14 DAY TRIAL // The focus of the first day at this year's Google I/O developer conference was on Android. While there were no huge announcements, Google supplied a clear path for the future of its mobile operating system and also showcased a couple of new capabilities that should greatly expand the range of devices Android ends up on as well as what existing devices can do.
Music streaming, syncing and movie rentals for Android
Along with all the platform updates, Google also made a couple of user-centric announcements. The long awaited music service has been launched, in a closed beta, but it's not much to get excited about.
Google has also added movie rentals to the Android Market. Thousands of titles will be available for streaming on Android devices, tablets and phones. The move parallels the expanded movie rental service YouTube debuted yesterday.
Google TV
There wasn't much info for Google TV owners on the first day of the conference, but Google did say that all existing devices will get updated to Honeycomb 3.1 during the summer and that they will also get access to the market.
Android@Home and USB accessories
Google also revealed some exciting new capabilities for Android devices. The company wants Android-powered devices to be a hub of interaction with all sorts of other devices in the home.
With the just released Open Accessory Development Kit, third-party manufacturers can create different type of devices that can plug into an Android phone or tablet to expand its functionality.
Google also previewed the Android@home project. When ready, Google will release a set of open standards and protocols which will allow devices and gadgets not necessarily equipped with connectivity to interact with Android devices.
Examples of this range from dimming the lights from your phone to controlling a music player wirelessly. This is clearly one of the most interesting developments for the platform, but real world applications are still some time away.