I have included my rough notes from Google IO 2010, keynote 2 below. I'll be cleaning them up as I have time as they are rather unorganized now.

Some of the initial comments by Google compare "draconian future" and Apple which ends up coming off pretty inflamatory. "If you want freedom, choice, etc, welcome to android".

At this point, they are coving some of the milestones achieved by Android:

• Wow, 100,000+ new android activations per day worldwide
• Android is #1 for web and application usage as of now
• 1 billion miles of paths navigated on android in 6 months
• 5x growth in mobile search from '08-'10 (across all mobile phones)
• 50,000 applications in the marketplace
• 180k developers.
• 7 releases in 18 months.

At this point, the discussion turns to Froyo, the new Android 2.2 operating system. They gently sprinkle post-froyo functionality that they are working on. I will try to mark where they said something might be post-2.2, but I may have missed a couple of these indicators.

Announcing Froyo - Android 2.2

Android speed

They have achieved a lot of things with the Dalvik VM, and one of the biggest of these is a speed increase in the newest version. They introducing JIT (just in-time compiling). With existing applications and hardware, this has a 2-5x speedup effect, which is frankly pretty amazing, and somewhat needed.

They demonstrate a game: replica island comparing Eclair and Froyo. Although they use the same hardware, froyo is faster.

Enterprise Device Administration

The intent is Android works well with existing enterprise infrastructure and management tools. The new version of Android is completely capable of belonging to a domain name, with features like remote wiping of the device, and the application of domain policies for phones that belong to a domain.

New services in Android SDK

This includes items such as a new data backup API that allows you to migrate data when you migrate phones. One of the more groundbreaking additions to the API is a Cloud to Device messaging API. This API allows you to start intents remotely. Imaging looking at a google map with directions on the desktop browser, being able to click a button and have those directions on the mobile device.

The second example of the Cloud to Device messaging API they talk about is the idea that you could be reading an article on the desktop, press a button and sends article to device.

Tethering and portable hot spot

More devices shouldn't mean more complexity and bills. Android of capable of serving the needs of other devices. The demonstration used an Android to give an iPad internet, to the amusement of the crowd.

Android Browser Improvements

Their data shows that the top three things individuals use their phones for are as follows:

1. Phone calls
2. text messaging
3. browser

Froyo is introducing a 2x-3x browser performance increase. The way they are achieving this is with V8 for android. They show a demo comparing Froyo, Eclaire, and an iPad using the Sunspider test. iPad started first and given a head start. The results end up showing that Froyo finishes, then iPad, then a very close third is Eclair for browser javascript performance.

They had a frog swimming laps to show the sunspider benchmark performance in an interesting way, and he makes a joke about whether or not they could get this in the app store, but then makes the comment that it's a web application.

Integration with Native Capabilities

Orientation/Camera/Speech/Magnetometer/Accelerometer are all capabilities native to the phone that they want to expose to browser-based applications, not just native applications. Google made a very loud and clear statement that they intend on maintaining leadership in browser capabilities on the phone. They will be offering web developers access to orientation, camera, speech, magnetometer, accelerometer. This could possibly be beyond Froyo.

At this point, they demo a web-based Buzz Camera application for demonstrating picture taking as part of a Google Buzz status update. The demo fails the first time, but they come back to it and it works.

They really stress the idea of accessing capability from browser: translate app with new feature: microphone "can you help me find the nearest hospital"

Existing Android Features are getting better

They provide a demo of voice search:"pictures of barack obama with the french president at the g8 summit", "pictures of the golen gate bridget at sunset", and "del dotto vinyards, napa". Each of these terms is quick and effective.

Human intention understandings

The live example they perform is "call 5th floor restaurant", which is a contact in his phone.

Flash 10.1 public beta, AIR Developer Pre-Release

Another few rips at apple: "Worlds most comprehensive browser" "It turns out that on the internet, people use flash"

They state that part of being open means your inclusive, rather than exclusive. He gives an example where his daughter had picked up her ipad, tried to go to nickelodian. On the iPad, all she got was a big orange screen, but it works perfectly using Android. He calls out a "special thanks to adobe", as they have been working together to meet the needs of users . He says that this is "much nicer than just saying no".

Android Marketplace

The average Android user installs more than 40 apps per devices. They want to add the capability to search inside apps, move apps to sd card, update all apps. Their new interfaces for keeping applications on the SD have the functionality that apps automatically move if you run out of space, as well as allowing manual control if you want it.

On the phone, developers can plug into the search framework. The live example he shows is that mint returns financial records in the smart search box. The addition of an "Update all" button is great, and he states that they were basically embarrassed that we didn't have that before. You can also allow automatic updates on an app-by-app basis with an "allow auto update" checkbox.

They understand that you need to close the loop between users and developers to improve quality of app store. A new "Report" crashes feature goes to the developer. Developer gets to see the entire stack trace of real user bugs from real user devices.

Post froyo: they will be releasing a web market that is automatically connected to all of your android devices, browse and install from the web. They make a comparison with the Apple model where you are always tethering and syncing your whole device. "We discovered something really cool, it's called the internet", when he presses download, it automatically installs in the background on the device over the air.

They plan on extending the Android marketplace "because it's more than apps", including features like Music sales, that are instantly and immediately send to the devices "using the internet".

One question they ask is "What do I do with my existing music?" They answering this question with the services of one of the companies they bought, simplifymedia - makes all of your non_DRM music available to device over internet. This capability is similar to the Gmote, but much more mainstream. When they plug in the speakers to the device, they realize they still have the phone call to the 5th Floor Restaurant still going on in the background. This is a great unintentional advertisement for multi-tasking.

Advertising on Android

Google really applies their experience and wisdom to the new market of advertising on mobile devices. For Advertising you need a healthy ecosystem, and "you need advertisers, we have them. If you have an ad spot, we have invetory to fill it.". They show several new advertisement types and notes they are working on releasing.

1. local advertisers, direct response, brand advertisers - need formats that meet different needs
2. measurement for advertising on android
3. "we have some tools you may have heard of" adsense, analytics, doubleclick
4. Open to Innovation (cute google ponies)
5. adsense for mobile apps - contextual relevance
6. direct native interaction for advertisements within context of app
7. expandable add with rich media (movie trailers)
8. add format with direct phone call.
9. expandable with embedded map and click to call.
10. fully immersive inline ad with integration delivered by medialens (not through google), doubleclick works with any ad network based on relevance.

Google TV

Again they list some facts / observations, and then move into some of the new features and opportunities provided by Google TV.

• For developers - no bigger market than tv
• "TV Just Works" - access really cool stuff
• 1994 laptop, 2007 mobile, TV,
• Web and TV is completely separate
• Today everyone sits around the laptop,which doesn't work.
• Don't put web on TV (WAP SUCKS)
• Closed doesn't work, people must go to anywhere on the internet
• Using the TV's "input button" loses 90% of people if you have to switch
• If you make them choose "TV or Web", they choose TV.
• Google TV, tv meets web, web meets tv
• things that will redefine tv:
  1. less time finding, more time watching
  2. control and personalize what you watch (and when)
  3. make tv content more interesting
• To me, this sounds like mythtv, but perhaps better executed, and more backed by a huge company?
• There are too many chanels for existing guides. Users need the relevancy of search
• search box for tv (same empowerment) "Quick search box" accross tv and web
• dvr integration
• Android phone input device, pairing over wifi (VOICE RECOGNITION FOR TV through phone)
• browsing a web page on the phone, click button (pushes to TV)
• remote control protocol standardized (open source)
• Google TV: (Built on android)
• Android apps on TV
• Push apps from Google Apps to Google TV

permalink