Google gives back to the community after months of research and development. Indeed, you’re in for a sweet treat. Why? Well, read on!
It is truly an exciting moment for Android fans around the world as Google officially announces the release of its latest hardware alongside the much anticipated Android 5.0 Lollipop. Coined ‘Android L’ before its official announcement, it had been Google’s largest and most ambitious release of the operating system (OS). The design DNA of Lollipop is made to be flexible, customisable to your preferences, and be able to work on all your devices in the way you see fit without leaving out the ‘sharing’ bits.
Lollipop takes on what Google calls Material Design – a concept that gives you the same user personalisaton and experience when you switch from one screen to the other. The result of this implementation is a smoother transition between tasks and content that responds to your touch or voice. The new OS puts you in control over your devices via additional custom options in the settings menu. With it, you can now get the notifications you want and hide those you don’t need. To top it off, you can also create multiple user accounts as well as initiate a guest user mode to ensure your information and data are kept private.
Additionally, Lollipop also solved the battery life concern on most devices. Google claims that the new battery saver feature extends the battery life of your device up to 90 minutes. To top it off, you can now secure your device by pairing it to your watch or car with Smart Lock. Pretty awesome!
New Entries
Beyond revealing the new OS, Google also confirmed that the latest Nexus family members will be given the ‘Lollipop treatment’. That means the Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player will be pre-loaded with the new flavour out of the box. Sweet!
Introducing the Nexus 6 to the world is Motorola. It is Google’s largest smartphone to date, sporting a design that looks like an upsize version of the Moto X 2014 edition. The Nexus 6 comes with a contoured aluminium frame, 6in Quad HD display, and a 13MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture. Expect great stereo performance via the dual front-facing stereo speakers ala HTC – a significant change from its predecessors. Roaring within is a 2.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 Quad-Core CPU and Adreno 420 GPU. Backing that is 3GB of RAM and 32 (or 64GB) of storage space and Qi battery charging feature that comes with high-speed charging capabilities. 15 minutes for an additional six hours of power? Yes, please! As for colours, the Nexus 6 comes in Midnight Blue and Cloud White. Completing the whole package is the 13MP (rear) and 2MP (front) snappers it uses.
What of the Nexus 9? The tablet is built in partnership with HTC, the Taiwanese brand’s second effort since the introduction of the original Nexus! For look and feel, HTC has given the Nexus 9 a thin bezel, brushed metal sides, sleek lines, three unique colours, and an 8.9in IPS display screen – big enough to get some work done yet pretty compact for easy transport. Thrown together with the Nexus 9 is a folio keyboard, offering the same simple experience their notebooks would have when they have real work to do. The keyboard connects magnetically and is able to fold in two different angles, allowing it to rest securely on your lap like a proper notebook. Under the hood is a 64-bit NVIDIA Tegra K1 2.3GHz CPU as well as a 192-core Kepler GPU backed up by 16GB or 32GB of memory. The tablet comes with a 8MP back-based and 1.6MP front-located camera.
Lastly is Google’s first Android-powered TV – the Nexus Player. Google partnered with ASUS to create a smart streaming multimedia player. What makes it different is its ability to play games! Yup, Android has a proper gaming console! That means being able to play Android games on your HDTV with a third-party gamepad or the Android-specific controller. If you’re always on-the-go, you can sync it to your Lollipop-powered device to bring the game with you to ensure continuous playtime anytime, anywhere. The Nexus Player is Google Cast Ready so you can stream your favourite video content from almost any Chromebook, Android, or iOS platform onto your TV. Circular with a minimalistic design, the Nexus Player has a contemporary look that fits into any modern home or workspace. The Player also comes with an elegant remote with voice search features, its simply the remote you want and need when your hands are busy.
Official pricing and release dates for Southeast Asia market are yet to be announced by Google.
