For 48 hours, Google opened a beautiful villa on the Außenalster in Hamburg as Google Haus. After stops in New York, London and Paris, this was the final presentation. Of course, all of the company’s product innovations were shown in the specially created experience world, but the clear focus was on the new devices of the Nexus series, i.e. the Nexus 5 smartphone and the Nexus 7 tablet, both already powered by the new version of Android 4.4 (or KitKat).
In numerous, thematically sorted rooms, we were guided through individual features and application scenarios of the devices and services. From travel planning to using Nexus devices as second-screen devices during sports broadcasts, Chromebooks in the kids’ and teens’ rooms, Google Hangouts for planning a girls’ night out and for the obligatory Hauling videos, Google Chromecast, and of course and especially important: Google Now when used in the kitchen.
For the culinary presentation part, Google invited the two guys from Punk Food Deluxe from Munich. A (more or less) typical kitchen situation was used to show how helpful a Google Nexus device can also be at the stove: “Set timer to 2 minutes” or “Show recipe videos for fried potatoes”, “How many calories does an avocado have” were just a few of the voice commands that can be shouted at Google Now even with pans and pots in your hands. The answer is then either returned in spoken form or is implemented in the form of the corresponding command, i.e. a timer is set and activated accordingly.
Of course, in a small back room there was also a glimpse of something much more futuristic: Google Glass!
It’s impressive how much effort Google has put into providing an insight into its own universe.
Since I have been working more or less intensively on the switch from iOS to Android for a few weeks already, this introduction was of course very convenient for me, as there were still a few little tricks to discover here and there. And the Nexus 7 tablets in the goodie bag certainly help push my switchover plans further, too.
Thank you Google for a great evening in an exceptional location!
