Google’s annual developers conference, I/O, is mere hours away. In preparation for the big event Google has posted a quick guide to what people can expect over the next few days, as 5,000 excited developers pour into San Francisco, no doubt expecting a free gizmo of some kind.
Google have stated, somewhat unsurprisingly, that the conference will focus on the search giant’s twin operating systems, the all-conquering Android and the unreleased Chrome OS. The heads of both products, Andy Rubin and Sundar Pichai respectively, will both deliver keynotes to “unveil new features, preview upcoming updates, and provide new insights into the growing momentum behind these platforms.”
So what are we expecting? At the top of the list is a firm release date for Google’s long-delayed Chrome OS. The browser-only operating system was first previewed at I/O 2010 (yes, that was a full year ago), with developers and lucky applicants receiving Google’s Chrome OS testbed, the CR-48 laptop, shortly afterwards. However it became obvious quite quickly that the OS was not ready for general consumption – the major gripe being an incredibly wonky trackpad.
Aside from Chrome OS there’s also a pretty decent chance The Big G will finally unleash Google Music, a service also glimpsed at I/O last year, and recently leaked by an internal foul-up at Google. Now Amazon has launched its cloud music product, and Apple is making significant strides of their own – recently purchasing the domain iCloud.com – the time would seem right for Google to dive in.
It also wouldn’t be too outlandish to hope for a sneak peek at the next version of Android – codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich – or at the very least a date Google will be releasing Honeycomb for handsets. The Android release, version 3.0, is currently tablet-only, with Google publicly admitting the code isn’t ready for use on smaller screens.
It all kicks off at 9am PDT tomorrow, and if you can’t find your way to San Francisco you can watch the whole thing on I/O Live.
