Google
took the internet by storm years ago with a super-fast search
solution and has continued to be a leader in creating innovative
tools allowing non-programmers to create sophisticated solutions to
get results.
Dick
and I have been attending the DC simulcast of Google's
I/O three-day event underway in San Francisco – and they are
unveiling some truly advanced Android devices and applications.
Here's
some highlights of new software, applications, and hardware:
Google
Plus Hangouts (video conferencing of up to 10 people), has been
enhanced with a business meeting app –
Symphonical
– and
two social apps Event
– to schedule meetings and social events complete with invitations
- and Party
Mode
– which permits sharing of pictures/video before, after and
real-time during the event by any of the attendees. These are all
free and can be accessed at Google
Play.
Easy to use video is a powerful tool for business – for meetings,
demonstrations, training and other show & tell sessions, in
addition to a 'live stream' of events to a public audience.
The
next generation of the Android operating system – Android
v4.1,
Jellybean,
and a new Android phone – the Galaxy
Nexus
– combine for a new level of productivity and simplicity. Google
Search learns from your keyboard strokes and accessibility for users
is upgraded. Voice
Search
is included in the function and will return results by audio as well
as screen text and video. The phone has a simple new gesture – the
flick – just like you'd flick a bug off your shirt, will delete
what's on the screen (deleted items can be easily recalled).
You
can also use Voice to dictate text, chat, and emails when in that
function. Since all smartphone voice apps suffer when not connected
to servers, Google brought their voice engine down to the phone.
Keeping track of appointments and other interests is done
automatically through Google
Alerts ,
by popping up note cards with all the relevant details – it can be
an appointment, airline flights, or current score for your team.
The
Nexus
7 Tablet
using the new Android 4.1 OS (built by ASUS with delivery expected in
mid-July) was introduced with a 7-inch HD screen, 9-hour battery
life, and a $199 price tag – what a treat! The Nexus 7 has a fast
3-core processor and 13 other background processors – for a total
of 16 CPUs speeding through the material for quick display and smooth
transition.
For
entertainment, you can read ebooks and documents; read magazines –
uniquely formatted to have the look and feel of the paper
publication, with context links throughout, thumbnails of articles
for the reader to 'leaf through' to find articles of interest; view
pictures and albums; and videos, movies, TV shows, and YouTube;
listen to music from personal collections and internet providers.
For
business and other tasks, you can read and write email, browse the
web, read and update your blogs, access your Google Plus and hangouts
(forward facing camera for the video), do detailed search by text and
voice, and get pop-up notification cards automatically for upcoming
appointments and other items of interest.
Carrying
forward the social aspects of the phone and tablet, Google has
developed the Nexus
Q
which is an in-home collaborative media streamer device and amplifier
connected to your best speakers and TV. You can pull pictures,
videos, music, art, and other entertainment items from anywhere in
your extended network – by swiping your Android phone or other
NFC-function
device across the Nexus Q. In addition guests can share their
entertainment libraries with a simple swipe across the Q as well.
The
Chrome
browser now can sync the browser settings, bookmarks, and recent
search results across multiple platforms – computer, tablet, phone
– and automatically optimize the format for the device. So, you can
access a search result done on your home computer from your Android
phone while you are mobile instead of making a paper copy of the
screen as you go out.
A
key to all these advances is direct access to the Google Cloud –
material is stored or held in the cloud for access by any of the
Google-based devices. This aids to flexibility of access of your
content and documents, as well as facilitating collaboration among
team members or others by giving focused access to specific files.
A
preview of what's in the works shown at the conference is Google
Glass – a wearable computer. This is a device, is a pair of
eyeglasses that has a computer, camera, audio receiver, and heads up
display, so you can access the internet, a hangout, or snap pictures
or videos of what you are seeing. To introduce this prototype device,
Sergey
Brin
(co-founder of Google) staged a parachute jump to the roof of the
convention center with an elaborate 'pony express' style delivery of
a pair of these glasses to him on stage. All the while, the screens
showed live video of what the delivery participants were actually
seeing (using Hangout technology). An exciting event.
There
were three quotes that nicely sum up the philosophy of these
developments in computer tools:
Larry
Page
(co-founder of Google): “Have a healthy disrespect for the
impossible.”
Vic
Gundotra
(Google SR VP Engineering): “The best thing is for the computer to
have your back – then you don't have to worry about it.”
Clay
Bauer (Google Director Chrome Development): “What we want is that
it works without you even noticing.”
As
these advances roll out, we will find business applications for them
– to get better results, or to do something that was not practical
(or possible) before.
What
do you find most relevant for your operations from the new features
offered by Google?
