Google's Android chief talks about his new role just before Google I/O!

   It wasn't long ago that Andy Rubin, the guy basically behind Android, took a relatively unexpected step back from Android as he went to go onto new projects. The man who has been charged with filling Andy's shoes is Sundar Pichai who's now the head of both Android and Chrome, so he has control over Android, the Chrome browser and Chrome OS.

   Wired have also managed to snag a little interview with the man on the ever of Google I/O too and he had a few interesting things to say!

   One of those was how both the  Android and Chrome operating systems were going to be able to happily coexist. His answer was relatively dull and what we expected, he said: "Android and Chrome are both large, open platforms, growing very fast. I think that they will play a strong role, not merely exist. I see this as part of friendly innovation and choice for both users and developers." Pichai said that for the foreseeable future nothing will change, he pointed to the way Apple have OSX and iOS co-existing and he sees the same partnership between Android and Chrome. Both will be invested in and continued until computing itself 'dictate[s] the changes'. In the meantime Google are planning to 'do the right things... for users and developers ' and this involves finding common elements in both platforms and merging things together, but Pichai did acknowledge that in the future there might be a 'more synergistic answer'.

   When it comes specifically to Android one of the things which Pichai is especially excited about is the way in which Android can help to get low-cost computing to the next '5 billion' people who
don't currently have access to the internet, something which Eric Schmidt brings up a fair bit. If you want to read a lot into this one then this could be a nod towards Intel Androidbooks, but that is a big assumption on our part and we might not be right on that one!

   Facebook Home also isn't an issue to Pichai, instead he wants users to have choice and get what they want out of the Android platform and if Facebook Home is what they want then he's cool with that! It's the same with Amazon's forked Android he doesn't think that's too much of an issue either!

   Naturally Wired took the discussion in the direction of the Samsung relationship and he doesn't think it's an issue that Samsung are dominant, he reiterated that the pair have a great relationship and that they work together on 'all our [Google's] important products.' Motorola won't affect this relationship according to Pichai because for the purposes of the Android ecosystem they're another partner just like every one else! Ohh and don't worry Nexus devices and Chromebooks like the Pixel are here to stay!

   Another interesting tidbit was about Android updates, which unless you have a Nexus device, tend to be the bane of techies lives! Pichai did say that he and his team are thinking up ways to make the updates better and apparently they have a few ideas of ways to do this and at the moment they're 'talking with... partners and working... through it.' The mechanics of it are obviously the issues here and that's something which is an area of focus.

   The last real points were about what we can expect from Google I/O and apparently this year will be a little different. Pichai said:

"It’s going to be different. It’s not a time when we have much in the way of launches of new products or a new operating system. Both on Android and Chrome, we’re going to focus this I/O on all of the kinds of things we’re doing for developers, so that they can write better things. We will show how Google services are doing amazing things on top of these two platforms."

We're not sure if that rules out new updates to Android completely, but if there is one it'll be a minor update again, until something can be worked out to let manufacturers keep up with the relentless upgrade schedule!

Via Wired.

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Andy Rubin dispels the Android and Chrome merger rumours for the time being!

   Reuters is reporting that Google's Andy Rubin has confirmed that Android and Chrome OS will not be merged any time soon! The report said that: 

"Google last week said Andy Rubin, the architect of Android - the world's top-selling mobile operating system - was moving to a still-undefined role while Sundar Pichai, in charge of its Chrome web browser and applications like Google Drive and Gmail, was taking on Rubin's responsibilities."

   So there we have it, no merger yet. In the longer term we still see the two becoming one, but for the moment Google is keen to keep them separate!

   Reuters also touched on Rubin's recent trips to India and Myanmar. India was a good point of call to clarify the law on who's responsibility it is as to what people post on the internet, as well as looking at the huge untapped market in the country. Myanmar similarly is considered as one of the few countries left in Asia which is untouched by big business! You can check out full details at the source link below!
Via Reuters.

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Andy Rubin steps away from Android, his replacement comes from the Chrome and Google apps department!

   Today we heard a pretty interesting announcement from Google, the guys announced that Android leader, Andy Rubin, has decided it’s 'time to hand over the reins and start a new chapter at Google'.

   Google haven't really offered any reasons for the change, instead they chose to focus ont he achievements Andy made. That's probably the right thing to do, but we'd obviously prefer to hear the dirt!

   So the man Google have chosen to carry Android forward is Sundar Pichai, who's famed for his work with Chrome and Google Apps, so at the moment Sundar has a fair bit on his plate! Google said that he was the right man because he

 "has a talent for creating products that are technically excellent yet easy to use—and he loves a big bet. Take Chrome, for example. In 2008, people asked whether the world really needed another browser. Today Chrome has hundreds of millions of happy users and is growing fast thanks to its speed, simplicity and security."

   For the moment though, we're not really sure what this means for the future of both Chrome and Android, naturally having the two platforms under the same figurative umbrella means that there's bound to be some overlap, but we can't see the pair being merged with each other just yet. Although, the Chromebook Pixel does introduce that touchscreen so we suppose Chrome OS could learn something from Android in that regard!

   When Larry Page broke the news earlier he acknowledged that, 'Andy’s a really hard act to follow, [but] I know Sundar will do a tremendous job doubling down on Android as we work to push the ecosystem forward,' he moved on to talk up the Nexus programme and he explained how 'we're getting closer to a world where technology takes care of the hard work', we'll have to wait and see exactly what hard work Android will do for us in the future, but we're willing to be apps like Google Now will be a huge part of that!

GoogleBlog Via Phandroid.

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Google announce the Chromebook Pixel: A luxury device 'for what's next'!

   Chromebooks haven't exactly taken the world by storm quite yet, but Google knows there's already a place for cheap internet centric laptops in the world and as we become more and more reliant on the internet for our work and social lives. But, Google doesn't just want to dominate the budget laptop market, the other day they announced the Chromebook Pixel. It's the first high end Chromebook and it really shows where Google wants to take the operating system and devices in future. 

   So what are we actually looking at here? Conveniently Google has posted up a full list of specs on their website and a screen grab of that website is embedded just below!

Click picture to enlarge.

   So this without doubt is a powerful device and it's a heck of a lot more powerful than the budget Chromebooks from Samsung and Acer which are rocking an Exynos and Intel Celeron processors!

   But, it's that screen which really steals the show here. It's a full touchscreen which has the highest resolution on a computer screen ever made and it's a nice bright offering too, coming in at 400 nits of brightness!

   The internal memory is slightly disappointing because them most you can have is 64GB, but to criticise that would be missing the point of Chromebooks, which is why Google has thrown in three years worth of Google Drive storage and you'll have a whole terabyte of space to use up in the cloud!

"So there's great internals, but externally
 the Pixel is stunning too." 

   So there's great internals, but externally the Pixel is stunning too. The device is "machined from an anodized aluminum alloy to a tight tolerance, leaving nothing extraneous or distracting". Google has made a point of hiding the vents, make the screws invisible and tucking away the speakers under the keyboard just to make everything looks flawless and elegant and they've certainly achieved all of those goals because the device looks simple and pretty futuristic.

   Naturally there's been comparisons with Apple's Macbook Pro range already, but when you design a computer made of metal and with a black keyboard there's only so many designs you can choose from and we're not too sure many people will be too bother with the similarities!

   So you're wondering just how much this little guy is going to set you back? Well it's certainly not going to come cheap! The device, in the 32GB WiFi only configuration will set you back a total of $1,299 or £1,049 and it is available from the Play Store and PC World in the UK and the Play Store and BestBuy in America. There's also a 64GB option for Americans which has Verizon's LTE embedded and that option will cost you $1,449.

   For all the information on the laptop check out Google's website here! Head on a little further to see the one totally pointless, but super cool thing about the Chromebook Pixel and check out the videos below for some more shots of the device!

   

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01/06/2012

The future of Android.

 

   If we needed any confirmation that there is an imminent update to Android available the good folks at Pandora have all but confirmed it. The picture to the right is a screenshot of their app and one of the 'new features' is 'Campatibility support for an upcoming Android OS'. 

   

   On the one hand I'm excited to see this, but on the other I know it's going to be a long, long wait for updates for this version to hit my devices, my Sony Tablet S only got ICS yesterday!!!

   Aside from this forthcoming release the is also news from Google's Senior Vice President on Chrome and Applications had this to say about how Android and Chrome OS could draw together in future;    

“Android is extremely successful, we couldn’t be more proud of it. We have exciting steps ahead with tablets, too. There are many instances where people spend all of their time in the browser. 

The notion that, for the first time, your experience is in the cloud. You still run on a local device, CPU, SSD, etc. – but the notion that your computer is actually in the cloud enables zero administration. And from a web console, you can deploy and manage apps. There’s no installing software or anything like that.

I think what is important between Android and Chrome OS with users, is that it makes sense. Look at Apple, there’s MacBooks and iPhone, and they use different operating systems. Convergence will happen, sure. But look at Gmail – you go from a Chromebook to Android, and it just works.” – Pichai

In other news:

• HTC has revealed the Taiwanese and Chinese versions of the HTC One S and both are rocking a 1.7Ghz Dual-core Snapdragon S3 processor. This is the old version of the processor, ie the one in the HTC Sensation XE. But, on the plus side this does make both of these world phones!
• The new Lara Croft game has a trailer available and the gameplay looks decidedly more gritty than the past versions of the game.
• If you're into Space and Galaxies and things, Nasa has some intriguing news for you. Apparently they have predicted that our Galaxy and Andromeda are set to collide in approximately.... 4 billion years time. So no worries just yet!
• All in all Samsung has shifted 52million Galaxy S' and S2's (24+28million respectively). The Galaxy Note has sold pretty well too with 7million having been dispatched. That ladies and gentlemen is how you make money in the mobile industry!
• The judge in the Google vs Oracle case has ruled that API's are not copyrightable things, good work Google's lawyers!

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