US
internet giant Google on Tuesday challenged heavyweight rivals
including Apple and Amazon with an array of new gadgets aimed at digital
lifestyles.
Coming products to watch for:
– Smartphone ‘Made by Google’ –
Pixel
is the first smartphone designed by Google, with the Silicon Valley
powerhouse dictating the hardware, software and services the way Apple
does with its iPhones.
The Google-branded smartphone takes aim at flagship models by Apple, Samsung and others in the fiercely competitive market.
Pixel,
which comes in five and 5.5-inch (12.7 and 14-centimeter) screen sizes,
boasts a fingerprint reader, a camera billed as the best in any
smartphone, unlimited online storage for photos and videos, and quick
charging combined with long battery life.
Pixel is powered by the
latest version of the Android mobile operating system, Nougat, and
Google promised to keep the software automatically updated.
Pixel
also features Virtual Assistant artificial intelligence to enable users
to manage tasks and get information in natural conversation format.
Pixel’s starting price of $649 in the United States is the same as that of Apple’s newest iPhone.
Preorders
for Pixel began Tuesday in Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany and the
United States. Pixel will be available for order in India on October 13.
– Cyber concierge –
Google
Home is a flower vase-sized speaker infused with machine smarts and
voice controls to act as a cyber concierge for getting information and
managing tasks about the house or flat.
Home listens for commands
or queries even while playing music, and can control other smart devices
in range. Google Home will be available in shops in November, but could
be pre-ordered beginning Tuesday.
The device’s price in the
United States is $129. That’s $50 less than Amazon Echo, a rival that
has been popular with consumers here since it was launched by the online
retail titan.
– Spreading machine smarts –
Google Assistant is an improved version of virtual helper software the internet company previously called Google Now.
It
competes with Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Microsoft’s Cortana,
tapping into the vast trove of knowledge amassed by the world’s leading
online search engine.
Google outlined plans to infuse a growing
array of devices and services with Assistant smarts, letting people get
answers or manage matters in conversational styles, as though speaking
with a human aide.
Google
laid out a vision of becoming a leading player in artificial
intelligence, with Assistant being infused into many devices and
services allowing opportunities to have them work together.
Google
already built Assistant smarts into a new Allo smartphone messaging app
released last month, and put the software at the heart of Pixel and
Google Home.
– Cardboard grows up –
Daydream View virtual reality headgear came as an answer to Facebook-owned Oculus, and a direct challenge to Samsung Gear VR.
Smartphones
compatible with Google’s Daydream software platform can be slipped into
play in View headgear to act as screens for virtual reality
experiences.
View is made of cloth, a step up from the actual cardboard from which its predecessor at Google was playfully constructed.
Purportedly
inspired by casual clothing, View material makes it lighter and
potentially more comfortable than devices already on the market.
View
comes with a controller and was billed as making virtual reality
“accessible” at a price of $79 in the United States, where it will
arrive in November. View will also be available in Australia, Britain,
Canada and Germany.
In comparison, Samsung Gear VR headgear is
priced at $100. Oculus Rift virtual reality head gear has a $599 price
tag and must be connected to high-performance computers.
– Streaming 4K video –
Chromecast
Ultra is an improved version of medallion-sized Chromecast devices that
plug into TV monitors for viewing online streaming videos.
Google said it has sold more than 30 million Chromecast devices since they debuted three years ago.
The
new generation Chromecast promised more reliable viewing and image
quality ramped all the way up to ultra-high definition 4K video.
Chromecast Ultra was priced at $69 and will be available in November in the United States and 15 other countries.
– Wifi all over –
Google
Wifi promises to make sure people can connect to the internet from
anywhere in a home. Disk-sized Wifi modules can be placed in various
spots in homes, acting as an internet-linked mesh of sorts so getting
online is uniformly easy.
Wifi software lets people easily manage
congestion on home networks, or even selectively cut off children’s
gadgets from the internet when they should be at a meal or in bed.
Google
will begin taking pre-orders for Wifi in November, advertising the
price as $129 for a single unit or $299 for a pack of three modules.
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