01:12PM EDT - I think that's a wrap, we'll get hands on soon!

01:12PM EDT - They played a video showing Chromecast in a bunch of settings, it looks pretty cool

01:10PM EDT - Yeah, Chromecast is $35, available for purchase later today (it's on the Play Store now)

01:09PM EDT - It's unclear if Google Chromecast also works as a Miracast sink

01:08PM EDT - Developer preview of the Google Cast SDK being published today with libraries for iOS, Android, and Chrome

01:08PM EDT - Apps send video to the Chromecast through the new Google Cast SDK

01:07PM EDT - Works with most Windows laptops, most OS X laptops, and Chromebooks

01:05PM EDT - Google Plus photo albums being shown on the Chromecast, the whole tab is being shown

01:04PM EDT - The YouTube player on the web also works with Chromecast, that's pretty major

01:04PM EDT - Looks like Chromecast costs $35, it's already on Google Play https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=chromecast

01:03PM EDT - Music also works, Google Play Music obviously streams songs from your library to the Chromecast dongle

01:01PM EDT - Interesting, any device can takeover control and scrub through the content in case one leaves the network

01:00PM EDT - Netflix 1080p with support for 5.1 on Chromecast

12:59PM EDT - Netflix also has Chromecast support, looks the same here

12:58PM EDT - Now they're showing Chromecast working on iPhone with the YouTube app

12:57PM EDT - Control latency is there, but it's not huge, looking at them skipping through the YouTube playlist

12:56PM EDT - Looks like HDMI CEC is supported and being used here to control volume and inputs from the phone

12:55PM EDT - Grabbing the video from the cloud as opposed to doing decode and re-encoding on the device and shipping that over to a sink makes a lot of sense

12:54PM EDT - Looks like the button for Wireless Display in YouTube has just been changed to a different logo, the interface looks the same so far

12:53PM EDT - Chromecast looks like what became of the Nexus Q, smaller and an HDMI dongle, completely different underlying OS

12:52PM EDT - Cast button in the UI sends video to the TV, the Chromecast device pulls video directly from YouTube on the cloud, rather than relying on the device

12:51PM EDT - Plug into any HDMI input, power over USB, connect to home WiFI, and you're ready

12:51PM EDT - 2 inches long, runs a simplified version of Chrome OS

12:50PM EDT - New device from Google - Chromecast

12:50PM EDT - Google's goals for connecting the TV - easy and fast setup, nothing new to learn, access across platforms and devices

12:48PM EDT - Google wants to make watching videos on the TV easier and better

12:48PM EDT - Most video watching is being done on smartphone, tablet, or notebook, not TV

12:48PM EDT - Huge growth in online video being consumed, 200 billion online videos watched by users globally, 49.4 percent of internet traffic in North America is YouTube and Netflix, 2.7x increase in videos watched on the tablet or smartphone

12:46PM EDT - LTE bands 2,4,5,13,17 for those keeping count

12:45PM EDT - The 4G LTE SKU works with all of those operators in the USA, it's the first I'm aware of to combine AT&T and Verizon LTE on one device, which we saw on the FCC a while ago

12:45PM EDT - Lots of retailers, 4G LTE version for T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon in coming weeks

12:44PM EDT - Next Tuesday, July 30th available on Google Play

12:43PM EDT - 16 GB WiFi, 32 GB WiFi, 32 GB 4G LTE

12:43PM EDT - There we go, Nexus 7 spec comparison table

12:42PM EDT - Textbooks available on Google Play in early August

12:42PM EDT - Buy or rent textbooks for 6 months

12:42PM EDT - New Google Play category - textbooks, access through the web or Android and iOS devices

12:41PM EDT - Asphalt 8 available on Google Play August 8

12:40PM EDT - Asphalt 8 uses OpenGL ES 3.0 features

12:40PM EDT - Prince of Persia the shadow and the flame available tomorrow

12:39PM EDT - Prince of Persia 2.0 next, good visuals and detail

12:39PM EDT - Riptide GP2 being shown off on the Nexus 7, looks smooth, but I've never been convinced this is a super demanding title to begin with. Available today on Google Play.

12:38PM EDT - You can browse through friends profiles and see what games they're playing, leaderboards, and so on through the Google Play games app

12:37PM EDT - New app, Google Play Games

12:36PM EDT - "100s of games have added Google Play game services support"

12:36PM EDT - 19 out of the 20 top Android game devs are making games for Google Play

12:35PM EDT - Showing off lots of apps which look great on the Nexus 7, interestingly enough all of these are portrait view. Talking about collections that show off tablet apps in Google Play.

12:35PM EDT - Ellie Powers is up to talk about Google Play and the Android tablet ecosystem

12:34PM EDT - Google hangouts looks pretty cool on the Nexus 7

12:33PM EDT - Google Maps on Nexus 7 and all the other apps are being shown off in landscape, no doubt because the 1080p displays are landscape, but I feel like Google really wants to emphasize how landscape is now not a marginalized view

12:32PM EDT - Google Maps up next, updated version being shown off, looks pretty smooth on Nexus 7

12:31PM EDT - Chrome for Android now supports inline translation

12:30PM EDT - We're looking at some examples of Google apps on the 1080p Nexus 7, showing off Google Drive now

12:30PM EDT - Google Play edition devices getting their updates "very soon"

12:29PM EDT - Original Nexus 7, Nexus 4, Nexus 10, and Galaxy Nexus getting update today

12:29PM EDT - DRM APIs that enable hardware based encryption in Android 4.3, and Netflix is supporting this new DRM with a new version of their app that streams in 1080p

12:28PM EDT - Everything is being rendered natively in 1080p

12:27PM EDT - Hugo is talking about the new texture compression that's now mandatory in ES 3.0

12:26PM EDT - Unity demo called "The Chase" up next

12:26PM EDT - Silicon studios OpenGL ES 3.0 demo being shown off now

12:25PM EDT - OpenGL ES 3.0 supported now in Android 4.3

12:25PM EDT - Showing off a heart rate monitor using BT LE

12:24PM EDT - Bluetooth SMART (AKA Bluetooth Low Energy) in Android 4.3, no surprises there

12:23PM EDT - We're looking at restricted profiles now, restricted profiles only get to launch or use a certain whitelist of applications

12:22PM EDT - Restricted access limits access to apps on a per-user level

12:21PM EDT - Multi user with restricted profiles coming in Android 4.3

12:21PM EDT - Android 4.3 formally announced, and Nexus 7 will be the first device shipping with it

12:20PM EDT - 2 GB RAM, 802.11a/b/g/n, BT 4.0, 4G LTE, HDMI out, wireless charging

12:20PM EDT - 1.2 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing camera

12:19PM EDT - 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC (APQ8064 no doubt)

12:19PM EDT - Upstairs hands on with devices in a demo lounge after

12:18PM EDT - Stereo speakers on the new Nexus 7

12:18PM EDT - Nexus 7 can now show 30% wider range of color (30 percent wider gamut)

12:17PM EDT - From 216 PPI to 323 PPI

12:17PM EDT - There we go, from 1280x800 to 1920x1200 in the new Nexus 7 with the same size, highest resolution 7-inch tablet

12:16PM EDT - Better in-hand feel than the original Nexus 7, with pure black on black design and soft touch

12:16PM EDT - Thinner and narrower and lighter than the old Nexus 7

12:15PM EDT - New Nexus 7, looks just like leaks showed it would

12:15PM EDT - Nexus 7 has been a success for three reasons - it's portable and fits in your hand, it's a powerful device for a great price, third all your information is synced and available everywhere

12:14PM EDT - Hugo is on stage to talk about the new Nexus 7 now

12:14PM EDT - Jonney Shih is here, I expect we'll hear from him later talking about the new Nexus 7 shortly

12:13PM EDT - Nexus 7 really accelerated the tablet adoption and Android tablet activation rate

12:12PM EDT - 50 billion downloads on google play, 2.5x in revenue per user, 1 million apps

12:12PM EDT - Err, 1 in 2 tablets will be based on Android, I mean (their prediction)

12:11PM EDT - 1 in 2 tablets worldwide is based on Android by end of 2013

12:11PM EDT - At the end of 2012 approaching 10 million Android tablet activations, now at 70 million tablet activations

12:11PM EDT - Tablet growth is accelerating dramatically, "by the end of 2013 consumers are going to buy more tablets than PCs"

12:10PM EDT - Two things today - a tablet running Android that addresses growth in tablets, and a device for Chrome

12:10PM EDT - Two computing platforms are part of that vision - Chrome and Android

12:09PM EDT - Sundar is talking about how the goal is to deliver a consistent experience across every screen, since we live in a multi screen era

12:08PM EDT - Sundar is out, he's saying he already ate breakfast at 6:30 though

12:07PM EDT - Looks like we're getting started!

12:07PM EDT - Obviously lots of Googlers, I see many from ASUS as well

12:05PM EDT - I'd love to see a glimpse of the next version of Android beyond this management release, there's still a lot about the Android roadmap and new update cadence that hasn't been articulated yet, hopefully we'll get some color on that

12:02PM EDT - Things should be getting underway very shortly here, but we can still make some guesses about what's coming - obviously Android 4.3, a management release for Jelly Bean, and Nexus 7 are coming

12:01PM EDT - It's a pretty small venue and informal setting with tables, interesting

12:00PM EDT - I'm seated and inside the venue, where breakfast was indeed served this morning, so Google did deliver on that initial promise

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  • DukeN - Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - link

    Any chance Chromecast comes to Canada (or other markets)?
  • name99 - Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - link

    As an iPad fan, mostly expected news here.

    I expect the next round of iPads will come with 2GB as well.

    I AM pleased to see the stereo speakers --- hopefully that will put pressure on Apple to get their act together and deliver decent speakers (both stereo and front facing,not side facing).

    The direct-to-device Chromecast scheme is very cute, and I expect will be copied by Apple TV --- it just makes sense. The size of the device is interesting, compared to the size of Apple TV, and makes you wonder what's in Apple TV that requires it be that much larger.

    The one surprise (IMHO) is no 802.11ac in the Nexus 7. Do they at least make up for that with 40MHz bands support? I'm disappointed by this because WiFi performance is one of the areas where I feel my iPad is slower than it needs to be so I want the competition to put pressure on Apple. Maybe not 802.11ac yet, but at least
    - 40MHz support in the 5GHz band AND
    - a diversity antenna (maybe not full bore 2 stream support, but at least diversity).
  • phuul - Thursday, July 25, 2013 - link

    I'm confused about about your comment on streaming. Apple TV does not need to copy it. It already has it. YouTube you got it. Streaming from your computer there. Airplay? Yup.

    To answer your question about why the Apple TV is so much larger, it contains a power supply. It also has an ethernet port. In addition it contains a system that doesn't have the limitations of Chromecast.
  • darwinosx - Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - link

    That's it? They held a press conference for that?
    A video streamer that doesn't do 5ghz or AC..no Amazon Prime.
    An updated Nexus 7 still sold at cost which has been destroyed by the iPad Mini in sales. Maybe this one won't have all the quality control and speed issues of the last one at least.
  • Flying Goat - Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - link

    It supports 802.11a... That typically means 5Ghz support, no?
  • admin@anadntech - Friday, July 26, 2013 - link

    Wireless 2.4 GHz WiFi 802.11 b/g/n as per play.google.com
  • Bob Todd - Thursday, July 25, 2013 - link

    You really expect AC wi-fi in a $35 device right now? And for Google to feed people into Amazon's competing content library?
  • xTRICKYxx - Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - link

    Wow, Chromecast looks like an awesome device.
  • phillyry - Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - link

    Nice to see the spec bump on the Nexus 7, particularly the display. Too bad the processor is last gen though (S4 Pro) and not S600/S800 or Tegra 4.

    Nice to see LTE avail. and at reasonable price points for internal storage and LTE antennas too.

    Hoping this thing doesn't hiccup and that the app ecosystem for it grows faster.

    Chromecast looks promising, and at a cheap price too! We'll see what the reality is but the theory seems very sound and hopefully Apple will learn a trick or two from them.

    Looking forward to full reviews and hands-ons with both devices.
  • Calinou__ - Thursday, July 25, 2013 - link

    Chromecast claims to be cross-platform. Sorry, but I haven't seen "Linux" in the list of mentioned platforms.

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