Google I/O 2014: All you need to know about
"Android TV and Android Auto"
Android TV:
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| Dave Burke, director of engineering for Android, announces the Android TV during his keynote address at the Google I/O developers conference.
Android TV isn’t something new. Google has been trying to get into users’ living rooms for some time now. Google TV was introduced way back in 2010 with the first Google TVs being made by Sony and Logitech. In the second generation of devices, LG, Asus and others had also partnered on Google TV. But Google TV wasn’t a success. Nor was the Nexus Q which was a media-streaming entertainment device introduced in June 2012. Q wasn’t much of success and it was replaced by Chromecast, which was showcased at last year’s Google I/O conference.
Android TV now lets users broadcast content to your TV, as well as search a grid of popular content, apps, and games. Voice search and Google Knowledge Graph are also enabled for Android TV, which means you can just talk to your TV and do a voice search for instant results.
Google has also made sure that there’s one Android software-development kit for all the company’s Android form factors and thus will allow apps to work across supported devices and platforms. According to the announcements at I/O, Sony and Sharp are producing Android-powered TVs and set-top boxes which will launch by 2015. Google also expects Asus, Razer to launch the first set of Android TVs by fall. The 2015 line of HD and 4K televisions from Sony, Sharp and TP Vision have Android TV.
Android Auto: 
Google Android Auto demo at the keynote.
According to Google the idea behind Android Auto is to ensure that users aren’t switching between the phone and the steering wheel while driving. Like Android TV, users can just mirror their smartphone’s screen on the car’s screen.
Android Auto supports Google Maps which you can run via voice commands. You can also reply to messages you get on your phone with Voice. Users can play and find music on their cars without having to fiddle with the actual buttons. Google is also bringing some apps to Android Auto such as Songza, Pandora, and other radio and music streaming apps.
Google has also introduced Android Auto APIs, where app developers can ensure that an app designed for smartphones runs on Android Auto as well. The SDK for Android Auto will be introduced later. Google’s list of partners include Bentley, Ferrari, Audi, Ford, Nissan, Mazda, Suzuki, Skoda, Honda to name a few and they have a total of 40 partners. Whether Android Auto will also be a part of low-end models from these companies remains to be seen, but according to Google the first set of cars should be expected by end of this year.
-mojumohan- |