Google IO Liveblog: Nexus Tablet, Android Jelly Bean, All The News

There was heaps of news from Google’s IO Developer conference in San Francisco this week, including the Nexus Tablet and news on Jelly Bean, the next major release for Android. We’ve got you sorted with our blow-by-blow keynote coverage.

Lifehacker and Gizmodo joined forces to liveblog the event from 0230 AM (yikes!) AEST Thursday. Here’s everything you need to know, as it happened. Note: We published this in reverse chronological order to make it easier to read for those following along live, but have now put it in chronological order to make it easier to read after the fact.

More:
Nexus Android Jelly Bean Tablet From $249 In Australia, Ships Mid-July
Australians Are Still Second-Class Citizens In Android Jelly Bean
What’s New In Android 4.1 Jelly Bean | Lifehacker Australia

Videos: Nexus 7 tablet | Nexus Q entertainment PC | Google Now and Jelly Bean (Android 4.1)

[2:36 Luke] Here we go!

[2:30 Luke] Good morning Googlers! We’re here enjoying the usual delay that accompanies big tech keynotes, and we’ll likely be getting underway shortly.

[2:30 Angus] “This live event will begin in a few moments.” Assuming Google’s live streaming holds up, IO is good to go.

[2:32 Angus] So the thing I’m most looking forward to is hearing what’s in Jelly Bean, and whether Google has any tactics to deal with the trauma of update hell. What are you hanging out for Luke?

[2:32 Luke] Google is always good at pulling things out of left field. We already know that the company is bringing the Nexus 7 to us today, but I want something awesome under the IO Christmas tree this year. Something bold like Google Glass. How about you?

[2:35 Angus] I’d like it if we get hardware announcements that are actually global. There has been a tendency at previous IO events for there to be a strong North American focus. That would please me, but I ain’t holding my breath.

[2:35 Luke] It looks like Google is jumping the gun on its own announcements. We’re seeing the video for the Nexus 7 and pictures of something called the Nexus Q leak out already.

[2:36 Angus] And suddenly the techno music stops. One minute to go. Whooping and cheers.

Somewhere in California, Kindle Fire execs’ brows are sweaty again

[2:36 Angus] And suddenly the techno music stops. One minute to go. Whooping and cheers. Not quite as hyped as a WWDC crowd, but people seem excited even though a lot are still filing in as the video starts.

[2:37 Luke] Vik Gundokra takes the stage

[2:41 Angus] There’s something hidden under a sheet on a plinth. It looks slightly phallic, unfortunately. We’re about to get all the numbers, I suspect.

[2:42 Luke] 400 million Android devices. Start the clock: how long until Apple refutes that number? 1 million new devices are being activated every day according to Barra. 12 devices a second.

[2:42 Angus] Apple doesn’t comment on speculation. Note the growth from 100 million last year. An interesting heatmap of where Android gets activated. Australia is doing OK.

[2:44 Luke] Jelly Bean just got official. We’re going to look at a few things today including something called Project Butter, OS improvements and revamped search on Android. The crowd is very rowdy.

[2:45 Luke] Dave Burke is here to tell us more.

[2:46 Angus] Project Butter is about making Android faster and fluid. This we expected. We’ve got options like triple-buffering in the graphics pipeline. “Everything feels a lot smoother, they’re all buttery-smooth.”

[2:45 Angus] Jellybean anticipates where your fingers will be for better response. Sounds good if it works but clearly won’t work on older devices.

[2:46 Angus] “Now when you interact with the screen, we’ll literally lock the CPU up.”

[2:47 Angus] “Systrace collects data directly from the Linux kernel.” We don’t often have Android’s Linux origins called out so directly.

[2:47 Angus] A demo comparing a stock Android device with a new Jelly Bean release. Of course, stock Android devices are thin on the ground.

[2:47 Angus] We’re seeing a speedier response on launch animations in this demo. But we’re not seeing a big interface change. Which is fair enough for a 4.1 release.

[2:47 Luke] This video is the reason why people are excited to buy Nexus devices. I think everyone would have stock Android over another manufacturer’s launcher any day.

[2:48 Angus] No argument here. Wow, Dave wasn’t on for long. Vic is back. Repeating the “fastest and smoothest” mantra. “We’ve touched every corner of Android.”

[2:49 Luke] We’re being given a demonstration of Jelly Bean now. “People spend a lot of time on the home screen because we let them customise it how you want…but lots of stuff to fit is sometimes tough.”

[2:49 Angus] That’s annoying. They zoomed out right when the demo happened. This is what rehearsals are for, team Google.

[2:50 Luke] Wow. We’re seeing widgets get out of other widget’s way. Widgets are resizing themselves and now support users “tossing” them straight off the home screen rather than dragging them to the trash.

[2:51 Angus] Improving the keyboard is welcome, but I don’t think Swype et al will disappear just yet. Much more excited to have offline for the voice dictation. Though I bet Australian accents (and Scottish!) will still challenge it.

[2:52 Luke] Forget a device that guesses what you’re trying to type right now, apparently it’s going to guess what word you’re going to type next.

[2:52 Luke] Oh wow. Google has shrunk its voice recogniser to work on devices now. No data connection required for voice typing now. “Words appear even though I don’t have a connection,” our demo guy says.

[2:54 Angus] It is a great area for Google to focus on — the need for a connection is a big restriction for Siri. But it’s US-English only, dammit. I’ll practice my Southern accent now.

[2:54 Luke] Jelly Bean has improved support for Arabic and Hebrew, and 12 new input languages are being added including Hindi and Thai.Touch and swipe gestures are now supported in Jelly Bean for blind users, and it now supports external braille input and output devices connected via Bluetooth. Moving onto camera updates.

[2:55 Angus] Touch devices for the sight-impaired have always been tricky. Will be great if Google can pull it off.

[2:55 Luke] Photos now fly out to the right once you’ve taken them, and users can now pinch out to view the entire album side-by-side. That also shows the live camera happening inside that animation. That’s cool stuff.

[2:55 Angus] My inner productivity geek can’t get turned on just by animations. On the other hand, several million iOS users presumably disagree.

[2:55 Luke] Android Beam is now getting called out. I don’t know about you, but NFC is something that’s drastically underused outside of the US. New Android Beam features include file transfer over NFC, and Bluetooth pairing via NFC. That’s a shot at Nokia, there.

[2:57 Angus] There isn’t much point in Google talking up NFC until it gets Wallet working more worldwide. And the fact that wasn’t mentioned makes it feel unlikely.

[2:58 Luke] In Jelly Bean, notifications will apparently show you more informative and interactive notifications. You can now just make a call from the notification pane for example, and you can also read your messages, emails and calendars from that pane too.

[2:59 Angus] This is calendar porn. So Lifehacker.

[3:00 Luke] If someone shares a photo on Google+ now, for example, you’ll be able to +1 it and repost it all without going into the app. Foursquare and a music app also get called out for in-pane actions.

[3:00 Angus] All this emphasis on doing stuff “without opening the app” is playing to Android’s core differentiators: customisation and home screens that look very different. Makes life trickier for alternative launcher developers though.
[3:01 Angus] With Jelly Bean, we took a hard look at search and redesigned it from the ground up.” A big call given what Google does in its day job!

[3:01 Luke] We’re getting a new UI and something called “Google Now”. We’re now hearing how Knowledge Graph will improve our search results.

[3:02 Angus] You know, I’ve yet to see any evidence of Knowledge Graph changing the way I search just yet — certainly not via the browser.

[3:02 Luke] Voice Search has been improved, and search results get spoken back to us after we ask questions. “Who is the Prime Minister of Japan?” our demo guy asks. Google brings up a Knowledge Graph card that looks great. She also sounds better than Siri…This is Google’s party trick. It’s needed something like this for a while, because let’s be honest, for now that’s all Siri has been.

[3:02 Angus] This voice demo is awesome. I’m ashamed that I immediately want to know what happens if you swear at it. And can it tell me the height of the Space Needle in metres instead of feet? I think Luke’s brain might have exploded when the pictures of pygmy marmosets showed up. Compulsory cuteness.

[3:03 Luke] Adorable! We’re moving onto Google Now…now. “Google Now gets you just the right information at just the right time…automatically.” It uses your history for example to pre-load things for you. This sounds familiar.

[3:03 Luke] Google Now gets you just the right information at just the right time…automatically.” It uses your history for example to pre-load things for you. This sounds familiar.

[3:04 Angus] Indeed. So far, so Google Instant.

[3:04 Luke] Google Now will tell you what a restaurant is famous for as you walk down the street, it can tell you how long you’ll need to travel and where you’ll need to go for your next appointment and it’ll give you updated flight information and sports stats too.

[3:05 Angus] I love the idea that Google Now has integrated public transport information, but given we can’t even get that in Google Maps in Australia’s major cities, I’ll have to reserve my judgement. Indeed, all these traffic-related features (predicting how long to walk to a bus stop and how long the bus takes) won’t work in Australia, I fear.

[3:05 Luke] This is causing more nervous rumbling than applause. I think everyone’s starting to figure out just how much information they’ve actually given Google. Google Now’s product manager is now coming out to tell us more.

[3:06 Angus] Real-time live scores for sports? I imagine the NRL and AFL won’t be thrilled with that.

[3:06 Luke] This is causing more nervous rumbling than applause. I think everyone’s starting to figure out just how much information they’ve actually given Google. Google Now’s product manager is now coming out to tell us more.

[3:07 Angus] Yes, what happens to Google Now when you delete all your cookies?

[3:07 Angus]Ugh. We have a “beautiful header”. We all know what I think about beauty.

[3:08 Angus] “Google knows I don’t come here too often.” The nervous silence is ever more deafening. “Google now has figured out I go to the gym around lunchtime.” #creepy

[3:08 Luke] We’re getting a demonstration of how Google Now works. It’s a completely personalised portal for everything you like. This is going to be awkward for all you porn junkies looking for the best new videos…

[3:08 Luke] Google Now is a great looking concept, and I guarantee you that Australia will wait ages for it to actually get here. We’re getting a wrap up of Jelly Bean now before moving on.

[3:09 Luke] Jelly Bean rolling out to Nexus S, Xoom and Galaxy Nexus in mid-July, distributed over-the-air. The preview SDK is available right now.

[3:09 Angus]And on every other phone sometime in 2013. Maybe. Ask Telstra. Or something.

[3:10 Luke] Google’s now announcing something called the Android Platform Development Kit, or PDK, for platform developers to tweak their phones. This PDK will be available two or three months before the SDK goes out. The PDK for Jelly Bean is already live in the wild.

[3:11 Angus] Making it easier to port Android to other hardware via the PDK is actually a bigger development than it sounds. Historically, Google has kept a really tight control on that. (Just ask Ruslan Kogan!)

[3:12 Luke] Moving onto Google Play updates. Chris Yerga, engineering director, is up. We’re expecting a completely redesigned store experience.

[3:12 Angus] Loving the Freddie Mercury T-shirt. Not at all relevant, but I have to point it out.

[3:13 Angus] Claiming 20 billion app installs across Google Play. Like Apple, not going to tell us how many of those were paid

[3:12 Angus] There are free apps in 190 countries, paid in 132. I guess Australia should count itself lucky.

[3:12 Luke] Google is plugging carrier-based billing for app purchases. Again, not in Australia. Maybe it’s time to pack up and move elsewhere, Angus?

[3:13 Angus] I see it as a good thing. That way it’s harder to waste money.

[3:13 Angus] Smart App Updates — not making you download the entire app, just changed bits — sounds great. And is something that Apple will, I suspect, never do. So not the modus operandi in Cupertino.

[3:13 Angus] Now we’re hearing about C2DM. Which is not a new Star Wars robot, we must say. Except now it’s called Google Cloud Messaging, which makes more sense.

[3:15 Luke] The physical representation of C2DM is in fact a lifesize replica of a protocol droid, right?

[3:17 Angus] Right. “Google Play has millions of songs from your favourite artists”. Not in Australia it doesn’t, sunshine.

[3:18 Luke I’m noticing a trend in this live blog. The moral of this story? Bring us all of the things, Google!

[3:21 Angus] Full on movie sales, TVs shows by episode or season. Can’t see any Australian names on the screen though.

[3:21 Luke]Hugo is back. “Speaking of tablets…”

[3:22 Angus] And the same goes for the new magazines option. All for it, including 14-day trials, but it will take a while to get the two big Australian magazine publishers on board. It’s time for the Nexus announcement. Control yourself Luke.

Nexus 7 Tablet, Nexus Q Entertainment PC, Google Play And More

[3:22 Luke Announced partnership with Asus to build a tablet device in the Nexus program. The Nexus 7 is now official!

[3:23 Angus] I’m sure I read about that earlier this week. Thanks, Gizmodo!

[3:23 Luke It’s running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (there’s the version number) and the chairman of Asus is up waving to the adoring public. I swear I’ve seen this device before…

[3:24 Angus] “Up to nine hours of video playback and up to 300 hours of standby time.” Nice if it’s true. It won’t be, of course, but it’s good to see the bar raised. And a seven-inch tablet should be able to beat a ten-inch tablet.

[3:24 Luke] It’s all the same specifications we reported on Monday. 1280×800 HD resolution, optimised Tegra 3 chip, 9-hour battery, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and 340 grams in weight.

[3:25 Luke This is so not an Apple press conference. We’re getting shown how the magazine reader works with Esquire Magazine of all publications. Please send all child devs to the exits.

[3:25 Angus] Esquire isn’t exactly Playboy or Readers Wives. And even as I typed that, Shape magazine rocks up with a bikini on the cover.

[3:26 Angus] Now we’re seeing the movies and TV app. Which will undoubtedly be the movies app in Australia initially.

[3:26 Angus] “With Nexus 7, we’re introducing a powerful new recommendations engine.” Really blurring the line between a platform anyone can use and the Google-endorsed device. But that is, of course, what Apple has always done and Microsoft is now doing.

[3:27 Luke] We’re also being shown a Shazam competitor, called “What’s This Song” and it’s built directly into Google Play.

[3:27 Angus] Chrome is the official browser for Nexus 7. That’s good news. Wonder how quickly it’ll hit the Jelly Bean phones as they come out.

[3:27 Angus] And now we’re seeing optimised YouTube and Google Maps clients. Complete with 3D maps of San Francisco.

[3:28 Angus] An updated Compass mode uses the gyroscope so you can see what’s happening inside actual locations. Which is a feature which only works in the US and Japan right now.

[3:29 Luke] Google Currents now leveraging that additional language support and translates articles in-app for you. How pleasant.

[3:30 Angus] Now hearing about Nexus 7 as a gaming device. Somewhere a Kotaku reader’s heart is bursting.

[3:31 Luke[ Another example of how this isn’t your Dad’s press conference, we’re shooting zombies in the head.

[3:32 Luke] And now for the release details! Nexus 7 will cost $199 (no surprises) and will ship today,

[3:32 Angus] “Who says mobile gaming has to be casual?” That’s a gauntlet being laid down right there

[3:32 Luke] Coming to Australia in mid-July you guys! Hurrah!

Luke, Angus, Danny and Elly totally just busted out high-five emoticons in the team chat room

[3:33 Angus] Wow. We’re one of the four launch markets (US, UK and Canada are the others). I’m very pleasantly surprised by that. Would like to see a local price of course!

[3:33 Luke] I doubt it’ll be much more expensive. Perhaps $229 locally if I had to guess?

[3:33 Angus] My inner cynic says $249. We’ll know soon enough who is right about that, I imagine.

[3:34 Luke] We’re now being shown the Nexus Q, a crazy looking sphere for media streaming. This thing is gorgeous.

[3:34 Danny] What the hell is that! This is seriously an amazing press conference.

[3:35 Luke] It has an oscillating blue light that flies around the outside as you use it. It supports NFC pairing and media streaming. It’s designed to be picked up, played with, used easily, Google’s video says.

[3:35 Angus] So Nexus Q is basically the Apple TV competitor. But it looks like you can take it bowling. I’m already worried that it’s going to roll off the stand.

[3:36 Luke] I honestly am expecting this thing to sprout legs and walk around the stage. It looks like a resting robot. Kind of creepy to have that staring at you sitting on your couch.

[3:36 Danny] Powerd by same chip as Galaxy Nexus

[3:37 Angus] Stripped of the look, it’s just a cloud-based streaming media player. Would be much more useful in Australia if we had Google Music.

[3:37 Luke] “We didn’t want to make just another black box.” Take that, PVRs! It runs on the same chip as the Galaxy Nexus, it has micro HDMI outputs, optical audio outs, dual-band Wi-Fi, ethernet, micro USB port for hackability and of course NFC.

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[3:39 Luke] I’ve found another leak. Concept render of the Nexus Q:

[3:39 Danny] Haha

[3:40 Angus] “Listening to music can also be visual and interactive.” There’s an onscreen visualiser which feels a bit like Windows Media Player, quite honestly.
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[3:42 Luke] We’re getting a demo of Nexus Q’s features. One of those includes getting your friends to share their songs to your Nexus when they come over. “Let’s let someone else play the DJ.” This is essentially a collaborative jukebox

[3:43 Angus] That also has potential workplace applications. The war over updating the office playlist can be brutal.

[3:43 Luke] This little robot might just come in and kill our office Sonos altogether. Be afraid! It’s interesting though: does this assume everyone comes to parties with their tablets?

[3:44 Angus] I often do. Oh, sorry, wrong kind of tablets . . .

[3:44 Luke] We’re now getting a demonstration of Transformers: Dark Of The Moon being streamed. We couldn’t have chosen a better movie, Google? Something with a little less suck would be acceptable.

[3:44 Angus] That’s a wide field you’re offering up there. I imagine money has changed hands.

[3:44 Luke] I’m not sure that Nexus Q is something that should be considered as additional hardware from Google. I think it’s a great media accessory that’s really designed for the Nexus 7.

[3:44 Luke] It’s $US299, it’ll ship US-only starting from July. What a surprise.

[3:44 Angus] But the “hackability” argument is presumably that we’ll soon be able to use it with a lot of other devices.

[3:44 Angus] We’re wrapping up now with Hugo. That was a whole lot of media demoing.

[3:44 Danny] Muppets!

[3:45 Luke] And that’s a wrap!

[3:45 Angus] “The Android ecosystem would be nothing without our developer community.” Aww shucks.

[3:45 Luke] No Google press conference would be complete without the obligatory Muppets Google+ video

[3:46 Angus] Don’t you be dissing Muppets on me. They’re using ‘Under Pressure’, which ties in with the Freddie Mercury T-shirt. While we rock along, what was your favourite announcement Luke?

[4:05 Luke] Just while we’re getting a demo of Google+, I’d like to congratulate you for being correct on the Nexus 7 price. It’s $249 locally and is available for pre-order right now. Boo to the Australia Tax, Google.

[4:05 Angus] And $299 for the 16GB version. You do get $25 of Play credit, and a free copy of Transformers: Dark Of The Moon. Told you money was changing hands!

[4:06 Angus] The only accessories are a cover and a replacement charger, neither of which have been priced yet. The cover is grey. Not much else to say about it.

Google+ Updates

[3:46 Luke] But wait, there’s more! Vik Gundotra is back.

[3:47 Angus] He’s talking up Google Plus. That’s a challenge, let’s be honest. It’s one year old right now.

[3:47 Luke] He’s thanking everyone for their support of Google+. It’s the social network’s first birthday next year and we’re seeing a heartwarming video.

[3:48 Angus] “We’ve gained momentum every week . . . we really think we’re onto something special.” Really?

[3:51 Angus] Google+ has a “social spine”, allegedly. Over 250 million people have “upgraded” to Google+. To be frank, it’s not like we got a choice about it.

[3:51 Luke] There’s over 150 million active users on Google+ right now. 50% of them sign in daily and spend over an hour everyday on the social network. That’s paltry compared to Facebook.

[3:53 Angus] Native tablet version of Google+ being released today. Lukewarm cheers.

[3:55 Angus] The Google+ tablet client is being demonstrated. Lots of sideways scrolling, which is oddly reminiscent of Metro. “The stream just feels great to use.” Also has built-in Hangout options. This is undoubtedly the best bit of Google+, and it does make sense to optimise for tablets.

[4:04 Angus] The “beautiful” catchphrase is popping up yet again. “All of these small details we think help set the mood.” I think the role of technology is being massively over-estimated here.

[3:56 Angus] This are great improvements to people who actually use Google+. I know a lot of photographers and developers who love it. This is going to be great for them to share their stuff on tablets.

[3:56 Angus] The default experience is entirely full-screen, with other people visible along the bottom with auto-switching. And the compulsory tools for adding moustaches, of course. Also adds a new ribbon bar for navigation, different notifications system. “If you’re an iPad user, we’ve got you covered too.” Coming soon (though no date named).

[3:57 Angus] Again: Android today, iPad very soon. Unless Apple chooses to ban it for competing with Facetime. The changes are also coming to Android today, which sounds good. I’m sure we’ll be playing with it later.

[3:57 Angus] “We have one more Google+ announcement today.” That’s a familiar sentence structure.

[3:58 Angus] Can we replicate real-world events online and use software to enhance parties? Google+ apparently thinks so. Hence Google+ Events.

[3:59 Luke] I swear that only half of this audience actually use Google+. There are only a few people clapping and I’m putting my money on the fact that they’re all Google staffers.

[3:59 Danny] It’s kind of a come down after the great hardware keynote.

[4:00 Angus] Quite. We’re back in creepy territory, insofar as Google wants to run the entire process of your social life. I’m already in the “no thanks” camp, I fear.

[4:02 Luke] Here’s the issue with Google+ Events. Sure it’s an amazing feature that looks very pretty, but it’s predicated on all of your friends being on Google+ too. To be honest, most of your friends will likely just be on Facebook. You can always get an email invitation but it’s designed for everyone to be on Google’s social network. Hopefully this breeds greater adoption and doesn’t just fade into irrelevance.

[4:04 Angus] Now we’re hearing how to bring all the photos together for a given event, via Party Mode. “Once you enable Party Mode, all new photos get added to the event in real time.” Wow, that is going to embarrass a lot of people.

[4:05 Luke] Back in the keynote, we’re seeing how Google+ Events collates photos from a wedding. That’s got it over and above Facebook. Trying to get wedding photos off everyone is so annoying.

[4:05 Luke] Back in the keynote, we’re seeing how Google+ Events collates photos from a wedding. That’s got it over and above Facebook. Trying to get wedding photos off everyone is so annoying.

Google Glass

[4:05 Luke] Sergei is here wearing Google Glass!

[4:06 Luke] Stop the presses! This just got exciting!
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[4:07 Danny] Hahahaha. You finally got to use that phrase Luke!

[4:07 Luke] Oh my…Google have strapped Google Glass to two skydivers who are about to jump out of a plane. This is incredible. Sergei said that this could “all go wrong in about 30 seconds”.
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[4:07 Luke] I can’t tell you enough how much I want Google Glass in my life. If you were to get me anything for Christmas, friends and family.

[4:08 Luke] This is the first time the world is watching a wingsuit jump. This is the Google we remember. This is Google before it killed Labs, before it put more wood behind fewer arrows, the Google I want to see more of!

[4:08 Angus] Absolutely. This makes up somewhat for the lame Google+ spruiking.

[4:09 Luke] Sergei is padding, we’re about to step off the plane, 1000 feet above San Francisco.

[4:10 Luke] And we’re out of the plane! A Google Glass-augmented man is flying over the city of San Francisco aiming for the roof of Moscone Centre. This is awesome!

[4:12 Luke] This is something we need to test, you guys. Who can I count on to get in the plane with me with some Google Glass?

[4:13 Angus] I’m so there.

[4:14 Luke] And they’re down! Four skydivers just landed on Moscone Centre, all wearing Google Glass and live streaming their jump to Google+ Hangouts. That’s truly wonderful.

[4:14 Luke] But wait, there’s more! Some BMX stuntmen are wearing Google Glass and are jumping off of the Moscone Centre.

[4:15 Luke] We’re running down the outside of the Moscone Centre with some crazy abseilers and we’re now ferrying our special delivery all the way into the auditorium by BMX bike to the rapturous applause of developers! I’m applauding right now. This is something.

[4:15 Luke] Unless Tim Cook jumps out of a plane with Jony Ive for the iPhone 5 launch, this will never be topped. Smiles and applause all round.

[4:16 Angus] I hope there’s nothing else left to announce. It would be the most massive anti-climax.

[4:16 Luke] Yeah. Please no Google+ after this.

[4:17 Luke] Is the Google gift going to be Google Glass? I’ll be the most jealous man alive if that’s the case.

[4:18 Angus] I’m sure they’ll be on eBay soon enough if so. How deep is your wallet?

[4:18 Luke] Sergei is now going to tell all of us about Glass, and he’s live streaming his view from the stage.

[4:19 Luke] Sergei just fist-pumped to himself. Clearly he didn’t know how that was going to go.

[4:19 Angus] With good reason. I remember an infamous Aussie tech launch where a skydiver thing went awry and the diver died. So pleased it came off well this time.

[4:20 Luke] Isobelle, Google Glass’ product designer is telling us all about the design. There’s new colours here. This device feels so close to being in-market.

[4:21 Luke] “The latest prototype weighs less on your nose than most sunglasses,” we’re told. Damn. Prototype.

[4:23 Luke] Glass is being shown off on other glasses now. Google is now experimenting with different frames and different lenses. Looks like people who wear prescription glasses will be able to wear it if Google continues along this line of design.

[4:25 Angus] I’m impressed with how rapidly Glass has advanced. It felt like one of those cool ideas that might never get developed, but that’s evidently not the case.

[4:25 Luke] Yeah, Google seems really keen to bring this to market for rabid geeks like me. They’re really going for the human aspect of product design. You don’t need to carry a camera anymore, for example. You can capture memories as they happen. This is how you get people interested in your products. Crazy designs that link into things like Google+.

[4:27 Angus] Don’t be mentioning Google+ and bringing me down.

[4:28 Danny] I think Microsoft’s Kinect Glasses (see leaks part 1 and part 2) could up being interesting competition.

[4:29 Luke] It’s not just for jumping out of planes, either. We’re being shown people making tasty dumplings and sitting in dentist chairs. I think this will be misused for accidental oversharing. You definitely don’t want your Glass to activate while you’re using the bathroom, for example.

[4:29 Angus] What I’m looking forward to is when someone straps it to a cat.

[4:29 Luke] Less than an hour ago, we were hearing about redesigned search results on Android, now we’re hearing how Google Glass is rendering that device obsolete for being too slow. Mixed messages between the two departments must be awkward.

[4:29 Angus] But as you’ve said, it’s that chaotic edge that has always been part of Google’s appeal.

[4:30 Angus] Sergei is back and still hugely pumped by the skydiving. As he should be.

[4:32 Angus] “Today, I’d like to announce the Google Glass Explorer Edition.” IO attendees in the US can pre-order. Damn damn damn. Not Australians.

[4:35 Danny] Only US based attendees, and only eligible ones. We’ll know soon if that means media. Apologising for not being a consumer release — they want developers to help shape it ahead of a possible wider release early next year.

[4:36 Angus] Sergei blames regulatory issues for international attendees not getting glasses. Promises to broaden the base over time. It will be $US1500. Ouch! And doesn’t ship until early next year. So no Christmas present for Luke.

[4:36 Angus] Oh dear. We may be going back to Google+. That would be the biggest buzzkill of all time.

[4:37 Luke] At least we know Google is committed to getting this to market, but the $US1500 price tag really hurts the hip pocket. I think that will be a few Christmas presents in a row

[4:40 Angus] And now it’s the wrap-up video.

“Oh, there’s one other thing…”

[4:41 Luke] The free gift is an Android developer pack: all 6000 developers in the room get a special developer gift pack that includes a Samsung Galaxy, an Asus Nexus 7, Jelly Bean 4.1, and a Nexus Q!

[4:42 Luke] Unsurprisingly, the free stuff gets a standing ovation. That’s more than Google+ got and that’s always been free. Burn.

Be watching Channel 10 Breakfast at 6:20am AEST to see Lifehacker/Angus discuss this morning’s Google news… …and be watching ABC News Breakfast at 7:45am to see Gizmodo/Luke do the same.

[4:43 Angus] I love that the Nexus 7 tablet is coming to Oz, but my single favourite thing from today was that we’ll be able to update apps without having to download them in their entirety. Simple but so welcome. What’s yours Luke?

[4:43 Luke] Google really blew the lid off of Moscone for this one. We saw the Nexus 7 which we were expecting, along with a funky new streaming device and a demonstration of Google Glass. These are the best IO announcements in years I think.

[4:45 Angus] We’ll be covering and analysing everything all day, so keep hitting Gizmodo and Lifehacker for all the IO news. Thanks for joining us folks!