UPDATED: Google I/O: Big G's Big Day

 

image via techradar[/caption]

When Apple came out of the gates at WWDC earlier this month, they started fast, announcing two major platform upgrades - OSX Yosemite and iOS 8.  The tech world fawned over Tim Cook's presentation of the future of Apple, and indeed much of what Cook said spoke to a better looking and better functioning Apple Ecosystem.

Meanwhile, in the land of The Googles, all Android/Chrome users could do was sit and wait to see what Apple's counterparts in Mountain View could come up with to match-if-not-surpass the folks from Cupertino.

That wait is almost up.




Google I/O kicks off tomorrow with a 12:00pm EST start time for the yearly Keynote presentation.  This is where Google gets to share what it's working on for the last year, and what users can expect in the near future.  Like Google/Android users at the beginning of the month, Apple loyalists will be the ones sitting back and waiting to see if Google can deliver like Cook and Company did earlier.

They say that the Washington Correspondent's Dinner is "Nerd Prom", and if that's the case, then developer conferences are "Nerd Summer Camp".  While the focus of I/O is certainly the myriad sessions over the next three days focusing on the how-to portions of Android and Chrome development, the Keynote is the public-facing event with the goal of showcasing new products, from hardware to software and everything else in between.

So what can we expect tomorrow when Larry Page et. al. walk on the stage?  Plenty.  Android users already know what Apple is going to bring its users in the next few weeks and months- and a lot of it is already fairly similar.  And there are already a number of rumors and ideas floating around about what to expect at Noon tomorrow.  Here, in no particular order, is what I want to see.

Android 4.5 (or 5.0)

UPDATE: Ask and you shall receive.  The next Android OS will get a demo tomorrow!

As a Nexus 5 user, I love Kit Kat.  It is modern, unique, easy to customize and easy to use.  And I can't wait until it is gone.  We've come to expect a bump in version at I/O and I have to think this is high on the list of what to expect.  There are already leaks about the Google "L" build* and many signs point to some sort of reveal.  Even for as great as Kit Kat is, it could be more.  Might we see it tomorrow?

*Any guesses on what "L" will be?  Lemon?  Surely not...

The Future of The Nexus

Nexus is dead, we know that.  Android Silver is next, we know that.  Or do we?  This is why rumors are fun!  Hopefully Google puts the issue to bed and tells the rest of the world what Android Silver is, or if users should expect a Nexus 6 in the near future.

Google Does Wearables

To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of wearables.  I like the idea of an HUD, sure, but walking around with one on, talking to yourself and taking creeper pictures of things you pass...we're not a society ready for Glassholes yet, I don't think.  But that seems to be the direction, and it looks like Goggle Glass will have a place in the show tomorrow.

More importantly (check the header image) is the first deployments of Android Wear.  LG is debuting the G Watch, and it looks like Samsung may follow suit.  But the one to watch is the Moto 360, Motorola's gorgeous entry into the Android Wearable front.  Will we finally see it?  And can I order one already??

Hangouts finally becomes Babel

When Google turned Google Talk into Hangouts a few years ago, there was hope for those desiring a simple, iMessage-like solution to SMS and MMS on Android.  The result...not so much.  But as Hangouts has developed and improved (and swallowed up other Google Services) it has been very close to being just that.  With Apple putting iMessages (and SMS) to the desktop, users can only hope Google gives the same functionality to its denizens.

Tomorrow could also be the final nail in Google Voice's ever-closing coffin, as Hangouts could absorb that functionality creating a one-stop-shop for SMS, MMS, VoIP, IM and VM.  This is what Google intended when it started to create Babel, and that's a result we could see very soon.

Also worth noting, iPhone users have had visual voicemail out of the box with the iPhone 1.  And I still would have to pay T-Mobile an extra $4/month to get the same.  Hopefully this is another thing that Google can fix tomorrow.

There will be plenty more on tap tomorrow and we'll be here to go over everything and offer commentary as best we can.  Until then, what are you most excited about seeing at I/O tomorrow?