Google I/O 2011 Day 1 Highlights – Android Everywhere!

Its about Android everywhere! On May 10th, the Day 1 of the Google I/O 2011 event, Android team shared some updates about Android momentum, future, and lots more.

The keynote started with Vic Gundotra, Sr. Vice President, Engineering team stating about the importance of Google I/O events. Later, Hugo Barra, Product Management Director of Android shared some updates about Android’s growth.

Now, there are –
    100 million activated Android devices
     400,000 new Android devices activated every day
     200,000 free and paid applications available in Android Market
     4.5 billion applications installed from Android Market
 
The event went on with the announcement of Honeycomb 3.1 upgrade for Tablets with new features like re sizable widgets, Android USB host functionality, holographic user interface, more multitasking, etc. The team also stated that Google TV is getting newer version with Market, Apps for Google TV.
 
Also, they talked about the next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich. Ice Cream Sandwich goal is to deliver one operating system that works everywhere, regardless of device – One OS Everywhere! This release is set for Q4 launch.
 
Google also launched Music Beta, a new service that lets you upload your personal music collection to the cloud for streaming to your computer and Android devices. With the new service, your music and playlists are automatically kept in sync, so if you create a new playlist on your phone, it’s instantly available on your computer or tablet. You can even listen to music when you’re offline. The service is launching in beta today to U.S. users and is available by invitation via http://music.google.com
 
Google also introduced Movies for rent to Android Market. This update will be available to Android 2.2 and above devices in next few weeks.
 
Finally, Google mentioned that it developed Android Open Accessory to help developers start building new hardware accessories that will work across all Android devices. It previewed an initiative called Android@Home, which allows Android apps to discover, connect and communicate with appliances and devices in your home.
 
You can watch full video here –