Gadgetory

what's happening brian Tong here and welcome to google issues for all the Google goodness that we can pack inside of a show now the googs really delivered an all-out assault on almost every new product category imaginable at Google i/o with their plans to target the living room with our Android TV which still has a lot of challenges with manufacturers to become a viable platform after years of fail there's also an improved chromecast that can mirror exactly what's on your phone and can be shared among multiple users at the same time it was probably one of the most exciting and relevant updates they're also ready to get behind the wheel and be a part of your driving experience with Android auto they showcased an apple handoff flight capability between Android phones and Chromebooks and their full rollout of Android wear with big time support coming out of the gates with the LG G watch and Samsung's gear live that attendees got to take home and the Moto 360 the product that received the loudest cheers well developers will get theirs later but it's still coming to retail later this summer and Google pretty much delivered on almost every rumor we predicted so let's get into some more of the nitty-gritty after the keynote now Google and Android have always had that label of fragmented thrown at them but in an interview with arstechnica Google engineering director David Burke officially confirmed that Oh am not be allowed to overlay their interfaces on top of Android TV android auto and android wear now birth reiterated that all three of the company's new initiatives will have design and software done only by Google it's really a change of philosophy and a sign that they are really looking to take control of their platform now more than ever I was also just a little disappointed that Android wear didn't wow me that much at all in the keynote and in person it's new and different but it's not doing anything compelling that makes me want to buy a SmartWatch I also use my phone to tell me the time even if I'm actually wearing a watch and I know a lot of you do the same thing now will the sexy round screen of the Moto 360 changed my mind it's my favorite SmartWatch I've seen so far but that's still a no so maybe a sous is the answer who according to techcrunch is also working on a budget-friendly SmartWatch of their own powered by Android wear with a price tag between 100 and 150 dollars that's like buying a swatch watch and I challenge them to make one at that price that looks better than this deep berry one alright the biggest change will see an Android across all platforms is designed like we thought and president of design matias duarte showcased what they call material design to give a sense of physical paper and depth that is more colorful and helps really bring more dimension to Android's flat look and feel which is really trending across almost every mobile platform and if you guys want to check it out for yourself and you're familiar with using the android sdk you can download the Android L Developer Preview at this official link on screen to check it out and yes you're welcome there are also standalone android wear applications hitting the play store right now like where calc which is a calculator for your SmartWatch and where a compass which is a compass reports say Google has asked some of the bigger name companies developing apps to hold off until july seven so a flood of new ones are expected to arrive in the next week and what about products coming out way down the line well during Google i/o sessions the googs announced its partnering with LG to build a tablet that's part of its project tango program and will be released to consumers next year project tango lets you 3d scan your surroundings and has huge potential for real-time mapping giving our devices a real human scale to understanding of space and motion they also talked about project ara Google's modular foam project where they showed off a functional prototype that booted up and then would freeze but they also offered a challenge for developers and anyone who can build a module then lets people do something with their phone and they can't do right now and you could win a prize of $100,000 now Google is still hoping to release a developer preview for project ara this fall but guys and gals the giveaway that was by far the coolest was the makeshift virtual reality headset made of cardboard that google gave out at i/o called wait for it cardboard the g men and women posted the parts you would need to do it yourself but why go through all the trouble when San Francisco's own DODOcase who makes all kinds of killer iphone and ipad cases is selling the toolkit to make the cardboard headset yourself for just 1995 you can even use the promo code USA one to get twenty-five percent off and I'm just looking out for you this thing is pretty sweet like I can see hello Evers what the city's in here alright but this is not the sweetest story of the week that goes to tracking point the smart weapon company that released a video of its shot view software being used to broadcast a sniper rifles image feed through a set of smith optics io recon goggles the marksman doesn't even look directly through his scope he only uses the goggles and nails an explosive field soda bottle 500 yards away like that alright that's going to do for this week's show email us at Google licious at cnet com or tweet me at brian Tong thanks so much for watching and we'll see you guys next time for some more of that Google Isha's gear delicious