As most people know, yesterday the Google I / O 2013 conference opened its doors. In this article I would like to summarize the main events of the first day.
Android
At the beginning of Google I / O 2013, the head of the Android division, Sundar Pichai, came on the scene and reported some rather interesting statistics. Since the launch of the Android OS (4.5 years), more than 900 million mobile devices have been activated. Recall that quite recently, the head of the Google Board of Directors, Eric Schmidt, said that by the end of the year, the milestone of 1 billion activated Android devices would be surpassed. It is worth noting that 900 million activated devices is almost two times more compared to 400 million last year. Over the entire existence of Google Play, users have installed over 48 billion applications for the Android OS. For comparison: the number of downloaded applications from the App Store almost exceeded 50 billion.
Chrome
As for the success of the Chrome browser, there are more than 750 million active users, which is 300 million more than last year. Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) has also received updates. About 60 percent of applications use GCM, through which more than 17 billion messages pass every day.
Fused Location Provider, Geofencing and Geofencing
During the conference, three new APIs for Google geolocation services (Fused Location Provider, Geofencing and Geofencing) were also presented, which allow you to quickly and accurately locate, make it possible to create geofences and determine the movement of an object in space.
Android Studio
During the Google I / O 2013 was presented the development environment Android Studio. A set of tools in Android Studio allows you to make changes to applications in real time, while everything works pretty quickly and requires minimal effort. The environment includes many emulators for viewing applications, so even without having the right device at hand, you can make sure that the application works correctly.
Google Play Music All Access
It is also worth noting the launch of online streaming music, Google Play Music All Access. The service is paid and, unfortunately, is still available only to US residents. Monthly fee is 9.99 dollars. The service is strictly aimed at the personal preferences of users and uses the Explore function for this. Like Spotify and other music services, All Access will allow you to select music based on your mood and personal preferences. By the way, for residents of the United States, the first month of using All Access will be absolutely free, and those who have time to sign up before June 30 will receive a monthly discount of two dollars.
Google Play for Education
Among other announcements at the Google I / O 2013 event, the “Education” section on Google Play is worth noting. All educational applications that will be thoroughly tested can be sorted by various parameters (type, age preferences, etc.). New educational features will also be added to Google+, allowing students to share learning materials. Unfortunately, this innovation will become publicly available not earlier than the fall of this year, but the developers are already preparing the firm ground for applications.
Google+
Not to mention the redesign of the social network Google+. On the main innovations in the framework of Google I / O 2013, Executive Vice President Vic Gundotra spoke. Replaced the list of messages, comments and photos on Google+ came columns.
The Google+ home page can be represented by three columns in which there are record cards and photos. Also reported on the improvement of work with hashtags. The width of the columns can be adjusted depending on the display capabilities.
Hangouts
As expected, the Hangouts cross-platform messaging service, formerly known as Babel, which combined Google Talk, Google+ Messenger and Google+ Hangout, was presented during Google I / O 2013. Soon, the corresponding applications will be released for iOS and Android, and Google Talk in the Gmail web interface has been replaced by Hangouts. With Hangouts, users will be able to exchange instant messages, make video calls and create video conferences (up to 10 people at a time). Google guarantees full synchronization of correspondence on all users' devices, and all messages will be securely stored on the search giant's servers.
Samsung Galaxy S4 on Google Play Store
Google has also announced the start of sales of the flagship smartphone Samsung Galaxy S4 on the Google Play store. It is there that users will be able to buy this new product with a "clean" Android OS Jelly Bean and unlocked bootloader. This means that Galaxy S4 smartphones purchased on Google Play will be the first to receive updates along with Nexus devices. The Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone will appear in the Google Play store on June 26th. Users will be offered a modification based on the Snapdragon 600 single-chip system and 16 GB of internal flash memory. The cost of the Galaxy S4 in the Google Play store is 650 dollars.
Photos on Google+
Google not only changed the design of Google+, but also improved the work with photos. Among the innovations worth noting features Auto Enhance and Highlights, as well as a set of tools Auto Awesome. Auto Enhance eliminates red eye, noise and wrinkles, increases or decreases brightness, contrast, saturation and other parameters. At the same time, Highlights allows you to automatically select the best shots from the series. The Auto Awesome toolset helps you create collages, panoramas and HDR photos and even GIF animations from a series of photos. It is worth noting that there are no limitations on a regular-sized photograph (up to 2048 pixels), and 15 GB is reserved for storing higher resolution images.
Google now
Do not forget the search giant and Google Now. Here, updates have touched recommendations, reminders and public transport. Reminders in Google Now can now be created using voice commands. True, only English is currently supported. The Google Now service is now able to analyze search queries and display information (music, movies, books) depending on the preferences of each user. As for public transport, here Google Now can display information in real time. Again, the function only works in some cities. For example, in Japan, the system may announce the last train.
Knowledge graph
Changes also underwent a voice search interface. Now users can communicate with devices like happy owners of Google Glass glasses. To start the service, you do not need to press the button with the microphone icon, you just need to say “OK Google”. Analyze the questions asked and seek answers to them will be an intelligent system of Knowledge Graph. To more correctly display the answers, users will have to tell Google as much personal information and secrets as possible. Currently the following languages are supported: English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Polish, Turkish, as well as Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
Voice search only works with Chrome and Chrome OS, but in the future, specialized applications for iOS and Android operating systems are expected.
Google maps
And finally. Google could not ignore the map service. The new version of the maps features an updated interface and new interesting features. The Google Maps interface has become much easier. The main bet is made on the search bar. It is worth noting a huge archive of photos from the most remote corners of the Earth, so users can immediately go to the galleries and view the main attractions of different cities. Users will also be able in the literal sense of the word to look into different buildings and even read other users' reviews about them. To do this, simply click on the buildings that interest and are marked with dots on the map. Maps analyze the actions of users and their friends, routes and search queries. Based on the information received, they give recommendations to users regarding places that may be interesting.
At the moment, a new version of the maps is in beta, and access to it can be obtained only by invitation, which can be obtained .
The search giant also announced an update of the map service for mobile devices, which is distinguished by a personalized approach to navigation, a rating system and special offers from such large companies as Starbucks.
New versions of mobile applications for iOS and Android should appear this summer.
The article is based on materials .
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