Yesterday was a pretty big day for Google! Google hosted a breakfast event, led by Senior Vice President of Android, Chrome and Apps, Sundar Pichai. They announced and launched a some new products and some great updates to existing ones. Let's not waste any time and jump straight into the details.

The event started with Sundar taking the stage and talks a bit about unifying experiences across screens and platforms. This is a hint for things to come. He also breaks down some tablet sales numbers and Google Play numbers. Then he gets to the good stuff, he mentions the new Nexus 7 as he gives up the stage to Hugo Barra.

Hugo gets right into the details of the new Nexus 7, going through the changes and upgrades that have gone into the new device. Here's a quick rundown of the specs:

  • 7″ display at 1920×1200 pixels (that's 323ppi)

  • 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with 2 GB RAM

  • dual rear stereo speakers with virtual surround sound

  • 5MP rear camera, 1.2MP front camera

  • 16GB and 32 GB Wi-Fi only versions along with a 32GB Wi-Fi/LTE version (LTE version not available yet)

  • Android 4.3 Jellybean

For those that have seen or used the original Nexus 7, these are some serious upgrades. The processor and screen upgrades are vast improvements, the dual stereo speakers are a nice touch, and some will be happy that they now have a rear camera on the tablet (though we may think you look funny carrying around a 7″ tablet taking pictures.) One of the most significant specs here is the LTE compatible version, which will run on Verizon's, AT&T's and T-Mobile's LTE networks, which is great for an un-subsidized device. Sadly the device isn't available until July 30, so we'll have to wait a bit to check it out. Here's a short promo video.

After the 'new' Nexus 7 announcement they commenced to demo the release of Android 4.3 on the tablet. This is still “Jellybean”, but it has a lot of changes/updates 'under-the-hood.' One of the new features they highlight is Restricted Profiles for Multi-users. This will be especially helpful for parents who want to let their children play games but don't want them to have access to certain apps or purchases. More feature additions include Bluetooth Smart (Low Energy) support along with support for OpenGL ES 3.0. These two additions will help out battery life (Bluetooth) and graphical performance (OpenGL.) Finally they announce some new APIs, specifically new DRM APIs that will allow streaming of 1080p content on devices (handy now that the Nexus 7 has a 1080p screen.)

One of the best parts of this is that the Over The Air (OTA) updates started rolling out immediately, and the factory images for Nexus devices were already live on Google servers. To most this isn't a big deal, but to Android fans and Nexus adopters this was huge. The source code for 4.3 was also pushed to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) very soon after which helps Android developers get a quick start on building all things Android with 4.3

Google also announced two other apps, the first being the new Google Play Games app, which is a welcomed addition that displays the games you play, your friends, your game achievements and what not. The second was Google Play Textbooks. Yep, that's right, Google's getting into the textbooks game. It'll be a part of Google Play Books, but Google is claiming to have selections from 5 major publishers and offering the ability to purchase or rent textbooks for up to 6 months. They're also claiming a discount of up to 80%. This could be really good for students who don't like carrying books around, but we'll see how it all plays out once it's actually launched in August.

Last but not Least

Google definitely saved the best for last. The last announcement brought Sundar back on the stage and he talks of a discrepancy between people watching online videos on a smartphone/computer and watching online videos on their TVs. He then mentions that Google has a “Chrome-based solution” that will help bridge the gap, helping bring online videos/content to your TV. This is…Chromecast.

What is Chromecast? It's an HDMI dongle, powered by USB, that connects to your home Wi-Fi. Once connected, a person is able to “beam” videos and content from their smartphone (yes Android or iOS) or computer directly to their TV. The app tells the device what content an individual wants to stream, and then the Chromecast pulls that content off the web and displays it on the TV. So far this works with Youtube, Netflix, Google Play Music and Movies, and will certainly be coming to more apps in the near future as Google released the Google Cast SDK at the event. They claim that a simple app update is all that is needed to get proper functionality. One really cool feature is that all the devices that are on the same home network can detect the “cast” and are able to control the stream, whether it's from the computer, an Android, or an iOS device. Now how much will all this cost you you may wonder? The answer to that is $35. They immediately launched the sale of the Chromecast on the Google Play website, along with Amazon and at BestBuy (both online and in store.) Some folks have been lucky enough to already find one and there are reviews already out on initial functionality. With the price point and the current and future promise of this device, this looks to be a big hit for Google.

So recapping our recap, Google announced a new Android tablet that is a great upgrade to the old Nexus 7 and should get a lot of looks and attention from anyone wanting a great performing tablet, the price point is just icing on the cake. They also announced an Android OS upgrade to 4.3 Jellybean which will have Android enthusiasts excited for weeks to come as devices and apps get updated and new goodies come out for them to play with. They also announced Textbooks which could be a great deal for students who don't want to carry around heavy textbooks and pay the absurd fees that come along with them. And last but certainly not least they announced Chromecast, the USB-powered HDMI dongle that promises to bring just about anything online to your TV very soon. It was a great event, and we can't wait to see what Google comes up with next.

Spoiler alert: The Moto X could well be the next “big” thing for Google/Motorola, we'll see August 1.)