mean that we couldn't see these in the next few months but it's just another reminder about how fluid these things can be.
Of course, Google also showed off some other cool things like a cross-platform gaming protocol (the main image), the future version of desktop Maps with deep Google Earth integration and CEO Larry Page even answered questions for half an hour.
While the keynote was extremely long, one clear thing came across: Google wants its services to be everywhere and on everything.
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Google I/o 2013