EnlargeBloomberg
Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Android, Chrome and Apps at Google. Pichai is hosting a special press event next Wednesday, which the company will live stream over YouTube.
Luke StangelContributing writer- Silicon Valley Business JournalEmailMountain View-based Google this week sent out cryptic invitations to an early morning press event next Wednesday headlined by Android chief Sundar Pichai. Speculation is running high that the company may unveil three things: The latest version of Android, a new, premium tablet and possibly the Moto X smartphone.
All clues point to Google taking the wraps off something big July 24. Pichai will take the stage at Dogpatch Studios in San Francisco at 9 a.m. (giving Wall Street plenty of time to react) and will stream the announcement live over YouTube (giving the Internet plenty of video to react to). It’s highly unlikely that Google would organize such a big event for something small, say, if they were just launching Android 4.3.
Here are the three big things Pichai’s team is cooking right now at Android’s secret lab at the Googleplex:
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
Android 4.2.2 launched back in February and is getting a little long in the tooth. Android fans widely expected the company to release 4.3 Jelly Bean at Google I/O in May. That didn’t happen, and technology pundits are speculating that Pichai will likely unveil the latest version of Android next week.
It’s a safe bet, as Google has consistently released new versions of the Android OS every three to four months.
Android 5, aka Key Lime Pie, is expected to launch later this year.
The new Nexus 7
Google launched the Nexus 7 tablet one year ago this month, and speculation is running high that it’ll refresh that tablet soon. Reporters at Android Central this week leaked photos and a specification sheet for what they believe is the forthcoming Nexus 7.
[h=4]Related links:[/h]Mountain View
[h=4]Industries:[/h]Technology
