Google I/O is an annual two day, highly technical conference organized and designed especially for developers looking to leverage Google technologies. The “I” and “O” stand for “innovation” and “open,” with “I/O” being shorthand in computing for “input/output.” Held at Mescone Center, the largest conference and exhibition space in San Francisco, the 2011 Google I/O sessions kick off today and run through tomorrow.
The first Google I/O was held in May 2008, with core technical themes being OpenSocial, App Engine, Android, Google Maps API, and Google Web Toolkit. Each year these themes change slightly as Google and the web evolve. For example, in 2009 Google Wave became a core theme, and in 2010 OpenSocial was no longer a theme and Google TV was.
The conference’s eighty sessions, attended by thousands of talented developers, are in depth and centered on building and developing the next generation of web, mobile, enterprise applications using Google’s offerings. They include “fireside chats” where developers can ask Google engineers questions in an informal and intimate setting. Outside of these eighty sessions, attendees can request “office hours” for more in depth product help over the course of the two days and visit a “Sandbox” filled with an elite selection of 100 companies who have built applications based on the Google products and technologies featured at I/O. Attendees have the chance to ask these leading developers with real world experience questions, and view how these Google technologies are being leveraged.
This year Boston is represented in the Google I/O Sandbox by four area companies: Waltham-based CloudLock (cloud data protection company that secures Google Docs), Bedford-based iRobot (leading robot designers and developers), Charlestown-based Springpad (apps that help you organize and remember anything on your phone or computer) and Cambridge-based Vlingo (voice technology and app that turns words into actions). CloudLock is featured in the Google Apps section of the Sandbox; iRobot and Vlingo are in the Android section; and Springpad is in the Chrome section.
We had the opportunity to catch up with both Springpad and Vlingo to learn more about their excitement around the event.
Springpad is one of just sixteen applications featured in the Chrome section of the Sandbox. In lieu of the event, the company has released new and improved features for their award winning Android and Chrome Web apps. The new features and functionality continue to help simplify the lives of the more than 1 million people who actively use Springpad to save, organize and act on anything they want to remember. Android support means the app is now available on Android tablets like the NOOK Color, Galaxy Tab and Motorola Xoom, and updates to the Chrome app means you can access and update the app even while offline.
“Springpad is excited to be participating as an exhibitor at Google’s premier developer conference,” CEO Jeff Janer shared with us. “Our categorization, sync and alerts technologies leverage many Google technologies and services and help our users save time and money every day.”
Vlingo is bringing its virtual assistant out to Google I/O for feature in Google’s official Android Sandbox. The company will be previewing their upcoming Android release, code-named “Calypso,” which will feature a UI and navigation overhaul, as well as improvements in their local search, messaging and voice dialing functionality. It also promises to be the fastest version of Vlingo to date with what the company describes as some serious performance upgrades. As a bonus, Vlingo will also be offering a glimpse of the new Voice Talk feature which it built for the Samsung Galaxy S II tablet, due out this summer in the US.
Hadley Harris, Vlingo’s VP of Marketing said of the event, “We’re really excited to be part of the Sandbox, alongside some other great companies. We consider Android our innovation platform, so it’s fun to showcase the latest and greatest in Vlingo technology for both our users and OEM partners.”
Make sure to follow the hashtag #io2011 on Twitter to stay up to date on Springpad and Vlingo’s activities at Google I/O this year — and congratulate these Boston companies on being featured in the Sandbox!
