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What’s coming next from Google? We’ll have a much better idea on Wednesday when Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) execs and developers gather at the second annual Google I/O conference in San Francisco.
But InternetNews.com has confirmed there will be news related to Google’s Android platform as well as its Google Apps suite.
Vic Gundotra, Google’s vice president of engineering, will kick off the event Wednesday morning with a keynote and Android will be central to his talk. It’s not clear if any partner companies will preview any new Android-based devices, but the timing would be perfect for making some hay ahead of the competition.
The Palm Pre makes its debut June 6 and Apple has its WWDC developers conference a week later that is rumored to include a new iPhone announcement.
“They need some news,” Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates, told InternetNews.com. “Android’s far from the only game in town and they need to be more competitive. But it is early in the game, Android’s a whole new platform and that takes time to develop.”
Android’s highest profile hardware partner to date has been the T-Mobile G1, though there are rumors of other big players signing on, including the possibility of an Android-based netbook.
A new feature of the conference is the Developer Sandbox which includes demo areas grouped by themes of applications and services based on Google technology. Start-ups and more established players, including Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE), will be featured.
On the enterprise front
Google is also planning separate sessions for the press at I/O to further discuss its mobile plans as well as some new capabilities coming to the Google Apps suite.
“It’s basically a way for developers to extend the cloud and get better integration,” a Google spokesman told InternetNews.com.
Several partner companies are expected to be on hand for the Google Apps media session, with Oracle possibly among them.
InternetNews.com will have complete coverage from the I/O conference this week.
